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Renaissance Sacred Music Script

The document discusses Renaissance sacred music, focusing on the motet and mass, highlighting the male-only church choirs and the introduction of castrati. It features notable composers like Josquin des Prez and Guillaume DuFay, detailing their contributions and styles, including the use of popular tunes in their works. The document also addresses the impact of the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Church's response through the Council of Trent, emphasizing the need for clarity in sacred music, exemplified by Palestrina's compositions.

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8 views4 pages

Renaissance Sacred Music Script

The document discusses Renaissance sacred music, focusing on the motet and mass, highlighting the male-only church choirs and the introduction of castrati. It features notable composers like Josquin des Prez and Guillaume DuFay, detailing their contributions and styles, including the use of popular tunes in their works. The document also addresses the impact of the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Church's response through the Council of Trent, emphasizing the need for clarity in sacred music, exemplified by Palestrina's compositions.

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A R
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Slide 1- Middle Ages & Renaissance – Renaissance Sacred Music

In this lecture, we will be learning about the Sacred Music of the


Renaissance style period.
Slide 2 – Renaissance Sacred Music
Renaissance sacred music often used two common types of sacred
works that we will discuss further in future slides: the motet and the
mass.

The church choirs at this time were all male. High voices were sung by
adult males in a falsetto voice or by choirboys. Beginning in 1565,
castratos (castrated males) were introduced into the papal chapel,
mainly as a money-saving measure. A single castrato could produce as
much volume as two falsettists or three to four boys. Surprisingly,
castrati sopranos remained a hallmark of the papal chapel until 1903
when Pope Pius X officially banned them.

During the Renaissance, women were not allowed to appear in public to


sing whether in church or theatrical productions. Women were allowed
to sing in convents or secular music making at court and at home.
Slide 3 – The Motet
In the Renaissance, the motet became a sacred form with a single Latin
text for use in the Mass and other religious service. Motets in praise of
the Virgin Mary were common, because there were large numbers of
religious groups across Europe who were devoted to her worship. These
motets were usually written for three or four voices and based on a
chant melody or other cantus firmus.
Slide 4 – Josquin des Prez
Josquin des Prez (c. 1450–1521) known as Josquin, was a Franco-
Flemish composer who served for much of his career in Italy. Josquin
was employed at ducal courts in Milan and Ferrara, the Sistine chapel in
Rome, and the French court of Louis XII.

Known for his sacred and secular music, Josquin wrote 18 masses, 100
motets, and 70 secular vocal works. His works are known for their use
of continuous imitation, borrowing popular songs for the cantus firmus,
and weaving symbolic devices within the music.
Slide 5 – Ave Maria …virgo serena
Ave Maria . . . virgo serena is an example of Josquin’s use of voices and
textures.
The piece is a rhymed prayer to the Virgin Mary written for a 4 voice a
cappella choir. Listen for high and low voices in the melody, singing in
pairs. The rhythm is duple with a shift to triple then back. The cadences
are hollow sounding. The texture is primarily imitative interspersed
with homorhythmic sections. The form is sectional according to the
stanzas of poetry. The final personal plea from the composer is in a very
simple texture. Listen to this motet by Josquin.

Slide 6 – The Renaissance Mass


Composers in the Renaissance concentrated their musical settings on
the Ordinary or fixed portion of the mass that was sung daily.
The five movements of the Ordinary of the Mass are the: Kyrie, Gloria,
Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei
Originally these movements were sung in Latin but now are recited or
sung in the vernacular (the language of the country).
Early polyphonic settings of the mass were often based on a fragment of
Gregorian Chant that became the fixed voice (cantus firmus) that was
the foundation of the work. Sometimes popular songs were used as a
basis for a Mass.
Slide 7 – Guillaume DuFay
Guillaume DuFay was a Burgundian or French composer and expert in
canon law. DuFay worked in church and court positions all over Europe
including working several years at the papal chapel in Rome.

Dufay wrote sacred and secular music, and is most well known for his
L’homme Armé Mass. This work was based on the popular tune,
L’homme Armé (The Armed Man), and Dufay used the tune to unify the
piece. Listen first to the French popular song - L’homme Armé (The
Armed Man) and then to Dufay’s “Kyrie” from L’homme Armé Mass.
Slide 8 – Protestant Reformation
On October 31, 1517, an Augustinian monk named Martin Luther nailed
his 95 theses to the door of the castle church at Wittenberg, Germany.
This was the first defiant act in what was to become the Protestant
Reformation. Martin Luther (and others) sought to bring an end to the
persistent corruption within the Roman Catholic Church.

In regards to music, the changes sought were:


*No more musical instruments in the church
*No more secular tunes in polyphonic masses
* No more married church singers.
Slide 9 – Council of Trent
While Martin Luther was excommunicated for his act, the Catholic
church eventually responded with its own reform movement – the
Counter-Reformation. The Council of Trent was a long committee
meeting that sought to regulate many things, including church music.
They wanted to ban music or limit it to Gregorian chant because of:
*Corruption of chant by embellishment
*Use of certain instruments in religious services
*Incorporation of popular music in masses
*Secularism of music
*Irreverent attitude of church musicians.

The Council sought a pure vocal style that respected the integrity of
the sacred texts. Palestrina wrote pieces that reflected the Council’s
desire for a clear projection of the sacred text.
Slide 10 – Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c. 1525–1594), called Palestrina, was
an Italian composer, organist, and choirmaster. For a short time, he
was a member of the Sistine Chapel Choir.
His output was mostly sacred, including over 100 masses, 250 motets
and many other sacred works. He also wrote madrigals, which were
secular.
Slide 5 – Palestrina: Pope Marcellus Mass
Palestrina’s Pope Marcellus Mass was originally thought to have been
written to satisfy the Council of Trent’s recommendations for
polyphonic church music. However, this work was written several
years prior to the Council of Trent’s recommendations on music.
It is written for a cappella six-voice part, all-male church choir common
to the era. The highest voice parts were sung by boy sopranos, male
falsettists (men singing in falsetto or head voice), the alto part by male
altos or countertenors (tenors with very high voices).
The opening line “Gloria in excelsis Deo” is sung monophonically by the
officiating priest. Choral sections are polyphonic and balanced so that
the text is clear and audible.
Listen to Palestrina’s “Gloria” from Pope Marcellus Mass.
Once finished with this presentation, proceed to the Renaissance
Secular Music presentation.

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