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UNIT TWO :THE RENAISSANCE ERA (CA 1450- CA 1600)

CARLO GESUALDO (CA 1561-1613)
MYSICAL STYLE:
• Italian composer and lutenist
• Intensely emotional style
• Extravagant word painting
• Exaggerated chromaticism with high level of dissonance
• Abrupt chord changes
• Frequent use of repetition
• Wrote his own texts, often reflecting his guilt and remorse.
GENRE AND TITLE:
• Madrigal:6 books
• Sacred music , Tenebrae Responssoria
• Instrumental music

ENGLISH MADRIGAL
BACKGROUND:
• The Italian madrigal spread from Italy yo England in the 1580
• The publication of Musica transalpine in 1588 launched the popularity of the madrigal in England
• As English composer s cultivated the genre, it took on a slightly different character
• Prominent English composers as Orlando Gibbons, Thomas Morley , Tomas Weelkes, John Wilbye composed madrigals
CHARACTERISTICS
• Resembles the Italian madrigal of the mid 16th
• Polyphonic and homophonic textures alternate
• Utilized word painting
• Pastoral texts
• Included nonsense syllables as “fa la la “ and “nonny nonny no”

JOHN FARMER (1570- 1601)
MUSICAL  STYLE:
• Composed 4 voices madrigals
• Combined chordal homophonic textures with imitative polyphony
• Favoured light-hearted, pastoral texts
• Modal harmonies, largely diatonic
• Employed vivid word painting
GENRES AND TITLE
• Madrigal: 1 collection, containing 16 madrigals , Fair Phyllis and A Pretty Little Bonny Lass

 

April 10, 2014 0 Comments