3

3.1 Objectives
Music of the Renaissance
Jeff Kluball

1. Demonstrate knowledge of historical and cultural contexts of the

Renaissance
2. Recognize musical styles of the Renaissance
3. Identify important genres and uses of music of the Renaissance
4. Identify selected music of the Renaissance aurally and critically evaluate
its style and uses
5. Compare and contrast music of the Renaissance with their own
contemporary music

3.2 Key Terms and Individuals

• Anthem • Madrigal
• Chanson • Martin Luther
• Chapel Master • Motet
• Consort • Pavanne
• Counter-Reformation • Reformation
• Galliard • Renaissance
• Giovanni Pieruigi da • Thomas Weelkes
Palestrina • William Byrd
• Jig • William Kemp
• Josquin des Prez • Word painting

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Understanding Music Music of the Renaissance

3.3 Introduction and Historical Context

3.3.1 What is the Renaissance?
The term Renaissance literally means “rebirth.” As a historical and artistic
era in Western Europe, the Renaissance spanned from the late 1400s to the early
1600s. The Renaissance was a time of waning political power in the church, some-
what as a result of the Protestant Reformation. Also during this period, the feudal
system slowly gave way to developing nation-states with centralized power in the
courts. This period was one of intense creativity and exploration. It included such
luminaries as Leonardo da Vinci, Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan,
Nicolaus Copernicus, and William Shakespeare. The previous medieval period was
suppressive, firmly established, and pious. The Renaissance however, provided the
thinkers and scholars of the day with a revival of Classical (Greek and Roman) wis-
dom and learning after a time of papal restraint. This “rebirth” laid the foundation
for much of today’s modern society, where humans and nature rather than religion
become the standard for art, science, and philosophy.
The School of Athens (1505), Figure 3.1, by Raphael demonstrates the strong
admiration, influence, and interest in previous Greek and Roman culture. The
painting depicts the Greek philosophers Aristotle and Plato (center), with Plato
depicted in the likeness of Leonardo da Vinci.

Figure 3.1 | The School of Athens

Author | Raphael
Source | Wikimedia Commons
License | Public Domain

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3.3.2 Renaissance Timeline

Events in History Events in Music and the Arts

1440: Gutenberg’s printing press

1453: Fall of Constantinople

1456: Gutenberg Bible

c. 1475: Josquin Desprez, Ave Maria

1492: Columbus reaches America c. 1482: Bottecelli, La Primavera

c. 1503: Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa

1504 Michelangelo, David

1517: Martin Luther nails The Ninety-Five The- c. 1505: Raphael, School of Athens, Madonna
ses on Wittenberg Church Door del Granduca
1545-1563: Council of Trent

1558-1603: Elizabeth I, Queen of England

1563: Giovanni Pierluigi da Patestrina, Pope

Marcellus Mass

1588: Spanish Armada defeated c. 1570: Titian, Venus and the Lute Player

1597: Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

1601: Thomas Weelkes, As Vesta Was Descending

Occurrences at the end of the Middle Ages accelerated a series of intellec-

tual, social, artistic, and political changes and transformation that resulted in
the Renaissance.
By the 1500s, Catholic liturgical music had become extremely complex and or-
nate. Composers such as Josquin des Prez and Palestrina were composing layered
Masses that utilized musical textures such as polyphony and imitative counter-
point (more on these techniques later). The mass is a sacred choral composition
historically composed as worship liturgy.
The complexity of the music in the Catholic Mass garnered criticism from
Martin Luther, a Roman Catholic priest and the eventual father of the Protestant
Reformation, who complained that the meaning of the words of the mass, formal
worship liturgy, were lost in the beautiful polyphony of the music. Also, Catho-
lic Masses were always performed in Latin, a language seldom used outside the
church. Early Protestant hymns stripped away contrapuntal textures, utilized reg-
ular beat patterns, and set biblical texts in German. Martin Luther himself penned
a few hymns, many of which the great classic composer Johann Sebastian Bach
would revisit about 125 years later.

