The Renaissance
"Renaissance" itself means rebirth. This is the name given to the time period of a resurgence of arts and education from 1480-1620. This reemergence of human thought gave way to new musical styles, ways of composing, and the development of musical instruments.
The Renaissance also brought forth a change in power. During the Middle Ages, the church was the cornerstone of life. During the Renaissance, the focus was mostly on the thoughts and the development of the individual. Human reasoning became the foundation for thought, philosophy and even religion. Because of this change, the tradition use of plainchant became a thing of the past. Composer felt more free to use embellishments and smooth out their sometimes awkward rhythms. This action, known as paraphrasing, was one of the ways composers exerted their artistic and creative freedom over the church.
An important development of the Renaissance was the use of homophony. The definition of homophony is having a melody and Instead of having hectic voices singing separate but equally important parts that coincided in random moments of consonance, the focus was shifted to creating deliberate harmonies using multiple voices. An important Renaissance, Guillaume Dufay (1397-1474), was especially skillful at implementing homophony.
Polophony, which was developed during the Middle Ages through organum, was still used during the Renaissance. The composer Josquin des Pres used complex polyphony and canons in his music which will be explored in this website.
Due to the embellishments and complexities that Renaissance music brought to the music scene, the art of declamation was honed during this time period. This is the procedure assured that the meaning of the musical work would not be lost in the distracting embellishments.
The Renaissance also brought forth a change in power. During the Middle Ages, the church was the cornerstone of life. During the Renaissance, the focus was mostly on the thoughts and the development of the individual. Human reasoning became the foundation for thought, philosophy and even religion. Because of this change, the tradition use of plainchant became a thing of the past. Composer felt more free to use embellishments and smooth out their sometimes awkward rhythms. This action, known as paraphrasing, was one of the ways composers exerted their artistic and creative freedom over the church.
An important development of the Renaissance was the use of homophony. The definition of homophony is having a melody and Instead of having hectic voices singing separate but equally important parts that coincided in random moments of consonance, the focus was shifted to creating deliberate harmonies using multiple voices. An important Renaissance, Guillaume Dufay (1397-1474), was especially skillful at implementing homophony.
Polophony, which was developed during the Middle Ages through organum, was still used during the Renaissance. The composer Josquin des Pres used complex polyphony and canons in his music which will be explored in this website.
Due to the embellishments and complexities that Renaissance music brought to the music scene, the art of declamation was honed during this time period. This is the procedure assured that the meaning of the musical work would not be lost in the distracting embellishments.