The Renaissance : The Father Of The Renaissance

Nyctophobia; the fear of the dark. However, it’s not exactly the fear of darkness itself, but rather, what could be lurking within it. Now, the Dark Ages weren’t actually “dark”, but it was a time of rapid decline in Europe in which historians don’t have much information. After the fall of the Roman Empire, Europe was thrown into a never ending battle of hardships. From the Black Plague to the loss of beloved heroes and heroines, the country really was left in the dark, until a flicker of hope emerged offering a new beginning: the Renaissance. The Renaissance lasted from the 14th to the 17th century and was an era of “rebirth” in European history. During this period, culture throughout Europe underwent a dramatic reformation where classic

Johannes Brahms was a German composer who is sometimes grouped as one of the “Three B’s” along with J.S. Bach and Beethoven. His music was influenced by the structure used by Mozart and Haydn, while also moving them into the Romantic era. Brahms had a wide influence, encompassing both modernist and conservative tendencies.

The Renaissance period is known for the revival of the classical art and intellect born in ancient Greece and Rome. The Renaissance is also a time that is marked by growth, exploration, and rebirth. The Italian Renaissance started in Florence and progressively made its way into Venice and then into the great city of Rome. During the Renaissance, Rome was home to some of the most renowned works of art and the finest architectural masterpieces in the world - too many that still holds true today. Along with the delicate architecture and grand artistry, Rome was also home to a mixture of people and cultures. It is in this cultural context and through the book A Street Life in Renaissance Rome: A Brief History with Documents, that understanding how men, woman, and specifically Jews and Christians lived in Rome becomes important to better understand this period of renewal.

Giovanni Gabrieli was a legendary composer of the 16th century. As the fundamental structure and ideas of the Catholic Church were being challenged by the Protestant Reformation and the Counter-Reformation, Gabrieli’s compositions were given the opportunity to be successful and influential to music in the coming centuries. His works helped to transform not only church music of the Catholic Church, but also secular music as well. Giovanni Gabrieli wrote significant works that ultimately shaped the rise of the symphony, including the development of purely instrumental works, the art of orchestration, and the concerto style. Without his innovations in composition, it is arguable that instrumental music would not have developed as quickly, or developed

“My composer is Guillaume De Machaut. People believe that he was born around the year 1300 but yet they don’t know what day he was born on. He died on April 13, 1377. He was both born and died in Reims, France. Very little is know for Guillaume but he was employed by John of Luxembourg, who was the king of Bohemia. He was named canon (a canon is someone that can play two or more instruments of something) of Verdun in 1330, Arras in 1332, and Reims in 1337. We don’t know too much about him because he was in the 1300’s where no one wrote any information about Guillaume De Machaut.

The church during the 1500’s, was changing greatly. This was the time of the reformation where the protestants took over from the Catholics, and therefore causing the Catholics to create a counter reformation. The shift from henry VIII to Edward VI was also a shift from Catholicism to protestants. This amount of change in religion created an immense change in what music was produced and what was actually composed as these two religions had very different ideas about music.

One of the greatest composers of music, even though it was only slightly notated at the time, was Guillaume de Machaut (d. 1377), “one of the undisputed pinnacle geniuses of Western music…” His most famous piece was the four-voice Mass of Notre Dame, which maintained his reputation through the changes in fashion (Roberge). After almost a millennium’s worth of music was composed and contributed, the style of music began to change with the next era.

In Beethoven’s second period he generated many of his most famous works. This period lasted from about 1800 to 1820. It was in this time span that Beethoven wrote symphonies three through eight, two piano concertos, one violin

The Renaissance period occurred from 1400-1600. It can be separated into third smaller periods. The early, middle, and the late period, but for the sake of this paper, they will be referred to as stages to avoid confusion. This paper will compare two composers one from the early stage and another from the late stage. The early stage composer will be John Dunstable, and the late stage composer will be Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. The purpose of this paper is to compare these two composers’ composition style through the analysis of two of their works.

In the film there was a group named the double d’s. They are called double d’s meaning, dumbest dog shit. The people from that group are chosen to be in that group because those students are the ones that do not comprehend the army duty.

Henry Purcell was also one of the first English composer’s to add parts in Italian, he was also influenced by a French school, especially by Jean Batiste Lully. He also made important contributions to the development of classical music.

The Renaissance began in Florence, Italy around the 1500’s to about the 1700’s. Florence, Italy was the mecca of this rebirth because at the time Florence was extremely wealthy and the people of the city had political freedom and those new ideals of the Renaissance were not being condemned in Florence as they were other cities. This was a time where the arts and the logic of one’s own mind was valued rather than criticized, the antiquated medieval ideals no longer matched the needs of those who were living during the early Renaissance. Eventually, a term for this way of thinking arose and was called Humanism, and what humanism is, is an ideology where humans can lead themselves to create a prosperous life and instead of leaning on supernatural forces for answers. Humanists believe that humans have enough logic to create conclusions themselves. This brand-new way of thinking caused a lot of controversy because it did question God’s ability and the church’s power, but the ideas behind it are still heavily used today, even in the 21st century. Humanism in the early Renaissance is important because it called for thinking with reason, it allowed an appreciation for human body and mind, inspired authors and caused a shift in power.

In what period was the work composed? List three aspects of the musical style of this period that apply to this work.

Arnold Schoenberg’s celebrated monodrama of 1912, Pierrot lunaire, op. 21, offers a compellingly personal perspective on Pierrot’s allegorical relationship to the artists of fin-di-siécle Europe. So too, in his fusion of music and poetry, does Schoenberg provide what may be the most powerfully illustrative example of the character Pierrot’s appeal to artists of the era.

Ludwig Van Beethoven was one of the greatest musical composers of his time. Starting very young in his studies of music, he held many important positions they would develop him into the composer he became. Born in Bonn, Germany to a singer, he held his first position at the church. He later moved to Vienna where his composed several pieces, and even an opera. He created a new style of music, cyclic form.