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3.3.3 Renaissance Humanism

The Humanism movement is one which expressed the spirit of the Renaissance
era that took root in Italy after eastern European scholars fled from Constanti-
nople to the region bringing with them books, manuscripts, and the traditions of
Greek scholarship. Humanism is a major paradigm shift from the ways of thought
during the medieval era where a life of penance in a feudal system was considered
the accepted standard of life. As a part of this ideological change there was a major
intellectual shift from the dominance of scholars/clerics of the medieval period
(who developed and controlled the scholastic institutions) to the secular men of
letters. Men of letters were scholars of the liberal arts who turned to the classics
and philosophy to understand the meaning of life.
Humanism has several distinct attributes as it focuses on human nature, its
diverse spectrum, and all its accomplishments. Humanism syncretizes all the
truths found in different philosophical and theological schools. It emphasizes and
focuses on the dignity of man, and studies mankind’s struggles over nature.
Medieval vs. Renaissance

Figure 3.2 | (above) Rendition of David Fighting

Goliath found on a Medieval Cast plate; 613-630
Author | Unknown
Source | Met Museum
License | OASC

Figure 3.3 | (right) Michelangelo’s rendition of

David preparing to fight Goliath, stone in hand
and sling over his shoulder; 1501-1504
Photographer | Jörg Bittner Unna
Source | Wikimedia Commons
License | CC BY 3.0

3.3.4 Rebirth of ancient civilizations

Predecessors to the Renaissance and the Humanist movement include Dan-
te and Petrarch. In 1452, after the fall of Constantinople, there was considerable
boost in the Humanist movement. Humanism was accelerated by the invention of

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the printing press, which permitted mass reproduction of the classical text—once
only found in hand-written manuscripts—the availability of literature improved
immensely. Thus, literacy among the common people increased dramatically. The
scholastic and intellectual stimulation of the general public facilitated by Human-
ism initiated a power and knowledge shift from the land-owning upper class and
the church to the individual. This shift facilitated and contributed to the beginning
of the Reformation. As mentioned above, Martin Luther was a leading religious re-
former who challenged the authority of the central Catholic Church and its role in
governance, education, and religious practices. Like most other European groups
of the era, the Humanists at the time, were divided in their support of the reforma-
tion and counter-reformation movements.

3.3.5 Symmetry and Perspective in Art

Figure 3.4 | Cimabue’s Figure 3.5 | Giotto’s Figure 3.6 | Raphael’s

Madonna; 1280 Madonna; 1310 Madonna; 1504
Author | Cimabue Author | Giotto Author | Raphael
Source | Wikimedia Commons Source | Wikimedia Commons Source | Wikimedia Commons
License | Public Domain License | Public Domain License | Public Domain

The shift away from the power and authority of the church between the Me-
dieval period and the Renaissance period is not only evident in music but is also
found in the visual arts. Artists and authors of the Renaissance became interested
in classical mythology and literature. Artists created sculptures of the entire hu-
man body, demonstrating a direct lineage from ancient Greek culture to the Re-
naissance. In the Middle Ages, such depictions of the nude body were thought to be
objects of shame or in need of cover. Artists of the Middle Ages were more focused
on religious symbolism than the lifelike representation created in the Renaissance
era. Medieval artists perceived the canvas as a flat medium/surface on which sub-
jects are shown very two dimensionally. Painters of the Renaissance were more in-
terested in portraying real life imagery in three dimensions on their canvas. See the
evolution of the Virgin Mary from the Medeival period to the Renaissance period

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in Figures 3.4, 3.5, and 3.6 above. You can see the shift from the religious symbol-
ism to the realistic depiction of the human body features.
Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci focused on portraying realism, utilizing linear
perspective and creating illusions of space in their works. A geometric system was
effectively used to create space and the illusion of depth. This shift from the reli-
gious symbolism to the real portrayal of the human is representative of the decline
of the church in the arts as well as music. Music outside of the church, secular mu-
sic, increased in importance.

3.3.6 The Protestant Reformation

In the Middle Ages, people were thought to
be parts of a greater whole: members of a fam-
ily, trade guild, nation, and church. At the be-
ginning of the Renaissance, a shift in thought
led people to think of themselves as individu-
als, sparked by Martin Luther’s dissent against
several areas and practices within the Catholic
Church. On October 31, 1517, Luther challenged
the Catholic Church by posting The Ninety-Five
Theses on the doors of the Castle Church in Wit-
tenberg, Germany. The post stated Luther’s var-
ious beliefs and interpretations of Biblical doc-
trine which challenged the many practices of the
Catholic Church in the early 1500s. Luther felt
that educated/literate believers should be able
Figure 3.7 | Wittenburg Church
to read the scriptures and become individual Author | User “Fewskulchor”
church entities themselves. With the invention Source | Wikimedia Commons
of the Gutenberg Press, copies of the scriptures License | CC BY-SA 3.0
and hymns became available to the masses which helped spread the Reformation.
The empowerment of the common worshiper or middle class continued to fuel the
loss of authority of the church and upper class.

