rebirth(French Renaissance) - an era in the cultural and historical life of Western Europe in the XV-XVI centuries. (in Italy - XIV-XVI centuries). This is the period of the emergence and development of capitalist relations, the formation of nations, languages, and national cultures. Renaissance is the time of great geographical discoveries, the invention of printing, the development of science.
The era was named after revival interest in antique art, which became an ideal for cultural figures of that time. Composers and musical theorists - J. Tinktoris, J. Tsarlino and others - studied ancient Greek musical treatises; in the musical works of Josquin Despres, who is compared with Michelangelo, "the lost perfection of the ancient Greeks has increased"; appeared in the late 16th - early 17th century. the opera is oriented to the patterns of ancient drama.
Renaissance art was based on humanism(from Latin "humanus" - humane, philanthropic) - a view that proclaims a person the highest value, defends the right of a person to his own assessment of the phenomena of reality, puts forward the requirement of scientific knowledge and adequate reflection in art of the phenomena of reality. The ideologists of the Renaissance opposed the theology of the Middle Ages with a new ideal of a man imbued with earthly feelings and interests. At the same time, the features of the previous era were retained in the art of the Renaissance (being essentially secular, it used images of medieval art).
The Renaissance was also a time of broad anti-feudal and anti-Catholic religious movements (Hussitism in the Czech Republic, Lutheranism in Germany, Calvinism in France). All these religious movements are united by the common concept " Protestantism" (or " reformation»).
During the Renaissance, art (including music) enjoyed great public prestige and became extremely widespread. The fine arts (L. da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Jan van Eyck, P. Bruegel and others), architecture (F. Brunelleschi, A. Palladio), literature (Dante, F. Petrarch, F. Rabelais, M. Cervantes, W. Shakespeare), music.
Characteristic features of the musical culture of the Renaissance:
rapid development secular music (wide spread of secular genres: madrigals, frottols, villanelles, French "chansons", English and German polyphonic songs), its onslaught on the old church musical culture that existed in parallel with the secular one;
realistic trends in music: new plots, images corresponding to humanistic views and, as a result, new means of musical expression;
folk melodic as the leading beginning of a piece of music. Folk songs are used as cantus firmus (the main, unchanging tenor melody in polyphonic works) and in polyphonic music (including church music). The melody becomes smoother, more flexible, melodious, because is a direct expression of human experiences;
powerful development polyphonic music, incl. And " strict style" (otherwise - " classical vocal polyphony”, because focused on vocal and choral performance). Strict style implies obligatory adherence to established rules (strict style norms were formulated by the Italian J. Carlino). Masters of strict style mastered the technique of counterpoint, imitation and canon. Strict writing was based on a system of diatonic church modes. Consonances dominate in harmony, the use of dissonances was strictly limited by special rules. The major and minor modes and the clock system are added. The thematic basis was Gregorian chant, but secular melodies were also used. The concept of a strict style does not cover all the polyphonic music of the Renaissance. It focuses mainly on the polyphony of Palestrina and O. Lasso;
the formation of a new type of musician - professional, who received a comprehensive special musical education. The concept of "composer" appears for the first time;
the formation of national music schools (English, Dutch, Italian, German, etc.);
appearance of the first performers lute, viol, violin, harpsichord, organ; flourishing of amateur music-making;
the emergence of typography.
Main musical genres of the Renaissance
Major musical theorists of the Renaissance:
Johannes Tinctoris (1446 - 1511),
Glarean (1488 - 1563),
Josephfo Carlino (1517 - 1590).
REVIVAL
Music within the same artistic era
develops later than other arts.
Her highest achievement usually refers to the end of an era.
This is natural for the Renaissance, and for the baroque, and for classicism.
artistic ideal
For a long time, ancient principles were regarded as the highest achievement of human art, as a model, while the medieval ones - as degeneration and decline, as a result of the loss of skill. It was the art of the Renaissance that was called upon to overcome this inferiority.
Renaissance music or music of the Renaissance, refers to the period approximately between 1400 and 1600. The earliest and clearest manifestation of the Renaissance was in the art of Italy in the 14th century. Antiquity lay nearby in ruins. Italy discovered its past and found its present.
