3. Discuss the political events and sociological factors that made the Classical Period such a time of violent upheaval

Abigail Gilmore
Music appreciation. Summer session 2
Module 2- assignment questions

1. The beginning and ending dates of the Middle Ages was from 450-1450 C.E
2. The beginning and ending dates of Renaissance was from 1450-1600
3. Filippo Brunelleschi and Giotto are two artistes from the middle ages.
4. Andrea Palladio and Paolo Veronese are two artistes from the renaissance
5. Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song of the western Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe during the 9th and 10th centuries, with later additions and redactions. Although popular legend credits Pope St. Gregory the Great with inventing Gregorian chant, scholars believe that it arose from a later Carolingian synthesis of Roman chant and Gallican chant. It is a vocal music, which means that it is sung acapella without accompaniment of instruments. It is sung to the unison only one note simultaneously— which means that all the singers enliven the same melody. This way of singing is named Monody. Many authors affirm that the singing of mixed choir should not be admitted since they consider that two voices sing in octave. It is a modal music written in scales of very particular sounds, which serve to wake up varied feelings, like withdrawal, happiness, sadness and serenity. The text is in Latin, language of the Roman Empire spread over Europe. These texts were taken of the Psalms and of other Ancient Testament books; some of them were taken from the Gospels and others were of own, generally anonymous inspiration. Nevertheless some liturgical pieces exist in Greek language: Kyrie eleison, Agios and Theos.
6. Definitions:
*Drone: A sustained tone (a kind of permanent pedal point) over which a melody unfolds
*Estampie: A type of early instrumental (perhaps dance) music consisting of independent sections strung together.
*Ordinary of the Mass: In the Roman Catholic liturgy, the five items (Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei) that arc part of every celebration of the Mass.
*Organum: The earliest type of medieval polyphonic music, in which voices were added above a plainchant.
*Troubadors, Trouveres: Poet/musicians, usually aristocratic, active in southern and northern France during the middle Ages.
7. Messe de Nostre Dame (Mass of Our Lady) is a polyphonic mass composed before 1365 by a French poet, composer Guillaume de Machaut (c. 1300-1377). This is historically important because it was one of the great masterpieces of medieval music and of all religious music; it is historically notable as the earliest complete setting of the Ordinary of the Mass attributable to a single composer, by contrast to earlier compilations such as the Tournai Mass.
8. Characteristics of renaissance
Words and Music
In the Renaissance, as in the Middle Ages, vocal music was more important than instrumental music. The humanistic interest in language influenced vocal music, creating a close relationship between words and music. Renaissance composers wrote music to enhance the meaning and emotion of the text. “When one of the words expresses weeping, pain, heartbreak, sighs, tears and other similar things, let the harmony be full of sadness,” wrote Zarlino, a music theorist of the sixteenth century. By contrast, medieval composers had been relatively uninterested in expressing the emotions of a text.
Renaissance composers often used word painting, musical representation of specific poetic images. For example, the words descending from heaven might be set to a descending melodic line, and running might be heard with a series of rapid notes. Yet despite this emphasis on capturing the emotion and imagery of a text, Renaissance music may seem calm and restrained to us. While there is a wide range of emotion in Renaissance music, it is usually expressed in a moderate, balanced way, with no extreme contrasts of dynamics, tone color, or rhythm.
Texture: The texture of Renaissance music is chiefly polyphonic. A typical choral piece has four, five, or six voice parts of nearly equal melodic interest. Imitation among the voices is common: each presents the same melodic idea in turn, as in a round. Homophonic texture, with successions of chords, is also used, especially in light music, like dances. The texture may vary within a piece to provide contrast and bring out aspects of the text as it develops. Renaissance music sounds fuller than medieval music. The bass register was used for the first time, expanding the pitch range to more than four octaves. With this new emphasis on the bass line came richer harmony. Renaissance music sounds mild and relaxed, because stable, consonant chords are favored; triads occur often, while dissonances are played down. Renaissance choral music did not need instrumental accompaniment. For this reason, the period is sometimes called the “golden age” of unaccompanied a Capella choral music. Even so, on special occasions instruments were combined with voices. Instruments might duplicate the vocal lines to reinforce the sound, or they might take the part of a missing singer. But parts written exclusively for instruments are rarely found in Renaissance choral music. Rhythm and Melody: In Renaissance music, rhythm is more a gentle flow than a sharply defined beat. This is because each melodic line has great rhythmic independence: when one singer is at the beginning of his or her melodic phrase, the others may already be in the middle of theirs. This technique makes singing Renaissance music both a pleasure and a challenge, for each singer must maintain an individual rhythm.
But pitch patterns in Renaissance melodies are easy to sing. The melody usually move along a scale with few large leaps.

9. Definitions:
*Word Painting A technique that became prominent in the Renaissance, in which musical figures are used to represent specific images-falling, sighing, weeping, rejoicing, and so fort
*A cappella Music for voices alone, without instrumental accompaniment.
*Renaissance Mass, a form of sacred musical composition
*In classical music, a Renaissance motet is a highly varied choral musical composition. The motet was one of the pre-eminent forms of Renaissance music.
*Lute: A versatile plucked string instrument with a body shaped like half a pear, was popular during the Renaissance.

10. The Council of Trent held between 1545 and 1563 in Trento (Trent) and Bologna, northern Italy, was one of the Catholic Church's most important ecumenical councils. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described as the embodiment of the Counter-Reformation. Four hundred years later, when Pope John XXIII initiated preparations for the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II).