3.3.7 Gutenberg Press

Few inventions have had the significance to modernization as the Gutenberg
Press. Up until the invention of the press, the earliest forms of the books with edge
bounding, similar to the type we have today, called codex books were hand pro-
duced by monks. This process was quite slow, costly, and laborious, often taking
months to produce smaller volumes and years to produce a copy of the Bible and
hymn books of worship.
Gutenberg’s invention of a much more efficient printing method made it possi-
ble to distribute a large amount of printed information at a much accelerated and
labor efficient pace. The printing press enabled the printing of hymn books for the

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middle class and further expanded the involvement of the middle class in their
worship service-a key component in the reformation. Gutenberg’s press served as
a major engine for the distribution of knowledge and contributed to the Renais-
sance, Scientific Revolution, and Protestant reformation.

3.3.8 Columbus’s Voyage

Columbus’s discovery of the New World in 1492 also contributed to the spir-
it and spread of the Humanist movement. The discovering of new land and the
potential for colonization of new territory added to the sense of infallibility and
ego of the human race. The human spirit of all social classes was invigorated. The
invigoration of the middle class influenced the arts and the public’s hunger for art
and music for the vast middle class population.

3.4 Music of the Renaissance

Characteristics of the Renaissance Music include: steady beat, balanced phras-
es (the same length), polyphony (often imitative), increasing interest in text-music
relationships, Petrucci and the printing of music, and a growing merchant class
singing/playing music at home. Word painting was utilized by Renaissance
composers to represent poetic images musically. For example, an ascending me-
lodic line would portray the text “ascension to heaven.” Or a series of rapid notes
would represent running.
Art music in the Renaissance served three basic purposes: (1) worship in both
the Catholic and burgeoning Protestant Churches, (2) music for the entertainment
and edification of the courts and courtly life, and (3) dance music. Playing musical
instruments became a form of leisure and a significant, valued pastime for every
educated person. Guests at social functions were expected to contribute to the eve-
ning’s festivities through instrumental performance. Much of the secular music in
the Renaissance was centered on courtly life. Vocal music ranged from chansons
(or songs) about love and courtly intrigue to madrigals about nymphs, fairies, and,
well, you name it. Both chansons and madrigals were often set for one or more voices
with plucked-string accompaniment, such as by the lute, a gourd-shaped instrument
with frets, raised strip on the fingerboard, somewhat similar to the modern guitar.
A madrigal is a musical piece for several solo voices set to a short poem. They
originated in Italy around 1520. Most madrigals were about love. Madrigals were
published by the thousands and learned and performed by cultured aristocrats.
Similar to the motet, a madrigal combines both homophonic and polyphonic tex-
tures. Unlike the motet, the madrigal is secular and utilizes unusual harmonies
and word painting more often. Many of the refrains of these madrigals utilized the
text “Fa La” to fill the gaps in the melody or to possibly cover risqué or illicit con-
notations. Sometimes madrigals are referred to as Renaissance Fa La songs.
A volume of translated Italian madrigals were published in London during the
year of 1588, the year of the defeat of the Spanish Armada. This sudden public

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interest facilitated a surge of English madrigal writing as well as a spurt of other

secular music writing and publication. This music boom lasted for thirty years and
was as much a golden age of music as British literature was with Shakespeare and
Queen Elizabeth I. The rebirth in both literature and music originated in Italy and
migrated to England; the English madrigal became more humorous and lighter in
England as compared to Italy.
Renaissance music was mostly polyphonic in texture. Comprehending a wide
range of emotions, Renaissance music nevertheless portrayed all emotions in a bal-
anced and moderate fashion. Extreme use of and contrasts in dynamics, rhythm,
and tone color do not occur. The rhythms in Renaissance music tend to have a
smooth, soft flow instead of a sharp, well-defined pulse of accents.
Composers enjoyed imitating sounds of nature and sound effects in their com-
positions. The Renaissance period became known as the golden age of a cappella
choral music because choral music did not require an instrumental accompaniment.
Instrumental music in the Renaissance remained largely relegated to social
purposes such as dancing, but a few notable virtuosos of the time, including the
English lutenist and singer John Dowland, composed and performed music for
Queen Elizabeth I, among others.
Dowland was a lutenist in 1598 in the court of Christian IV and later in 1612
in the court of King James I. He is known for composing one of the best songs of
the Renaissance period, Flow, my Teares. This imitative piece demonstrates the
melancholy humor of the time period. Dowland’s Flow, My Teares may be heard
at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkRrzAo9Wl4. For more information on
Dowland, and lyrics to Flow My Tears, go to http://genius.com/John-dowland-
flow-my-tears-annotated.
The instruments utilized during the Renaissance era were quite diverse. Local
availability of raw materials for the manufacture of the instrument often deter-
mined its assembly and accessibility to the public. A renaissance consort is a group
of renaissance instrumentalists playing together. A whole consort is an ensemble
performing with instruments from the same family. A broken consort is an ensem-
ble comprised of instruments from more than one family.
Instruments from the Medieval and Renaissance may be found at: http://www.
music.iastate.edu/antiqua/instrumt.html.

