Candlemas, Presentation of Christ in the Temple – 2Nd February 2020

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Candlemas, Presentation of Christ in the Temple – 2Nd February 2020 Music Notes: Candlemas, Presentation of Christ in the Temple – 2nd February 2020 The mass setting at the Solemn Eucharist this Sunday is Missa Bell’ Amfitrit’ altera by Orlande de Lassus (1532–1594), a member of the great triumvirate of Renaissance composers alongside Palestrina and Victoria, born in what is today Flemish Belgium. His real name was probably Roland Delattre. This is more than slightly confusing, because “Delattre” most probably means from Lattre, a place in Picardy. So Lassus was Roland from Lattre in Picardy (although he wasn’t) but known for reasons that are not clear as “from Lassus”, although the best associations of this name are with Bologna – from whence he also did not come. Roland in fact came from Mons in Hainaut. It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma… Lassus was widely travelled, and thereby came to know just about everybody important in church music at the time. He could be said to have been the first real superstar composer, leaving his competition a long way behind as far as popular knowledge of his music is concerned. Not that everyone agreed with this assessment. Charles Burney, the eighteenth-century music historian, probably only knew the early works, but on the basis of these was of the firm opinion that Lassus was a dwarf on stilts compared with Palestrina. The view among his contemporaries, both courtly and general, was far more laudatory. His music is characterized by a particularly dramatic approach to word painting – illustrating the text with dramatic musical effects – and with an especially vigorous and exciting approach to rhythm. The later the works, the more compressed they become, as though the more Lassus refined his technique, the more he was able to say with less. As a boy, Lassus had been something of a singing prodigy – the Paul Phoenix or Aled Jones of his day, although understanding both of those references will somewhat date you – and his abilities led to his leaving home at the age of 12 and working in Mantua, then Milano, then Napoli, and finally Rome, before he eventually went back home to the Netherlands. Then, in 1556, he joined the Court of Albrecht V, Duke of Bavaria, settling in Munich. The Duke’s goal was to create a musical establishment to rival any in Italy. Two years later, he married a Maid of Honour to the Duchess. The couple then served the Duke and Duchess and their son and heir Wilhelm V for the rest of their lives. Just as today, Munich was a Catholic stronghold of the area which we now think of as Germany (it wouldn’t be recognisably a country until some 300 years after Lassus settled there). Today’s mass setting is something of a puzzle, because it appears to be based on a madrigal of some kind. Unfortunately, the exact source is lost. It wasn’t very “Counter-Reformation” to use a secular source of this kind – those in tune with that movement were rather strict about excluding such merging of the sacred and secular, and preferred motets or plainchant to provide the inspiration – and Lassus was, broadly speaking, very much a Counter Reformation composer. There is a suggestion about that the madrigal may in fact have had a Venetian origin, the perhaps slightly skimpy basis for this being that the Amfitrite of the title was a sea nymph – goodness, it gets worse! Nevertheless, even if this faintly spurious connection were true, Lassus signally fails to pick up on Venetian references or patterns of choral music, which typically involved antiphonal effects. He does divide up his choir into contrasting sounds, but they are used not to create antiphony, but rather to provide colouring and effect in response to the words. It is a very attractive setting, and, rather surprisingly, was not published in the composer’s lifetime. Its source is a manuscript dated 1583 from the Munich court. Of course, with so astonishingly prolific a composer, some works were bound to be overlooked. It is a very good thing that so excellent and attractive a work was eventually published and so preserved for posterity. The motet at the Communion is Maria wallt zum Heiligtum (Mary made a pilgrimage to the Temple) by Johannes Eccard (1553–1611). Born in Mühlhausen, he went aged eighteen to München, where, as noted above, Orlande de Lassus was in post at the court of Albrecht V, Duke of Bavaria. Eccard studied there with Lassus, and his mastery of choral and contrapuntal style clearly owes much to his illustrious teacher and his rich inventiveness. Coming originally from the Netherlands, Lassus would have known and sung the music of that area before his sojourn