Renaissance, or Renaissance(fr. renaissance), - a turning point in the history of the culture of European peoples. In Italy, new trends appeared at the turn of the XIII-XIV centuries, in other European countries - in the XV-XVI centuries. Renaissance figures recognized man - his good and the right to the free development of his personality - as the highest value. This worldview is called "humanism" (from the Latin. Humanus - "human", "humane"). The humanists sought the ideal of a harmonious person in antiquity, and ancient Greek and Roman art served them as a model for artistic creativity. The desire to "revive" the ancient culture gave the name to an entire era - the Renaissance, the period between the Middle Ages and the New Age (from the middle of the 17th century to the present day).

Art, including music, reflects the Renaissance worldview most fully. During this period, as well as in the Middle Ages, the leading place belonged to vocal church music. The development of polyphony led to the appearance of polyphony (from the Greek "polis" - "numerous" and "background" - "sound", "voice"). With this type of polyphony, all voices in a work are equal. Polyphony not only complicated the work, but allowed the author to express his personal understanding of the text, and gave the music great emotionality. The polyphonic composition was created according to strict and complex rules, requiring deep knowledge and virtuoso skills from the composer. Church and secular genres developed within the framework of polyphony.

Dutch polyphonic school. The Netherlands is a historical region in the northwest of Europe, which includes the territories of modern Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg and Northeastern France. By the XV century. The Netherlands has reached a high economic and cultural level and has become a prosperous European country.

It was here that the Dutch polyphonic school was formed - one of the largest phenomena of Renaissance music. For the development of art in the 15th century, communication between musicians from different countries and the mutual influence of creative schools were of great importance. The Dutch school has absorbed the traditions of Italy, France, England and the Netherlands themselves.

Its outstanding representatives: Guillaume Dufay (1400-1474) (Dufay) (about 1400 - 11/27/1474, Cambrai), Franco-Flemish composer, one of the founders of the Dutch school. The foundations of the polyphonic tradition in Dutch music were laid by Guillaume Dufay (about 1400-1474). He was born in Cambrai in Flanders (a province in the south of the Netherlands) and from an early age he sang in a church choir. In parallel, the future musician took private lessons in composition. In his youth, Dufay went to Italy, where he wrote his first compositions - ballads and motets. In 1428-1437. he served as a singer in the papal chapel in Rome; during these years he traveled to Italy and France. In 1437 the composer was ordained. At the court of the Duke of Savoy (1437-1439), he composed music for ceremonies and holidays. Dufay was highly respected by noble persons - among his admirers were, for example, the Medici couple (rulers of the Italian city of Florence). [Worked in Italy and France. In 1428-37 he was a singer of papal chapels in Rome and other Italian cities, in 1437-44 he served with the Duke of Savoy. Since 1445 canon and director of the musical activities of the cathedral in Cambrai. Master of spiritual (3-, 4-voice masses, motets), as well as secular (3-, 4-voice French chanson, Italian songs, ballads, rondo) genres associated with folk polyphony and the humanistic culture of the Renaissance. Dante's art, which absorbed the achievements of European musical art, had a great influence on the further development of European polyphonic music. He was also a reformer of musical notation (D. is credited with introducing notes with white heads). The complete collected works of D. published in Rome (6 vols., 1951-66).] Dufay was the first among composers who began to compose the Mass as an integral musical composition. To create church music requires an extraordinary talent: the ability to express abstract, non-material concepts by concrete, material means. The difficulty lies in the fact that such a composition, on the one hand, does not leave the listener indifferent, and on the other hand, does not distract from the divine service, helps to focus more deeply on prayer. Many of Dufay's masses are inspired, full of inner life; they seem to help to open the veil of Divine revelation for a moment.

Often, when creating a Mass, Dufay took a well-known melody, to which he added his own. Such borrowings are characteristic of the Renaissance. It was considered very important that the basis of the Mass should be based on a familiar melody, which the worshipers could easily recognize even in a polyphonic piece. A fragment of Gregorian chant was often used; secular works were not excluded either.

In addition to church music, Dufay composed motets for secular texts. In them, he also used a complex polyphonic technique.

Josquin Despres (1440-1521). The representative of the Dutch polyphonic school of the second half of the 15th century. was Josquin Despres (about 1440-1521 or 1524), who had a great influence on the work of the next generation of composers. In his youth he served as a church choir in Cambrai; took music lessons from Okegem. At the age of twenty, the young musician came to Italy, sang in Milan with the dukes of Sforza (later the great Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci served here) and in the papal chapel in Rome. In Italy, Despres probably started composing music. At the very beginning of the XVI century. he moved to Paris. By that time, Despres was already known, and he was invited to the position of court musician by the French king Louis XII. Since 1503, Despres re-settled in Italy, in the city of Ferrara, at the court of the Duke d'Este. Despres composed a lot, and his music quickly gained recognition in the widest circles: both nobility and common people loved her. The composer created not only church works, but also secular. In particular, he turned to the genre of the Italian folk song - frottola (Italian frottola, from frotta - "crowd"), which is characterized by a dance rhythm and a fast tempo. , live intonation broke strict detachment and caused a feeling of joy and fullness of being. ...

Johannes Okegem (1430-1495), Jacob Obrecht (1450-1505). Younger contemporaries of Guillaume Dufay were Johannes (Jean) Okegem (circa 1425-1497) and Jacob Obrecht. Like Dufay, Okegem was originally from Flanders. All his life he worked hard; in addition to composing music, he acted as the head of the chapel. The composer created fifteen masses, thirteen motets, more than twenty chanson. Okegem's works are characterized by severity, concentration, long-term development of smooth melodic lines. He paid great attention to polyphonic technique, strove for all parts of the mass to be perceived as a single whole. The composer's creative handwriting is also guessed in his songs - they are almost devoid of secular lightness, in character they are more reminiscent of motets, and sometimes even fragments of masses. Johannes Okegem was respected both at home and abroad (he was appointed adviser to the King of France). Jacob Obrecht was a chorister in cathedrals in various cities of the Netherlands, led chapels; for several years he served at the court of Duke d'Este in Ferrara (Italy). He is the author of twenty-five masses, twenty motets, thirty chanson. Using the achievements of his predecessors, Obrecht brought a lot of new things into the polyphonic tradition. His music is full of contrasts, bold even when the composer addresses to traditional church genres.

The versatility and depth of Orlando Lasso's creativity. Completing the history of Dutch Renaissance music is the work of Orlando Lasso (real name and surname Roland de Lasso, circa 1532-1594), called by his contemporaries "Belgian Orpheus" and "prince of music". Lasso was born in Mons (Flanders). From childhood, he sang in the church choir, striking the parishioners with a wonderful voice. Gonzaga, Duke of the Italian city of Mantua, accidentally hearing the young singer, invited him to his own chapel. After Mantua, Lasso worked for a short time in Naples, and then moved to Rome - there he received the position of the head of the chapel of one of the cathedrals. By the age of twenty-five, Lasso was already known as a composer, and his works were in demand among music publishers. In 1555, the first collection of works was published, containing motets, madrigals and chanson. Lasso studied all the best that was created by his predecessors (Dutch, French, German and Italian composers), and used their experience in his work. Being an extraordinary person, Lasso strove to overcome the abstract character of church music, to give it individuality. To this end, the composer sometimes used genre motives (themes of folk songs, dances), thus bringing together the church and secular traditions. Lasso combined the complexity of polyphonic technique with great emotionality. He was especially successful at madrigals, in the texts of which the state of mind of the characters was revealed, for example, Tears of St. Peter "(1593) on the verses of the Italian poet Luigi Tranzillo. The composer often wrote for a large number of voices (five to seven), so his works are difficult to perform. ...

From 1556 Orlando Lasso lived in Munich (Germany), where he headed the chapel. By the end of his life, his authority in musical and artistic circles was very high, and his fame spread throughout Europe. The Dutch polyphonic school had a great influence on the development of the musical culture of Europe. The principles of polyphony developed by Dutch composers have become universal, and many artistic techniques have been used in their work by composers already in the 20th century.