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3.4.1 Style Overview

Medieval Music Renaissance Music
• Mainly monophony • Mainly polyphony (much is
• Majority of the music’s rhythm imitative polyphony/overlapped
comes from the text repetition—please see music score
below)
• Use of perfect intervals such as
fourths, fifths, and octaves for • Majority of the music’s rhythms is
cadences indicated by musical notation

• Most music comes from the courts • Growing use of thirds and triads
or church • Music – text relationships
• Music instruction predominantly increasingly important with the use
restricted to the church and of word painting
patron’s courts • Invention of music publishing
• Growing merchant class
increasingly acquires musical skills

3.5 Worship Music

During the Renaissance from 1442 to 1483, church choir membership increased
dramatically in size. The incorporation of entire male ensembles and choirs sing-
ing in parts during the Renaissance is one major difference from the Middle Ages’
polyphonic church music, which was usually sung by soloists. As the Renaissance
progressed, the church remained an important supporter of music although, mu-
sical activity gradually shifted to secular support. Royalty and the wealthy of the
courts seeking after and competing for the finest composers replaced what was
originally church supported. The motet and the mass are the two main forms of
sacred choral music of the Renaissance.

3.5.1 Motet
The motet, a sacred Latin text polyphonic choral work, is not taken from the
ordinary of the mass. A contemporary of Leonardo da Vinci and Christopher Co-
lumbus, Josquin des Prez was a master of Renaissance choral music. Originally
from the region that is today’s Belgium, Josquin spent much of his time serving in
chapels throughout Italy and partly in Rome for the papal choir. Later, he worked
for Louis XII of France and held several church music directorships in his native
land. During his career, he published masses, motets, and secular vocal pieces, and
was highly respected by his contemporaries.
Josquin’s “Ava Maria …Virgo Serena”(“Hail, Mary … Serene Virgin”) ca. 1485
is an outstanding Renaissance choral work. A four part (Soprano, Alto, Tenor,
Bass) Latin prayer, the piece weaves one, two, three and four voices at different
times in polyphonic texture.

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Figure 3.8 | Opening Line of Ave Maria

Author | Josquin Des Prez
Source | Wikimedia Commons
License | Public Domain

LISTENING GUIDE

For audio go to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUAgAF4Khmg
To view a full text score of Josquin des Prez “Ave Maria…Virgo Serena” while
listening, go to:
http://www.cengage.com/music/book_content/049557273X_wright-
Simms/assets/more/scores/JosquinAveMaria.pdf

Composer: Josquin des Prez

Composition: Ava Maria…Virgo Serena

Date: c. 1485, possibly Josquin’s earliest dated work

Genre: motet

Form: through composed in sections

Translation:
Available at the following link:
http://unam-ecclesiam.blogspot.com/2007/10/another-beautiful-ave-ma-
ria-by-josquin.html

Performing Forces: four-part choir

What we want you to remember about this composition: The piece

is revolutionary in how it presented the imitative weaving of melodic lines in
polyphony. Each voice imitates or echoes the high voice (soprano).

Other things to listen for: After the initial introduction to Mary, each verse
serves as a tribute to the major events of Mary’s life—her conception, the na-
tivity, annunciation, purification, and assumption. See above translation and
listening guide.

