Chapter 7 - Music and the Renaissance

Question 1

What are the dates for the Renaissance?

Answer 1

1400-1600

Question 2

Two ongoing conflicts were resolved in the 15th century. What were they?

Answer 2

• The great schism ended in 1417

- The Hundred Years War ended in 1453

Question 3

When did the Byzantine empire fall?

Answer 3

1453

Question 4

The re-stabilization of the European economy after 1400 led to what?

Answer 4

• Growth of the middle class
• Specialization of economies and regional products
• Growth of aristocratic influence and patronage of the arts

Question 5

The renaissance can be described as a blend of what three influences?

Answer 5

• Sources in Classical civilization
• Medieval practices
• New innovations by creatives

Question 6

How did Ottoman attacks on Constantinople starting in 1396 set off the interest in Classical writings during the Renaissance?

Answer 6

Scholars from Constantiople fled to Italy, bringing ancient sources of knowledge with them. They taught Italian scholars the Greek, and Classical writings began to be translated into Latin and spread throughout Europe

Question 7

The most important intellectual movment of the Renaissance was ___________.

Answer 7

Humanism

Question 8

What is Humanism?

Answer 8

This is the belief in the abilities of man to solve problmes and explain the world, a faith in the nobility of man, and an emphasis on the humanities (Rhetoric, grammer, poetry, history, philosophy, etc.)

Question 9

During the Renaissance, Humanism replaced ________.

Answer 9

Scholasticism

Question 10

What humanistic subject had the most influence on music of the Renaissance?

Answer 10

Rhetoric, the organization and flow of ideas

Question 11

In Renaissance art, there was an increased development of clarity, chiaroscuro (realistic light and shade), and perspective. How did composers create parallels of this in their music? (Name four)

Answer 11

Composers:

• Expanded the pitch range of compositions
• Used contrasts in texture
• Emphasized the clarity of what mode was being used
• Frequent cadences

Question 12

What is a court chapel?

Answer 12

A court chapel is a collection of of musicians and clerics that are in the service of an individual aristocrat or nobleman rather than a building or the larger church

Question 13

What are the duties of the members of the court chapel?

Answer 13

Members of the court chapel served as scribes, composers, and performers of both music for entertainment and church services

Question 14

Describe the couterpuntal preferences of the Renaissance

Answer 14

Renaissance counterpoint favored consonances (3rds, 6ths, P5, P8) and heavily controlled dissonances and parallel octaves and 5ths

Question 15

What was the most important treatise on counterpoint of the 15th century, who was it by and when was it written?

Answer 15

Liber de Arte Contrpuncti of 1477 by Tinctoris

Question 16

Starting in the late 15th century, composers began to compose all the lines of a piece at the same time. What were they doing before and why was the new way better?

Answer 16

Composers were originally composing the tenor and cantus voice first then adding the supporting voices. This resulted in very disjunct voice leading in these lines. Composing all lines together allowed for conjunct voice leading and greater consonance.

Question 17

In medieval musical practice the music was thought of as a way to decorate the words. Renaissance text setting and composition valued:

Answer 17

Renaissance text setting and composition valued:

• Clear declamation
• Music that dramatized the text and conveyed it’s feelings

Question 18

With the new emergence of Greek texts, theorists had a renewed interest in Classical thought including music. Name four ways Greek writings influenced Renaissance musical life

Answer 18

• Restored the idea that music should be a part of every educated citizens life and of the nobility
• Fostered the notion that certain modes can have specific emotional effects
• Chromatisism, direct movement by semitone
• Music as a servant to the words