France. For France, the XV-XVI centuries became an era of important changes: the Hundred Years War (1337-1453) with England ended, by the end of the XV century. the unification of the state was completed; in the 16th century, the country experienced religious wars between Catholics and Protestants. In a strong state with an absolute monarchy, the role of court celebrations and folk festivals increased. This contributed to the development of art, in particular the music that accompanied such actions. The number of vocal and instrumental ensembles (chapels and consorts), which consisted of a significant number of performers, increased. During the military campaigns in Italy, the French got acquainted with the achievements of Italian culture. They deeply felt and accepted the ideas of the Italian Renaissance - humanism, the desire for harmony with the world around them, for the enjoyment of life.

If in Italy the musical Renaissance was associated primarily with the Mass, then French composers, along with church music, paid special attention to the secular polyphonic song - chanson. Interest in it in France arose in the first half of the 16th century, when a collection of musical pieces by Clement Janequin (circa 1485-1558) was published. It is this composer who is considered one of the creators of the genre.

Major choral programmatic works by Clement Janequin (1475-1560). As a child, Jeannequin sang in a church choir in his hometown of Chatellerault (Central France). Later, as music historians suggest, he studied with the Dutch master Josquin Desprez or with a composer from his entourage. Having received the ordination of a priest, Zhaneken worked as a choir director and organist; then he was invited to the service by the Duke of Guise. In 1555, the musician became a singer of the Royal Chapel, and in 1556-1557. - the royal court composer. Clement Jeannequin created two hundred and eighty chanson (published between 1530 and 1572); wrote church music - masses, motets, psalms. His songs were often pictorial. Pictures of the battle ("The Battle of Marignano", "The Battle of Renta", "The Battle of Metz"), hunting scenes ("The Hunt"), images of nature ("The Singing of Birds", "Nightingale", "Lark" ), everyday scenes ("Women's chatter"). With amazing vividness, the composer managed to convey the atmosphere of everyday life in Paris in the chanson "Screams of Paris": he introduced the exclamations of sellers into the text ("Milk!" - "Pies!" - "Artichokes!" - "Fish!" - "Matches!" - "Doves! ! "-" Old shoes! "-" Wine! "). Janequin almost did not use long and flowing themes for individual voices and complex polyphonic techniques, preferring roll calls, repetitions, onomatopoeia.

Another direction of French music is associated with the pan-European movement of the Reformation.

In church services, French Protestants (Huguenots) abandoned Latin and polyphony. Sacred music has acquired a more open, democratic character. One of the brightest representatives of this musical tradition was Claude Gudimel (between 1514 and 1520-1572) - the author of psalms on biblical texts and Protestant chants.

Chanson. One of the main musical genres of the French Renaissance is chanson (French chanson - "song"). Its origins are in folk art (rhymed verses of epic legends were transferred to music), in the art of medieval troubadours and trouvers. In terms of content and mood, the chanson could be very diverse - there were love songs, everyday, humorous, satirical, etc. The composers took folk poems and modern poetry as texts.

Italy. With the onset of the Renaissance, everyday music-making on various instruments spread in Italy; circles of music lovers arose. In the professional field, two of the most powerful schools were formed: the Roman and the Venetian.

Madrigal. During the Renaissance, the role of secular genres increased. In the XIV century. in Italian music the madrigal appeared (from pozlnelat. matricale - "song in the native language"). It was formed on the basis of folk (shepherd's) songs. Madrigals were songs for two or three voices, often without instrumental accompaniment. They were written on the verses of modern Italian poets, which talked about love; there were songs on everyday and mythological subjects.

During the fifteenth century, composers hardly ever turned to this genre; interest in him was revived only in the 16th century. A characteristic feature of the 16th century madrigal is the close connection between music and poetry. The music flexibly followed the text, reflecting the events described in the poetic source. Over time, peculiar melodic symbols developed, denoting tender sighs, tears, etc. In the works of some composers, the symbolism was philosophical, for example, in Gesualdo di Venosa's madrigal "I die, unhappy" (1611).

The heyday of the genre falls on the turn of the XVI-XVII centuries. Sometimes, simultaneously with the performance of the song, its plot was played out. Madrigal became the basis of madrigal comedy (choral composition based on the text of a comedy play), which prepared the appearance of the opera.

Roman polyphonic school. Giovanni de Palestrina (1525-1594). The head of the Roman school was Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, one of the greatest composers of the Renaissance. He was born in the Italian city of Palestrina, by the name of which he received his surname. Since childhood, Palestrina sang in the church choir, and upon reaching adulthood, he was invited to the post of conductor (choir leader) in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome; later he served in the Sistine Chapel (the Pope's court chapel).

Rome, the center of Catholicism, has attracted many leading musicians. At different times Dutch masters, polyphonists Guillaume Dufay and Josquin Despres worked here. Their developed compositional technique sometimes interfered with the perception of the text of the divine service: it was lost behind the exquisite interweaving of voices and the words, in fact, could not be heard. Therefore, the church authorities were wary of such works and advocated the return of monophony based on Gregorian chants. The question of the permissibility of polyphony in church music was discussed even at the Council of Trent of the Catholic Church (1545-1563). Close to the Pope, Palestrina convinced the Church leaders of the possibility of creating works where the compositional technique would not interfere with the understanding of the text. As proof, he composed Pope Marcello's Mass (1555), which combines complex polyphony with the clear and expressive sound of every word. Thus, the musician "saved" professional polyphonic music from the persecution of the church authorities. In 1577, the composer was invited to discuss the gradual reform - a collection of sacred chants of the Catholic Church. In the 80s. Palestrina was ordained, and in 1584 became a member of the Society of Masters of Music - an association of musicians directly subordinate to the Pope.

Creativity of Palestrina is imbued with a bright attitude. The works he created amazed his contemporaries with both the highest skill and quantity (more than a hundred masses, three hundred motets, one hundred madrigals). The complexity of music has never been an obstacle to its perception. The composer knew how to find a middle ground between the sophistication of the compositions and their accessibility to the listener. Palestrina saw the main creative task in developing an integral large work. Each voice in his chants develops independently, but at the same time forms a single whole with the rest, and often the voices add up to amazingly beautiful combinations of chords. Often the melody of the upper voice hovers above the others, outlining the "dome" of polyphony; all voices are fluid and developed.

The musicians of the next generation considered Giovanni da Palestrina's art to be exemplary, classical. Many outstanding composers of the 17th-18th centuries studied on his works.

Another direction of Renaissance music is associated with the work of the composers of the Venetian school, the founder of which was Adrian Villart (circa 1485-1562). His students were the organist and composer Andrea Gabrieli (between 1500 and 1520 - after 1586), the composer Cyprian de Pope (1515 or 1516-1565) and other musicians. While the works of Palestrina are characterized by clarity and strict restraint, Willart and his followers developed a magnificent choral style. To achieve surround sound, playing timbres, they used several choirs in their compositions, located in different places of the temple. The use of roll calls between choirs made it possible to fill the church space with unprecedented effects. This approach also reflected the humanistic ideals of the era as a whole - with its cheerfulness, freedom, and the Venetian artistic tradition itself - with its striving for everything bright and unusual. In the works of the Venetian masters, the musical language also became more complicated: it was filled with bold combinations of chords, unexpected harmonies.

A striking Renaissance figure was Carlo Gesualdo di Venosa (circa 1560-1613), prince of the city of Venosa, one of the greatest masters of the secular madrigal. He gained fame as a philanthropist, lute performer, composer. Prince Gesualdo was friends with the Italian poet Torquato Tasso; there are still interesting letters in which both artists discuss issues of literature, music, and fine arts. Many of Tasso Gesualdo di Venosa's poems were set to music - this is how a number of highly artistic madrigals appeared. As a representative of the late Renaissance, the composer developed a new type of madrigal, where feelings were in the first place - violent and unpredictable. Therefore, his works are characterized by changes in volume, intonation, similar to sighs and even sobs, sharp-sounding chords, contrasting tempo changes. These techniques gave Gesualdo's music an expressive, somewhat bizarre character, it amazed and at the same time attracted contemporaries. The legacy of Gesualdo di Venosa consists of seven collections of polyphonic madrigals; among the spiritual works - "Sacred Chants". His music today does not leave the listener indifferent.