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3.5.2 Music of Catholicism—Renaissance mass

In the sixteenth century, Italian composers excelled with works comparable
to the mastery of Josquin des Prez and his other contemporaries. One of the most
important Italian Renaissance composers was Giovanni Pieruigi da Palestrina (c.
1525-1594). Devoting his career to the music of the Catholic Church, Palestrina
served as music director at St. Peter’s Cathedral, composed 450 sacred works and
104 masses. His influence in music history is best understood with a brief back-
ground of the Counter-Reformation.
Protestant reformists like Martin Luther and others, sought to correct mal-
practices and abuses within the structure of the Catholic Church. The Reformation
began with Martin Luther and spread to two more main branches: The Calvinist
and The Church of England. The protestant reformists challenged many practices
that benefitted only the church itself and did not appear to serve the lay members
(parishioners). A movement occurred within the church to counter the protestant
reformation and preserve the original Catholic Church. The preservation move-
ment or “Counter-Reformation” against the protestant reform led to the develop-
ment of the Jesuit order (1540) and the later assembling of the Council of Trent
(1545-1563) which considered issues of the church’s authority and organizational
structure. The Council of Trent also demanded simplicity in music in order that the
words might be heard clearly.
The Council of Trent discussed and studied the many issues facing the Catholic
Church, including the church’s music. The papal leadership felt that the music had
gotten so embellished and artistic that it had lost its purity and original meaning. It
was neither easily sung nor was its words (still in Latin) understood. Many accused
the types of music in the church as being theatrical and more entertaining rather
than a way of worship (something that is still debated in many churches today).
The Council of Trent felt melodies were secular, too ornamental, and even took
dance music as their origin. The advanced weaving of polyphonic lines could not
be understood, thereby detracting from their original intent of worship with sacred
text. The Council of Trent wanted a paradigm shift of religious sacred music back
toward monophonic Gregorian chant. The Council of Trent finally decreed that
church music should be composed to inspire religious contemplation and not just
give empty pleasure to the ear of the worshipper.
Renaissance composer Palestrina heeded the recommendations from The
Council of Trent and composed one of the period’s most famous works, “Missa
Papae Marcelli” (Pope Marcellus Mass). Palestrina’s restraint and serenity reflect
the recommendations of The Council of Trent. The text, though quite polyphonic,
is easily understood. The movement of the voices does not distract from the sacred
meaning of the text. Through history, Palestrina’s works have been the standard
for their calmness and quality.

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LISTENING GUIDE

For audio go to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeLIgzAe5sI&feature=youtu.
be&list=PLlu9u9ap3Q8ySADTqkhuoNyX_NeL44yrQ

Composer: Giovanni Pieruigi da Palestrina (1525-1594)

Composition: “Missa Papae Marcelli” (Pope Marcellus Mass)- 1. Kyrie

Date: c. 1562

Genre: Choral, Kyrie of Mass

Form: through-composed (without repetition in the form of verses, stanzas, or

strophes) in sections

Nature of Text:
Latin Text English Translation
Kyrie eleison, Lord have mercy,
Christe eleison, Christ have mercy,
Kyrie eleison, Lord have mercy,

Performing Forces: Unknown vocal ensemble

What we want you to remember about this composition: Listen to

the polyphony and how the voices move predominantly stepwise after a leap
upward. After initial voice begins the piece, the other voices enter imitating the
initial melody and then continue to weave the voices as more enter. Palestrina’s
mass would come to represent proper counterpoint/polyphony and become the
standard for years to come.

Other things to listen for: even though the voices overlap in polyphony, the
text is easily understood. The masses were written as to bring out the text and
make it simple to understand. The significance of the text is brought out and
easily understood.

Listening Guide: Follow the musical score as you listen to the selection.

Figure 3.9 | Musical score of “Kyrie” opening

Author | User “Joonasl”
Source | Wikimedia Commons
License | GNU

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3.5.3 Music of the Protestant Reformation

As a result of the Reformation, congregations began singing strophic hymns in
German with stepwise melodies during their worship services. This practice enabled
full participation of worshipers. Full participation of the congregations’ members
further empowered the individual church participant, thus contributing to the Re-
naissance’s Humanist movement. Early Protestant hymns stripped away contrapun-
tal textures, utilized regular beat patterns, and set biblical texts in German.
Instead of a worship service being led with a limited number of clerics at the
front of the church, Luther wanted the congregation to actively and fully partici-
pate, including in the singing of the service. Since these hymns were in German,
members of the parish could sing and understand them. Luther, himself a com-
poser, composed many hymns and chorales to be sung by the congregation during
worship, many of which Johann Sebastian Bach would make the melodic themes
of his Chorale Preludes 125 years after the original hymns were written. These
hymns are strophic (repeated verses as in poetry) with repeated melodies for the
different verses. Many of these chorales utilize syncopated rhythms to clarify the
text and its flow (rhythms). Luther’s hymn “A Mighty Fortress” is a good example
of this practice. The chorales/hymns were usually in four parts and moved with
homophonic texture (all parts changing notes in the same rhythm). The melodies
of these four-part hymn/chorales used as the basis for many chorale preludes per-
formed on organs prior to and after worship services are still used today.

