Renaissance

All Students preparing for Grade exams are recommended to use the Hofnotes on-line training pages to practise for the aural tests.

At higher grades you must be able to discuss with the examiner musical features such as texture, form, style, and period of a piece of music. My own web pages to help with these parts of the test at Grade 5+ and at GCSE are available here!

Renaissance 1400 - 1600

Renaissance style

Polyphony became increasingly elaborate with highly independent voices throughout the 14th century. Later, lines simplified, with voices striving for smoothness.

The modal style of early music began to break down, and tonality developed.

A villancico, probably by Mateo Flecha, collected in a 1556 Spanish volume

Renaissance form

Church music centred on masses and motets, with, later, sacred use of secular forms such as the madrigal.

Printing made music more widely available, and much more music survives from this era than from the Medieval era.

Secular vocal genres included the madrigal, the chanson in several forms (rondeau, bergerette, ballade), and carols (the villancico in Spain, the villanelle in France).

A bergerette from Susato (Dansereye 1551)

Renaissance instruments

Renaissance musicians (Caracci's "Viol and recorder")

Early instrumental music included consort music for recorder or viol and other instruments, and dances for various ensembles.

Instrumental genres were the toccata, the prelude, the ricercar. Instrumental ensembles for dances might play a pavane, a galliard, an allemande, or a courante.

The virginals

Keyboard instruments were the virginals. William Byrd's Pavan for the Earl of Salisbury is a good example of form and style:

Renaissance composers

Dufay
Des Prez
Palestrina
Tallis
Gabrieli
Byrd
Monteverdi (although his great 1610 vespers is in early Baroque style)
Gesualdo

Last updated on: 03/01/2012