Renaissance

The Renaissance was a time of rebirth in learning, science, and the arts throughout Europe.

The rediscovery of the writings of ancient Greece and Rome led to a renewed interest in learning in general.

The invention of the printing press allowed the disbursement of this knowledge in an unprecedented manner.

The invention of the compass permitted the navigation of the world's oceans and the subsequent discovery of lands far removed from the European continent.

With Copernicus' discovery of the actual position of the earth in the solar system and Martin Luther's Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Church lost its grip on society and a humanist spirit was born.

1. Rediscovery of Classical Literature and Art a. people from various segments of society—from kings and

nobles to merchants and soldiers—studied classical literature and art (Ancient Greece and Rome).

2. Curiosity and Objectivity a. marked by an intense interest in the visible world and in

the knowledge derived from concrete sensory experience. b. it turned away from the abstract speculations and interest

in life after death that characterized the Middle Ages. 1) The focus during the Renaissance turned from

abstract discussions of religious issues to the morality of human actions

3. Individualism a. the unique talents and potential of the individual became

significantb. The concept of personal fame was much more highly

developed than during the Middle Ages.1) Renaissance artists, valuing glory and renown in this

world, signed their works. Medieval artists, with their focus on otherworldliness and on glorifying God, were more humble and remained largely anonymous.

c. The goal of education was to develop the individual's talents in all intellectual and physical areas, from scholarship and the writing of sonnets to swordsmanship and wrestling.

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo da Vinci was known not only as a masterful painter but as an architect, sculptor, engineer, and

scientist.

Michelangelo (1475-1564)

Liaison Agency/Chris WahlbergCreation of Adam, Creation of Eve

Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling frescoes between 1508 and 1512. The frescoes are his interpretation of the biblical book of Genesis, the story of the creation of the world. In the central scene shown here, God

appears in human form as he gives the breath of life to Adam, the first human being. The scene above it shows the first woman, Eve,

as she emerges from Adam's rib.

Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus was the illegitimate son of a priest. Erasmus was born in Rotterdam, in 1466. Orphaned at an early age, Erasmus, under the advice of his legal guardians, entered a monastery of Augustinian orientation. Being a student

of great promise, Erasmus was ordained a priest before the age of thirty. 

William Harvey, the father of modern physiology, was born in Folkestone, Kent, England, in 1578, the eldest of seven sons of a yeoman farmer.

Petrarch was an Italian scholar, poet and Renaissance humanist who abandoned his study of law to pursue literature and the religious life. His love sonnets and odes were inspired by Laura, his idealized subject of love. He is considered the greatest scholar of his age and his works were used as the basis, along with Dante Alighieri, to create the modern Italian language.

NAME: Petrarch OCCUPATION: Philosopher, Poet BIRTH DATE: July 20, 1304 DEATH DATE: July 19, 1374 PLACE OF BIRTH: Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy PLACE OF DEATH: Veneto, Italy ORIGINALLY: Francesco Petrarca NICKNAME: Father of Humanism

NICKNAME: Father of the Renaissance

NAME: René Descartes OCCUPATION: Philosopher, Mathematician,Scientist, Academic

Author BIRTH DATE: March 31, 1596 DEATH DATE: February 11, 1650 EDUCATION: Jesuit College of Henri IV, University of Poitiers PLACE OF BIRTH: La Haye, Touraine, France PLACE OF DEATH: Stockholm, Sweden

BEST KNOWN FORPhilosopher and mathematician René Descartes is regarded as the father of modern philosophy for defining a starting point for existence, “I think; therefore I am.”

NICOLAS COPERNICUS

RENAISSANCE MUSIC (1450-1600)I. Musical Style

The vocal forms of this period were marked by smoothly gliding melodies conceived for the voice.

