Renaissance Music Influence

Josquin Desprez is known as the most inspirational and influential composers from the Renaissance period. He was born in Belgium and eventually moved to Italy, where he worked for powerful and important people. Desprez’s contributions were very significant for music, for example, his most popular composition was the motet Aver Maria... Virgo serena, in which the musical structure combines elements from the Medieval and Renaissance period. Hence, he employs these elements throughout the whole piece that are displayed in his over-all style, form, melody, harmony, color, orchestration and texture.

Hector Berlioz Hector Berlioz was an interesting composer. He was born on December 11th, 1803 and passed away on March 8th, 1869. Berlioz was a french composer who liked to write about romantic things.

Mozart and Beethoven are outstanding representatives of this genre. Beethoven with his nine symphonies, and his masterful quartets and sonatas for piano, was the last classicist and the first romantic, serving as a bridge between the two styles. The characteristic of classism was characterized by an energetic impetus that permeated the music, aiming to exult not the heavily God as the baroque did, but the earthly King through sophisticated composition which were thought to appeal to reason rather than to mere

Stravinsky also produced some extraordinary operas, his first opera was named “ Solvey” also known as the “Nightingale”, this opera was performed by Sergey Dyagiler, he also produce some of Stravinsky’s other works. Between 1920 and 1939 Igor Stravinsky lived in Paris this is where most of his ballets were written. Stravinsky travelled a lot and with this he came upon many different styles he used and changed them according to what he was composing. The USA was among the wide range of countries that he visited not only did he visit the USA once but three times, Stravinsky finally settled in the USA from 1939-1971. He lived in Los Angles where his final opera was composed in 1957 named “ The Rakes Progress”, eight years after his final composition he took his last breaths in New York in 1971 this was his final destination while he was alive but he was buried in

Because Machaut traveled so much he went to many courts and presented exquisitely decorated copies of his music to the noble patrons. His music consisted of love songs, such as “Puis qu’en oubli sui de vous” , which translates to, “Since I am forgotten by you”.

“The Renaissance of the fifteenth century was, in many things, great rather by what it designed then by what it achieved.” - Walter Pater. Benozzo Gozzoli was an early Italian painter during the Renaissance. He designed and painted many of the Renaissance’s greatest masterpieces, such as the Procession of the Magi, The Conversion of Saint Paul, and Virgin and Child with Angels. Gozzoli’s artwork was influenced by many things and people around him, that helped shape him to be one of the greatest painters during the Renaissance.

The Baroque period brought with itself key devices such as variation in musical compositions, the enlargement of standard scales and chords and the process of varying one or more properties within a piece; that are used today. In contrast the renaissance period of music whereby music was often sang, contained simple rhythms and melodic lines and was mostly for the purpose of praise, the Baroque period of music started off the use of distinct melodies and harmonies opposed to the polyphony used in the Renaissance period. This new music was then called “…expansive and dramatic”. Famous composers and performers of this period include Henry Purcell, Arcangelo Corelli, Claudio Monteverdi, Antonio Vivaldi and many others. Music of the baroque period had a number of traits in style as well as spirit; examples include the use of the basso

Ballet developed in the Italian Renaissance courts in the 15th and 16th century. It came from the court dances used at the time. Ballet further developed into the performance-focused art in France in the 17th century. Louis XIV established the a Royal Academy for ballet in 1661. The popularity spread throughout Europe because France was the model for the fashions and customs of the time.

In the excerpt from Spitzer and Zaslaw’s The Birth of the Orchestra Arcangelo Corelli is portrayed as an innovator in the world of orchestra. First, Corelli’s background is briefly described. Born in a small town he moved to Rome at the start of his violin career. The text then proceeds to show how Corelli rose to fame through his techniques. Although Rome had already implemented many of the techniques and devices that Corelli used, he was still seen as an innovator.

But, the Baroque period also had a treasure of hidden gems. There were many unknown composers, and artists that had composed or drew wonderful masterpieces, but were left out the spotlight, and one of them is a composer named Agostino Steffani.