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Music of the New Lusitania: the Impact of Humanist Thought on Polyphony in Sixteenth-Century Portugal

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Music of the New Lusitania: the Impact of Humanist Thought on Polyphony in Sixteenth-Century Portugal ABSTRACT Title of Thesis: MUSIC OF THE NEW LUSITANIA: THE IMPACT OF HUMANIST THOUGHT ON POLYPHONY IN SIXTEENTH-CENTURY PORTUGAL Victor Amaro Vicente, Master of Arts, 2006 Thesis Directed By: Professor Richard Wexler School of Music, University of Maryland Cosmopolitan, politically influential, and wealthy, Portugal experienced its “Golden Age” in the sixteenth century. Though science and the arts reached their apogee during this era, polyphonic music in Portugal does not seem to have flourished to any great extent before the seventeenth century. The few extant examples of secular court polyphony, in particular, demonstrate a predominantly homorhythmic style possibly cultivated by amateur composers. This aesthetic favoring simpler musical textures likely developed from the humanist notion that music must serve the text. Italian humanism, in fact, had a profound impact on Renaissance Portugal, which claimed its ancient Roman name, Lusitania. In literature and art the influence is quite apparent, but the case for music requires a more detailed study that is sensitive to broader social factors. This study argues that the composition and performance of Renaissance Portuguese court music is best understood within the context of the Counter-Reformation and Christian humanism. MUSIC OF THE NEW LUSITANIA: THE IMPACT OF HUMANIST THOUGHT ON POLYPHONY IN SIXTEENTH-CENTURY PORTUGAL by Victor Amaro Vicente Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts 2006 Advisory Committee: Professor Richard Wexler, Chair Professor Robert C. Provine Professor Barbara Haggh-Huglo © Copyright by Victor Amaro Vicente 2006 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS “Muito obrigado” is meager recompense for the great many people who have helped me at every stage of this project, but my gratitude is heartfelt. First and foremost, “um grande abraço” to my parents, my brother and Laura, and to all of my extended family for their inspiration, support, and advice. You have kindled in me a passion for knowledge about my ancestors as deep as the Renaissance philosophers of Portugal had for theirs. The faculty in historical musicology and ethnomusicology at the University of Maryland has helped channel this energy into productivity, and I am ever in their debt for their eagerness to share their wisdom. Dr. Richard Wexler, who recommended that I pursue the subject for this thesis and whose advice and comments guided my research and writing, deserves my most sincere gratitude. Additionally, the interest, advice, and assistance offered me by Dr. Barbara Haggh-Huglo and Dr. Robert C. Provine, who were gracious enough to serve on my thesis committee, were also invaluable in the formation and final version of this work. Several other faculty members both at the University of Maryland and at Franklin and Marshall College have also helped shape my understanding of the world and of academia in ways unimaginable. For this I offer most sincere appreciation to Simon Andrews, John Carbon, Bruce Gustafson, Doris Hall-Gulati, Richard G. King, Brian Norcross, Jósef Pacholczyk, Laurie Reese, Carolina Robertson, Marina Roseman, Ann ii Morrison Spinney, I Nyoman Sudin, and the late Courtney Adams. I would also like to thank Mary Scott and the entire staff at the University of Maryland’s Performing Arts Library, as well as Debbie Kuckuda and Virginia Wyant from the School of Music’s Office of Student Services. Their assistance and support is at the heart of all such projects, but too often goes unacknowledged. I am also forever indebted to all of my friends and colleagues whose unflagging interest, recommendations, and patience has proven invaluable. My most sincere appreciation, therefore, also goes out to the late Paul Freeman, Jonathan McCollum, Heather Miller, Rachel Muehrer, Natalie Sarrazin, Kenneth Schweitzer, Xochitl Tafoya, Cheryl Tobler, Aja Burrell Wood, and SunMin Yoon. Finally, I thank God, without whom nothing is possible. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES............................................................................................................vi CHAPTER I Introduction..........................................................................................................................1 Survey of the Scholarly Literature...........................................................................5 Methodology..........................................................................................................10 Structure of the Thesis...........................................................................................11 CHAPTER II Europe and the Spirit of Humanism in Music...................................................................15 A World in Transition: The Renaissance in Europe.............................................16 Christianity and the Revival of Ancient Literature................................................18 The Renaissance and Humanism in Music............................................................21 The Problem of Applying Humanism to Music.....................................................27 CHAPTER III Humanism and the Rise of the Lusitanian Empire............................................................33 Relations between Portugal and Italy in the Sixteenth Century............................34 Humanism and the Lusitanian Empire..................................................................40 CHAPTER IV Music of Sixteenth-Century Portugal in Art and Historical Accounts..............................52 Relations between Portugal and Flanders in the Sixteenth Century......................53 Representations of Music in Flemish and Portuguese Art.....................................54 Music and Art at the Wedding of Alessandro Farnese and Maria of Portugal......59 Depictions of Music in the Santa Auta Retable.....................................................62 Portuguese Music in Written Historical Accounts.................................................66 Music at the Courts of Manuel I, João III, and Sebastião......................................71 Beyond Lisbon: Music and the Dukes of Bragança in Vila Viçosa.....................75 Portuguese Music in Later Spanish Written Sources.............................................82 iv CHAPTER V The Polyphony of Renaissance Portugal...........................................................................88 Music in Fifteenth-Century Portugal.....................................................................88 English Music in Fifteenth-Century Portugal........................................................89 Dufay, the Burgundians, and Portugal...................................................................91 Foreign Music and Musicians in Sixteenth-Century Portugal...............................96 Indigenous Music and Musicians in Sixteenth-Century Portugal........................100 CHAPTER VI Polyphony and Humanism in Sixteenth-Century Portugal..............................................111 Erasmus of Rotterdam and the Impact of Moderate and Conservative Humanism on Sixteenth-Century Portuguese Music...............................112 Humanism and Polyphonic Music in Early Sixteenth-Century Portugal............118 Humanism and Polyphonic Music in Mid Sixteenth-Century Portugal..............132 Damião de Góis....................................................................................................146 Humanism and Polyphonic Music in Late-Sixteenth-Century Portugal..............151 CHAPTER VII Conclusion.......................................................................................................................164 Overview..............................................................................................................164 Understanding the Connections between Music and Humanism: Towards a Reconceptualization of Music in the Portuguese Renaissance................167 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................172 DISCOGRAPHY.............................................................................................................179 v LIST OF FIGURES 1. Excerpt from Botay fora, Gaspar Fernandes................................................................85 2. Quem te hizo Juam pastor, Anonymous....................................................................124 3. Quyem te hizo Juam pastor, Anonymous..................................................................125 4. Quiem te hizo Juam pastor, Anonymous...................................................................125 5. Quien por verso pena y muere, Anonymous.............................................................128 6. Quien con verso pena y muere, Anonymous.............................................................129 7. Aquella voluntade que se á rendido, Anonymous.....................................................131 8. Levantese el pemsamento, Anonymous.....................................................................137 9. Excerpt from Divinis habeas, Francisco de Santa Maria...........................................139 10. Já não podeis ser contents, Anonymous....................................................................142 11. Já não poso ser contente, Anonymous......................................................................143 12. Excerpt from Adomdestas alma mia, Anonymous....................................................145 13. Excerpt from
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