Renaissance

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Renaissance Re-Birth (late 1400 to mid 1600)
The Renaissance was a time of experimentation in
art, music, literature, and architecture.
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Composers looked for ways to add new interest to
their music. The result was polyphonic music.
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Vocabulary Word Polyphonic - music that contains
more than one melody sounding at the same time.
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Vocabulary Word Harmony - more than one pitch
sounding simultaneously.
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Giovanni da Palestrina
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Palestrina was one of the first composers to
bring polyphony to sacred or church music. Click
below to hear an example of polyphonic music.
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Palestrina composed sacred, polyphonic music that
was sung in harmony during Catholic Mass.
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As the polyphonic style began to take off, many
composers realized that they could sell their
music as entertainment to the Royalty and
Aristocracy.
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These people used music as entertainment for
family and friendly gatherings at the home rather
than the church. The subject of the music was
therefore life and nature rather than religion.
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Vocabulary Word Secular Music that was not meant
for religious purposes.
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A popular form of secular music was a three or
more part song that accompanied a dance. It was
called a Madrigal.
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A compositional technique that began to take off
during the Renaissance was called word-painting.
Word painting is when you write music that
reflects the lyrics.
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Toward the end of the Renaissance, another
secular musical style was born out of a more
dramatic form of entertainment.
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Outdoor Amphitheaters were featuring the dramatic
productions of Greek Plays. A composer name
Claudio Monteverdi was successful in combining
drama and music.
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Monteverdi took the existing plays and wrote
melodies to go with each characters lines much
like the Madrigal that was popular in the homes.
This new entertainment form was named Opera.
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Although they were only used as background or
accompaniment for the singers, Montiverdi was
successful in writing music for instruments in
his opera.
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Vocabulary Words

• Monophonic
• Unison
• Sacred
• A Capella

• Polyphonic
• Harmony
• Secular
• Instrumental