Development of genres and forms of instrumental music. Instrumental music has also been marked by the emergence of new genres, most notably the instrumental concert. Violin, harpsichord, organ gradually turned into solo instruments. The music written for them made it possible to show talent not only for the composer, but also for the performer. Primarily appreciated was virtuosity (the ability to cope with technical difficulties), which gradually became an end in itself for many musicians and an artistic value. Composers of the 17th-18th centuries usually not only composed music, but also played the instruments masterly and were engaged in pedagogical activity. The well-being of the artist largely depended on the specific client. As a rule, every serious musician sought to get a place either at the court of a monarch or a wealthy aristocrat (many members of the nobility had their own orchestras or opera houses), or in a temple. Moreover, most composers easily combined church music-making with service with a secular patron.

England. The cultural life of England during the Renaissance was closely associated with the Reformation. In the 16th century, Protestantism spread throughout the country. The Catholic Church lost its dominant position, the Anglican Church became the state one, which refused to recognize some dogmas (basic provisions) of Catholicism; most of the monasteries ceased to exist. These events influenced English culture, including music. Music departments were opened at Oxford and Cambridge Universities. In the salons of the nobility, keyboard instruments were played: the virginel (a type of harpsichord), the portable (small) organ, etc. Small compositions intended for home music playing were popular. The most prominent representative of the musical culture of that time was William Bird (1543 or 1544-1623) - a music publisher, organist and composer. Bird became the ancestor of the English madrigal. His works are distinguished by their simplicity (he avoided complex polyphonic techniques), the originality of the form that follows the text, and harmonic freedom. All musical means are intended to affirm the beauty and joy of life, as opposed to medieval severity and restraint. The composer had many followers in the madrigal genre.

Bird also created spiritual works (masses, psalms) and instrumental music. In his compositions for the virginel, he used motives of folk songs and dances.

The composer really wanted the music he wrote to "happily carry at least a little tenderness, relaxation and entertainment" - this is what William Bird wrote in the foreword to one of his musical collections.

Germany. The connection of German musical culture with the Reformation movement. In the 16th century, the Reformation began in Germany, which significantly changed the religious and cultural life of the country. The leaders of the Reformation were convinced of the need for changes in the musical content of worship. This was due to two reasons. By the middle of the 15th century. the polyphonic skill of composers working in the genres of church music has reached extraordinary complexity and sophistication. Sometimes works were created that, due to the melodic richness of voices and lengthy chants, could not be perceived and spiritually experienced by the majority of parishioners. In addition, the service was conducted in Latin, understandable to Italians, but alien to the Germans.

The founder of the Reformation movement Martin Luther (1483-1546) believed that a reform of church music was needed. Music, firstly, should promote a more active participation of parishioners in worship (it was impossible when performing polyphonic compositions), and secondly, it should generate empathy for biblical events (which was hindered by the conduct of the service in Latin). Thus, the following requirements were imposed on church singing: simplicity and clarity of melody, even rhythm, clear form of chanting. On this basis, the Protestant chant arose - the main genre of church music of the German Renaissance. In 1522, Luther translated the New Testament into German - henceforth it became possible to conduct divine services in their native language.

Luther himself, as well as his friend, the German music theorist Johann Walter (1490-1570), took an active part in the selection of melodies for the chorales. The main sources of such melodies were folk spiritual and secular songs - widely known and easy to comprehend. Luther composed the melodies for some of the chorales himself. One of them, "The Lord is our support", became a symbol of the Reformation during the religious wars of the 16th century.

Meistersingers and their art. Another bright page of German Renaissance music is associated with the work of the Meistersinger (German Meistersinger - "master singer") - poet singers from among the artisans. They were not professional musicians, but above all craftsmen - gunsmiths, tailors, glaziers, shoemakers, bakers, etc. The city union of such musicians included representatives of various crafts. In the 16th century, Meistersinger associations existed in many cities in Germany.

The Meistersingers composed their songs according to strict rules, the creative initiative was embarrassed by many restrictions. A beginner had to first master these rules, then learn how to perform songs, then compose lyrics to other people's melodies, and only then he could create his own song. The melodies of the famous meistersingers and minnesingers were considered to be the melodies-samples.

Outstanding Meistersinger of the 16th century Hans Sachs (1494-1576) came from a family of a tailor, but in his youth he left his parental home and went to travel in Germany. During his wanderings, the young man learned the craft of a shoemaker, but most importantly, he got acquainted with folk art. Sachs was well educated, knew ancient and medieval literature perfectly, read the Bible in German translation. He was deeply imbued with the ideas of the Reformation, so he wrote not only secular songs, but also spiritual ones (about six thousand songs in total). Hans Sachs also became famous as a playwright (see the article "Theatrical art of the Renaissance").

Musical instruments of the Renaissance. During the Renaissance, the composition of musical instruments expanded significantly, new varieties were added to the already existing strings and winds. Among them, a special place is occupied by viols - a family of bowed strings, striking with their beauty and nobility of sound. In form, they resemble the instruments of the modern violin family (violin, viola, cello) and are even considered their immediate predecessors (they coexisted in musical practice until the middle of the 18th century). However, the difference, and significant, is still there. Violas have a system of resonating strings; as a rule, there are as many of them as the main ones (six to seven). The vibrations of the resonating strings make the viola sound soft, velvety, but the instrument is difficult to use in an orchestra, as it quickly becomes out of tune due to the large number of strings.

For a long time, the sound of the viola was considered a model of sophistication in music. There are three main types in the viola family. Viola da gamba is a large instrument that the performer placed vertically and clamped from the sides with his feet (the Italian word gamba means "knee"). Two other varieties - viola da braccio (from Italian braccio - "forearm") and viol d "cupid (fr. Viole d" amour - "viola of love") were oriented horizontally, and when played, they were pressed against the shoulder. Viola da gamba is close to the cello in terms of sound range, viola da braccio - to the violin, and viol d "cupid - to the viola.

Among the plucked instruments of the Renaissance, the main place is occupied by the lute (Polish lutnia, from the Arabic "alud" - "tree"). It came to Europe from the Middle East at the end of the 14th century, and by the beginning of the 16th century there was a huge repertoire for this instrument; first of all, songs were performed to the accompaniment of the lute. The lute has a short body; the upper part is flat, and the lower one resembles a hemisphere. A fretboard is attached to the wide neck, and the head of the instrument is bent back almost at right angles. If you wish, you can see the resemblance to a bowl in the shape of a lute. Twelve strings are grouped in pairs, and the sound is produced both with fingers and with a special plate - a pick.

In the XV-XVI centuries, various types of keyboards arose. The main types of such instruments - the harpsichord, the clavichord, the harpsichord, the harpsichord, the virginel - were actively used in the music of the Renaissance, but their real heyday came later.

In the musical culture of the Renaissance, several defining innovative features can be distinguished.

First, the rapid development of secular art, expressed in the ubiquity of many secular song and dance genres. These are Italianfrottols ("Folk songs, from frottola words - crowd), villanelles ("Village songs"),kachchii , canzone (literally - songs) and madrigals, SpanishVillancico (from villa - village), French chanson songs, GermanLied , english ballads other. All these genres, glorifying the joy of being, interested in the inner world of a person, striving for the truth of life, directly reflected a purely Renaissance attitude. For their expressive means, the widespread use of intonations and rhythms of folk music is typical.

