Renaissance Vocal and Instrumental Music Masterpieces
2nd Evaluation
“Flow my tears” – John Dowland
Dowland made several versions of this piece for lute, and lute and voice. These songs were also called ayres, and specifically, lacrimae. Some consider this the precursor of the German Lied, and also a forerunner of the art song. The opening vocal motif has been widely copied by other composers.
“Adieu ces bons vins de Lannyons” – Guillaume Dufay
This is a farewell song in rondeau form (a form with a recurring refrain). It features a voice (singing), a shawm (a type of oboe), a guitar, and a violin. It’s a four-voice composition, where one voice is sung and the rest are played by instruments. The rhythm alternates between duple and triple meter. At the end, the single voice is heard from afar, emphasizing the farewell theme.
“Tribulationem et dolorem” – Carlo Gesualdo
This is a motet for five voices, a cappella, with a penitential character, expressing themes of sin, death, guilt, and psychological self-torture.
“Trahe me post te” – Francisco Guerrero
This is a motet for five voices. The text is taken from the “Song of Songs.” Although it is a motet in honor of the Virgin Mary, the text is quite passionate. The upper voices are often sung by children.
“Le chant des oiseaux” – Clément Janequin
This chanson features multiple voices that mimic the sounds of birds. It is highly programmatic and onomatopoeic.
“El Grillo” – Josquin des Prez
This song describes the sound of a cricket, but with a double meaning. The text says “the cricket was a good singer…” and at that time there was a singer named “Grillo,” so the song could be interpreted satirically.
“Lagrime Di San Pietro” – Orlando di Lasso
This spiritual madrigal has a penitential character and was written a month and a half before Lasso’s death. It is for seven voices, and there are times when these voices are divided into two antiphonal choirs, where one half answers the other. The seven voices are not always noticeable, but the antiphonal effect is.
“L’homme armé” – Anonymous
(No further description provided in the original text)
“Tiento” – Alonso Mudarra
This is a musical form born in Spain, which later evolved into what is now known as an étude, published in order of difficulty, to fully explore the possibilities of the instrument. This particular tiento is initially for guitar, but later became popular for harpsichord, organ, harp, and all polyphonic instruments.
“Aspro Core e Salvaggio” – Adrian Willaert
This is an Italian madrigal for six voices. The music reflects the text; if the text is sad, the music is dark. As mentioned earlier, whole tones give rise to quieter music, while semitones create more passionate melodies.
Caput Mass: “Agnus Dei” – Jacob Obrecht
The cantus firmus can be present in all voices. This work features imitations; one voice begins, and then another mimics it at the fifth, creating a sort of canon. Instruments appear to double the voices, in this case, brass instruments.
Kyrie from Missa L’homme armé – Josquin des Prez
In this case, the “L’Homme Armé” melody is in the tenor voice, while the other three voices are by Ockeghem. Its main characteristic is that one voice is always heard while the others rest, because they are conceived horizontally, with overlapping melodies. The rhythm is quite irregular, and nothing is repeated; it is always new music. Josquin sought mathematical precision and structure.
Kyrie from Missa Papae Marcelli – Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
This is a six-voice polyphonic work, a cappella. The Kyrie begins in imitative counterpoint. The “Christe eleison” is presented in homophony. It is a manifesto of the new religious musical aesthetic, much simpler than the complex polyphony of the Flemish school, and oriented towards textual intelligibility. The composition appears natural and effortless.
“Spem in alium” – Thomas Tallis
This is a work for eight five-voice choirs, totaling forty voices. It is composed in an imitative and occasionally homophonic style. It is a work that is not performed often because it requires a minimum of forty singers.
Missa O Magnum Mysterium – Tomás Luis de Victoria
This mass, part of the Ordinary of the Mass, is sung at Christmas. It is based on a motet by Victoria of the same name, and a “Hallelujah” is heard at the end. It was composed in 1583 and published nine years later.