Also, do I need to post recordings of the sections of Mass Proper (Introit, etc.)?
Thursday, December 31, 2009
I was unable to find several recordings online, listed in the following: Haec dies organum (pg. 20); O mitissima/Virgo/Haec Dies (pg. 21 in text book); Royal Estampie No. 4 (pg. 28); Pavane "Mille Regretz" (from Danseyre) (pg. 45); Improperia by Palestrina (pg. 47); and Machaut's ballade, "Dame, de qui toute ma joie vient" (pg. 29). If you can find a recording of any of these, please let me know.
Illumina Faciem Tuam (5 voices)- by Gesualdo
Motet from Cantiones Sacrae
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNDTwDHYThM
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Guillaume de Machaut
Puis qu'en oubli ('Let me not forget')
http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.553833
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Mass
The mass in the Middle Ages served as an essential core of the Roman Catholic Church, lasting as one of the primary sources of music of the past. By around 600 the individual portions of the Mass in addition to its fixed structure were instituted. The mass fits into the category of sacred music, i.e. compositions usually with religious themes and that are intended to be performed for religious occasions, like church services. The Last Supper serves as the final section of the mass. The Mass can be either spoken, called Low Mass, or sung, called High Mass.
The church divides its prayers into two separate categories: the Proper and the Ordinary.
In the Ordinary, consisting of five parts, the lyrics never change throughout the whole year. The five sections, usually sung in plainchant, are listed in the following: Kyrie (eleison), Gloria (Gloria in excelsis Deo), Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei.
The texts of the Proper part of the mass, however, are altered throughout the year based on Church holy days, such as Easter and Christmas. The following represents the parts of the Proper part of the mass: Introit (between Kyrie and Gloria), Gradual, Alleluia Sequence (succeeded by Credo), Offertory (succeeded by Sanctus Benedictus and Agnus Dei), and Communion (followed by Ita missa est.)
The Haec Dies chant is an example of the Gradual in the Mass Proper sung at Easter Sunday service. Masses were even composed in the Renaissance, specifically by Palestrina.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Madrigal
The term madrigal has a supposed etymology tracing back to one of two words relating to a rural poem. A secular delivery written amidst an aristocratic era, a madrigals was aimed at common Renaissance sensations and thoughts. Structurally, the madrigal in the 1500's contained anywhere between four and six voice parts, and, in the early part of the 1500's, had no attributes of the fixed forms belonging to the past. A through-composed setting of a brief poem, its theme could be one of several subjects: comedy, politics, satire, love, rural scenes, and longing. Designed to be sung with a single singer per part, it fell into the category of vocal chamber music, although the voices were frequently replaced or duplicated with instruments. Two or three three-line stanzas, in addition to two rhyming lines that make up a refrain at the end of the poem, was the typical length of the poem.
In a madrigal of this time period, each poetic line was usually accompanied by the music which corresponded to the impression and rhythm of the text. The locations where madrigals were presented varied from theatrical productions, such as a play, to assemblies in academies. The artistic society where beauty contained emotion gained the madrigal as its new music.
The madrigal progressed through three stages, beginning with the first stage with strophic madrigals, i.e. madrigals with each stanza using the same music. This early phase (ca. 1525-1550) contained techniques for composition designed to correspond the music with the lyrics and they grew broader closer to the final stretch of this phase. The poetry used in madrigals had an emotional scope that also started to enlarge.
In the middle phase (1550-1580), a madrigal had two or more voices independent of each other, thus creating a polyphonic texture. Chromatic harmonies were tried by composers in the 1560's and begun by composers such as Claudio Montiverdi around the 1560's and a greater number of voices were present in the music, often five and six-voice parts.
In the late phase (1580-1620), many innovations occurred, such as solo duets and songs with accompaniment. Instead of being improvised, ornaments began to be written down. Emotional and dramatic effects were achieved by more shocking dissonance, chromaticism, and progressions of harmony. Enlivening the lyrics through images portrayed in the music passed away as harmony became the means by which this bringing to life was accomplished.
Beginnings of techniques of what is called word painting are frequently attributed to Italian madrigals. Word painting is defined as the music's attempt to somehow describe the lyrics, such as mimicing the text's action or emotion. This special art was also implemented by the English who favored simple texts. Musica Transalpina is the title of Nicholas Yonge's published compilation of Italian madrigals accessible in England.
Italian madrigals had a more casual, less integrated character and shape than the English versions. Chromaticism in the Italian madrigals did not have as great a presence in those of the English. Madrigals in England feature several facets as listed in the following: a shift to polyphonic texture from homophonic texture; chords functioning as the setting for the madrigal's final line; and sections that are repeated. Nonsense syllables, for example, "fa la la,"" were instituted by English madrigals as humor and celebration had a greater presence in these madrigals compared to their Italian complements. This madrigal from England, although it had ingenuity and good quality, lasted only a brief period of time as the cantata in the 1600's took its place.
15th Century Motet
Originating in the 1200's as a pairing of earlier music with new text, the motet was often sung at Vespers in the divine office or between the Credo and Sanctus sections of the Mass. Oftentimes composed for a specific holy day, a motet has primarily been present in the church, but can also serve as a secular song for one or more soloists with instrumental accompaniment no matter if a choir is present. Having flowed throughout Europe by the mid 1400's, this form of music was reared by composers from the Flemish school. Consisting of anywhere between four and six voices, the motet in the 15th century Renaissance moved out of the harsh rhythmic structure present in the 13th century.
Much contrapuntal texture was found in this form of music and the tenor voice carried the melodies which were usually picked from plainchant. upper voices of a descant clausulae were assigned to the lyrics. Rhythmic modes, i.e. brief, repeated patterns of rhythm, were found in each voice part of this type of descant. In the mass or vespers, plainchants correlating with the texts often served as the foundations of these motets. A certain motet's musical themes might have been present in the music of a mass whether or not a separated part of plainchant functioned as a base for the music. This unique unifying factor that molded the whole mass and motet together was not present in Johann Sebastian Bach's music, or, for that matter, any church music following this time period.
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