Most church music was written in a cappella style Solo instruments were famous especially lute and keyboard Women played an active role in music

Church Music

The style of renaissance church music is described as choral polyphony (polyphonic, counterpoint, contrapuntal), meaning more than one part. Homophonic means moving in chords. Monophonic means one melody line. Choral polyphony was intended to be sung a cappella (without instruments). The main forms were the mass and the motet. They had four parts, based on modes, but composers gradually added more accidentals.

One of the most noticeable differences between Medieval and Renaissance styles, is that of musical texture. Whereas a Medieval composer tended to contrast the separate strands of his music, a Renaissance composer aimed to blend them together. Instead of building up the texture layer by layer, he worked gradually through the piece, attending to all parts simultaneously. The key device used to weave this kind of texture is called imitation. Composers were becoming more interested and aware of harmony (how notes fit against each other).

I. Sacred MusicMusic played an important role in the ritual of the church in

addition to the monophonic Gregorian chant, music for church services included the polyphonic setting of the Mass, motets and hymns.

1. Mass – The word Mass (missa) first established itself as the general designation for the Eucharistic Sacrifice in the West after the time of Pope Gregory the Great (d. 604), the early Church having used the expression the "breaking of bread" (fractio panis) or"liturgy" (Acts 13:2, leitourgountes); the Greek Church has employed the latter name for almost sixteen centuries.

There were current in the early days of Christianity other terms;

"The Lord's Supper" (coena dominica), the "Sacrifice" (prosphora, oblatio), "the gathering together" (synaxis, congregatio), "the Mysteries", and (since Augustine), "the Sacrament of the Altar".

the ritual of the Eucharist, celebrated primarily in the Catholic church, has given rise to a large musical repertory. The Proper – the sections that vary from day to day; the Ordinary – the fixed portion of the Mass that was sung daily.

a. Kyrie – the first section of the mass is a prayer for mercy that dates from the early centuries of Christianity.

b. Gloria – “Glory be to God in the High” is a joyful hymn of praise that is omitted in the penitential seasons of Advent and Lent

c. Credo – “I believe in one God, the Father Almighty” is the confession of faithful and the longest of the Mass texts

d. Sanctus – “Holy, holy, holy” which concludes with the “Hosanna” (Hosanna in the highest). The Sanctus is the last part of the Preface in the Mass, sung in practically every rite by the people (or choir).

e. Agnus Dei – “Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world” is sung three times. Twice it concluded with ‘miserere nobis” (have mercy on us) and the third time with the prayer “dona nobis pacem” (grant us peace)

When several "Masses" are written by the same composer, they are differentiated numerically (e.g. Mozart's No. 1, No. 2, No. 17) or by dedication to some particular feast (e.g. Gounod's "Messe de Paques") or saint (e.g. Gounod's "St. Cecilia" Mass), or devotion (e.g. Gounod's "Messe du Sacré Coeur"), or musical association (e.g.Gounod's "Messe des Orphéonistes", Nos. I, II), or musical patron (e.g. Palestrina's "Missa Papae Marcelli"), or special occasion (e.g. Cherubini's "Third Mass in A" entitled the "Coronation Mass", as it was for the coronation of King Charles X).

2. Motet – is derived from a French word “mot” meaning “word”. Motet is a short polyphonic musical setting in imitative counterpoint, for chorus, of a religious text not specifically connected to the liturgy of a given day, and therefore suitable for use in any service. It became a sacred form with a single Latin text, for use of the Mass and other religious services. Motets in praise of the Virgin Mary were extremely popular because of the many religious groups all over Europe devoted to Mary. The title commonly given to the Latin text and vernacular translation of the Canticle (or Song) of Mary.

In Lutheran Germany motets were based on the texts, and often the melodies, of chorales (German hymns) – Protestant Hymns. In England motets with English texts for use in Anglican services were called anthems . They were either for chorus (full anthems) or for soloist(s) and chorus (verse anthems). Instrumental accompaniment was common in both types.