An example of one such Chorale Prelude based on Luther’s him can be found at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVN0CIcqRYs

LISTENING GUIDE

For audio go to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G42xwWoUS-0;
This recording is in English and performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

Composer: Martin Luther

Composition: “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” (also known as the “Battle

Hymn of the Reformation”)

Date: 1529

Genre: Four-Part homophonic church anthem. This piece was written to be

sung by the lay church membership instead of just by the church leaders a was
practiced prior to the Reformation.

Form: Four part Chorale, Strophic

Nature of Text (topic, lyrics, translations): Originally in German so it

could be sung by all church attendees.

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Performing Forces: Congregation-This recording is the Mormon Tabernacle

Choir

Things to listen for: Stepwise melody, Syncopated rhythms centered around

text

Translation:
Translated from original German to English by Frederic H. Hedge in 1853.

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;

Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.
Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.
And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.
That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.

You can view a PBS Luther documentary at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyVrPIp4QsA
For another movie on Martin Luther, go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmcKlPyRxSM

3.5.4 Anthem
Composer William Byrd (1543 – 1623) became very distinguished from ma-
ny of his contemporary composers because of his utilization of many different
compositional tools that he used in his music. His works represent several musical
personalities instead of one single style. As his career progressed, Byrd become
more interested and involved in Catholicism. The influence of Catholicism through
the use of biblical text and religious styles increasingly permeated his music. The
mandates established and requirements imposed by the Council of Trent placed a

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Understanding Music Music of the Renaissance

serious stumbling block in the path of the development of church music composi-
tional techniques after the reformation. Several denominations had to adapt to the
mandates required by the Council of Trent. The music in the Catholic Church ex-
perienced relatively little change as the result of the reformation. This lack of
change was the result composers such as Byrd who remained loyal to the religion
and their refusal to change their “traditional catholic” style of composing.
In Byrd’s Anglican Anthem, “Sing Joyfully Unto
God,” the opening phrase of the text is set with a sin-
gle voice on each part. This technique is very similar
to the Catholic Church settings of Chant incipits.
This full anthem by Byrd is much more polyphonic
in nature than that of verse anthems. It also borrows
heavily from both madrigal and motet styles, though
modified for the liturgy. “Sing Joyfully Unto God” is
one of the most thoroughly motet-like of the many
Byrd anthems. Within the anthem there is a new
point of imitation for each new phrase of text. Byrd
extensively uses the text depictions to creatively il-
lustrate the music’s meaning. Below is an example
Figure 3.10 | William Byrd
of how Byrd’s “Sing Joyfully, Unto God” emphasizes Author | Vandergucht
the trumpet call of the text. All voices are singing to- Source | Wikimedia Commons
gether to depict the fullness of a trumpet fanfare, License | Public Domain
thickening the texture to illustrate the musical concept. This section begins with
homophony, but polyphony is employed throughout the work. Byrd uses this tech-
nique primarily for a structural contrast device.

Figure 3.11 | Homophony as text depiction in Byrd’s Sing Joyfully Unto God
Author | Edward Tambling
Source | ChoralWiki
License | CPDL

The use of imitation as a structural tool is maintained primarily within full

anthems. Byrd also uses a technique called pairing of voices, which was highly
popular within the Renaissance period.1

1 Mitchell, Shelley. “William Byrd: Covert Catholic Values with Anglican Anthems Comparison of
Style to Catholic Gradualia.” MA thesis. Indiana State University, 2008. Web. 15 December 2015.

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LISTENING GUIDE

For audio, go to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mPkPnN-T9o
University of Wisconsin Eau Claire Concert Choir

Composer: William Byrd

Composition: Sing Joyfully Unto God

Date: circa 1580-1590

Genre: Choral (Anthem)

Form: Through-composed

Nature of Text: SSAATB

Sing joyfully to God our strength;
sing loud unto the God of Jacob!
Take the song, bring forth the timbrel,
the pleasant harp, and the viol.
Blow the trumpet in the New Moon,
even in the time appointed,
and at our feast day.
For this is a statute for Israel,
and a law of the God of Jacob.

