Music Appreciation Essay

1.What were the three forms of English madrigals? Describe each type. – Madrigal Proper, in this form, the madrigal was through-composed. It used quite a bit of word-painting, which is the matching of music to the words in the text. There also is The Ballet, which is a piece in which dancers tell a story through their movements and the music. Lastly, there is The Ayre, with is a form of madrigal that is performed in a number of different ways, including with or without accompaniment. 2. What were chorales? Why were they popular? – Easy to sing melodies, often based on traditional folk songs. They were popular because the printing press allowed for the publishing of hymnbooks. 3. What is a consort? – An instrumental ensemble consisting of six instruments: flute or recorder, lute, cittern, violin or treble viola de gamba, bandore, and the bass viola de gamba. 4. Who was Guillaume Dufay? What contributions did he make to Renaissance music? – A Franco-Flemish composer who was born in Brussels, he was a prolific composer and one of the most influential of the fifteenth century. He wrote music in almost every musical form available at the time, including chants, motets, chorales, and Masses. 5. Who was William Byrd? What contributions did he make to Renaissance music? – An Englishman born in 1543; was one composer who created consort music. He is sometimes considered one of the first â€Å"geniuses† of the keyboard and many of his compositions were published in My Ladye Nevells Book and Parenthia. Critical Thinking Questions 1.How did music in the Renaissance differ from medieval music? – Medieval music refers to music written during the Middle Ages, around the time of 500AD – 1400. Most music of this time was monothonic or homorhythmic plainchant. Renaissance music refers to the period from around 1400-1600.The sound became different, in the sense of tone. Notable composers of this period are Orlando Gibbons, John Bull, Thomas Tallis and William Byrd. 2. What were the effects of the printing press on music and composers? – It allowed hymnbook to be published. and this lead the music away from borrowing music of older folk songs. 3. If the Renaissance is thought to represent a rebirth or new birth, how is this reflected in the music of the Renaissance? – The music was changing in good ways, from the medieval times. They were able to move away from borrowing music from old folk songs. 4. What was the role of music during the Renaissance? How was it used in society? – The printing press also initiated the printing of music for commercial purposes. This largely began in Venice, Italy, around 1501, when Ottaviano Petrucci printed the first significant collection of polyphonic music. Music came to occupy a greater position in society during the Renaissance period. One reason for this was the growing number of people who had more time for leisure activities. 5. Many of the songs from ancient times through the Renaissance built on the melodies of previous songs. What were the advantages for composers of using a melody that had already been created? – The advantages that people had from borrowing melodies of previous songs were that they already had a base to their music and only had to come up with words, if they were needed.