in what is now Italy began. Here is the thread that joins him and Eccard into today’s story: in 1562, Andrea Gabrieli (1532–1585), a predecessor of Monteverdi in Venice, had gone to München to study with Lassus, followed almost certainly later by his nephew Giovanni (1554–1612). Eccard was only 9 years old at the time, so there is no direct connection there, but we can at least say that Eccard and the Gabrielis learnt from the same master and that Venice was the beneficiary. Eccard wrote Maria wallt zum Heiligtum as a six-voice motet for the Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, otherwise known to us as Candlemas, which we are celebrating this Sunday. If you have decorated your home for the Epiphany with gold in honour of the season, it is time either to return it to the bank vault, or if your approach is more purely symbolic, just put it away wherever you keep it until next year. Lent will soon be breathing down our necks… The canticles at Evensong are the Fourth Service by Adrian Batten (1591–1637), whose mature career was mostly spent at Westminster Abbey and then St Paul’s Cathedral where he worked both as singer and organist. We know from contemporary texts that he was a prolific composer, but, alas, much of his music is now lost to us. Charles Burney (1726–1814), the eighteenth-century proto-music historian, composer and musician who had a great deal to say about everybody – generally expressed from quite a personal perspective – commented in his A general history of music, from the earliest ages to the present period, produced in four volumes between 1776 and 1789: He was a good harmonist of the old school, without adding anything to the common stock of ideas in melody or modulation with which the art was furnished long before he was born. Nor did he correct any of the errors in accent with which former times abounded. So that his imitations of anterior composers were entire. He seems to have jogged on in the plain, safe, and beaten track, without looking much about him, nor if he had, does he seem likely to have penetrated far into the musical terra incognita. Apart from being slightly surprised that the use of the word “jogged” was common in the eighteenth century, this really doesn’t seem fair to Batten, whose works may well have trod safe territory, but which nevertheless are charming and elegant, this setting being a good example. Of course, we only have a few pieces, so perhaps Burney’s swipes were directed at a large number of works that we are now mercifully spared from hearing. Nevertheless, you won’t be disappointed by this one if you come to hear it. The setting alternates between accompanied solo sections and choral textures. While straightforward, it is effective and elegant writing, with a slight hint of melancholy lurking under the surface of the music. This anthem is Laudibus in sanctis Dominum by William Byrd (1539–1623). This comes from his second book of Cantiones Sacrae (Sacred Choral Works) from 1591. This was produced by Thomas East, a renowned London music printer, retailer and publisher whose premises were, as it so happens, in Aldersgate Street, near the Priory Church. Byrd and Thomas Tallis (1505–1585), were granted exclusivity as music publishers by Elizabeth I, and, until 1596, when Byrd’s patent expired, this represented quite a limitation on East’s work. While he could engrave and print – and Byrd used him exclusively to do this with his works between 1588 and 1596 – he could not act as the actual publisher, except by licence. Nevertheless, he engraved, printed and sold a great deal of music in what cannot have been ideal circumstances. “Engraving”, as the word suggests, was a manual process (taken over in more recent years by computers, but often still known by the same – now inappropriate – word) of incising notes into stone or metal plates. But even by Byrd’s time, music was capable of being set in ‘type’, where the different notes were assembled together from individual note ‘units’ that were clamped together to form the musical ‘text’. This was how East produced nearly all of Byrd’s music, an example of the industrialization of the production of music as mechanization progressively took over from the artistry of the human hand. Byrd’s monopoly actually began in 1575, but for whatever reason, he took minimal advantage of this until 1588, when, quite suddenly, he began to make the most of it, and East was deeply involved. This was an important relationship: East distinguished himself from other printers partly by being willing both to print and distribute music, and by making English composers a focus of his attention. Importantly for Byrd and for Catholic worship in Britain, East was also willing to bring out uncompromisingly Catholic works in print.