The Dutch school took shape and reached its first heights in the 15th century. In France, the signs of the Renaissance were clearly manifested in the 16th century. By the 16th century, the rise of art in Germany, England and some other countries included in the orbit of the Renaissance.
A new worldview was born - humanism and art turned its face towards man, towards the sensual beauty of the world. The musicians gradually moved away from the strict church rules of composition and composed music according to their own taste. What has become right is what sounds good and is liked by many.
The revival took place in all spheres of human activity: these are the great geographical discoveries of Columbus and Vasco da Gama, scientific discoveries and the heliocentric system of the world of N. Copernicus changed ideas about the Earth and the Universe. Renaissance artists discovered perspective (Leonardo da Vinci) and managed to give their paintings a sense of three-dimensionality.
The new man is no longer a submissive slave, but a self-respecting person, proud of his past and present. The Renaissance gave the world brilliant and versatile gifted people: Dante, Petrarch, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Paracelsus, etc.
New, capitalist relations were developing in the economy, trade and crafts were developing. The invention of printing contributed to the spread of education. In music, the sk major and minor modes and the tact system of rhythm are characteristic of later music.
The music of the Renaissance has a special structure of feelings - sublime, harmonious, calm and majestic. The connection between text and music becomes closer, the music begins to convey the mood, or, as they said then, the affects of the text.
Renaissance music developed in two directions - ecclesiastical and secular. Church polyphony of that time was later called "strict style" Music of strict style is the result of the sublime abstract thought of the composer. It was music for God.
Mass remains the main genre of church music.
Renaissance Musical Instruments
Of the instruments, preference was given to the organ. The organ was the main instrument in the concert life in the Renaissance era, but over time the range of musical instruments has expanded significantly. Violas appeared - a family of bowed strings. In form, they resemble the modern violin, viola, cello and are considered their immediate predecessors.
However, there is a difference, and a significant one. Violas have a system of resonating strings; as a rule, there are as many of them as the main ones (six to seven). The vibrations of the resonating strings make the viola sound soft, velvety, but the instrument is difficult to use in an orchestra, because it quickly gets out of tune due to the large number of strings.
Among the plucked instruments of the Renaissance, the main place is occupied by lute. It came to Europe from the Middle East at the end of the 14th century, and by the beginning of the 16th century there was a huge repertoire for this instrument; First of all, songs were sung to the accompaniment of the lute. Twelve strings are grouped in pairs, and the sound is extracted both with fingers and with a special plate - a plectrum.
In the XV-XVI centuries, various types of keyboards arose. The main types of such instruments are harpsichord, clavichord, cembalo, virginal- were actively used in the music of the Renaissance, but their real heyday came later.
The growth of amateur music-making contributed to the development of secular music. Music sounded everywhere: on the streets, in the houses of citizens, in the palaces of noble nobles. The first concert virtuoso performers appeared on the lute, harpsichord, organ, viol, various types of longitudinal flutes. In their songs (madrigale - in Italy, chanson - in France), the composers talked about love, about everything that occurs in life.
In the XV-XVI centuries. increasing importance dance art, numerous treatises and practical guides on choreography appear, collections of dance music, which include popular dances of that time - bass dance, branle, pavane, galliard.
During the Renaissance, the first national music schools were formed. The largest of them is the Dutch (French-Flemish) polyphonic school. Its representatives are G. Dufay, K. Janequin, J. Okegem, I am Obrecht, Josquin Despres, O. Lasso. Among other national schools are Italian (J. P. Palestrina), Spanish (T. L. de Victoria), English (W. Byrd), German (L. Senfl).
The Renaissance ends with the emergence of new musical genres: solo song, oratorio, opera, the true flowering of which comes later.
The best Italian composer of that time was Giovanni Palestrina(1526-1594). He composed mainly church choirs without accompaniment (a cappella) and already at that distant time he found wonderful harmonies that give his music a special tenderness and penetration. His polyphony did not obscure the meaning of words - the main thing in Christian worship. The Pope recognized the style of church music of Palestrina as exemplary. The music of Palestrina was compared by contemporaries with the paintings of Raphael Santi. For more than 30 years, Palestrina held the honorary position of head of the chapel of St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome. For services to the church, he was there and buried like the popes. His musical style is a model for all subsequent generations of composers.
