ch. 4 music from the european age of discovery

Question 1

Renaissance

Answer 1

Rediscovery of the art and philosophy of Ancient Greece and Rome
* a period in European art, literature, and music
* humanism

Question 2

perspective

Answer 2

technique allowing painters to paint the world from a human point of view

Question 3

parallel motion

Answer 3

2 polyphonic lines that maintain the same interval between them

Question 4

oblique motion

Answer 4

a texture of medieval polyphonic practice involving the addition of a drone pitch to the chant melody

Question 5

contrary motion

Answer 5

2 polyphonic lines that move in opposite directions

Question 6

counterpoint

Answer 6

the polyphonic practice of writing many melodic lines in parallel, oblique, and contrary motion

Question 7

motet

Answer 7

a sacred work composed on a Latin text, either newly created or taken from the Bible, and sung during the Catholic liturgy

Question 8

where does the poem “Sicut cervus” come from?

Answer 8

it is an excerpt from the text of the book of Psalms in the Bible’s Old Testament
* it expresses the passionate nature of faith -> “As a deer thirsts for spring water, so thirsts my soul for you, God.”

Question 9

how does it work? (“Sicut cervus”)

Answer 9

p. 86

Question 10

imitative polyphony

Answer 10

each part in the choir sings the same melodic phrase in succession, entering one after the other

Question 11

point of imitation

Answer 11

each succession of entrances in imitative polyphony

Question 12

the 4 pitch ranges of Renaissance music from low to high

Answer 12

bass, tenor, alto, soprano

Question 13

how does “Sicut cervus” create a dignified, reverential effect appropriate for a religious service?

Answer 13

• relaxed, pure voice quality and slow tempo
• slow declamation of the words, repeated during each point of imitation, focuses attention on the words
• the harmonies based on triads create a soothing, pleasant effect
• echo

Question 14

Council of Trent

Answer 14

a nearly 20-year gathering of cardinals and archbishops who reconsidered every aspect of church doctrine, including the liturgy and its music. they reaffirmed the use of Latin, considered whether to reject polyphonic music, but abandoned this proposal

Question 15

madrigal

Answer 15

• first appeared in Italy ~1530 as a genre of polyphonic love sounds
• the secular counterpart of the sacred motet

Question 16

how does it work? (“Fair Phyllis I Saw Sitting All Alone”)

Answer 16

p.91

Question 17

text painting

Answer 17

creating musical icons for the ideas and sentiments in a text

Question 18

how does “Fair Phyllis I Saw Sitting All Alone” use text painting?

Answer 18

• fast tempo and suggestive lyrics create a jolly mood

Question 19

troubadours

Answer 19

Medieval court entertainers, courtiers, nobility from southwestern Europe who composed lyrics and melodies & sang them solor with/without instrumental accompaniment

Question 20

recorder

Answer 20

a whistle flute with a beak that channels the players

Question 21

viol

Answer 21

a bowed string instrument with frets on the neck and held vertically between the knees

Question 22

horns

Answer 22

a buzzed-lip aerophone with a curved tube

Question 23

consorts

Answer 23

families of instruments which played madrigals and instrumental dance music at court in ensembles

Question 24

how does it work? (“Quatro diferencias sobre Guardame las vacas”)

Answer 24

p. 95

Question 25

vihuela

Answer 25

a plucked lute; flat-backed waisted lute

Question 26

theme and variations

Answer 26

a form commonly used in the 18th century; the word “theme refers to the opening melody. each variation uses the same chord progression in the low part

Question 27

who played the vihuela and why did they play it?

Answer 27

well-educated male and female courtiers in Spain played the vihuela alone for their own and their friends’ amusement
* aesthetically pleasing rather than expression of emotion

Question 28

who composed “Sicut cervus”, and who performed it in the gateway recording?

Answer 28

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
* published in 1584

Cambridge Singers directed by English choral conductor John Rutter

Question 29

when did Palestrina compose his sacred polyphonic choral music?

Answer 29

during a period called the Catholic Counter-Reformation

Question 30

who was the most important composer of the transition from Medieval harmonies based on “perfect” fourths and fifths to Renaissance harmonies based on thirds?

Answer 30

Guillaume Dufay (c. 1397-1474)
* born in northern Europe, educated in church
* taught Italians the new French polyphonic techniques
* wrote motets, secular French chansons, and settings for 7 complete mass ordinaries

Question 31

what is Dufay most famous for?

Answer 31

cantus firmus (fixed song) taken from popular, secular music to make church more engaging for worshippers

Question 32

who composed “Fair Phyllis I Saw Sitting All Alone”?

Answer 32

John Farmer (c. 1570-1601), an English composer
* published in 1599
* organist + choirmaster at the Anglican St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin

Question 33

who performed the gateway piece “Fair Phyllis I Saw Sitting All Alone”?

Answer 33

4 members of The King’s Singers, a group of 6 male vocalists formed at King’s College, Cambridge, founded in the ’60s.

Question 34

concerti delle donne

Answer 34

ensembles of women; professional female singers supported by northern Italian courts in the late 16th century. they compete for attention with the beauty of their voices, body language, ornamentation, etc to express meaning and charm their patrons

Question 35

Claudio Monteverdi

Answer 35

(1567-1643)
* a master of the Italian madrigal, wrote 8 books of them
* most famous madrigal: “Si ch’io vorrei morire”

Question 36

who composed “Quatro diferencias sobre Guardame las vacas”?

Answer 36

Spanish composer Luys de Narvaez (active 1526-1549)
* wrote 6 books of polyphonic compositions for vihuela containing 33 pieces

Question 37

what were Narvaez’s compositions meant for?

Answer 37

• to be aesthetically pleasing rather than to express emotion
• pleasure for players + listeners comes from technical skill + variety of playing techniques required to play the piece, and from the shifts in melodic direction+rhythm of each of the 4 variations