Background History of Medieval Period

People use the phrase “Middle Ages” to describe Europe between

the fall of Rome in 476 CE and the beginning of the Renaissance in the
14th century. Many scholars call the era the “medieval period” instead;
“Middle Ages,” they say, incorrectly implies that the period is an
insignificant blip sandwiched between two much more important
epochs.
The Middle Ages: Birth of an Idea
The phrase “Middle Ages” tells us more about the Renaissance
that followed it than it does about the era itself. Starting around the 14th
century, European thinkers, writers and artists began to look back and
celebrate the art and culture of ancient Greece and Rome. Accordingly,
they dismissed the period after the fall of Rome as a “Middle” or even
“Dark” age in which no scientific accomplishments had been made, no
great art produced, no great leaders born. The people of the Middle
Ages had squandered the advancements of their predecessors, this
argument went, and mired themselves instead in what 18th-century
English historian Edward Gibbon called “barbarism and religion.”
Between 1347 and 1350, a mysterious disease known as the
"Black Death" (the bubonic plague) killed some 20 million people in
Europe—30 percent of the continent’s population. It was especially
deadly in cities, where it was impossible to prevent the transmission of
the disease from This way of thinking about the era in the “middle” of
the fall of Rome and the rise of the Renaissance prevailed until
relatively recently. However, today’s scholars note that the era was as
complex and vibrant as any other.
The Middle Ages: The Catholic Church
After the fall of Rome, no single state or government united the
people who lived on the European continent. Instead, the Catholic
Church became the most powerful institution of the medieval period.
Kings, queens and other leaders derived much of their power from their
alliances with and protection of the Church.
(In 800 CE, for example, Pope Leo III named the Frankish king
Charlemagne the “Emperor of the Romans”–the first since that empire’s
fall more than 300 years before. Over time, Charlemagne’s realm
became the Holy Roman Empire, one of several political entities in
Europe whose interests tended to align with those of the Church.)
Ordinary people across Europe had to “tithe” 10 percent of their
earnings each year to the Church; at the same time, the Church was
mostly exempt from taxation. These policies helped it to amass a great
deal of money and power.

The Middle Ages: The Rise of Islam

Meanwhile, the Islamic world was growing larger and more
powerful. After the prophet Muhammad’s death in 632 CE, Muslim
armies conquered large parts of the Middle East, uniting them under
the rule of a single caliph. At its height, the medieval Islamic world was
more than three times bigger than all of Christendom.

Under the caliphs, great cities such as Cairo, Baghdad and

Damascus fostered a vibrant intellectual and cultural life. Poets,
scientists and philosophers wrote thousands of books (on paper, a
Chinese invention that had made its way into the Islamic world by the
8th century). Scholars translated Greek, Iranian and Indian texts into
Arabic. Inventors devised technologies like the pinhole camera, soap,
windmills, surgical instruments, an early flying machine and the system
of numerals that we use today. And religious scholars and mystics
translated, interpreted and taught the Quran and other scriptural texts
to people across the Middle East.one person to another.