Palestrina was an unsurpassed composer of Catholic masses. Mass is the main liturgy of the Catholic Church. In the Orthodox tradition, it corresponds to the liturgy. During Mass, the Eucharist is celebrated. The Mass is a remembrance of the suffering, death on the cross, and resurrection of the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
There are five main parts of the Mass. They are named after the first words of the tests.
The Mass opens with the prayer "Lord, have mercy!" ("Kyrie eleison"). It is sung not in Latin, but in Greek. Kyrie eleison (God, have mercy).
Gloria (Glory to God in the highest);
Credo (I believe in one God the Father Almighty);
Sanctus and Benedictus (Holy is the Lord God of hosts and blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord);
Agnus dei (Lamb of God who took upon himself the sins of the world).
The music of the mass was composed by composers as a single cycle, as one big choral symphony.
The funeral mass is called requiem. The requiem has additional parts. 1. Diez ire (day of wrath, judgment day);
2. Tuba Mirum (Wonderful trumpet calling sinners to the judgment of God);
3. Lacrimosa (Lacrimal).
The music of the mass was composed by almost all the great Western composers, not only Catholics, but also Protestants (for example, J.S. Bach).
A distinctive feature of Renaissance music is the emergence of secular professional music. In Italy, domestic music-making has spread - playing various instruments; circles of music lovers arose.
In secular music, polyphony faded into the background. She was replaced by an expressive monophonic melody with chord accompaniment. Such music is called homophonic-harmonic.
The leading genre of secular music has become madrigal(matricale - "a song in the native language"). The literary basis of the madrigal is the lyric poetry of the Renaissance, most often the sonnets of Petrarch. Italian madrigal in music, having lived a short but brilliant life. The literary text in the madrigal is of fundamental importance, so this genre can be defined as musical and poetic. The texts of madrigals were distinguished by high artistic merit. There are two motifs in madrigal poetry: the first is love with a touch of sadness; the second - subtle landscapes with psychological overtones, "...where the elements of sound painting - the movement of water, the rustling of leaves, the sound of the wind, etc. - were carriers not so much of a pictorial beginning as of a lyrical mood in its subtlest, often refined shades." “Beautiful flowers around me, grass, air, waves bring me comfort, rest and joy.” “Twilight fills the heart with peace and tranquility. But only at dawn will all anxieties, worries and fears (of the night) dissipate. "Let me go! I have one life and my place is among the flowers, grass, waves and sky"
A characteristic feature of the madrigal is the close connection between music and poetry. The music flexibly followed the text, reflecting the events described in it. Gradually, the genre acquired the features of an exquisitely aristocratic sophistication. The classical madrigal was written for 5 mixed voices.
According to the tradition established at that time in wealthy houses, after the treat, guests were brought notes for an impromptu performance of the madrigal. According to an eyewitness, "...no one could be considered well educated if he was not so advanced in music as to sing his part from a sheet." Sometimes, simultaneously with the performance of the madrigal, its plot was also played out. The madrigal became the basis of the madrigal comedy, which paved the way for the advent of the opera.
Much later, already at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, composers turned to the technique of composing in a strict style to give their compositions a special old musical flavor, sometimes with a touch of religious mysticism.
Now strict style is taught as an academic discipline in conservatories.
The best polyphonists of that time were composers from the Netherlands - the most advanced European country of the 15th century (America of that time). The name "Netherlands", which in German means "low land", is consistent with the geographical location of the country. A swampy plain as a result of the long and selfless labor of the Dutch people at the beginning of the 15th century. was turned into a flourishing and abundant region. The ports of Amsterdam and Antwerp were the largest in the world. Economic prosperity largely determined the unprecedented rise and flourishing of art in the Netherlands. In museums and private collections in Europe and America, there are about three thousand paintings, executed only in the workshop of Rubens (1577-1640). In Dutch painting, a new genre was born - still life.
From the beginning of the seventeenth century The Netherlands has become Europe's main greenhouse for growing and selling tulips. It was a craze and great business. The ideals of humanism have given way to commerce. The brilliant Rembrandt ends his days in poverty and obscurity, and the recently known Dutch music sounds less and less often.
The heyday of the Dutch school completes the life and work of the great composer Orlando Lasso. This is Leonardo da Vinci in music. Many works by O. Lasso still adorn the concert programs of the best choirs.