This was music independent of churches (i.e. none religious). The main type was the song, lied (German), frottola (Italian), chanson (French), madrigal (Italian) and villancico (Spanish).

II. Secular MusicMost prosperous homes had a lute, a keyboard instrument,

and the study of music was part of the proper upbringing for a young girl. 1. Chanson – It was the favorite at the courts of the dukes of Burgundy and the kings of France which are considered great patrons of the arts. It is written for three voices. 2. Madrigal – was an aristocratic form of poetry-and-music that flourished at the small Italian courts, where it was a favorite diversion of cultivated amateurs. The texts consists of a short poem of lyric or reflective character, often including the emotional words for weeping, sighing, trembling and dying. During courtly social gatherings and meetings of learned and artistic societies, madrigals are sung. Lute and harpsichord are usually the accompaniment of a madrigal.

Elizabethan Madrigals

In 1588 a collection of Italian Madrigals with English words was published in England, and it sparked off an interest in English Madrigal writing. They were performed in rich people's homes. There are three kinds of madrigal:

1. The Madrigal Proper - This kind was 'through-composed' (The music is different all the time.) There is a lot of word-painting music that illustrates words. E.g. Thomas Weelkes 'As Vesta was from Latmos Hill descending.

2. The Ballett - It was sometimes danced as well as sung. The texture is mainly chordal. Whereas a madrigal proper is through-composed, a ballett is strophic (two or more verses set to the same music. The most noticeable feature of a ballett is the 'fa-la-la' refrain.

3. The Ayre - An Ayre could be performed in a variety of ways: By solo voice with lute accompaniment; by a solo voice with other accompaniment (e.g. viols); all the parts sung by voices (with or without instruments).

The MADZ    The University of the Philippines Madrigal Singers was organized in 1963 by National Artist Professor Andrea O. Veneracion.

Born in Manila on July 11, 1928, she is recognized as an authority on choral music and performance and has served as adjudicator in international music competitions. She earned her Bachelor of Music degrees in Piano and Voice at the University of the Philippines Diliman graduating Cum Laude. She was a lyric soprano soloist in various Oratorio works and in the Opera Stage. She was also a very accomplished pianist. She was also an exceptional athlete as a competitive swimmer. In fact, she was part of the Philippine Swimming team who first competed internationally in Hong Kong.Later on, she continued to pursue her Master's Degree in Voice at Indiana University School of Music - Bloomington as a Fulbright scholar, where she encountered the Indiana University Madrigal Singers which rallied the music of the Renaissance period.

Upon her return to the Philippines in 1963, she established a singing group with the same idea. This group was initially exclusive of U.P. faculty members and students and became officially known as the University of the Philippines Madrigal Singers.

The group is composed of students, faculty and alumni from the different colleges of the University of the Philippines (UP).

   The ensemble performs a wide repertoire of various styles and forms: renaissance music, classical music, Filipino and international folksongs, contemporary and avant-garde music, opera and even popular music. Their specialization and focus on the madrigal idiom has inspired their unique set-up of singing while seated in a semi-circle, without a conductor.

MARK ANTHONY CARPIO    Mark Anthony Carpio is acknowledged as one of the foremost experts in the field of choral music among the younger set of Filipino conductors. As the choirmaster of the Philippine Madrigal Singers, he leads the group through its disciplined regular rehearsals and hectic calendar of performances.  

Mark graduated from the University of the Philippines College of Music with a Bachelor’s Degree in Piano cum laude in 1992. He immediately returned to the college as a faculty member of the Piano Department. He also joined the renowned UP Madrigal Singers and began to form what is now a long-standing bond with the choir. Starting out with the Madz as a tenor, he continued to grow in skill and dedication and is currently a faculty member of the college’s Choral Conducting Department.In 2001, Mark was personally chosen by Prof. Veneracion to succeed her reins as the choirmaster of the Philippine Madrigal Singers. Since then, he has led the group in its numerous tours all over the world.