Performing Forces: six-part choir

What we want you to remember about this composition:

This is a very much a motet-like sounding church anthem. It sounds very much
like a mass but the text does not come from any of the five sections of the mass.
The work incorporated many of the polyphony techniques used in the mass.
Listen how the six voices interweave.
Significant points: One of the most popular pieces from the time period. The
Psalm 81 text is set in English. Scored in SSAATB (two sopranos, two alsos, one
tenor, and one bass).
• imitative polyphony
• a capella in English
• some word painting

3.6 Secular Music-Entertainment Music of

the Renaissance
Royalty sought the finest of the composers to employ for entertainment. A sin-
gle court, or royal family, may employ as many as ten to sixty musicians, singers,
and instrumentalists. In Italy, talented women vocalists began to serve as soloists

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Understanding Music Music of the Renaissance

in the courts. Secular pieces for the entertainment of nobility and sacred pieces
for the chapel were composed by the court music directors. Musicians were often
transported from one castle to another to entertain the court’s patron, travelling in
their patron’s entourage.
The Renaissance town musicians performed for civic functions, weddings, so-
cials, and religious ceremonies/services. Due to market, that is, the supply and
demand of the expanding Renaissance society, musicians experience higher sta-
tus and pay unlike ever before. The Flanders, Low Countries of the Netherlands,
Belgium, and northern France became a source of musicians who filled many im-
portant music positions in Italy. As in the previous era, vocal music maintained its
important status over instrumental music.
Germany, England, and Spain also experienced an energetic musical expan-
sion. Secular vocal music became increasingly popular during the Renaissance. In
Europe, music was set to poems from several languages, including English, French,
Dutch, German, and Spanish. The invention of the printing press led to the pub-
lication of thousands of collections of songs that were never before available. One
instrument or small groups of instruments were used to accompany solo voices or
groups of solo voices.

3.6.1 Thomas Weelkes

Thomas Weelkes, a church organist and composer, became one of the finest
English madrigal composers. Thomas Weelkes’ “As Vesta Was Descending” serves
as a good example of word painting with the melodic line following the meaning of
the text in performance.

LISTENING GUIDE

For audio, go to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95DJ7oqTWK8
Composer: Thomas Weelkes
Composition: “As Vesta Was From Latmos Hill Descending”
Date: 1601
Genre: Madrigal
Form: Through-composed
Performing Forces: Choral ensemble

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Understanding Music Music of the Renaissance

One thing to remember about this composition:

This composition is a great example of “word painting” where the text and
melodic line work together. When the text refers to descending down a hill, the
melody descends also.

Figure 3.12 | Examples of “word painting” in Weelkes’s “As Vest Was From Latmos Hill Descending”
Author | Diana Thompson
Source | ChoralWiki
License | CPDL

Timing Performing Forces, Melody, Text and Form

and Texture
0:00 Descending melodic/scales on As Vesta was from Latmos hill
“descending” descending,
0:14 Ascending melodic/scales on she spied a maiden queen the
“ascending” same ascending,
0:31 Melody gently undulates, neither attended on by all the shepherds
ascending nor descending. swain,
0:45 Rapid imitative descending fig- to whom Diana’s darlings came
ures on running down running down amain.
1:05 Two voices, three voices, and then First two by two, then three by
all voices three together,
1:12 solo voice or unison leaving their goddess all alone,
hasted thither,
1:24 All voices in delicate polyphony and mingling with the shepherds
of her train with mirthful tunes
her presence entertain.
1:40 All voices unite to introduce the Then sang the shepherds and
final proclamation nymphs of Diana,
1:52 Brief, joyful phrase imitated Long live fair Oriana!
among voices is repeated over
and over

3.6.2 Renaissance Dance Music

With the rebirth of the Renaissance, came a resurgence of the populari-
ty of dance. This resurgence led to instrumental dance music becoming the most
wide-spread genre for instrumental music. Detailed instruction books for dance
also included step orders and sequences that followed the music accompaniment.

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Understanding Music Music of the Renaissance

The first dances started, similar to today’s square dances, soon evolved into more
elaborate and unique forms of expression. Examples of three types of Renaissance
dances include the pavanne, galliard, and jig.
The pavanne is a more solemn stately dance in a duple meter (in twos). Its
participants dance and move around with prearranged stopping and starting plac-
es with the music. Pavannes are more formal and used in such settings.
The galliard is usually paired with a pavanne. The galliard is in triple meter
(in threes) and provides an alternative to the rhythms of the pavanne. The jig is
a folk dance or its tune in an animated meter. It was originally developed in the
1500s in England. The instrumental jig was a popular dance number. Jigs were
regularly performed in Elizabethan theatres after the main play. William Kemp
actor, song and dance performer, and a comedian, is immortalized for having cre-
ated comic roles in Shakespeare. He accompanied his jig performances with pipe
and tabor and snare drum. Kemp’s jig started a unique phrasing/cadence system
that carried well past the Renaissance period.

