THE RENAISSANCE

The Renaissance 1400-1600

Renaissance means “rebirth” – used to indicate that during this period, there was a revival of interest in the humanistic values of Classical Greece and Rome.

Three major changes in the Renaissance 1. New focus on individual

achievement 2. Greater focus on the world

than on the spiritual afterlife 3. Widespread mingling of

cultures, facilitated by easier travel and spread of printed materials

Renaissance Artists

Concentrated on the dignity of the individual human figure: Portraits of rulers exude self-confidence and splendor

Painters developed the techniques of perspective, three-dimensional representation and working with oils, with which the most detailed effects of light and shade could be rendered naturally.

Renaissance Architects

Used buildings from antiquity as models for their new buildings

Columns and rounded roofs replaced the soaring, spiky look of the medieval architecture

Renaissance writers

Put a new emphasis on self-expression and on the worth of the individual

Renaissance inventions

Printing in 1450 The availability of books has an

incalculable effect on education, fame of individuals, spread of scientific knowledge, growth of internationalism

Telescope and microscope changed the way people viewed their world

New lands are discovered

Renaissance Music

Printed music became widespread in the 16th century, greatly increasing the amount of available music.

Most educated people could either play an instrument or sing written music.

Professional musicians and composers most often found jobs at courts.

General Characteristics of Renaissance Music Sound is much smoother and more homogeneous,

with less contrast and a new polyphonic style based on imitation

Imitation – A form of polyphony in which all the musical lines present the same musical phrase one after the other. As each enters, the previous ones continue, so there is a constant sense of overlapping.

Strictest kind of imitation = round, all the voices sing exactly the same thing in turn

Free imitation = only the first few notes of a melodic phrase are sung by each entering voice; the voices then continue freely

Predominant types of music 1. Liturgical 2. Motets (Settings of Latin

texts that are sacred but not liturgical

3. Secular songs