Renaissance Music: Reformation, Counter-Reformation, and Instrumental Forms
The Protestant Reformation
Martin Luther broke away from Rome in 1510, establishing Protestantism. Luther considered music the most important thing after theology. His high musical training allowed him to create the chorale (a simple composition), the main musical form of this church.
The English Reformation
Henry VIII broke away from Rome in 1534, creating the Anglican Church, which eliminated the mass and used only the anthem for religious services. The anthem, or Anglican anthem, is a composition similar to the motet.
Catholic Counter-Reformation
The Catholic Church kept the Gregorian chant as the official singing of the Church, but also developed polyphony. The motet was the most important form of religious polyphony. The mass was a composed musical form, resulting from putting together all the pieces of the liturgy.
Vocal Forms in Italy, France, and Spain
In Italy: Madrigal
The madrigal is an Italian vocal form for four or five voices, with a complex polyphonic texture.
In France: Chanson
The chanson is a French vocal form with polyphonic texture and usually with instrumental accompaniment.
In Spain: Secular Vocal Polyphony
Secular vocal polyphony had a strong popular character. The main typical Spanish song forms were:
- Romance: A narrative strophic song about historic and legendary matters or about social events.
- Villancico: Usually made up of four voices with simple homophonic texture, it follows a text structured in choruses and coplas.
- Ensalada: A song composed for four or five voices that consists of mixing different genres.
Composers
- Madrigal: Orlando di Lasso (1531-1594), Carlo Gesualdo (1560-1630), and Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643).
- Chanson: Josquin des Prez (1440-1521) and Clement Janequin (1485-1558).
- Spain: Juan del Enzina (1469-1529), Francisco de Peñalosa (1470-1528), Mateo Flecha (1483-1553), and Juan Vázquez (1500-1560).
Instrumental Forms
Most of the instrumental forms of the Renaissance respond to three basic types of composition:
- Adapted Pieces from Vocal Works: They keep the typical structure and texture of the original vocal forms, but adapted for instruments.
- Pieces Based on Improvisation: They can be improvised upon a given melody or cantus firmus, or the music can be freely made up. Examples include the fantasia and the toccata.
- Pieces Based on Variation: The composer starts with a simple theme that is later repeated with different modifications.
Composers
Andrea Gabrielli (1510-1586), Giovanni Gabrielli (1557-1612), John Dowland (1563-1626), Luis de Narváez (1499-1555), and Antonio de Cabezón (1510-1566).
Instruments
The concept of an orchestra as a stable group did not yet exist in group music. Instrument families were divided into two categories:
- Haut (loud): Formed by instruments with great sound power.
- Bas (quiet): Formed by instruments of soft sound intensity.
Dance Music
Dance was one of the favorite entertainments of the nobility.
Dance Pairs
Dances used to be presented in contrasting pairs, with a first dance of steps in a binary rhythm and slow tempo. One of the most famous dance pairs was the combination of the pavane and galliard.
The Pavane
The pavane was a processional dance with a slow and ceremonious binary rhythm. It usually had three parts.
The Galliard
The galliard was a lively dance with a ternary rhythm.