The chorus "Echo" is apparently written to the composer's own text. Short phrases, in which alternating imperative, interrogative, and sometimes “pleading” intonations, form the basis of an onomatopoeic dialogue. Written in the form of a canon, the choir consists of two homophonic-harmonic layers - the main choir and an ensemble of soloists representing the echo. Dynamic contrasts, flexible phrasing, expressive sound fading at the end of the piece, and, most importantly, the juxtaposition of the sound of the choir and the ensemble of soloists, create a bright and lively musical image. Being an excellent example of sound imagery in music, this choir still amazes the listener with its originality, freshness and brightness of sound.
Composers at that time not only composed, but also led the court singing chapels, studied their compositions with them, having the opportunity to experiment and test the results of their creative experiments in practice. So there were Kapellmeisters.
, madrigal, virginal, viola, volt, pavan, galliard, Florentine Camerata, Gesualdo di Venosa, Jacopo Peri
Presentation for the lesson
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The lesson is held for students of the 5th grade in the 2nd year of studying musical literature.
The purpose of the lesson: education of the aesthetic culture of students through acquaintance with music the Renaissance.
Lesson objectives:
- To give an idea of the role of music and playing music in the life of people of the Renaissance;
- Acquaintance with musical instruments, genres, composers of the Renaissance;
- Acquaintance with the musical works of the European Renaissance;
- Development of skills in elementary auditory analysis of music;
- Formation of an understanding of the relationship between different types of arts;
- Education of emotional perception of works of art;
- Development of thinking and speech of students;
- Expanding horizons.
Lesson type: lesson learning a new topic.
Lesson equipment: multimedia presentation, computer.
Music material:
- W. Bird, piece for virginal "Volta";
- F. da Milano "Fantasy" No. 6 for lute;
- Scene from the movie "Elizabeth": The Queen dances Volta (video);
- I. Alberti "Pavan and Galliard" (video);
- English folk song "Green Sleeves";
- J.P. Palestrina "Mass of Pope Marcello", part of "Agnus Dei";
- O. Lasso "Echo";
- J. di Venosa madrigal "Moro, lasso, al mio duolo";
- J. Peri Scene from the opera "Eurydice".
During the classes
I. Organizational moment
II. Knowledge update
In the last lesson, we talked about the culture and painting of the Renaissance.
– What is another name for this era (“Renaissance” in French)?
What centuries does the Renaissance cover? What era did it change?
Where does this era name come from? What did you want to "revive"?
In which country did the Renaissance begin earlier than in others?
- Which Italian city is called the "cradle of the Renaissance"? Why?
– What great artists lived in Florence? Consider their work.
– How do their creations differ from medieval art?
III. Exploring a new topic
Today we are going back to the Renaissance. We will find out what the music was like at that time. Let's get acquainted with the musical instruments of the Renaissance, see them and hear their authentic sound. And we will also meet with outstanding composers of the Renaissance and their masterpieces.
IV. Working with a presentation
slide 1. Title page.
Slide 2. The theme of our lesson is “Music of the Renaissance”. Time frame - XIV-XVI centuries.
Slide 3. Epigraph of the lesson. How do you understand these words?
... There is no living creature on earth
So tough, cool, hellish evil
So that she could not at least for one hour
In it, the music to make a revolution.
(William Shakespeare)
slide 4. In the Renaissance, the role of art in the cultural life of society increases. Artistic education is recognized as an important aspect of the development of a noble person, a condition for good education.
Church control over society is weakened, musicians get more freedom. The personality of the author, the creative individuality, is more and more clearly manifested in the compositions. During the Renaissance, the very concept of " composer».
It became very important for the development of music invention of music printing at the end of the fifteenth century. In 1501, the Italian publisher Ottaviano Petrucci published the first collection for home music. New writings were published and distributed very quickly. Now any middle-class citizen could buy music for himself. As a result, urban music-making begins to develop rapidly, covering an increasing number of people.
Slide 5. Musical instruments the Renaissance. Brass, strings, keyboards.
Slide 6. Lute- the most beloved instrument of the Renaissance. Refers to stringed plucked instruments. At first, the lute was played with a plectrum, but by the 15th century they began to play with fingers.
