Final - Renaissance

Question 1

What are the dates of the Renaissance?

Answer 1

• 1400-1600 CE

Question 2

The Renaissance is the “rebirth” of what?

Answer 2

• Greek and Roman culture

Question 3

How is humanism evident in the writings of the Renaissance?

Answer 3

• Focused on human nature and experience
  
  • Shakespeare, Chaucer
• Written for its own inherent value
  
  • Petrarch
• Introduction of (auto)biographies

Question 4

How is humanism evident in the art of the Renaissance?

Answer 4

• Often was related to daily life (human experience)
• Realistic - valued the senses to inform the art
• Artists put their names (and images) to their works
• e.g., Mona Lisa, David

Question 5

*How does the music of the Renaissance reflect humanist ideals?*

Answer 5

• Emphasis on the senses
  
  • pleasing consonances (including 3rds and 6ths)
• Less reliance on pre-existing structures
• Focus on expressing the message/emotion of the text

Question 6

How does the subject of “In arboris” compare to “Quam pulchra es”?

Answer 6

• “In arboris”: Poem about the Virgin Mary
  
  • Expresses the need to follow faith rather than reason
  • Plainchant in the tenor
• “Quam pluchra es”: Text from the Song of Solomon
  
  • Expresses physical love
  • Justified as a symbolic/allegorical text
  • No chant

Question 7

How does the number of texts of “In arboris” and “Quam pulchra es” compare?

Answer 7

• “In arboris”: 3 texts
• “Quam pulchra es”: 1 text

Question 8

How does the concern for textual expression in “In arboris” and “Quam pulchra es” compare?

Answer 8

• “In arboris”: Minimal
  
  • Voices singing different texts in different rhythms (isorhythmic)
• “Quam pulchra es”: Clear declamation
  
  • All voices sing the same text and move together
  • Musical and textual phrases correspond
  • Mostly syllabic text-setting
  • Melismas, fermatas, and accidentals draw attention to certain words
  • Divided into sections based on speaker

Question 9

How does the relationship between voices in “In arboris” and “Quam pulchra es” compare?

Answer 9

• “In arboris”: Voices move independently of each other and have specific roles
  
  • Plainchant and harmonic foundation in the tenor
  • Hocket in upper voices
• “Quam pulchra es”: Voices move together and are treated equally

Question 10

How do the sonorities in “In arboris” and “Quam pulchra es” compare?

Answer 10

• “In arboris”: Perfect consonances and carefully placed dissonances
• “Quam pulchra es”: Consonances, including 3rds and 6ths, and very few dissonances

Question 11

How does the rhythm of “In arboris” compare to “Quam pulchra es”?

Answer 11

• “In arboris”: Voices are rhythmically independent
• “Quam pulchra es”: Rhythmic unison derived from natural speaking patterns

Question 12

How does Dunstable’s “Quam pulchra es” reflect humanism?

Answer 12

• Pleasing consonances, including 3rds and 6ths
• Not based on any pre-existent structures
• Demonstrates concern for textual expression

Question 13

How is the life of Guillaume Dufay typical of a 15th-century composer?

Answer 13

• Trained in the north
• Educated through the church and held a position of authority
• Worked for courts and churches in the south
• Returned north in middle age

Question 14

How does Dufay’s ballade compare to Caserta’s?

Form, relationship between voices, cadential organization

Answer 14

• Caserta’s ballade has a clear ballade form (aabC); Dufay’s has no clear musical phrases
• Voices move and cadence independently in Caserta’s ballade; voices move and cadence together in Dufay’s and are treated equally
• Caserta’s ballade includes cadences on many different notes; Dufay’s cadences fall mainly on the final

Question 15

What is a cantus firmus mass?

Answer 15

• A polyphonic mass
• Same pre-existent melody used as the foundation for all the movements
  
  • heard in its entirity in one voice
• Genre/process/technique that unified the mass

Question 16

How is Dufay’s mass based upon the ballade?

Answer 16

• Original ballade is present in the tenor as the cantus firmus

Question 17

How is the cantus firmus treated in Dufay’s mass?

Answer 17

• Drawn out to different rhythmic durations, getting progressively faster

Question 18

What is a motto opening?

Answer 18

• The opening 3-4 bars of a movement that are the exact same in all voices

Question 19

How is Josquin’s career typical of a Renaissance composer?

Answer 19

• Trained in the north
• Educated through the church (St. Quentin)
• Worked for courts and churches in the south (Italy)
• Wrote in the international style
• Returned north later in life
• Especially respected for “master works” that demonstrated his genius

Question 20

What important elements of Josquin’s style are evident in “Ave Maria”?

Answer 20

• Primarily consonance
• Clear form with rhythmic reduction at the end
• Various types of textural contrast
  
  • Homophony/polyphony
  • Number of voices
• Equal treatment of voices

Question 21

How does “Ave Maria” reflect concern for textual expression?

Answer 21

• Each stanza is represented with a new musical phrase
• Includes a secondary climax with no build-up at a key point in the text

Question 22

What types of masses did Josquin write?

Answer 22

• Cantus firmus mass
• Paraphrase mass
• Imitation/Parody mass

Question 23

How is the hymn used in “Missa Pange Lingua”?

Answer 23

• Present in all voices as a series of points of imitation
• Altered, fragmented, and combined with new material