The Middle Ages: The Crusades

Toward the end of the 11th century, the Catholic Church began to
authorize military expeditions, or Crusades, to expel Muslim “infidels”
from the Holy Land. Crusaders, who wore red crosses on their coats to
advertise their status, believed that their service would guarantee the
remission of their sins and ensure that they could spend all eternity in
Heaven. (They also received more worldly rewards, such as papal
protection of their property and forgiveness of some kinds of loan
payments.)
The Crusades began in 1095, when Pope Urban summoned a
Christian army to fight its way to Jerusalem, and continued on and off
until the end of the 15th century. No one “won” the Crusades; in fact,
many thousands of people from both sides lost their lives. They did
make ordinary Catholics across Christendom feel like they had a
common purpose, and they inspired waves of religious enthusiasm
among people who might otherwise have felt alienated from the official
Church. They also exposed Crusaders to Islamic literature, science and
technology–exposure that would have a lasting effect on European
intellectual life.
The Middle Ages: Art and Architecture
Another way to show devotion to the Church was to build grand
cathedrals and other ecclesiastical structures such as monasteries.
Cathedrals were the largest buildings in medieval Europe, and they
could be found at the center of towns and cities across the continent.
Between the 10th and 13th centuries, most European cathedrals
were built in the Romanesque style. Romanesque cathedrals are solid
and substantial: They have rounded masonry arches and barrel vaults
supporting the roof, thick stone walls and few windows. (Examples of
Romanesque architecture include the Porto Cathedral in Portugal and
the Speyer Cathedral in present-day Germany.)
Around 1200, church builders began to embrace a new
architectural style, known as the Gothic. Gothic structures, such as the
Abbey Church of Saint-Denis in France and the rebuilt Canterbury
Cathedral in England, have huge stained-glass windows, pointed vaults
and arches (a technology developed in the Islamic world), and spires
and flying buttresses. In contrast to heavy Romanesque buildings,
Gothic architecture seems to be almost weightless.Medieval religious
art took other forms as well. Frescoes and mosaics decorated church
interiors, and artists painted devotional images of the Virgin Mary,
Jesus and the saints.
Also, before the invention of the printing press in the 15th century,
even books were works of art. Craftsmen in monasteries (and later in
universities) created illuminated manuscripts: handmade sacred and
secular books with colored illustrations, gold and silver lettering and
other adornments. In the 12th century, urban booksellers began to
market smaller illuminated manuscripts, like books of hours, psalters
and other prayer books, to wealthy individuals.

The Middle Ages: Economics and Society

In medieval Europe, rural life was governed by a system scholars
call “feudalism.” In a feudal society, the king granted large pieces of
land called fiefs to noblemen and bishops. Landless peasants known
as serfs did most of the work on the fiefs: They planted and harvested
crops and gave most of the produce to the landowner. In exchange for
their labor, they were allowed to live on the land. They were also
promised protection in case of enemy invasion.
During the 11th century, however, feudal life began to change.
Agricultural innovations such as the heavy plow and three-field crop
rotation made farming more efficient and productive, so fewer farm
workers were needed–but thanks to the expanded and improved food
supply, the population grew. As a result, more and more people were
drawn to towns and cities. Meanwhile, the Crusades had expanded
trade routes to the East and given Europeans a taste for imported
goods such as wine, olive oil and luxurious textiles. As the commercial
economy developed, port cities in particular thrived. By 1300, there
were some 15 cities in Europe with a population of more than 50,000.
In these cities, a new era was born: the Renaissance. The
Renaissance was a time of great intellectual and economic change, but
it was not a complete “rebirth”: It had its roots in the world of the Middle
Ages.
Background history of Renaissance Period

Renaissance
The Renaissance was a fervent period of European cultural,
artistic, political and economic “rebirth” following the Middle Ages.
Generally described as taking place from the 14th century to the 17th
century, the Renaissance promoted the rediscovery of classical
philosophy, literature and art. Some of the greatest thinkers, authors,
statesmen, scientists and artists in human history thrived during this
era, while global exploration opened up new lands and cultures to
European commerce. The Renaissance is credited with bridging the
gap between the Middle Ages and modern-day civilization.

From Darkness to Light: The Renaissance Begins

During the Middle Ages, a period that took place between the fall
of ancient Rome in 476 A.D. and the beginning of the 14th century,
Europeans made few advances in science and art.
Also known as the “Dark Ages,” the era is often branded as a time
of war, ignorance, famine and pandemics such as the Black Death.
Some historians, however, believe that such grim depictions of
the Middle Ages were greatly exaggerated, though many agree that
there was relatively little regard for ancient Greek and Roman
philosophies and learning at the time.

