About the Piece
This piece was written by John Farmer in 1599. It belongs to one of the popular genres during the Renaissance period: madrigals. This form was used to give words expression through word painting and declamation(http://www.hoasm.org/IVM/EnglMadrigals.html). Its composed of 4 voices and the work is polysyllabic. The work is most polyphonic but there are varied textures.
Monophony
0:00-0:10
The piece starts off monophonic with only the sopranos singing.
The piece starts off monophonic with only the sopranos singing.
Polyphony
0:32-0:35, 0:40-0:53
Voices are added using a hocket in which results in polyphony which is characterized a fuller and more complex sound.
Voices are added using a hocket in which results in polyphony which is characterized a fuller and more complex sound.
Homophony
0:10-0:15, 1:00-1:05
The voices are all sing the same rythms (homorythmic) but steps apart.
The voices are all sing the same rythms (homorythmic) but steps apart.
Harmony
1:42-1:51
There are brief moments of harmony throughout the piece, but the strongest and most complete cadence appears at the end of the piece.
There are brief moments of harmony throughout the piece, but the strongest and most complete cadence appears at the end of the piece.
Canon
0:39-0:45
The voices exchange the words, "up and down," along with the melody that goes with them.
The voices exchange the words, "up and down," along with the melody that goes with them.
About the Piece
Written in 1567 by the influential composer Giovanni Pierluigi Da Palestrina, the Pope Marcellus Mass is a pivotal work in the development of sacred music because it convinced the Pope and the Council of Trent that polyphony could be utilized in a way that simultaneously added to the music and kept the focus on worship. With the desires of the Counter-Reformation, a movement which sought to reduce the fixation on music in religion, Palestrina takes extra caution to declaim the words of the mass very precisely.