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Vocabulary Farce – A type of low comedy characterized by
slapstick
Sottie – A bawdy burlesque type of theatrical performance
Commedia dell’arte – Theatre type performed by troupes of actors wearing masks and employing improvised plots and stock characters
Theatre Renaissance drama was
predominately comedic Early Renaissance theatre
was a feature of annual festivals
Plays were often performed for the wealthy in courtso Occasionally courts would
sponsor public performances No theatre buildings
existed at firsto Remains of Roman theatres
were in such bad shape they were unusable
Theatre One form of drama during the early Renaissance
was the sottie The sottie was a lewd kind of performance that
was part of the “Feast of the Fools”o Often times these would be some kind of deranged
parody of a Catholic Mass led by the “pope of fools” Sotties featured characters with strange
costumes jumping around making noise and acting silly
They might’ve looked like this familiar Disney scene
Theatre Another type of drama that developed during the
early Renaissance is the farce Farces are comedic performances that place the
emphasis on physical humor rather than dialogueo Farces were characterized by their use of slapstick humor
Farces were performed on their own, instead of being a simple entertainment between events like the sottie
Theatre Another form of drama that developed was
commedia dell’arte Commedia dell’arte was unique in its four primary
characteristicso Improvisationo Stock characters
• Young lovers, old fathers, arrogant soldiers and comic servants (Characters wore stock costumes that identified what character they were playing)
o Use of mime and pantomime• Attitudes had to be conveyed through gestures
o Actors travelled in companies• Groups of actors worked and travelled together in addition
to playing the same parts over and over again
Theatre Observe the characteristics of commedia dell’arte
in this modified performance of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew
Write down your observations on a separate sheet of paper.
Theatre There were two important developments in
theatre staging during the Renaissanceo A new form of theatre building was createdo Painted scenery
The new type of building placed the audience on one side of the stage. How was this different from the stages of the Middle Ages?
The most significant development of the theatre building was the prosceniumo The proscenium framed the action of the play
Theatre Proscenium
Theatre The second major
development in theatre during the Renaissance was the introduction of painted backgrounds
With a painted backdrop, audiences could feel as if the scene taking place within the proscenium had more deptho What artistic device is
being used here? We’ve studied this in Renaissance painting.
Theatre The most significant
playwright of the Renaissance was William Shakespeare
Shakespeare wrote plays during a time in London where drama was deeply enjoyed and was viewed by everyone from peasants to nobility
Shakespeare’s plays reflect a profound insight into the human conditiono What it means to be
human
Theatre Shakespeare’s plays fall into three categories
o Historieso Tragedieso Comedies
History plays treat a variety of subjects but mostly rely on English kingso Richard II, Henry Vo The histories become grand scale glorifications of
historical events Sometimes Shakespeare used history to create
his dramas and comedies as wello Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, The Taming of the
Shrew
Theatre Shakespeare’s plays would often contain action,
comedy, character, and emotionso Shakespeare’s work probes the source of human
motivation as seen in this scene from Hamleto Look in your textbooks on page 360 and follow along
with the texto What is Hamlet telling himself? What is he trying to work
out in this speech? What reasons does he give both for and against making this decision?
Music (Vocabulary) Word Painting – Music attempts to emulate the
emotions or movement of words Madrigal – A setting of lyric poetry for several
voices A Cappella – Without accompaniment Ballett – Dancelike song for several voices
Music Music during the High
Renaissance differed from Medieval music in a number of wayso The most significant of which was the
use of polyphony to create texture• What is polyphony? We’ve discussed
this before! Vocal music was highly
emphasized during the Renaissance
New techniques in vocal music were being appliedo Word Painting/Text Paintingo Imitationo Polyphony
Music The greatest composer of sacred music during
the Renaissance was Palestrina Palestrina’s works are exclusively vocal
o Several vocalists sing a cappella (without accompaniment, or instruments)
o Examine Palestrina’s Kyrie from the Pope Marcellus Masso Listen for the use of imitation and polyphony
Music One of the new secular forms that were
developed during the Renaissance is the madrigalo A madrigal is lyric poetry that is set to music for multiple
voiceso The music of a madrigal emphasizes the mood and
meaning of the words Madrigals often used word painting to emphasize
the emotions of the words in the music Thomas Weelkes’ “As Vesta was from Latmos hill
descending” uses word painting. See if you can tell what words in particular get “painted”. What kind of mood do you feel while listening to this piece?
Music Perhaps the greatest composer of the
Renaissance was Josquin des Prezo His talent was compared to Michelangelo and he was
called the “father of musicians” Josquin’s greatest contribution to music was his
development of polyphony (multiple sounds) His music often featured imitation
o One musical line would be imitated by another creating a theme that repeated throughout the piece
Josquin also uses text painting in his pieceso The music will try to imitate the emotions of the words
being used in the song
Music Listen to La Déploration sur la Mort d'Ockeghem Read the lyrics and see if you think the music
emulates the emotions that the words are conveying.
Also, listen for imitation or a repeating theme
Music Another secular form that was developed during
the Renaissance is the ballett Balletts are simple songs that feel like a dance
o Balletts are typically homophonic (one sound) with sections of polyphony
Thomas Morley’s “Now is the Month of Maying” is a widely performed ballett describing flirtation during the springo Identify where you hear homophony and polyphony