Slide 7. Its body looks like a pear cut in half. The lute has a short neck with frets, bent at a right angle.
slide 8. The lute originated from an Arabic instrument called al-ud (Arabic for "tree"). In the 8th century, oud entered Europe from North Africa during the conquest of Spain by the Arabs and took root at the court of many Spanish nobles. Over time, the Europeans added frets (divisions on the fretboard) to the ud and called it “lute”.
slide 9. Both men and women played the lute.
slide 10. The lute was compact, light, you could take it everywhere with you.
Slide 11. Lute music was recorded not with notes, but with the help of tablature. Look: the lute tablature consists of 6 lines representing the strings. The frets are numbered, the durations are on top.
Slide 12. If the lute was played by people of different classes, then only a very rich person could afford an instrument from the viol family. Violas were expensive, they were made from precious woods, decorated with elegant drawings and jewelry. The violas were of different sizes. In this picture, the angels play the most popular varieties of viols - da gamba and da braccia.
Slide 13. Viola in Italian - "violet". The sound of the viola was very pleasant: soft, gentle and not loud.
Slides 14, 15. The name viola da braccia is translated from Italian as “hand, shoulder”. This was the name of the small viols, which were held at the shoulder during the game.
slide 16. Viola da gamba - "foot". It was large in size, it had to be held between the knees or placed on the thigh when playing. These violas were usually played by men.
slide 17. Have you noticed what classical instruments the viols are very similar to? For violins, cellos. Let's compare the viola da gamba with the cello.
We will hear the sound of the viols a little later.
slide 18.Virginal. A keyboard instrument with a rectangular shape, usually without legs. According to the principle of the device, it was one of the forerunners of the pianoforte. But in terms of sound quality, it was closer to the harp and lute. His timbre was distinguished by softness and tenderness.
slide 19. Who knows what the English word means virgin? Virgo, girl. Guess why they called this instrument so - “girlish”? Most often, young girls of noble birth played the virginal. It is known that even the Queen of England, Elizabeth I, was very fond of virginal and played it well.
Slide 20. William Bird- the largest English composer, organist and harpsichordist of the time of Elizabeth. Born in 1543, died in 1623. He served as court organist. He composed many spiritual works, madrigals and pieces for the virginal.
We listen: W. Bird piece for virginal "Volta"
Slide 21-24. Renaissance artists often depicted musical angels on their canvases. Why? What does this mean? Why do angels need music? What about people?
slide 25. Look what a big group of musicians. What are they playing? What do they feel? Are they good together? W. Shakespeare's words fit this picture? What is the key word in these verses? Unity, concord.
Listen how friendly the strings are
They join the ranks and give a voice, -
As if mother, father and young boy
They sing in happy unity.
We are told by the accord of strings in a concert,
That the lonely way is like death.
Slide 26. Instrumental genres Renaissance eras were divided into 3 types: arrangements of vocal works, virtuoso pieces of an improvisational warehouse (richercar, prelude, fantasy), dance pieces (pavane, galliard, volta, moresca, saltarella).
Slide 27. Francesco da Milano- the famous Italian lute player and composer of the 16th century, whom his contemporaries called "Divine". He owns numerous pieces for the lute, united in three collections.
We listen: F. da Milano "Fantasy" for lute
Slide 28. In the Renaissance, the very attitude towards dance changes. From a sinful, unworthy occupation, dance turns into an obligatory accessory of secular life and becomes one of the most necessary skills of a noble person. Balls are firmly included in the life of the European aristocracy. What dances were in fashion?
Slide 29. Volta– A popular dance of the 16th century of Italian origin. The name volta comes from the Italian word voltare, which means "turn". The tempo of the volta is fast, the size is tripartite. The main movement of the dance: the gentleman sharply raises and turns the lady dancing with him in the air. Moreover, this movement must be performed clearly and gracefully. And only trained men could cope with this dance.
We look: Fragment of the video film "Elizabeth"
Slide 30- a solemn slow dance of Spanish origin. The name pavana comes from the Latin pavo - peacock. The size of the pavane is two-part, the pace is slow. They danced it to demonstrate to others their greatness and luxurious costume. The people and the bourgeoisie did not perform this dance.
slide 31.galliard(from Italian - cheerful, cheerful) - a moving dance. In the character of the galliard, the memory of the common folk origin of the dance has been preserved. It is characterized by jumping and sudden movements.