Recommended publications
  • Use of the Simultaneous Cross-Relation by Sixteenth Century English and Continental Composers Tim Montgomery
    University of Richmond UR Scholarship Repository Honors Theses Student Research 1968 Use of the simultaneous cross-relation by sixteenth century English and continental composers Tim Montgomery Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.richmond.edu/honors-theses Part of the Musicology Commons Recommended Citation Montgomery, Tim, "Use of the simultaneous cross-relation by sixteenth century English and continental composers" (1968). Honors Theses. 1033. https://scholarship.richmond.edu/honors-theses/1033 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Research at UR Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of UR Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. USE OF THE SIMULTANEOUS CROSS-RELATION BY SIXTEENTH CENTURY ENGLISH AND CONTINENTAL COMPOSERS Tim Montgomery Music H 391 LmnARY ~tJ=N-IVE-R-·SJTY OF RICHMOND YIRGINIA 2317S The principle of the s~multaneous cross-relation in vocal music has generally and commonly been associated with the English composers of the sixteenth century.(M p.71; R 824 n.J4) This ~ssumption has been more specifically connected with secular music, namely the English madrigal.(Dy p.13) To find the validity of this assumption in relation to both secular and sacred music I have C()mpared the available vocal music of three English composers, two major and one minor: Thomas Tallis (1505-1585), William Byrd (1.543-1623), and Thomas Whythorne (1528-1596). In deciding whether the simultaneous cross-relation was an aspect of English music exclusively, I examined vocal music of three composers of the continent, con­ temporaries of the English, for the use, if any, of the simul­ taneous cross-relation.
    [Show full text]
  • Pieter-Jan Belder the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book
    95308 Fitzwilliam VB vol5 2CD_BL1_. 30/09/2016 11:06 Page 1 95308 The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book Volume 5 Munday · Richardson · Tallis Morley · Tomkins · Hooper Pieter-Jan Belder The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book Volume 5 Compact Disc 1 65’42 Compact Disc 2 58’02 John Munday 1555–1630 Anonymous Thomas Morley 1557 –1602 Anonymous & 1 Munday’s Joy 1’26 18 Alman XX 1’58 1 Alman CLII 1’33 Edmund Hooper 1553 –1621 2 Fantasia III, ( fair weather… ) 3’34 19 Praeludium XXII 0’54 2 Pavan CLXIX 5’48 12 Pakington’s Pownde CLXXVIII 2’14 3 Fantasia II 3’36 3 Galliard CLXX 3’00 13 The Irishe Dumpe CLXXIX 1’24 4 Goe from my window (Morley) 4’46 Thomas Tallis c.1505 –1585 4 Nancie XII 4’41 14 The King’s Morisco CCXLVII 1’07 5 Robin 2’08 20 Felix namque I, CIX 9’08 5 Pavan CLIII 5’47 15 A Toye CCLXIII 0’59 6 Galiard CLIV 2’28 16 Dalling Alman CCLXXXVIII 1’16 Ferdinando Richardson 1558 –1618 Anonymous 7 Morley Fantasia CXXIV 5’37 17 Watkins Ale CLXXX 0’57 6 Pavana IV 2’44 21 Praeludium ‘El. Kiderminster’ XXIII 1’09 8 La Volta (set by Byrd) CLIX 1’23 18 Coranto CCXXI 1’18 7 Variatio V 2’47 19 Alman (Hooper) CCXXII 1’13 8 Galiarda VI 1’43 Thomas Tallis Thomas Tomkins 1572 –1656 20 Corrãto CCXXIII 0’55 9 Variatio VII 1’58 22 Felix Namque II, CX 10’16 9 Worster Braules CCVII 1’25 21 Corranto CCXXIV 0’36 10 Pavana CXXIII 6’53 22 Corrãto CCXXV 1’15 Anonymous Anonymous 11 The Hunting Galliard CXXXII 1’59 23 Corrãto CCXXVI 1’08 10 Muscadin XIX 0’41 23 Can shee (excuse) CLXXXVIII 1’48 24 Alman CCXXVII 1’41 11 Pavana M.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Booklet
    Surround Sound SACDCD 9 Thomas Tallis CORO Sing and glorify According to the 17th-century witness who recounts the origins in the early 1570s of Spem in alium (track 1), Tallis’s 40-part motet was later revived ‘at the prince’s coronation’. By that, he must mean the investiture of Henry, James I’s eldest son, as Prince of Wales on 4 June 1610. By a happy coincidence, another source adds independent confirmation. It states that, following the investiture ceremony itself, the newly crowned prince dined in state at Whitehall to the sound of ‘music of forty several parts’. Clearly the new words that have been applied to Tallis’s music were written specially for the investiture, for they celebrate the ‘holy day’ in which Henry, ‘princely and mighty’, has been elevated by his new ‘creation’. At an event such as this, instruments would have joined voices to produce as rich and spectacular a sound as possible. In this recorded performance, we attempt to simulate that grandly sonorous noise. Thomas Tallis Sing and glorify heaven’s high majesty, for ever give it greeting, love and joy, Author of this blessed harmony. heart and voice meeting. Spem Sound divine praises with melodious graces. Live Henry, princely and mighty! This is the day, holy day, happy day; Henry live in thy creation happy! G IBBONS John Milsom ©2003 in alium B YRD Producer: Mark Brown The Sixteen Ltd., General Manager, Alison Stillman Music for Monarchs Engineer: Mike Hatch The Sixteen Productions Ltd., General Manager, Claire Long T OMKINS Digital mastering: Floating Earth www.thesixteen.com Organ Tuning: Keith McGowan For further information about The Sixteen and Magnates Recorded in May 2003 in All Saints Church, recordings on CORO or live performances Tooting, London and tours, call +44 (0) 1869 331 711, Design: Richard Boxall Design Associates or email [email protected].
