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SCENE 1: Introduction The Renaissance Revolution was one of Re-birth throughout all aspects of the arts in the classical form of Greece and Rome. In all areas, interest in learning and culture gained momentum, an interest that had laid dormant in the Middle Ages. Scientists began to be respected; they would begin working things out instead of simply expecting what they saw just because they could see it. All this also had an effect on the changes in music during that Renaissance period. To this can be added the development of printing which allowed music to become much more widespread, increasing the number of secular works created during the period. One interesting fact is that many of the famous Renaissance composers were often actually born in the Netherlands even though they often moved to the various cultural centers in Europe such as Italy SCENE 2: Sacred Music Although secular music developed during the Renaissance period, the old style of sacred music created some of the greatest pieces of music during that period. While songs based on the old Motet and Mass forms of sacred music were still being composed, composers also began experimenting with their music. They began adding different, ‘foreign’ notes (accidentals) and extra voices such as the bass. One of the more noticeable differences between sacred and secular music was the difference in the texture of the music itself. While Medieval music was often created in a style that had the separate voices moving against each other to create separate strands of music, Renaissance music focused more on blending the different voices together into one coherent textured melody. A key technique used by composers of this period to achieve this effect was a technique called Imitation. Imitation involved the copying of certain melodies through the different voices at different times in the piece, often following them in a cannon style. Composers also started to become aware of harmony in their music and how the vertical framework of music (notes played at the same time) could affect the horizontal movement (tune or melody) of the piece. SCENE 3: Secular Music-The Madrigal While Sacred music was still developing, the clan of secular composers was growing in the courts of the rich merchants and nobles in Renaissance Italy. Two main forms of Secular music began to develop in Italy. Firstly the madrigal, a new form of music was created. Even though lines of text were often repeated, each line of music singing it was supposed to be different. This form of music often contained a lot of imitation and a contrapuntal form (the use of separate melodies interacting simultaneously). It resulted in a very light and springy form of music. The words that were used were often matched the music closely so that the expression ‘word-painting’ was used at every possible interval. SCENE 4: The Ballet Ballet was the Dance music of the Renaissance period. Its style was even lighter than that of the Madrigal while danced as well as sung. While the Madrigal, as mentioned in the previous scene, was composed so that no two lines of text had the same music, the Ballet had a lot of repetition and was strophic in style. Like a hymn, two or three verses would be set to the same music so it almost never contained word painting. The most obvious feature of the Ballet is the refrain that is heard at every section ending, the “fa-la-la” refrain which symbolizes the very lighthearted nature of the style. Melodies in both Ballet and Madrigal style used much more balanced phrasing than did earlier medieval composers; the phrases of the pieces were made not to differ too much too quickly. All this leads to a dramatic change in the general feel of music from the somber Sacred music of the medieval period praying to God Almighty to the more lighthearted happy music shown in the Renaissance period.SCENE 1: Introduction The Renaissance Revolution was one of Re-birth throughout all aspects of the arts in the classical form of Greece and Rome. In all areas, interest in learning and culture gained momentum, an interest that had laid dormant in the Middle Ages. Scientists began to be respected; they would begin working things out instead of simply expecting what they saw just because they could see it. All this also had an effect on the changes in music during that Renaissance period. To this can be added the development of printing which allowed music to become much more widespread, increasing the number of secular works created during the period. One interesting fact is that many of the famous Renaissance composers were often actually born in the Netherlands even though they often moved to the various cultural centers in Europe such as Italy SCENE 2: Sacred Music Although secular music developed during the Renaissance period, the old style of sacred music created some of the greatest pieces of music during that period. While songs based on the old Motet and Mass forms of sacred music were still being composed, composers also began experimenting with their music. They began adding different, ‘foreign’ notes (accidentals) and extra voices such as the bass. One of the more noticeable differences between sacred and secular music was the difference in the texture of the music itself. While Medieval music was often created in a style that had the separate voices moving against each other to create separate strands of music, Renaissance music focused more on blending the different voices together into one coherent textured melody. A key technique used by composers of this period to achieve this effect was a technique called Imitation. Imitation involved the copying of certain melodies through the different voices at different times in the piece, often following them in a cannon style. Composers also started to become aware of harmony in their music and how the vertical framework of music (notes played at the same time) could affect the horizontal movement (tune or melody) of the piece. SCENE 3: Secular Music-The Madrigal While Sacred music was still developing, the clan of secular composers was growing in the courts of the rich merchants and nobles in Renaissance Italy. Two main forms of Secular music began to develop in Italy. Firstly the madrigal, a new form of music was created. Even though lines of text were often repeated, each line of music singing it was supposed to be different. This form of music often contained a lot of imitation and a contrapuntal form (the use of separate melodies interacting simultaneously). It resulted in a very light and springy form of music. The words that were used were often matched the music closely so that the expression ‘word-painting’ was used at every possible interval. SCENE 4: The Ballett Ballett was the Dance music of the Renaissance period. Its style was even lighter than that of the Madrigal while danced as well as sung. While the Madrigal, as mentioned in the previous scene, was composed so that no two lines of text had the same music, the Ballet had a lot of repetition and was strophic in style. Like a hymn, two or three verses would be set to the same music so it almost never contained word painting. The most obvious feature of the Ballett is the refrain that is heard at every section ending, the “fa-la-la” refrain which symbolizes the very lighthearted nature of the style. Melodies in both Ballett and Madrigal style used much more balanced phrasing than did earlier medieval composers; the phrases of the pieces were made not to differ too much too quickly. All this leads to a dramatic change in the general feel of music from the somber Sacred music of the medieval period praying to God Almighty to the more lighthearted happy music shown in the Renaissance period.
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