The pavane and the galliard were often performed one after the other, forming a kind of suite.
Now you will see a fragment of the concert of the early music ensemble "Hesperion XXI". Its leader is Jordi Savall- Spanish cellist, gambo player and conductor, one of the most respected musicians today, performing ancient music authentically (as it sounded at the time of its creation).
Slide 32. We look: I. Alberti "Pavan and Galliard".
Performed by the Early Music Ensemble "Hespèrion XXI" J. Saval.
Slide 33. Vocal genres The Renaissance was divided into ecclesiastical and secular. What does "secular" mean? Mass and motet sounded in the church. Outside the church - caccha, ballata, frottola, villanella, chanson, madrigal.
slide 34. Church singing reaches the pinnacle of its development. This is the time of polyphony of "strict writing".
The most outstanding polyphonic composer of the Renaissance was the Italian Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. His nickname - Palestrina - received the name of the city in which he was born. He worked in the Vatican, held high musical positions under the papacy.
Mass- a piece of music consisting of prayers in Latin, sounding during a service in the Catholic Church.
We listen: G. P. da Palestrina "Mass of Pope Marcello", part of "Agnus Dei"
slide 35. secular songs. English ballad "Green sleeves"- very popular today. The words of this song are attributed to the English king Henry VIII. He addressed these poems to his beloved Anne Boleyn, who later became his second wife. Do you know what this song is about?
slide 36. Lyrics of the song "Green Sleeves" translated by S.Ya.Marshak.
We listen: English ballad "Green Sleeves"
Slide 37- one of the most prominent representatives of the Dutch polyphonic school. Born in Belgium, lived in Italy, England and France. For the last 37 years of his life, when his name was already known throughout Europe, he led the court chapel in Munich. He created more than 2,000 vocal works of both cult and secular nature.
slide 38. Chanson "Echo" was written for two four-part choirs. The first choir asks questions, the second choir answers him like an echo.
We listen: O. Lasso Chanson "Echo"
Slide 39(from the Italian word madre - "mother") - a song in the native, maternal language. Madrigal is a polyphonic (for 4 or 5 voices) song of lyrical content in a sublime character. This vocal genre flourished in the 16th century.
slide 40.Gesualdo di Venosa- Italian composer of the 16th century, one of the greatest masters of the secular madrigal. He was a mysterious person. A rich prince, ruler of the city of Venosa. Having caught the beautiful wife of treason, Gesualdo, in a fit of jealousy, took her life. Periodically fell into melancholy and hid from everyone in his castle. He died at the age of 47, in a confused mind ...
During his lifetime, he published 6 collections of five-part madrigals. A feature of the style of G. di Venosa is the saturation of music with chromaticisms, colorful juxtapositions of dissonant chords, unique for his time. So Gesualdo translated into music his terrible mental pain and pangs of conscience.
Contemporaries did not understand his music, they considered it terrible, harsh. Musicians of the 20th century appreciated him, a film was made about G. di Venosa, books are written, and the composer A. Schnittke dedicated the opera Gesualdo to him
Slide 41. Madrigal "Moro, lasso, al mio duolo" is one of the latest creations of G. di Venosa. He owns both music and lyrics:
Oh! I'm dying of grief
The one who promised happiness
He's killing me with his power!
Oh, mourn the evil whirlwind!
The one that promised life
Gave me death.
We listen: G. di Venosa "Moro, lasso, al mio duolo"
Slide 42. At the end of the 16th century in Florence arose Florentine Camerata- a circle of musicians and poets who wanted to revive the ancient Greek tragedy with its inherent special manner of pronouncing the text (something between speech and singing).
Slide 43. The birth of opera. From these experiments, opera was born. On October 6, 1600, the premiere of the first surviving opera Eurydice took place in Florence. Its author is the composer and singer Jacopo Peri.
We listen: J. Peri Scene from the opera "Eurydice"
V. Lesson summary
- What new did you learn today about the Renaissance?
What instrument do you like the sound of? How?
– What modern instruments do the lute, viola, virginal look like?
What did people sing during the Renaissance? Where? How?
– Why did Renaissance artists so often depict musicians?
- What music that sounded today at the lesson did you like, remember?