The culmination of the secular line in the art of the Renaissance -madrigal ... The name of the genre means "song in the mother tongue (that is, Italian)". It emphasizes the difference between madrigal and sacred music performed in Latin. The development of the genre went from an unpretentious one-voice shepherd's song to a 5-6-voice vocal-instrumental piece with a refined and refined lyric text. Among the poets who turned to the madrigal genre are Petrarca, Boccaccio, Tasso. The composers A. Villart, J. Arcadelt, Palestrina, O. Lasso, L. Marenzio, C. Gesualdo, C. Monteverdi were remarkable masters of the madrigal. Originating in Italy, madrigal quickly spread to other Western European countries.

The French version of the polyphonic song is calledchanson ... It differs from madrigal by a greater closeness to the real, everyday life, that is, genre. Among the creators of chanson -Clement Jeannequin , one of the most famous French composers of the Renaissance.

Secondly, the highest flowering of choral polyphony, which became the leading musical style of the era. Dignified and auspicious, it corresponded perfectly to the solemnity of the church service. At the same time, polyphonic polyphony was the dominant form of expression not only in spiritual genres, but also in secular ones.

The development of choral polyphony was primarily associated with the work of composers of the Dutch (Franco-Flemish) school: Guillaume Dufay, Johannes Okegem, Jacob Obrecht, Josquin Despres, Orlando Lasso.

Orlando Lasso (about 1532-1594) worked in many European countries. His talent, truly phenomenal, conquered and delighted everyone. In the immense work of Orlando Lasso, all musical genres of the Renaissance are represented (with the predominance of secular music over spiritual). His most popular works include "Echo", written in the genre of Italian everyday song. The composition is based on a colorful juxtaposition of two choirs, creating an echo effect. Its text belongs to the composer himself.

Along with Orlando Lasso, the Italian was the largest representative of the High Renaissance in music.Palestrina (full name Giovanni Pierlui-gi da Palestrina, circa 1525-1594). Most of Palestrina's life was spent in Rome, where he was constantly associated with work in the church, in particular, he headed the chapel of the Cathedral of St. Peter. The main part of his music is spiritual works, first of all, masses (there are more than a hundred of them, among which the famous "Mass of Pope Marcello" stands out) and motets. However, Palestrina willingly composed also secular music - madrigals, canzonetta. Works by Palestrina for choir a Sarrellabecame a classic example of Renaissance polyphony.

The work of polyphonist composers played a leading role in the development of the main genre of Renaissance music -masses ... Originating in the Middle Ages, the genre of mass inXIV- Xvicenturies, it is rapidly transforming, moving from samples represented by separate, scattered parts, to compositions of a harmonious cyclical form.

Depending on the church calendar, some parts were omitted in the music of the Mass and other parts were inserted. There are five obligatory parts that are constantly present in the church service. VI and V - « Kyrieeleison» ("Lord have mercy") and« AgnusDei» (« Lamb of God ") - a prayer for forgiveness and mercy was expressed. InII and IV - « Gloria"(" Glory ") and" Sanctus» (« Holy ") - praise and gratitude. In the central part, "Credo» (« I believe ”), the main dogmas of the Christian doctrine were set forth.

Third, the growing role of instrumental music (with a clear predominance of vocal genres). If the European Middle Ages almost did not know professional instrumentalism, then in the Renaissance, many works were created for the lute (the most common musical instrument of that time), organ, viola, vihuela, verginal, longitudinal flutes. They still follow vocal patterns, but the interest in instrumental playing has already been determined.

Fourthly, during the Renaissance, there was an active formation of national music schools (Dutch polyphonists, English virginalists, Spanish vihuelists and others), whose work was based on the folklore of their country.

Finally, the theory of music has stepped far forward, having put forward a number of remarkable theoreticians. This is FrenchPhilippe de Vitry , the author of the treatise " Arsnova» (« New Art ", where the theoretical substantiation of the new polyphonic style is given); ItalianJoseffo Zarlino , one of the founders of the science of harmony; SwissGlarean , the founder of the doctrine of melody.

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"Music of the Renaissance"

Yoshkar-Ola 2010

The era of the Renaissance (Renaissance) is the heyday of all types of arts and the appeal of their figures to ancient traditions and forms.

The Renaissance has uneven historical and chronological boundaries in different European countries. In Italy, it begins in the 14th century, in the Netherlands it begins in the 15th century, and in France, Germany and England, its signs are most clearly manifested in the 16th century. At the same time, the development of ties between various creative schools, the exchange of experience between musicians who moved from country to country, who worked in different chapels, becomes a sign of the times and allows us to talk about trends common to the entire era.

The artistic culture of the Renaissance is a personal principle based on science. The unusually complex skill of the polyphonists of the 15th-16th centuries, their virtuoso technique coexisted with the bright art of everyday dances, the sophistication of secular genres. Lyric and drama is becoming more and more expressed in his works.

So, as we can see, the Renaissance period is a difficult period in the history of the development of musical art, so it seems reasonable to consider it in more detail, while paying due attention to individuals.

Music is the only world language, it does not need to be translated, the soul speaks with the soul in it.

Averbach Berthold.

Renaissance music, or Renaissance music, refers to the period in the development of European music between about 1400 and 1600. In Italy, the beginning of a new era began for the art of music in the XIV century. The Dutch school took shape and reached its first peaks in the 15th, after which its development continued to grow, and the influence in one way or another captured the masters of other national schools. Signs of the Renaissance were clearly manifested in France in the 16th century, although her creative achievements were great and indisputable even in previous centuries.

The rise of art in Germany, England and some other countries within the orbit of the Renaissance dates back to the 16th century. And yet, over time, the new creative movement became decisive for Western Europe as a whole and responded in its own way in the countries of Eastern Europe.

The music of the Renaissance turned out to be completely alien to rough and harsh sounds. The laws of harmony constituted its main essence.

The leading position was still held by spiritual music sounding during a church service. During the Renaissance, she retained the main themes of medieval music: praise to the Lord and Creator of the world, holiness and purity of religious feeling. The main purpose of such music, as one of its theorists put it, is "to delight God."

Masses, motets, hymns and psalms were the basis of musical culture.

Mass is a piece of music that is a collection of parts of the Catholic liturgy of the Latin rite, the texts of which are set to music for monophonic or polyphonic singing, with or without musical instruments, for musical accompaniment of solemn services in the Roman Catholic Church and high Protestant churches, for example , in the Church of Sweden.

Masses, which are of musical value, are also performed outside of worship at concerts; moreover, many masses of later times were specially composed either for performance in a concert hall or on the occasion of some kind of celebration.

The church mass, which goes back to the traditional melodies of the Gregorian chant, most vividly expressed the essence of musical culture. As in the Middle Ages, the Mass consisted of five parts, but now it has become more majestic and large-scale. The world no longer seemed so small and visible to man. Ordinary life with its earthly joys has already ceased to be considered sinful.

Motet (fr. motet from mot- word) is a vocal polyphonic work of a polyphonic warehouse, one of the central genres in the music of the Western European Middle Ages and Renaissance.

A hymn (ancient Greek ὕμνος) is a solemn song that praises and glorifies someone or something (originally a deity).

Psalm (Greek ψαλμός "song of praise"), r.p. psalm, pl. psalms (Greek ψαλμοί) - hymns of Jewish (Hebrew תהילים) and Christian religious poetry and prayer (from the Old Testament).

They make up the Psalter, the 19th book of the Old Testament. The authorship of the psalms is traditionally attributed to King David (circa 1000 BC) and several other authors, including Abraham, Moses, and other legendary figures.

In total, the Psalter includes 150 psalms, subdivided into prayers, praises, songs and teachings.

The Psalms have had a huge impact on folklore and have served as the source of many proverbs. In Judaism, psalms were sung in the form of hymn chants to the accompaniment. For each psalm, as a rule, the method of performance and the "model" (in the Gregorian chant called intonation), that is, the corresponding melody, were indicated. The Psalter has taken an important place in Christianity. Psalms were performed during divine services, home prayers, before battle and when moving in formation. They were originally sung in church by the whole community. The psalms were performed a cappella, only at home was the use of instruments allowed. The type of performance was recitative-psalmodic. In addition to whole psalms, some of the most expressive verses of them were also used. On this basis, independent chants arose - antiphon, gradual, tract and hallelujah.