    [Show full text]
  • The English Anthem Project the Past Century and a Half, St
    Special thanks to St. John’s staff for their help with promotions and program printing: Mair Alsgaard, Organist; Charlotte Jacqmain, Parish Secretary; and Ministry Coordinator, Carol The Rev. Ken Hitch, Rector Sullivan. Thanks also to Tim and Gloria Stark for their help in preparing the performance and reception spaces. To commemorate the first Episcopal worship service in Midland, MI 150 years ago, and in appreciation for community support over The English Anthem Project the past century and a half, St. John's and Holy Family Episcopal Churches are "Celebrating In Community" with 16th and 17th Centuries events like today’s concert. We hope you are able to share in future sesquicentennial celebration events we have planned for later this summer: www.sjec-midland.org/150 Exultate Deo Chamber Choir Weekly Worship Schedule SUNDAYS Saturday, June 24, 2017 8:00 AM - Holy Eucharist Traditional Worship, Spoken Service 4:00 p.m. 10:00 AM - Holy Eucharist Traditional Worship with Music, St. John’s Episcopal Church Nursery, Children's Ministry 405 N. Saginaw Road WEDNESDAYS Midland, MI 48640 12:00 PM - Holy Eucharist Quiet, Contemplative Worship 405 N. Saginaw Rd / Midland, MI 48640 This concert is offered as one of (989) 631-2260 / [email protected] several ‘Celebrating in Community’ www.sjec-midland.org events marking 150 years of All 8 Are Welcome. The Episcopal Church in Midland, MI The English Anthem Project William Byrd (c1540-1623) worked first in Lincoln Cathedral then became a member of the Chapel Royal, where for a time he and Tallis 16th and 17th Centuries were joint organists.
    [Show full text]
  • A Byrd Celebration
    A Byrd Celebration William Byrd 1540–1623 A Byrd Celebration LECTURES AT THE WILLIAM BYRD FESTIVAL EDITED BY RICHARD TURBET CMAA Church Music Association of America Cover picture is of the Lincoln Cathedral, England, where William Byrd was the choirmaster and organ- ist for nine years, 1563–1572. Copyright © 2008 Church Music Association of America Church Music Association of America 12421 New Point Drive Harbor Cove Richmond, Virginia 23233 Fax 240-363-6480 [email protected] website musicasacra.com TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments . .7 Preface . .9 BIOGRAPHY . .11 William Byrd: A Brief Biography . .13 Kerry McCarthy “Blame Not the Printer”: William Byrd’s Publishing Drive, 1588–1591 . .17 Philip Brett Byrd and Friends . .67 Kerry McCarthy William Byrd, Catholic and Careerist . .75 Joseph Kerman MASSES . .85 The Masses of William Byrd . .87 William Peter Mahrt Byrd’s Masses in Context . .95 David Trendell CANTIONES . .103 Byrd’s Musical Recusancy . .105 David Trendell Grave and Merrie, Major and Minor: Expressive Paradoxes in Byrd’s Cantiones Sacrae, 1589 . .113 William Peter Mahrt Savonarola, Byrd, and Infelix ego . .123 David Trendell William Byrd’s Art of Melody . .131 William Peter Mahrt GRADUALIA . .139 Rose Garlands and Gunpowder: Byrd’s Musical World in 1605 . .141 Kerry McCarthy The Economy of Byrd’s Gradualia . .151 William Peter Mahrt 5 6 — A Byrd Celebration ENGLISH MUSIC . .159 Byrd the Anglican? . .161 David Trendell Byrd’s Great Service: The Jewel in the Crown of Anglican Music . .167 Richard Turbet Context and Meaning in William Byrd’s Consort Songs . .173 David Trendell UNPUBLISHED MOTETS . .177 Byrd’s Unpublished Motets .