VI. Homework (optional):
- Sing the song "Green Sleeves" from the notes, those who wish can pick up an accompaniment to it;
- Find musical paintings by Renaissance artists and talk about them.
The Italian word Renaissance in the original sounds like "rinascita" (rinascita), it was coined by Giorgio Vasari. For the first time, the term was used by him in the work "Biography" in the meaning of "the flourishing of the arts", to indicate the period when artists in their work freed themselves from Greek-Byzantine and Roman-Latin canonical forms.
To define the cultural movement in Europe from the 14th to the 17th centuries, the term "revival" or "renaissance" (from the Italian verb "rinascere" "to be reborn") was used in the 19th century in the work "History of France" by the French historian Jules Michelet .
A bit about the Renaissance in general
The Renaissance is characterized by the reclamation of classical (meaning Greco-Roman classicism) culture. Many researchers believe that Renaissance ideas have their origins in late 13th century Florence in literature and fine arts, and are associated, in particular, with the works of Dante Alighieri, Francesco Petrarch and the frescoes of Giotto di Bondone.
Moreover, the poets, artists, philosophers of the Renaissance were no less religious than their predecessors.
They sought to reconcile theological practice with the new spirit of scientific research (a philosophy called humanism permeates the entire era). It was a time of revitalization of teachings, scientific achievements, great geographical discoveries. In music, which will become an integral part of religious, civil and court life, cardinal changes have been identified since the 15th century.
Periodization and evolution of Renaissance music
Most music historians believe that the evolution of Renaissance music spans a period of 200 years. Traditionally it is divided into:
- music of the early Renaissance period, from 1400 to 1467;
- music of the middle period of the Renaissance, from 1467 to 1534;
- music of the Late (or High) Renaissance, from 1534 to 1600.
Such periodization, in turn, is associated with the flourishing and dominance of various composer schools in Western Europe. The stylistic characteristics that define the music of the Renaissance are polyphonic texture, subject to the laws of counterpoint and regulated by the modal system of Gregorian chant inherited from the Middle Ages.
The musical culture of the Renaissance is sometimes positioned as the "golden age of choral music". In fact, the horizons of music have been greatly expanded.
If during the Middle Ages composers and musicians worked mainly for the church, then as a result of the religious and secular split that occurred in Western Europe during the Renaissance, music gained several patrons: the Catholic and Protestant churches, royal courts, wealthy aristocrats, a new bourgeois class. All of them became sources of income for composers, including, of course, melotype: the musical culture of the Renaissance is closely connected with new technologies (the invention of movable type printing by Johannes Gutenberg).
Aesthetic features of Renaissance music
Like other arts, music was largely influenced by events that defined the Renaissance as a whole: the growth of humanistic thought, the restoration of the Greco-Roman classical heritage, innovative discoveries. The ancient texts have been revised, again acting as an object for study, and they have also been edited, but only in accordance with the developing sciences.
While all the arts and sciences were considered interconnected in ancient Greek culture, Renaissance humanists separated them, highlighting and studying their individual qualities. Music, in particular, was seen as an expressive art capable of influencing emotions and feelings, something that was unheard of in medieval times.
Efforts to organize knowledge in music included ordering the scale so that relationships between notes and human emotions could be established.
It is also important that the musical culture of the Renaissance is characterized by the concept of humanism. Thanks to him, there was a shift in intellectual emphasis - from the widespread dominance of religious thought to the possibilities and achievements of a secular person. The individual creative genius of man was in a much higher position. This also meant that many composers were recognized.
However, to a greater extent, Renaissance music was still spiritual, as in medieval times, but "humanistic" changes influenced the search for more vivid expressiveness in it - to achieve perfection.
The main music of the early Renaissance period, written for important churches and royal chapels, is polyphonic masses and chants (motets) in Latin. But in the light of religious reformations, new types of sacred music arose, moreover, such grandiose upheavals on the church stage led to the fact that secular music was gaining real strength and could already compete with its "sacred" counterpart.
Composer schools of the Renaissance
At the beginning of the 15th century, the English school of polyphonists, led by John Dunstable, came to the fore. The new English style, based on the use of triads, dictated by musical rhythm (with each vocal line moving together in a "vertical" style) strongly influenced the Burgundian school of composition.