Gradually, secular trends begin to penetrate into the works of church composers. In the polyphonic fabric of church chants, they boldly introduce the themes of folk songs that are not at all religious in content. But now this did not contradict the general spirit and mood of the era. On the contrary, in music, the divine and the human were combined in an amazing way.

Sacred music reached its highest flowering in the 15th century. in the Netherlands. Here, music was revered more than other forms of art. Dutch and Flemish composers were the first to develop new rules polyphonic(polyphonic) performance - classic " strict style". The most important compositional technique of the Dutch masters was imitation- repetition of the same melody in different voices. The leading voice was the tenor, who was entrusted with the main repetitive melody - cantus firmus ("unchanging melody"). Below the tenor was bass, and above was the alto. The topmost, that is, towering above everyone, the voice received the name soprano.

With the help of mathematical calculations, Dutch and Flemish composers managed to calculate the formula for combinations of musical intervals. The main goal of writing is to create a harmonious, symmetrical and grandiose, internally completed sound structure. One of the brightest representatives of this school, Johannes Okegem (c. 1425-1497), based on mathematical calculations, composed a motet with 36 voices!

All genres characteristic of the Dutch school are represented in Okegem's work: mass, motet and chanson. The most important genre for him is the mass, he proved himself as an outstanding polyphonist. Okegem's music is very dynamic, the melodic line moves in a wide range, has a wide amplitude. At the same time, Okegem is characterized by smooth intonation, pure diatonicism, and ancient modal thinking. Therefore, Okegem's music is often characterized as "directed to infinity", "soaring" in a somewhat detached figurative environment. It is less connected with the text, rich in chants, improvisational, expressive.

Very few of Okegem's works have survived:

About 14 masses (11 in total):

· Requiem Missa pro Defunctis (the first polyphonic requiem in the history of world music literature);

9-13 (according to various sources) motets:

Over 20 chanson

There are many works, the belonging of which to Okegem is questioned, among them the famous motet "Deo gratias" for 36 voices. Some anonymous chanson are attributed to Okegem on the basis of similarity in style.

The thirteen Masses of Okegem are preserved in a 15th century manuscript known as the Chigi codex.

Among the masses, four-part ones predominate, there are two five-part and one eight-part. Okegem uses folk ("L'homme armé"), his own ("Ma maistresse") melodies, or melodies of other authors (for example, Benshua in "De plus en plus") as the themes of the masses. There are masses without borrowed themes ("Quinti toni", "Sine nomine", "Cujusvis toni").

Motets and chanson

Okegem's motets and chanson are directly adjacent to his masses and differ from them mainly in their scale. Among the motets there are lush, festive compositions, as well as more austere spiritual choral compositions.

The most famous is the festive thanksgiving motet "Deo gratias", written for four nine-part compositions and therefore considered to be 36-part. In fact, it consists of four nine-part canons (on four different themes), which follow one after the other with slight overlaps of the beginning of the next one on the conclusion of the previous one. In places of overlapping 18 voices sound, there is no real 36 voices in the motet.

No less interesting is the work of the Dutch composer Orlando Lasso (c. 1532-1594), who created more than two thousand works of a cult and secular nature.

Lasso is the most prolific composer of his time; due to the huge volumes of his heritage, the artistic significance of his works (many of which were commissioned) has not yet been fully appreciated.

He worked exclusively in vocal genres, including writing more than 60 masses, requiems, 4 cycles of passions (for all evangelists), Holy Week offices (the responsories of Matins on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday are especially significant), more than 100 magnificats, hymns, foburdons , about 150 francs. chanson (his chanson "Susanne un jour", a paraphrase of the biblical story of Susanna, was one of the most popular plays in the 16th century), Italian (villanelles, moreski, canzones) and German songs (more than 140 Lieder), about 250 madrigals.

Lasso is distinguished by the most detailed development of texts in different languages, both liturgical (including the texts of the Holy Scriptures) and freely composed. The seriousness and drama of the concept, extended volumes distinguish the composition "Tears of St. Peter" (a cycle of 7-voice spiritual madrigals on verses by Luigi Tranzillo, published in 1595) and "Penitential Psalms of David" (the manuscript of 1571 in folio format decorated with illustrations by G. Milich, providing valuable iconographic material about life, including musical entertainment, of the Bavarian court).

At the same time, in secular music Lasso was no stranger to humor. For example, in the chanson "Drinking in three persons is distributed at feasts" (Fertur in conviviis vinus, vina, vinum), an old anecdote from the life of vagants is retold; in the famous song "Matona mia cara" a German soldier sings a love serenade, distorting Italian words; in the hymn "Ut queant laxis" unlucky solfegging is imitated. A number of bright short plays by Lasso are written in very frivolous verses, for example, the chanson "A lady looked with interest in the castle / Nature at a marble statue" (En un chasteau ma dame ...), and some songs (especially moreski) contain obscene vocabulary.

Secular music The Renaissance was represented by various genres: madrigals, songs, canzones. Music, having ceased to be a "servant of the church," now began to sound not in Latin, but in their native language. The most popular genre of secular music has become madrigals (Italian Madrigal - song in the native language) - polyphonic choral compositions written on the text of a lyric poem of love content. Most often, for this purpose, the poems of the famous masters were used: Dante, Francesco Petrarca and Torquato Tasso. Madrigals were performed not by professional singers, but by a whole ensemble of amateurs, where each part was led by one singer. The main mood of the madrigal is sadness, longing and sadness, but there were also joyful, lively compositions.

A fellow researcher of musical culture D.K. Kirnarskaya notes:

“Madrigal turned the entire musical system of the Renaissance upside down: the even and harmonious melodic plastics of the Mass collapsed ... the invariable cantus firmus, the foundation of the musical whole, disappeared ... the usual methods of developing" strict writing "... gave way to emotional and melodic contrasts of episodes, each of which He tried to convey the poetic thought contained in the text as expressively as possible. Madrigal finally undermined the weakening forces of the "strict style".

Song accompanied by musical instruments was no less popular genre of secular music. Unlike the music played in the church, the songs were quite simple to perform. Their rhymed text was clearly divided into 4-6 - line stanzas. In songs, as in madrigals, the text acquired great importance. When performed, the poetic lines should not have been lost in polyphonic singing. The songs of the French composer Clement Janequin (circa 1485-1558) were especially famous. Clement Jeannequin wrote about 250 chanson, mostly for 4 voices, on poems by Pierre Ronsard, Clement Marot, M. de Saint-Jelly, anonymous poets. For another 40 chanson, modern science disputes the authorship of Janequin (which, however, does not diminish the quality of this disputed music itself). The main distinguishing feature of his secular polyphonic music is programmatic and visual. Before the listener's mind's eye are pictures of the battle ("Battle of Marignano", "Battle of Renti", "Battle of Metz"), hunting scenes ("Singing of birds", "Singing of a nightingale", "Skylark"), everyday scenes ("Women's chatter "). Janequin vividly conveys the atmosphere of everyday life in Paris to the chanson "Screams of Paris", where you can hear the exclamations of street vendors ("Milk!" - "Pies!" - "Artichokes!" - "Fish!" - "Matches!" - "Doves!" - "Old shoes!" - "Wine!"). With all the ingenuity in texture and rhythm, Janequin's music in the field of harmony and counterpoint remains very traditional.

The Renaissance was the beginning professional composer creativity... A striking representative of this new trend is undoubtedly Palestrina (1525-1594). His legacy includes many works of sacred and secular music: 93 masses, 326 hymns and motets. He is the author of two volumes of secular madrigals to the words of Petrarch. For a long time he worked as a choir director in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The church music he created is distinguished by purity and sublimity of feelings. The composer's secular music is imbued with extraordinary spirituality and harmony.

