THE RENAISSANCE
The Renaissance Period lasted from about 1450 to 1600 AD
Renaissance means “Rebirth”. Art, music, literature, and architecture
were all changing immensely.
Church music started to become more complex. A type of song
called a “canon” was used. In a canon, the melody overlaps itself. What is another name for this type
of song?
A “Round”
During the Renaissance, written music
started to spread outside
the realm of the most powerful
organization of the Medieval Period. What
was this organization?
The Roman Catholic Church
Now, music that had non-religious topics was being written with the
music notation that the monks invented. The music included topics
that we still write about today.
This kind of non-religious music is called “secular.”
The writers of secular music were called troubadours, while the people who
played or sang it were called minstrels. What’s their names today?
Composers and musicians
An important invention during this time made people more informed of good
music and good composers. This invention also made it easier to obtain music for entertainment in the home.
It was invented in 1436 by a 39 year old German
man named Johann Gutenberg. Before the
development of this time-saving and
economical machine, monks & composers had
to hand copy everything. This time-consuming and tedious process made written
music extremely hard to come by, and very
expensive. This invention was a great
improvement over hand-copying.
The Printing Press
The Printing Press made it easier and faster to print music for public sale.
Music could now be printed.
Music could now be sold.
The printing press eventually led to the invention of the “Newspaper.” Now people
could read about a good composer and buy his music
for personal use.
Most of the Medieval instruments were poorly made and out of tune. But now,
with more advanced science, better instruments were being…
and ManufacturedInvented
There are many music groups around today that celebrate Renaissance music with Renaissance instruments. The group
pictured here is called the “Jubilatores .”
One of the most popular instruments of the renaissance was similar to the guitar. Listen to this instrument.
Lute
This is the ancestor of the bassoon. Listen to a group of them playing.
Dulcian
Here are two brass
instruments that were used
during this period. The
one on the left did not have a slide yet, and the one on the right did not have valves
yet.
Can you guess what they are?
Trombone and trumpet
This beautiful instrument used raven quills to pluck the strings. It was very
popular until the piano took its place many years later.
Harpsichord
The End