    [Show full text]
  • Zwischen Strengem Reglement Und Freier Entfaltung Die Ersten Kapellmeister Der Kurbrandenburgischen Hofkapelle in Der Zeit Vor Dem Dreißigjährigen Krieg
    Kulturgeschichte Preuûens - Colloquien 3 (2016) Detlef Giese Zwischen strengem Reglement und freier Entfaltung Die ersten Kapellmeister der kurbrandenburgischen Hofkapelle in der Zeit vor dem Dreiûigjährigen Krieg Abstract Dass es vornehmlich die Kapellmeister sind, die einem Klangkörper Gesicht und Stimme geben, gilt für die Gegenwart gleichermaûen wie für die Geschichte. Der jeweilige Stelleninhaber ist einerseits eingebunden in seine vertraglichen Verpflichtungen, besitzt andererseits aber auch gewisse Freiheiten, im Rahmen bestimmter Möglichkeiten seinen Tätigkeitsbereich für sich selbst zu definieren. Die Erwartungshaltungen der wechselnden Dienstherren wandeln sich ebenso wie das politisch-gesellschaftliche, institutionelle und allgemein kulturelle Umfeld, in der die administrative und künstlerische Arbeit des Kapellmeisters angesiedelt ist. Die Wirkung und Ausstrahlungskraft, welche die Protagonisten hierbei entfalten, sind wichtige Gradmesser für die Bedeutung sowohl der Person als auch der Institution im regionalen wie überregionalen Maûstab. Für die Frühzeit der kurbrandenburgischen Hofkapelle sind zumindest die Namen einiger Kapellmeister überliefert, die als empirische Individualitäten fassbar werden. Dem ersten namentlich bekannte Amtsträger Johann Wesalius, der bereits in den 1570er Jahren an der Spitze des Ensembles stand, kommt in diesem Zusammenhang Aufmerksamkeit und Interesse zu, desgleichen Musikern wie Johannes Eccard und Nikolaus Zangius, die in den ersten beiden Jahrzehnten des 17. Jahrhunderts zu den respektablen, im Falle von Eccard sogar zu den prominenten, bis heute immer noch wertgeschätzten deutschen Komponisten ihrer Zeit zählten. Obwohl sie an jeweilige Rahmenbedingungen materieller wie personeller Art gebunden waren, besaûen sie doch ausreichend Räume zur eigenen Entfaltung, um sich künstlerisch zu profilieren. Auf der anderen Seite steht eine strenge Reglementierungen der Aufgaben und Aktivitäten von Seiten der Regenten, die nicht selten einengend wirkten, zumal die Ressourcen über den betrachteten Zeitraum von 1570 bis ca.
