Renaissance

(1400– 1600 AD)

A.                 Historical Events

1.                  1431 – Joan of Arc burned at the stake

2.                  1455 – Printing Press was invented

3.                  1475 – Michaelangelo was born

4.                  1492 – Columbus discovers America

5.                  1500 – First pencil

6.                  1517 – Martin Luther posts 95 theses

7.                  1553 – Violin began to develop

8.                  1564 – Shakespeare was born

B.   General Facts

1.                  After the dark ages, the period of enlightenment

2.                  The rebirth of humanism

3.                  More artistic freedom

C.   Instruments

1.                  Violin was developed

2.                  Lute was at the height of popularity

3.                  Bagpipes were created and played on Scottish battlefields

4.                  Clavichord was developed (early piano)

5.                  Instruments were used for dance music

6.                  Instrumentalists began to improvise

D.    Vocal Music

1.                  Chant is still used in church and by monks

2.                  Mass was created (sung part of the Eucharist)

3.                  Motets – sacred pieces

4.                  Madrigals – Italian secular pieces

5.                  Chansons – French secular songs

6.                  Secular music began to sing about courtly love (new idea)

7.                  Women made music outside of church and were gradually allowed to sing in church

8.                  Men’s voices imitated women

E.   Composers

1.                  William Byrd

2.                  Giovanni Gabrielli

3.                  Giovanni Palestrina

4.                  John Dowland

F.    Ars Nova (New Art)

1.                  Creativity

2.                  Improvisation

3.                  Composers emphasized human emotions

4.                  Music became more lively and up beat

5.                  Polyphony was developed (canon-round)

Lesson Plans

v     Listen to madrigals, motets, Spanish guitar and lute music

v     Listen and describe music as sacred/secular, unison/harmony, vocal/instrumental

Prehistoric	Medieval	Renaissance
Baroque	Classical	Romantic
	20th Century