LISTENING GUIDE

For audio, go to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWO2UWOrV2o
Composer: Composer unknown but was performed by William Kemp. The
piece became known as Kemp’s Jig
Composition: “Kemp’s Jig”
Date: late 1500s
Genre: Jig (Dance Piece instrumental)
Form: abb (repeated in this recording)
Most dances of the period had a rhythmic and harmony pause or repose (ca-
dence) every four or eight measures to mark a musical or dancing phrase.
Performing Forces: Lute solo instrumental piece
What we want you to remember about this composition:
A jig is a light folk dance. It is a dance piece of music that can stand alone when
played as an instrumental player. This new shift in instrumental music from
strictly accompaniment to stand alone music performances begins a major ad-
vance for instrumental music.
Will Kemp was a dancer and actor. He won a bet that he could dance from
London to Norwich (80 miles). “Kemps Jig” was written to celebrate the event.
One thing to remember about this composition:
This piece of dance music is evolving from just a predictable dance accompani-
ment to a central piece of instrumental music. Such alterations of dance music
for the sake of the music itself are referred to as the stylization of dance music
that has carried on through the centuries.

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Understanding Music Music of the Renaissance

To view an informative Renaissance Music Timeline, go to:

http://musiced.about.com/od/famousmusicians1/a/trenaissance.htm

3.7 Chapter Summary

The Renaissance period was truly a time of great discovery in science, music,
society, and the visual arts. The reemergence and renewed interests of Greek and
Roman history/culture is still current in today’s modern society. Performing music
outside of the church in courts and the public really began to thrive in the Renais-
sance and continues today in the music industry. Many of the master works, both
sacred and secular, from the Renaissance are still appreciated and continue to be
the standard for today’s music industry. Songs of love, similar to Renaissance chan-
sons, are still composed and performed today. The beauty of Renaissance music,
as well as the other arts, is reintroduced and appreciated in modern-day theater
performances and visually in museums. The results of the Protestant Reformation
are still felt today, and the struggles between contemporary and traditional church
worship continues very much as it did during the Renaissance. As we continue our
reading and study of music through the Baroque period, try to recall the changes
and trends of the Medieval and Renaissance eras and how they thread their way
through history to today. Music and the Arts do not just occur; they evolve and also
remain the same.

3.8 Glossary
Anthem – a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct
group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music
theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short sacred choral
work and still more particularly to a specific form of Anglican
Church Music – Sacred music written for performance in church, or any musical setting
of ecclesiastical liturgy, or music set to words expressing propositions of a sacred
nature, such as a hymn. Church Music Director is a position responsible the
musical aspects of the church’s activities.
Chanson – is in general any lyric-driven French song, usually polyphonic and secular.
A singer specializing in chansons is known as a “chanteur” (male) or “chanteuse”
(female); a collection of chansons, especially from the late Middle Ages and
Renaissance, is also known as a chansonnier.
Chapel Master – Director of music, secular and sacred, for the courts’ official functions
and entertainment.
Consort – A renaissance consort is a group of renaissance instrumentalists playing
together. A whole consort is an ensemble performing with instruments from the
same family. A broken consort is an ensemble comprised of instruments from
more than one family.

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Understanding Music Music of the Renaissance

Counter-Reformation – The preservation movement or “Counter-Reformation”

against the protestant reform led to the development of the Jesuit order (1540) and
the later assembling of the Council of Trent (1545-1563) which considered issues of
the church’s authority and organizational structure.
Dance Music [WM1] – is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing
Frets – is a raised strip on the neck of a stringed instrument. Frets usually extend across
the full width of the neck and divide the string into half steps for most western
musical instruments. Most guitars have frets.
Galliard – was a form of Renaissance dance and music popular all over Europe in the 16th
century.
Jig – is the accompanying dance tune for an energetic fold dance usually in a compound
meter.
Madrigal – a musical piece for several solo voices set to a short poem. They originated in
Italy around 1520. Most madrigals were about love.
Motet – is a highly varied sacred choral musical composition. The motet was one of the
pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music.
Pavanne – is a slow processional dance common in Europe during the 16th century
Renaissance.
Reformation – was a succession and division from the practices of the Roman Catholic
Church initiated by Martin Luther. Led to the development of Protestant churches.
Word painting – was utilized by Renaissance composers to represent poetic images
musically. For example, an ascending melodic line would portray the text
“ascension to heaven.” Or a series of rapid notes would represent running.

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