We owe the Renaissance the formation instrumental music as an independent art form. At this time, a number of instrumental pieces, variations, preludes, fantasies, rondo, toccata appeared. Among musical instruments, the organ, harpsichord, viola, various types of flutes are especially popular, and at the end of the 16th century. - violin.

The Renaissance era ends with the emergence of new musical genres: solo song, oratorio and opera. If earlier the temple was the center of musical culture, then from that time the music began to sound in the opera house. And it happened like this.

In the Italian city of Florence at the end of the 16th century. talented poets, actors, scientists and musicians began to gather. None of them then thought of any discovery. And yet it was they who were destined to make a real revolution in the theatrical and musical arts. Resuming the performances of the works of ancient Greek playwrights, they began to compose their own music, corresponding, in their ideas, to the nature of the ancient drama.

Members camerata(as this society was called) carefully thought out the musical accompaniment of monologues and dialogues of mythological characters. Actors were required to perform spoken parts recitative(recitation, chanting speech). And although the word continued to play a leading role in relation to music, the first step was taken towards their convergence and harmonious fusion. Such a performance made it possible to convey to a greater extent the wealth of a person's inner world, his personal experiences and feelings. Based on such vocal parts, arias- completed episodes in a musical performance, including an opera.

The opera house quickly won love and became popular not only in Italy, but also in other European countries.

List of used literature

1) Encyclopedic Dictionary of a Young Musician / Comp. V.V. Medushevsky, O.O. Ochakovskaya. - M .: Pedagogy, 1985.

2) World art culture. From the beginnings to the 17th century: textbook. for 10 cl. general education. institutions of the humanitarian profile / G.I. Danilov. - 2nd ed., Stereotype. - M .: Bustard, 2005.

The most striking phenomenon was the widespread at that time secular vocal genres, imbued with the spirit of humanistic trends. A special role in their development was played by the professionalization of musical art: the skill of musicians grew, singing schools were organized, in which, from an early age, they taught singing, playing the organ, and musical theory. All this led to the approval of the polyphony of a strict style, requiring high skill, professional mastery of the compositional and performing technique. Within the framework of this style, rather strict rules of voice-leading and rhythmic organization operate while maintaining the maximum independence of the voices. Although church music occupied an important place in the works of masters of the strict style, along with works on spiritual texts, these composers wrote many secular polyphonic songs. Of particular interest are musical and poetic images of secular vocal genres. The texts are notable for the liveliness and relevance of the content. In addition to love lyrics, satirical, frivolous, dithyrambic texts were extremely popular, which were combined with the excellent professional technique of polyphonic writing. Here are some texts of French chanson, which are an example of everyday poetry "Get up, dear Colinette, it's time to go for a drink; laughter and pleasure are what I strive for. Let everyone surrender to joy. Spring has come ...", "Let wealth be cursed, it took away I have my friend: I took possession of her love, and the other - wealth, sincere love in love affairs is of little value. "

The culture of the Renaissance first appeared in Italy, and then in other countries. History has preserved information about the frequent movements of famous musicians from country to country, about their work in one or another chapel, about frequent communication of representatives of different nationalities, etc. Therefore, in the music of the Renaissance period, we observe a significant relationship between the works created by composers different national schools.

The 16th century is often referred to as the "age of dance". Under the influence of the humanistic ideals of the Italian Renaissance, the dam of church prohibitions was finally broken, and the craving for "worldly", earthly joys revealed itself as an unprecedented explosion of dance and song elements. A powerful factor in the popularization of song and dance in the 16th century. the invention of methods for printing music played a role: dances published in large editions began to wander from one country to another. Each nation contributed to the common hobby, so dancing, breaking away from its native soil, traveled across the continent, changing its appearance, and sometimes its name. The fashion for them spread quickly and changed rapidly.

At the same time, the Renaissance was the time of broad religious movements (Hussite in Bohemia, Lutheranism in Germany, Calvinism in France). All these various manifestations of religious movements of that time can be united by the general concept of Protestantism. Protestantism in various national movements played an important role in the development and strengthening of the common musical cultures of peoples, moreover, mainly in the field of folk music. Unlike humanism, which embraced a relatively narrow circle of people, Protestantism was a more massive trend that spread among wide layers of the people. One of the most striking phenomena in the musical art of the Renaissance is the Protestant chant. Arose in Germany under the influence of the Reformation movement, in contrast to the attributes of Catholic worship, it was distinguished by a special emotional and semantic content. Luther and other representatives of Protestantism attached great importance to music: "Music makes people joyful, makes people forget anger. Eliminates self-confidence and other shortcomings ... Youth must be constantly taught to music, for it forges dexterous, suitable people for all." Thus, music in the Reformation movement was considered not a luxury, but a kind of "daily bread" - it was called upon to play a large role in the propaganda of Protestantism and the formation of the spiritual consciousness of the broad masses.

GENRE:

Vocal genres

The entire era as a whole is characterized by a clear predominance of vocal genres, and in particular vocal polyphony... An unusually complex mastery of polyphony of a strict style, genuine scholarship, virtuoso technique coexisted with the bright and fresh art of everyday dissemination. Instrumental music acquires some independence, but its direct dependence on vocal forms and on everyday sources (dance, song) will be overcome only a little later. Major musical genres remain associated with verbal text. The essence of Renaissance humanism is reflected in the composing of choral songs in the style of frottol and vilanelle.
Dance genres

During the Renaissance, everyday dance acquired great importance. Many new dance forms are emerging in Italy, France, England, Spain. Various strata of society have their own dances, develop the manner of their performance, rules of behavior during balls, evenings, festivities. Renaissance dances are more complex than the simple curses of the late Middle Ages. Dances with a round dance and a linear-rank composition are replaced by paired (duet) dances, built on complex movements and figures.
Volta - a pair dance of Italian origin. Its name comes from the Italian word voltare, which means "to turn". The size is three-beat, the pace is moderately fast. The main drawing of the dance consists in the fact that the gentleman nimbly and abruptly turns the lady dancing with him in the air. This climb is usually done very high. It requires great strength and dexterity from the gentleman, since, despite the sharpness and some impetuosity of the movements, the lift must be performed clearly and beautifully.
Galliard - an old dance of Italian origin, widespread in Italy, England, France, Spain, Germany. The pace of the early galliards is moderately fast, the size is three-beat. Galliarda was often performed after the pavana, with which it was sometimes thematically associated. Galliards 16th century sustained in a melodic-harmonic texture with a melody in the upper voice. Galliard tunes were popular among wide sections of French society. During the serenades, Orleans students played galliard tunes on lutes and guitars. Like the chime, the galliard had the character of a kind of dance dialogue. The cavalier moved through the hall with his lady. When the man performed the solo, the lady stayed where she was. The male solo consisted of a variety of complex movements. After that, he again approached the lady and continued the dance.
Pavana - a side dance of the 16-17th centuries. The pace is moderately slow, 4/4 or 2/4 beat. Different sources disagree about its origin (Italy, Spain, France). The most popular version is a Spanish dance that imitates the movements of a peacock walking with a beautifully flowing tail. Was close to bass dance. To the music of the pavans, various ceremonial processions took place: the entry of the authorities into the city, seeing off the noble bride to the church. In France and Italy, pavana is established as a court dance. The solemn character of the pavana allowed the court society to shine with the grace and grace of their manners and movements. The people and the bourgeoisie did not perform this dance. Pavane, like the minuet, was performed strictly according to rank. The king and queen began the dance, then the dauphin and a noble lady entered the dance, then the princes, etc. Cavaliers performed pavana with a sword and in drapes. The ladies were in formal dresses with heavy long trenches, which had to be skillfully wielded during movements, without lifting them from the floor. The movement of the tren made the moves beautiful, giving the pavane a splendor and solemnity. For the queen, the ladies' attendants carried a train. Before the start of the dance, it was supposed to go around the hall. At the end of the dance, the couples again walked around the hall with bows and curtsies. But before putting on the hat, the gentleman had to put his right hand on the back of the lady's shoulder, his left hand (holding the hat) on her waist and kiss her on the cheek. During the dance, the lady's eyes were lowered; only from time to time she looked at her beau. The pavana was preserved for the longest time in England, where it was very popular.
Allemande - slow dance of German origin in 4-beat. He belongs to the massive "low", jump-free dances. The performers became pairs one after another. The number of pairs was not limited. The gentleman held the lady's hands. The column moved around the hall, and when it reached the end, the participants made a turn in place (without separating their hands) and continued the dance in the opposite direction.
Courant - court dance of Italian origin. The chime was simple and complex. The first consisted of simple, planing steps, performed mainly forward. The complex chime was of a pantomimic nature: three gentlemen invited three ladies to participate in the dance. The ladies were taken to the opposite corner of the hall and asked to dance. The ladies refused. The gentlemen, having received a refusal, left, but then returned again and knelt in front of the ladies. Only after the pantomime scene did the dance begin. The chimes are of the Italian and French types. The Italian chime is a lively 3/4 or 3/8 meter dance with a simple rhythm in a melodic-harmonic texture. French - a solemn dance ("dance of manners"), a smooth, proud procession. 3/2 size, moderate tempo, well-developed polyphonic texture.
Sarabande - a popular dance of the 16th - 17th centuries. Derived from the Spanish female dance with castanets. Initially, it was accompanied by singing. The famous choreographer and teacher Carlo Blazis in one of his works gives a short description of the sarabanda: "In this dance, everyone chooses a lady to whom he is not indifferent. The music gives a signal, and two lovers perform a dance, noble, measured, however, the importance of this dance does not in the least interfere with pleasure, and modesty gives it even more grace; everyone's eyes are happy to follow the dancers who perform various figures, expressing with their movement all phases of love. " Initially, the pace of the sarabanda was moderately fast, later (from the 17th century) a slow French sarabanda appeared with a characteristic rhythmic pattern: ... was banned by the Castilian Council.
Gigue - dance of English origin, the fastest, triplet, turning into triplet. Initially, the gigue was a pair dance, but it spread among sailors as a solo, very fast dance of a comic character. Later it appeared in instrumental music as the final part of an old dance suite.

