5 - Folder 2 - Early Renaissance: English & Burgundian Music

Question 1

Describe and define the Renaissance (c.1450 - 1600)

Answer 1

a. Renaissance means rebirth
b. Rediscovery of classical culture (ancient Greece)

      i. Alternative to Christian worldview
      ii. Declining influence of Church over people’s thought (though the Church remained powerful)

c. Rise of Humanism

      i. Shift of emphasis to human experience on earth, rather than heavenly on experience of the next life
      ii. Solutions to problems could come from human intellect rather than divine grace (Columbus, Copernicus, Galileo, et al)

Question 2

Describe 15th Century English music.

Answer 2

a. Use of thirds and sixths harmonically for a “fuller” sound
b. Triadic
c. Simpler rhythms
d. Homophonic texture (parts in vertical alignment)

Question 3

Describe the English discant (unrelated to the Notre Dame discant organum).

Answer 3

i. Three voices
ii. Cantus firmus in the middle
iii. Parallel motion of first-inversion triads

Question 4

What was the influence of 15th century English music on French composers?

Answer 4

i. France was under English control during much of the Hundred Years War (1338–1453)
ii. Contenance angloise — French name for the English consonant style, with 3rds and 6ths

Question 5

Who was John Dunstable (c. 1390–1453)?

Answer 5

i. Well-known in France (may have come to Paris during English occupation)
ii. Mastered French polyphonic techniques (Ars novaiso rhythm, mensural rhythm, etc.)
iii. Blended French techniques with English triadic style

Question 6

What is the Old Hall Manuscript?

Answer 6

i. Largest source of 15th century English music
ii. Masses, motets, and other genres by Dunstable and others
iii. 15th Century Burgundian Music

Question 7

Describe Burgundy of the 15th century.

Answer 7

i. Region of modern France
ii. Politically independent from the Kingdom of France during the 15th century
iii. Center of commerce and culture
iv. Dukes of Burgundy surrounded themselves with the best artists and musicians

Question 8

Describe Fauxbourdon.

Answer 8

i. Distinctive feature of the Burgundian style
ii. Three-part texture
iii. Melody in top voice
iv. Other parts move in parallel 4ths and 6ths below
1. Middle part was often not notated, but inserted in performance moving in parallel 4ths below the melody
v. Results in parallel first-inversion triads (similar to English discant, but with the melody on top instead of in the middle)

Question 9

Name the Burgundian genres.

Answer 9

1. Chanson
2. Motets/ Hymns (sacred genres)
3. Mass (including the Motto, Tenor, and Paraphrase Masses)

Question 10

Define the Chanson.

Answer 10

1. general term for a French polyphonic piece

2. could be one of the formes fixes (virelai, ballade, rondeau) or some other song type

Question 11

Describe the Motet/ Hymn.

Answer 11

1. Three or four parts
2. Still used isorhythm and other Ars nova techniques
3. Combined with English style 3rds and 6ths

Question 12

Describe the Mass.

Answer 12

1. Polyphonic settings of the five-movement Mass Ordinary (Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei) are common
2. Three or four parts
3. Cantus firmus can be plainchant or from a secular song

Question 13

Describe the Paraphrase Mass.

Answer 13

1. uses a freely adapted cantus firmus, adding notes to ornament the basic plainchant melody

Question 14

Describe the Tenor Mass (Cantus Firmus Mass).

Answer 14

1. each movement is based on a single chant melody

2. method of unifying a multi-movement Mass setting

Question 15

Describe the Motto Mass.

Answer 15

1. each movement opens with the same melodic idea (the motto or head motive)
2. also a means of unifying a multi-movement Mass setting

Question 16

Who were two Burgundian composers?

Answer 16

Guillaume Dufay and Gilles Binchois

Question 17

Who was Guillaume Dufay?

Answer 17

Guillaume Dufay (c. 1400–1474)

                1. Most famous composer of his day
               2. Traveled extensively through France and Italy as a church musician
                3. Wrote both sacred and secular music in all Burgundian genres

Question 18

Who was Gilles Binchois?

Answer 18

Gilles Binchois (c. 1400–1460)

                1. Composed more secular music than sacred
               2. Known for melodic elegance
              3. His tunes were frequently adapted by other composers to use as a secular cantus firmus