The Music of the

The Rebirth of Art & Music 1440 - 1585Copyright © 2005 - Frankel Consulting Services, Inc.

The Renaissance

• Renaissance is the French word for rebirth.

• The intellectuals and artists in Florence, Italy and throughout Europe wanted to restore the philosophical and artistic ideals of the Ancient Greeks and Romans and put an end to the “Dark Ages”.

Can you name some of the famous artists of the time?

Here is a quick look at some of the artists and their work…

Leonardo Da Vinci

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Michaelangelo

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Florence was the center of it all.

Why Florence?

• It was where all of the intellectuals and artists of the time lived and worked - similar to Paris in the 1920’s.

• Florence was a wealthy city in the 1400’s - and where there are rich people, there are usually good artists working for them.

• Today, the Uffizi Gallery houses many of the masterpieces of the Renaissance Era.

So what about the music?

Oh they were making music

alright.

And they were inventing

instruments, too.

The Harpsichord

The Violin

The Transverse Flute

The Viola da Gamba

What is unique about Renaissance Music?

• Beginnings of four-part writing with complex counterpoint.

• The overall mood of the music is happy.• Dance music flourished during this time.• Smoother more flowing melodic lines.• Much more use of imitation as a

compositional device.• Madrigal singers performed more

complex vocal music.

Renaissance Composers

• Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594)

• William Byrd (1543-1623)• Josquin des Prez (1440-1521)• Orlando de Lassus (1532-1594)• Guillaume Dufay (1397-1474)

Palestrinahttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mdmco61Htk

William Byrdhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXeT2HWpwc4

Josquin des Prezhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUAgAF4Khmg

Orlando de Lassus

Guillaume Dufayhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uSyOeLx2z0

Madrigals

What are Madrigals??A madrigal is a vocal music composition. Traditionally, madrigals are unaccompanied; the number of voices varies from two to eight, and most frequently from three to six.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w38kHRd0vE