How Did Music From the Middle Ages and the Renaissance Reflect Core Values?

Ideology, as a set of ideas, assumptions and values that legitimate and tend to reify social relations, can be related to music.

For the final presentation for this course, I am going to analyze one of my favorite songs, Ave Maria by Josquin des Prez. Each year around this time, my parents always took me to an ensemble shows in my town and this song was always one of the most popular songs. There are many different versions of Ave Maria by various composers in different timeline. However, I personally favor Josquin’s version of Ave Maria the most because this piece gives the vibe of Mary I always thought of; calm, bright, and magnificent rather than slow and intimidating vibe that few other Ave Maria by different composers gives. Also, I recommended this piece to my choir teacher and we sang this piece in a competition; it includes all four spectrum of soprano, alto,

Music is built on a very sophisticated foundation that is expressed through a variety of technicalities and rules. As an art form, music has survived through many era’s that have evolved genre’s and sounds into its culture. The ages of music that were most prominent included the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern era’s. Within these years (1600-1900’s) music was distinguished for separate motives, audiences, and demands. Chamber music for example, was created for small audiences in the nobility, while Concert music was used for larger audiences in concert halls of varying classes. Absolute music was abstracted sound with no particular motive, while Program music was played for specified themes and stories that usually involved heroism

The main objective in the performance of Renaissance music is that everything done by the singer is subservient to the text. Musicians of the Renaissance were fixated on the concept of music serving the text. Composers set poems to text attempting to imitate natural speech and inflection pattern in the rhythms of the music, and wished to write the music in such a way that the words could be understood. Singers should strive toward clear diction, making sure their vowel shapes and ornamentation do not obscure the text.

In this paper I will evaluate two artworks that share the same theme “Humanism and Beauty. The two artworks that I have chosen are The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli and the poem “Stanze per la Giostra” by Angelo Polizanio. The Birth of Venus was created during the Renaissance sometime in the 1480’s. The painting is currently located in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence Italy. The poem “Stanze per la Giostra” by Angelo Polizanio was written around 1470 and was also created during the Renaissance period. These two works of art were created to represent the birth of Venus. Both pieces depict the culture’s view about the natural beauty of women during the Renaissance period. In this paper, I will discuss what our society seems to think beautiful

The Medieval period began in 500 A.D. and ended in 1450 A.D. During this time in particular, the Catholic Church had significant influence on how music was used and created. Sacred music, for example, was most prevalent because of this. Due to the religious nature of this period, music in the church had to adhere to very specific regulations, some of which included prayers such as plainchants or Gregorian chants. A single melody without harmony, or one musical part sung together in unison, is called a Monophonic melody, which was sung primarily by monks. Some time later, around 900 A.D., the using of two melodic lines was permitted by the church, this music was called organum. A low, continuous note called a drone, was sung at the same time as the main melody. The two melodies were often moving in contrasting motion to each other. By the Late-Medieval period, 1100 A.D., the music of the church had shifted from monophonic to more polyphonic, often two or more varying parts.

The music was played very often as a normal routine. People considered it a must to know how to play an instrument, sing, or be involved somehow with music in this age of time. Instruments in the 1600’s were able to make any type of music; the amazing part was no matter how many instruments you used it would always sound pure and the same. Another unique thing about the music and culture in the 1600’s is that it was also healthy for the body. During the Elizabethan Era the people would gather together to dance and dance for hours, their stamina must have been incredible. Music was use to entertain most people. Before the music became a big part in people life during the Elizabethan Era theatre played a really big part during this time. It

The new emphasis on learning, especially via direct observation of the natural world, led to new artistic techniques that allowed artists to mimic those of the ancients. The Early Renaissance was, therefore, a progression of observing the works of the ancients, and undergoing a new process of trial-and-error learning from prior mistakes and tracing the path of artistic creation. The aim of the artists was to better their abilities at portraying human characteristics, both physical and emotional, while creating a more ideal finished product, something that was as significant in presence as the natural world itself. Much progress was made in these campaigns during the Early Renaissance, and the emergence of the High Renaissance was characterized by the true mastery of the method of creating mankind’s body and emotions[1], and an artwork as balanced as nature itself. Jean Hey’s “The Annunciation” demonstrates the product of this final Renaissance transition.

The Middle Ages and Renaissance were two very different periods of time. Throughout the Middle Ages, it was believed that God was the ruler, and almost everything in life was based around religion. Illiteracy was also very widespread, unless one was a religious figure. For example, priests and monks were basically the only literate people during the Middle Ages, and they were the ones that would do all the reading, and writing from the Bible. One of the main reasons for illiteracy was the lack of technology. The only way for copies of books to be made was with handwritten books, which made it hard to get hands on a book, because the quantity was so scarce. Another reason for the illiteracy was that many people were called serfs, which are

The use of music in the church was one of the greatest debates of the Reformation era. “One of the great debates of the Reformation era concerned the use of music in church. (Noll 167)” In the era of Reformation the use of music in church was one of the greatest debates ever.

Throughout history, emotions have played a big part in contributing to society. Emotions whether they have been happy, angry, fear or even joy, have also played a part in the type of art Humanity has created, whether it be visual art, film, drama, or even music. These emotions are prevalent in art. These emotions have also inspired artists to create what they intended to create. But there is one such emotion that has played an important role in what has inspired art, and that is Melancholy. This type of emotion is sometimes associated with Renaissance music. Melancholy is usually synonymous with gloom, misery, sadness, unhappiness, joyless, woe, lachrymose, and even heavyhearted. Some of these words incorporate many of John Dowland's pieces; however

Many different things are influential in many different ways. Whether it be how the sinking of the Titanic caused many changes in the regulations of ships, or how Newton’s law of universal gravitation helped to inspire Einstein’s theory of general relativity. As well as catastrophic events and scientific laws, works in the field of music have also been influential. For example, Jacques Offenbach’s Infernal Galop was used as the music for the Can-can, a popular dance. A theme from the Infernal Galop was also used in a movement of Camille Saint-Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals. Other influential composers include Beethoven, Mozart, J.S. Bach, and Tchaikovsky. Aside from being composers, these people have

In this essay I will discuss how death influenced artists in the Medieval and Renaissance era. I will do this by explaining the view of death and its sacraments in society. By examining events around this period I can determine the reason behind such attitudes. I will then apply this knowledge to four works by artists from 1400-1500. I will examine how these societal perceptions influenced the narrative behind the work. I will conclude that the view of death and the dying man had a great impact on the art of these periods.

3. Medieval and Renaissance culture varied in many ways, aside from the differing music. In the Medieval age (the time between the 5th and 15th century), the church controlled many things, not only music. The church was in charge of education, the church also dominated politics. People very much feared God. Whereas in the Renaissance (15th and 17th century) the state ruled over the church. People in the Renaissance believed that God wasn’t some fearsome being, instead they believed more in logical and practical thinking.

Music is a very powerful tool. It has the power to bring happiness or sorrow. It can stir up old memories that someone has forgotten. In Berlioz’s case he uses one of his most famous pieces, Symphonie Fantastique to tell a story. Berlioz combines the use of instrumentation, rhythm and dynamics in a stunningly effective way that conveys to the listener a tragic tale of an artist, whose true love didn’t reciprocate his feelings leading him down a path of self destruction.