    [Show full text]
  • Multiple Choice
    Unit 4: Renaissance Practice Test 1. The Renaissance may be described as an age of A. the “rebirth” of human creativity B. curiosity and individualism C. exploration and adventure D. all of the above 2. The dominant intellectual movement of the Renaissance was called A. paganism B. feudalism C. classicism D. humanism 3. The intellectual movement called humanism A. treated the Madonna as a childlike unearthly creature B. focused on human life and its accomplishments C. condemned any remnant of pagan antiquity D. focused on the afterlife in heaven and hell 4. The Renaissance in music occurred between A. 1000 and 1150 B. 1150 and 1450 C. 1450 and 1600 D. 1600 and 1750 5. Which of the following statements is not true of the Renaissance? A. Musical activity gradually shifted from the church to the court. B. The Catholic church was even more powerful in the Renaissance than during the Middle Ages. C. Every educated person was expected to be trained in music. D. Education was considered a status symbol by aristocrats and the upper middle class. 6. Many prominent Renaissance composers, who held important posts all over Europe, came from an area known at that time as A. England B. Spain C. Flanders D. Scandinavia 7. Which of the following statements is not true of Renaissance music? A. The Renaissance period is sometimes called “the golden age” of a cappella choral music because the music did not need instrumental accompaniment. B. The texture of Renaissance music is chiefly polyphonic. C. Instrumental music became more important than vocal music during the Renaissance.
    [Show full text]
  • Partbooks and the Music Collection Will Be Open from 12 May to 13 August 2016 in the Upper Library at Christ Church
    Tudor Partbooks and the Music Collection will be open from 12 May to 13 August 2016 in the Upper Library at Christ Church. The exhibition showcases the music-books used by singers in the age of Queen Elizabeth I, with special emphasis on partbooks. This is the result of a successful collaboration with the Tudor Partbooks Project (Oxford University, Faculty of Music) and the Oxford Early Music Festival. The exhibition is curated by Dr John Milsom and Dr Cristina Neagu. Visiting hours: Monday - Friday 10.00 am - 1.00 pm 2:00 pm - 4.30 pm (provided there is a member of staff available in the Upper Library). The new exhibition opened with a concert by Magnificat, featuring pieces from the Christ Church Music Collection. This is one of the world’s premier vocal ensembles, internationally acclaimed for its performance of Renaissance choral masterpieces. Concert programme Robert White Christe qui lux Lamentations William Byrd Come to me grief O that most rare breast Thomas Tallis Salvator mundi (II) Salvator mundi (I) The concert was followed by a talk by Dr John Milsom, leading Tudor music scholar, and a drinks reception in the Cathedral. Tudor partbooks and the music collection Detail from Mus 864b choirbooks 1. CHOIRBOOK LAYOUT: A CLASSIC FOUR-VOICE MOTET In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, church choirs typically sang from large choirbooks, in which different areas of the double-page spread displayed the various voice-parts of a composition. This example shows the famous Ave Maria … virgo serena by Josquin Desprez. Each of the motet’s four voices is headed with a large capital A.
    [Show full text]
  • Tallis's Spem in Alium
    Spem in Alium – a comparatively review of fourteen recordings by Ralph Moore Background We know less about Thomas Tallis than Shakespeare or any other major cultural figure of the Tudor age; definite facts are few and reasonable inferences and conjectures are many, starting even with the dates of his birth – presumed to be around 1505 - and death - either 20th or 23rd November, 1585. The exact site of his grave in the chancel of the parish of St Alfege Church, Greenwich, is lost. We have no authenticated portrait. What we do know is that despite being a recusant Catholic, he not only survived those perilous times but prospered under a succession of Protestant monarchs, the sole Catholic being Edward VII’s sister Mary, who reigned for only five years, from 1553-1558. He was so valued and respected that Elizabeth gave him the lease on a manor house and a handsome income, and in 1575 he and his pupil William Byrd were granted an exclusive royal patent to print and publish polyphonic music. The key to his survival must lie in his discretion, flexibility and, above all, prodigious talent: he is indubitably one of the greatest English composers of his or any age and a towering figure in Renaissance choral music. His masterpiece is certainly the forty-voice motet Spem in alium but here again, verified facts regarding its origin and first performance are few. The original manuscript is lost and our knowledge of the work is derived from another score prepared for the investiture in 1610 of James I’s elder son, Henry, as Prince of Wales, and used again for the coronation in 1625 of his younger brother, Charles I, next in line to the throne after Harry’s death in 1612 from typhoid fever at eighteen years old.