Summary: Music of the Renaissance

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Test

"Music of the Renaissance"

Yoshkar-Ola 2010

The era of the Renaissance (Renaissance) is the heyday of all types of arts and the appeal of their figures to ancient traditions and forms.

The Renaissance has uneven historical and chronological boundaries in different European countries. In Italy, it begins in the 14th century, in the Netherlands it begins in the 15th century, and in France, Germany and England, its signs are most clearly manifested in the 16th century. At the same time, the development of ties between various creative schools, the exchange of experience between musicians who moved from country to country, who worked in different chapels, becomes a sign of the times and allows us to talk about trends common to the entire era.

The artistic culture of the Renaissance is a personal principle based on science. The unusually complex skill of the polyphonists of the 15th-16th centuries, their virtuoso technique coexisted with the bright art of everyday dances, the sophistication of secular genres. Lyric and drama is becoming more and more expressed in his works.

So, as we can see, the Renaissance period is a difficult period in the history of the development of musical art, so it seems reasonable to consider it in more detail, while paying due attention to individuals.

Music is the only world language, it does not need to be translated, the soul speaks with the soul in it.

Averbach Berthold.

Renaissance music, or Renaissance music, refers to the period in the development of European music between about 1400 and 1600. In Italy, the beginning of a new era began for the art of music in the XIV century. The Dutch school took shape and reached its first peaks in the 15th, after which its development continued to grow, and the influence in one way or another captured the masters of other national schools. Signs of the Renaissance were clearly manifested in France in the 16th century, although her creative achievements were great and indisputable even in previous centuries.

The rise of art in Germany, England and some other countries within the orbit of the Renaissance dates back to the 16th century. And yet, over time, the new creative movement became decisive for Western Europe as a whole and responded in its own way in the countries of Eastern Europe.

The music of the Renaissance turned out to be completely alien to rough and harsh sounds. The laws of harmony constituted its main essence.

The leading position was still held by spiritual music sounding during a church service. During the Renaissance, she retained the main themes of medieval music: praise to the Lord and Creator of the world, holiness and purity of religious feeling. The main purpose of such music, as one of its theorists put it, is "to delight God."

Masses, motets, hymns and psalms were the basis of musical culture.

Mass is a piece of music that is a collection of parts of the Catholic liturgy of the Latin rite, the texts of which are set to music for monophonic or polyphonic singing, with or without musical instruments, for musical accompaniment of solemn services in the Roman Catholic Church and high Protestant churches, for example , in the Church of Sweden.

Masses, which are of musical value, are also performed outside of worship at concerts; moreover, many masses of later times were specially composed either for performance in a concert hall or on the occasion of some kind of celebration.

The church mass, which goes back to the traditional melodies of the Gregorian chant, most vividly expressed the essence of musical culture. As in the Middle Ages, the Mass consisted of five parts, but now it has become more majestic and large-scale. The world no longer seemed so small and visible to man. Ordinary life with its earthly joys has already ceased to be considered sinful.

Motet (fr. motet from mot- word) is a vocal polyphonic work of a polyphonic warehouse, one of the central genres in the music of the Western European Middle Ages and Renaissance.

A hymn (ancient Greek ὕμνος) is a solemn song that praises and glorifies someone or something (originally a deity).

Psalm (Greek ψαλμός "song of praise"), r.p. psalm, pl. psalms (Greek ψαλμοί) - hymns of Jewish (Hebrew תהילים) and Christian religious poetry and prayer (from the Old Testament).

They make up the Psalter, the 19th book of the Old Testament. The authorship of the psalms is traditionally attributed to King David (circa 1000 BC) and several other authors, including Abraham, Moses, and other legendary figures.

In total, the Psalter includes 150 psalms, subdivided into prayers, praises, songs and teachings.

The Psalms have had a huge impact on folklore and have served as the source of many proverbs. In Judaism, psalms were sung in the form of hymn chants to the accompaniment. For each psalm, as a rule, the method of performance and the "model" (in the Gregorian chant called intonation), that is, the corresponding melody, were indicated. The Psalter has taken an important place in Christianity. Psalms were performed during divine services, home prayers, before battle and when moving in formation. They were originally sung in church by the whole community. The psalms were performed a cappella, only at home was the use of instruments allowed. The type of performance was recitative-psalmodic. In addition to whole psalms, some of the most expressive verses of them were also used. On this basis, independent chants arose - antiphon, gradual, tract and hallelujah.

Gradually, secular trends begin to penetrate into the works of church composers. In the polyphonic fabric of church chants, they boldly introduce the themes of folk songs that are not at all religious in content. But now this did not contradict the general spirit and mood of the era. On the contrary, in music, the divine and the human were combined in an amazing way.

Sacred music reached its highest flowering in the 15th century. in the Netherlands. Here, music was revered more than other forms of art. Dutch and Flemish composers were the first to develop new rules polyphonic(polyphonic) performance - classic " strict style". The most important compositional technique of the Dutch masters was imitation- repetition of the same melody in different voices. The leading voice was the tenor, who was entrusted with the main repetitive melody - cantus firmus ("unchanging melody"). Below the tenor was bass, and above was the alto. The topmost, that is, towering above everyone, the voice received the name soprano.

With the help of mathematical calculations, Dutch and Flemish composers managed to calculate the formula for combinations of musical intervals. The main goal of writing is to create a harmonious, symmetrical and grandiose, internally completed sound structure. One of the brightest representatives of this school, Johannes Okegem (c. 1425-1497), based on mathematical calculations, composed a motet with 36 voices!

All genres characteristic of the Dutch school are represented in Okegem's work: mass, motet and chanson. The most important genre for him is the mass, he proved himself as an outstanding polyphonist. Okegem's music is very dynamic, the melodic line moves in a wide range, has a wide amplitude. At the same time, Okegem is characterized by smooth intonation, pure diatonicism, and ancient modal thinking. Therefore, Okegem's music is often characterized as "directed to infinity", "soaring" in a somewhat detached figurative environment. It is less connected with the text, rich in chants, improvisational, expressive.

