Music and Religious Change in the Renaissance by Michael Smith.
The period arguably dating from around 1430 until the seventeenth century, named "Renaissance" by Michelet, heralded one of the largest cultural transformations in the recent history of Europe. Conflicting social and religious factors caused an upheaval of the medieval attitudes toward music's role in people's lives. The reformation caused great change for music, but what were they, and how did they represent the ideals of the two faiths and their leaders. .
The challenges made to the Roman Catholic Church throughout Europe form one of the important chains of events in C16th history. This affected the way services were carried out and in turn the music which is part of the service. The new Protestant churches, were eager to strip their worship of the extravagant ritual and ceremony, which played an integral role in the Catholic service. Music, at the forefront of this ceremony, was dramatically restricted in the role it cold now play, almost being banned by some puritans, a remnant of Catholic ways, which just distracted from worship. .
John Calvin, a severe protestant reformer, was of this view. He condemned all Catholic liturgy and ceremony. All non bible texts were eliminated from usage in his church, and he even banned his congregation from partaking in musical activities in the home. Like all reformers, Calvin deeply disapproved of the use of Polyphony so central to traditional church music, which "blurred" the understanding of the text. Simple monophony was the only musical texture allowed. However, not all reformers took the displacement of Catholic musical ideals this far.
In Germany, Martin Luther affected musical change, not so much to spite Catholic traditions, but to make church music more accessible to his congregation. In fact, some of the melodies Luther himself composed were based on traditional Catholic service music.
Music VI. ... The religious history of the Renaissance reveals both weakness and vigor. ... Art The Renaissance itself will always be associated with achievements in literature, art, and music. Its contributions to the arts depended closely on the social changes. ... Music of the Renaissance was experimental and wanted to meet the needs of the secular world. ...
Music from the Renaissance and Baroque period in many ways reflect the mentality and setting of their times, each birthed upon the evolution and changes of profound ideas that became signature motifs of their place in history. ... This intonation is not well suited for Renaissance music as only the octaves are in perfect intonation, and vocal renaissance music was especially noted for its perfect fourths and fifths (Norton 158). ... Music printing completely changed the dissemination of music as it offered music to a broader public which fostered the growth of music literacy and societal parti...
This changed in the Reniassance with the spread of new ideas and religious reforms these plays became unpopular- Owueen Elizabeth herself frowned upon them. ... This was because they were to decorate Cathedrals and other religious buildings. However Renaissance artists also began to paint non religious subjects and they wanted to show people and nature in a more realistic way. ... Poetry and music: In poetry and music, the fresh ideas of the renaissance also found expression. ... His innovations made a great impact on the deleopment of music after this period. ...
During the history of music, some of the most significant developments were due to religious motivation. The Renaissance era in Europe was characterized by an attitude of reform and pursuit of knowledge. A religious reformation was on its way to hit Europe in the beginning of the 16th century. ... Once he returned to Wittenberg, Luther would make certain adjustments to the religious service. ... What radically changed was the theological ideology of the Mass. ...
Many things, such as the widespread use of the automobile, transformed family social life, while the new, wide following of Jazz and the Harlem Renaissance created revolutionary cultural changes. ... During the 1920s, musical culture changed when jazz won a wide following. Jazz music was a blend of West African and Latin rhythms, African American spirituals and blues, and European harmonies. ... Quite possibly the greatest cultural changes came about with the Harlem Renaissance, a cultural movement in Harlem, New York, of African American actors, artists, writers, and musicians. During th...
Music is an ever changing phenomenon. ... However, one genre of music, classical music, has remained relatively untouched by the ever changing musical preferences of society and has always had a rather dependable number of supporters. ... During the Medieval and Renaissance periods, music was predominantly religious and works were composed to be performed as a part of a religious function, most commonly the Catholic mass. ... The reason behind this is that many composers were employed by Christian religious organizations and composers wanted their music to reflect the divinity and holiness of ...
This time period, known as the Renaissance, was seen as a new age of learning and thinking with a cultural movement in which art, literature, music, philosophy, and education contributed to numerous developments and influences. ... Seen as a bridge between the Middle Ages and the modern era, The Renaissance also marked a cognitive shift from a religious perspective to a more intellectual and social focus. ... This had monumental influence on the growth of the modern Western world and changes in Christianity. ... Alternatively, his actions sparked the start of a new religious movement, offering...
The term renaissance means "rebirth". ... The Renaissance began in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In this Renaissance Europe had an increase in politics, urban commercial economy, education, art, and music. ... Printing helped spread the religious ideas of the Reformation, and allowed the Europeans to reach greater heights and compete with the civilization of China for the first time. The use of gunpowder changed the meaning of warfare. ...
During the Italian Renaissance meaning 'Rebirth', which started at around 1350, many changes were brought upon society. These changes influenced society positively. ... Conditions in society changed in many ways. ... Music was a humongous part of the Renaissance. ... The Vatican remains one of the most religious places on earth. ...