The Renaissance Music
| Subject: | ⛩️ Culture |
| Type: | Analytical Essay |
| Pages: | 4 |
| Word count: | 826 |
| Topics: | Renaissance, Art History, Music |
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Music embodies this art of mixing and harmonizing sounds of extraordinary pitches to produce pieces that convey various thoughts, beliefs, and accompanied by feelings. This beautiful art form has existed for generations. Music has certainly transformed and evolved along with the society that created it. In addition, it has been widely used to reflect the events that took place in certain locations or times. For instance, in the Renaissance, music completed a great transition in terms of transformation, as a revival, which was called the Renaissance. The Renaissance came right after the Dark Ages, a period of religious turmoil, an ongoing struggle of belief, and the Enlightenment. The Renaissance was a “rebirth” of culture, and it was a time when art and literature were reborn. The art of the Dark Ages was predominantly devotional and incorporated many of the ideas of Christianity. It was characterized by a lack of expression, movement, and tons of color. Renaissance art, on the other hand, was extremely realistic. Art and literature began to be more centered on nature rather than religion. Music played an essential part in religious and court life throughout the early Renaissance after the Middle Ages.
The rise of a new vision of music during the Renaissance
The religious and economic developments that were occurring between 1400 and 1600 resulted in significant shifts in the way music was performed, the emergence and popularization of new music genres, and the advancement of instruments. Music was regarded as an expressive art in the late Renaissance and emerged as an art of the enlightened world. The church’s departure from political influence over society resulted in composers gaining more latitude to create their own forms and to shape art. This provided musicians and composers with more work prospects, as well as the chance to request higher salaries as the market for their music expanded. The funders of music in the Renaissance were primarily the nobility because they could allow themselves to order the works of composers. However, with the advent of the printing press in the 1400s, written music became industrialized and prices dropped, which contributed to the increasing musical population and the number of individuals who could afford it. Early Renaissance church music was characterized by choral polyphony, in other words, it had more than one part. Choral polyphony was intended for singing a cappella, that is, singing without instruments.
The emergence of the new music styles at the time of the Renaissance
Pretty soon, the music featured four or more pieces and more occasions when a note was not in the scale specified in the final key signature. The structure of the music became more merged rather than contradictory, and there was much more balance, indicating a deeper interest in the musical stream. Shortly thereafter, a bright boundary appeared between music for the church and secular music. And finally, the wooden wind instruments, which were basically just different kinds of pipes, such as the Reed pipe, Hornpipe and Bagpipe. Madrigals were secular music, generally for a four-piece band or more, and were frequently poems placed to a musical tune. The sole resemblance between the two was that they both included verbal representation, i.e. when the tune’s sound reflected the lyrics.
The development and spread of various musical instruments
To illustrate, if you were to say “Billy was rolling down a hill,” the music would accelerate the pace. An incredible number of instruments emerged in the Renaissance; all the rest were purely adaptations or enhancements of existing ones. At first, instruments were not as significant as voices. But over time, they eventually became increasingly substantial and were employed for dancing and supporting voices. The most widespread brass instruments commonly performed by specialists were the slide trumpet (similar to our modern trombone), the Cornett (a wooden instrument made to be struck like a recorder), and the Sackbut (a trombone that ultimately became a substitute for the slide trumpet). The family of stringed instruments was widely used in both religious and secular music and comprised the Viol (a six-stringed instrument typically bowed and carried like a cello), the Lyre (similar to a little harp but which could not be pinched), the Lute, the Lira da Braccio (similar to a violin), and the Gitter and mandore, which are presently the Guitar and Mandolin. Percussion instruments consist of the triangle, tambourine, bells, and multiple varieties of drums. And finally, the wooden wind instruments, which were basically just various kinds of pipes, such as the Reed pipe, Hornpipe and Bagpipe.
Conclusion
In conclusion, as times change, society evolves, its beliefs and ideas develop, and modern technologies emerge, so does music. Music is not only the manner in which people can convey their feelings or thoughts, but also the way they adapt to society so that people can value it. The Renaissance was a groundbreaking time for religion and society, and musicians took good care to make sure that it would be recalled forever through their art.
Offered for reference purposes only.