Very few of Okegem's works have survived:

About 14 masses (11 in total):

· Requiem Missa pro Defunctis (the first polyphonic requiem in the history of world music literature);

9-13 (according to various sources) motets:

Over 20 chanson

There are many works, the belonging of which to Okegem is questioned, among them the famous motet "Deo gratias" for 36 voices. Some anonymous chanson are attributed to Okegem on the basis of similarity in style.

The thirteen Masses of Okegem are preserved in a 15th century manuscript known as the Chigi codex.

Among the masses, four-part ones predominate, there are two five-part and one eight-part. Okegem uses folk ("L'homme armé"), his own ("Ma maistresse") melodies, or melodies of other authors (for example, Benshua in "De plus en plus") as the themes of the masses. There are masses without borrowed themes ("Quinti toni", "Sine nomine", "Cujusvis toni").

Motets and chanson

Okegem's motets and chanson are directly adjacent to his masses and differ from them mainly in their scale. Among the motets there are lush, festive compositions, as well as more austere spiritual choral compositions.

The most famous is the festive thanksgiving motet "Deo gratias", written for four nine-part compositions and therefore considered to be 36-part. In fact, it consists of four nine-part canons (on four different themes), which follow one after the other with slight overlaps of the beginning of the next one on the conclusion of the previous one. In places of overlapping 18 voices sound, there is no real 36 voices in the motet.

No less interesting is the work of the Dutch composer Orlando Lasso (c. 1532-1594), who created more than two thousand works of a cult and secular nature.

Lasso is the most prolific composer of his time; due to the huge volumes of his heritage, the artistic significance of his works (many of which were commissioned) has not yet been fully appreciated.

He worked exclusively in vocal genres, including writing more than 60 masses, requiems, 4 cycles of passions (for all evangelists), Holy Week offices (the responsories of Matins on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday are especially significant), more than 100 magnificats, hymns, foburdons , about 150 francs. chanson (his chanson "Susanne un jour", a paraphrase of the biblical story of Susanna, was one of the most popular plays in the 16th century), Italian (villanelles, moreski, canzones) and German songs (more than 140 Lieder), about 250 madrigals.

Lasso is distinguished by the most detailed development of texts in different languages, both liturgical (including the texts of the Holy Scriptures) and freely composed. The seriousness and drama of the concept, extended volumes distinguish the composition "Tears of St. Peter" (a cycle of 7-voice spiritual madrigals on verses by Luigi Tranzillo, published in 1595) and "Penitential Psalms of David" (the manuscript of 1571 in folio format decorated with illustrations by G. Milich, providing valuable iconographic material about life, including musical entertainment, of the Bavarian court).

At the same time, in secular music Lasso was no stranger to humor. For example, in the chanson "Drinking in three persons is distributed at feasts" (Fertur in conviviis vinus, vina, vinum), an old anecdote from the life of vagants is retold; in the famous song "Matona mia cara" a German soldier sings a love serenade, distorting Italian words; in the hymn "Ut queant laxis" unlucky solfegging is imitated. A number of bright short plays by Lasso are written in very frivolous verses, for example, the chanson "A lady looked with interest in the castle / Nature at a marble statue" (En un chasteau ma dame ...), and some songs (especially moreski) contain obscene vocabulary.

Secular music The Renaissance was represented by various genres: madrigals, songs, canzones. Music, having ceased to be a "servant of the church," now began to sound not in Latin, but in their native language. The most popular genre of secular music has become madrigals (Italian Madrigal - song in the native language) - polyphonic choral compositions written on the text of a lyric poem of love content. Most often, for this purpose, the poems of the famous masters were used: Dante, Francesco Petrarca and Torquato Tasso. Madrigals were performed not by professional singers, but by a whole ensemble of amateurs, where each part was led by one singer. The main mood of the madrigal is sadness, longing and sadness, but there were also joyful, lively compositions.

A fellow researcher of musical culture D.K. Kirnarskaya notes:

“Madrigal turned the entire musical system of the Renaissance upside down: the even and harmonious melodic plastics of the Mass collapsed ... the invariable cantus firmus, the foundation of the musical whole, disappeared ... the usual methods of developing" strict writing "... gave way to emotional and melodic contrasts of episodes, each of which He tried to convey the poetic thought contained in the text as expressively as possible. Madrigal finally undermined the weakening forces of the "strict style".

Song accompanied by musical instruments was no less popular genre of secular music. Unlike the music played in the church, the songs were quite simple to perform. Their rhymed text was clearly divided into 4-6 - line stanzas. In songs, as in madrigals, the text acquired great importance. When performed, the poetic lines should not have been lost in polyphonic singing. The songs of the French composer Clement Janequin (circa 1485-1558) were especially famous. Clement Jeannequin wrote about 250 chanson, mostly for 4 voices, on poems by Pierre Ronsard, Clement Marot, M. de Saint-Jelly, anonymous poets. For another 40 chanson, modern science disputes the authorship of Janequin (which, however, does not diminish the quality of this disputed music itself). The main distinguishing feature of his secular polyphonic music is programmatic and visual. Before the listener's mind's eye are pictures of the battle ("Battle of Marignano", "Battle of Renti", "Battle of Metz"), hunting scenes ("Singing of birds", "Singing of a nightingale", "Skylark"), everyday scenes ("Women's chatter "). Janequin vividly conveys the atmosphere of everyday life in Paris to the chanson "Screams of Paris", where you can hear the exclamations of street vendors ("Milk!" - "Pies!" - "Artichokes!" - "Fish!" - "Matches!" - "Doves!" - "Old shoes!" - "Wine!"). With all the ingenuity in texture and rhythm, Janequin's music in the field of harmony and counterpoint remains very traditional.

The Renaissance was the beginning professional composer creativity... Palestrina (1525-1594) is undoubtedly a prominent representative of this new trend. His legacy includes many works of sacred and secular music: 93 masses, 326 hymns and motets. He is the author of two volumes of secular madrigals to the words of Petrarch. For a long time he worked as a choir director in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The church music he created is distinguished by purity and sublimity of feelings. The composer's secular music is imbued with extraordinary spirituality and harmony.

We owe the Renaissance the formation instrumental music as an independent art form. At this time, a number of instrumental pieces, variations, preludes, fantasies, rondo, toccata appeared. Among musical instruments, the organ, harpsichord, viola, various types of flutes are especially popular, and at the end of the 16th century. - violin.

The Renaissance era ends with the emergence of new musical genres: solo song, oratorio and opera. If earlier the temple was the center of musical culture, then from that time the music began to sound in the opera house. And it happened like this.

In the Italian city of Florence at the end of the 16th century. talented poets, actors, scientists and musicians began to gather. None of them then thought of any discovery. And yet it was they who were destined to make a real revolution in the theatrical and musical arts. Resuming the performances of the works of ancient Greek playwrights, they began to compose their own music, corresponding, in their ideas, to the nature of the ancient drama.

Members camerata(as this society was called) carefully thought out the musical accompaniment of monologues and dialogues of mythological characters. Actors were required to perform spoken parts recitative(recitation, chanting speech). And although the word continued to play a leading role in relation to music, the first step was taken towards their convergence and harmonious fusion. Such a performance made it possible to convey to a greater extent the wealth of a person's inner world, his personal experiences and feelings. Based on such vocal parts, arias- completed episodes in a musical performance, including an opera.

The opera house quickly won love and became popular not only in Italy, but also in other European countries.

List of used literature

1) Encyclopedic Dictionary of a Young Musician / Comp. V.V. Medushevsky, O.O. Ochakovskaya. - M .: Pedagogy, 1985.

2) World art culture. From the beginnings to the 17th century: textbook. for 10 cl. general education. institutions of the humanitarian profile / G.I. Danilov. - 2nd ed., Stereotype. - M .: Bustard, 2005.

3) Materials from the archive of Renaissance music: http://manfredina.ru/