    [Show full text]
  • The Renaissance Period
    The Renaissance Period The Renaissance, which literally means “rebirth” in French, saw movement and change in many different spheres of cultural activity as Europe began to rediscover and identify with its Greco-Roman heritage. The natural sciences (in particular astronomy) began advancing at a rapid pace, and some philosophers began to discuss secular humanism as a valid system. The discovery of the American continents by European navigators resulted in the first widespread speculations of international law and began a crisis of consci ence over human rights that would haunt the West for centuries to come. In particular, however, the Renaissance is remembered for a great a flourishing of the Arts. Secular instrumental music (for early instruments like shawms, crumhorns, and sackbuts) became increasingly popular during this period and composers began to write it down for the first time. The polyphonic madrigal became very popular in England thanks to composers like John Dowland and William Byrd. The motet, a three-part polyphonic composition written for voices or instruments, became popular around this time as well. Despite the increase in secularism, it was still within a religious context that the Renaissance arts truly thrived. Renaissance popes (corrupt as they were) were great patrons of such artists as Michelangelo, Raphael, and Gianlorenzo Bernini. Composers of church music expanded polyphony to six, eight, or even ten interwoven parts. The masses of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Tomás Luis de Victoria, and Orlando di Lasso in particular remain some of the most beautiful music ever composed. This polyphonic style was also used by the French composer Josquin des Prez, who wrote both sacred and secular music.
    [Show full text]
  • 'The Performing Pitch of William Byrd's Latin Liturgical Polyphony: a Guide
    The Performing Pitch of William Byrd’s Latin Liturgical Polyphony: A Guide for Historically Minded Interpreters Andrew Johnstone REA: A Journal of Religion, Education and the Arts, Issue 10, 'Sacred Music', 2016 The choosing of a suitable performing pitch is a task that faces all interpreters of sixteenth- century vocal polyphony. As any choral director with the relevant experience will know, decisions about pitch are inseparable from decisions about programming, since some degree of transposition—be it effected on the printed page or by the mental agility of the singers—is almost invariably required to bring the conventions of Renaissance vocal scoring into alignment with the parameters of the more modern SATB ensemble. To be sure, the problem will always admit the purely pragmatic solution of adopting the pitch that best suits the available voices. Such a solution cannot of itself be to the detriment of a compelling, musicianly interpretation, and precedent for it may be cited in historic accounts of choosing a pitch according to the capabilities of the available bass voices (Ganassi 1542, chapter 11) and transposing polyphony so as to align the tenor part with the octave in which chorale melodies were customarily sung (Burmeister 1606, chapter 8). At the same time, transpositions oriented to the comfort zone of present-day choirs will almost certainly result in sonorities differing appreciably from those the composer had in mind. It is therefore to those interested in this aspect of the composer’s intentions, as well as to those curious about the why and the wherefore of Renaissance notation, that the following observations are offered.
    [Show full text]
  • Image and Influence: the Political Uses of Music at the Court of Elizabeth I
    Image and Influence: The Political Uses of Music at the Court of Elizabeth I Katherine Anne Butler Royal Holloway, University of London Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Acknowledgements With thanks to all the people who supported me throughout my research, especially: My supervisor, Stephen Rose, My advisors, Elizabeth Eva Leach and Anna Whitelock, The Arts and Humanities Research Council for funding this research, Royal Holloway Music Department for conference grants, My proofreaders, Holly Winterton, Sarah Beal, Janet McKnight and my Mum, My parents and my fiancé, Chris Wedge, for moral support and encouragement. Declaration of Authorship I, Katherine Butler, hereby declare that this thesis and the work presented in it is entirely my own. Where I have consulted the work of others, this is always clearly stated. Signed: ______________________ Date: ________________________ 2 Abstract In their Cantiones sacrae (1575), court musicians William Byrd and Thomas Tallis declared that ‘music is indispensable to the state’ (necessarium reipub.). Yet although the relationship between Elizabethan politics and literature has been studied often, there has been little research into the political functions of music. Most accounts of court music consist of documentary research into the personnel, institutions and performance occasions, and generally assume that music’s functions were limited to entertainment and displays of magnificence. However, Elizabethans believed that musical concord promoted a social harmony that would ease the process of government; hence politics and music were seen as closely connected. This thesis is an interdisciplinary investigation into the role of music in constructing royal and courtly identities and influencing Elizabeth’s policies and patronage.
    [Show full text]