Most important among the composers of the Burgundian school was Guillaume Dufay, whose musical work included chants, masses, secular works characterized by melodic lyricism.
The movement, designated as the Franco-Flemish school, is characterized by the strong development of polyphonic vocal-musical composition, which laid the foundation for modern harmony. Its most famous representatives are the “composer of the three French kings”: Johannes Okeghem and Jacob Obrecht.
The musical culture of the Renaissance in the first half of the 16th century is characterized by the fact that it continues to be dominated by Franco-Flemish composers, among whom the most famous was Josquin Despres, whose style was copied by many composers. Josquin's polyphonic music used canons, pre-existing compositional structures, but seamlessly combined with melodies that emphasized rather than masked poetic lines.
For that era, it was considered quite common that leading composers traveled a lot, worked for various patrons in Italy, Spain, Germany, France. The exchange of musical ideas formed, so to speak, the first international style since Gregorian chant in the 9th century.
Since the second half of the 16th century, Italian composers have been achieving unsurpassed mastery in the art of music. Among the iconic figures is Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.
Genres of Renaissance music
Spiritual vocal genres are mass and motet. Secular genres - madrigal (in Italy and England), chanson (in France), lead (in Germany).
Despite the fact that the music during the era was predominantly reliant on vocals, more and more instruments are beginning to be used. The performers on the instruments sometimes accompanied the singers, from time to time they replaced some of the voices if there were no singers.
Instruments ranged from large ones, such as organ and harpsichord, viola de gamba, to small ones - harp (later lute), recorder (recorder). Gradually, composers begin to write works only for instruments without vocalists.
Music also strongly influenced court dances, introducing a wide range of instruments to accompany them. The instruments were used in the church, during festive and social events, in theatrical performances, in private homes.
In the XVI century. various genres of instrumental music began to develop. The musical accompaniment of singing or dancing becomes more and more complicated and acquires its own melody, in contrast to simple chords, which previously only pushed aside the main action. Instruments in the ensemble began to be selected according to the principle of distribution of parts between different tempos of human voices (treble or soprano, alto, tenor, bass). This explains the appearance at the end of the XV century. entire families of musicians who were able to play entire "dialogues" between voices and instruments. Thus, a quartet of flutes, viols or pipes could continue the vocal score, developing and supplementing the original melody of the voice.
Renaissance Musical Instruments
During the Renaissance, the composition of musical instruments expanded significantly, new varieties were added to the already existing strings and winds. Among them, a special place is occupied by violas - a family of bowed strings that amaze with the beauty and nobility of sound. In form, they resemble the instruments of the modern violin family (violin, viola, cello) and are even considered their immediate predecessors (they coexisted in musical practice until the middle of the 18th century). However, there is a difference, and a significant one. Violas have a system of resonating strings; as a rule, there are as many of them as the main ones (six to seven). The vibrations of the resonating strings make the viola sound soft, velvety, but it is difficult to use the instrument in an orchestra, because due to the large number of strings it quickly gets out of tune. For a long time, the sound of the viola was considered a model of sophistication in music. There are three main types in the viola family. Viola da gamba is a large instrument that the performer placed vertically and pinched from the sides with his feet (the Italian word gamba means "knee"). Two other varieties - viola da braccio (from Italian braccio - "forearm") and viol d'amour (French viole d'amour) - "viola of love") were oriented horizontally, and when played they were pressed against the shoulder. The viola da gamba is close to the cello in terms of sound range, the viola da braccio is close to the violin, and the viol d'amour is close to the viola. Among the plucked instruments of the Renaissance, the lute (Polish lutnia, from Arabic "alud" - "tree") occupies the main place. It came to Europe from the Middle East at the end of the 16th century for this instrument there was a huge repertoire; First of all, songs were sung to the accompaniment of the lute. The lute has a short body; the upper part is flat, and the lower part resembles a hemisphere. A fingerboard divided by frets is attached to the wide neck, and the head of the instrument is bent back almost at a right angle. If you wish, you can see the resemblance to a bowl in the shape of a lute. Twelve strings are grouped in pairs, and the sound is extracted both with fingers and with a special plate - a plectrum. In the XV-XVI centuries, various types of keyboards arose. The main types of such instruments - harpsichord, clavichord, cembalo, virginal - were actively used in the music of the Renaissance, but their real heyday will come later.