Humanism
 During the 14th century, a cultural movement called humanism
began to gain momentum in Italy. Among its many principles,
humanism promoted the idea that man was the center of his own
universe, and people should embrace human achievements in
education, classical arts, literature and science.
In 1450, the invention of the Gutenberg printing press allowed for
improved communication throughout Europe and for ideas to spread
more quickly.
As a result of this advance in communication, little-known texts
from early humanist authors such as those by Francesco Petrarch and
Giovanni Boccaccio, which promoted the renewal of traditional Greek
and Roman culture and values, were printed and distributed to the
masses.
Additionally, many scholars believe advances in international
finance and trade impacted culture in Europe and set the stage for the
Renaissance.

Medici Family
The Renaissance started in Florence, Italy, a place with a rich
cultural history where wealthy citizens could afford to support budding
artists.
Members of the powerful Medici family, which ruled Florence for
more than 60 years, were famous backers of the movement.
 Great Italian writers, artists, politicians and others declared that
they were participating in an intellectual and artistic revolution that
would be much different from what they experienced during the Dark
Ages.
The movement first expanded to other Italian city-states, such as
Venice, Milan, Bologna, Ferrara and Rome. Then, during the 15th
century, Renaissance ideas spread from Italy to France and then
throughout western and northern Europe.
Although other European countries experienced their
Renaissance later than Italy, the impacts were still revolutionary.

Renaissance Geniuses
Some of the most famous and groundbreaking Renaissance
intellectuals, artists, scientists and writers include the likes of:
 Leonardo da Vinci
 Michelangelo
 Raphael
 Sandro Botticelli
 Donatello
 William Shakespeare
 John Milton
 William Byrd
 William Tyndale
 Titian
 Niccolo Machiavelli
 Dante
  Giotto
 Geoffrey Chaucer
 Thomas Hobbes
 Nicolaus Copernicus
 Galileo
 Rene Descartes
 Desiderius Erasmus

Renaissance Art, Architecture and Science

Art, architecture and science were closely linked during the
Renaissance. In fact, it was a unique time when these fields of study
fused together seamlessly.
For instance, artists like da Vinci incorporated scientific principles,
such as anatomy into their work, so they could recreate the human
body with extraordinary precision.
Architects such as Filippo Brunelleschi studied mathematics to
accurately engineer and design immense buildings with expansive
domes.
Scientific discoveries led to major shifts in thinking: Galileo and
Descartes presented a new view of astrology and mathematics, while
Copernicus proposed that the Sun, not the Earth, was the center of the
solar system.
Renaissance art was characterized by realism and naturalism.
Artists strived to depict people and objects in a true-to-life way.
 They used techniques, such as perspective, shadows and light to
add depth to their work. Emotion was another quality that artists tried to
infuse into their pieces.

Some of the most famous artistic works that were produced during the
Renaissance include:

 The Mona Lisa (Da Vinci)

 The Last Supper (Da Vinci)
 Statue of David (Michelangelo)
 The Birth of Venus (Botticelli)
 The Creation of Adam (Michelangelo)
 Renaissance Exploration
While many artists and thinkers used their talents to express new
ideas, some Europeans took to the seas to learn more about the world
around them. In a period known as the Age of Discovery, several
important explorations were made.
Voyagers launched expeditions to travel the entire globe. They
discovered new shipping routes to the Americas, India and the Far
East, and explorers trekked across areas that weren’t fully mapped.
Famous journeys were taken by Ferdinand Magellan, Christopher
Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci (after whom America is named), Marco
Polo, Ponce de Leon, Vasco Núñez de Balboa, Hernando De Soto and
other explorers.
Renaissance Religion
Humanism encouraged Europeans to question the role of the
Roman Catholic church during the Renaissance.
As more people learned how to read, write and interpret ideas,
they began to closely examine and critique religion as they knew it.
Also, the printing press allowed for texts, including the Bible, to be
easily reproduced and widely read by the people, themselves, for the
first time.
In the 16th century, Martin Luther, a German monk, led the
Protestant Reformation – a revolutionary movement that caused a split
in the Catholic church. Luther questioned many of the practices of the
church and whether they aligned with the teachings of the Bible.
As a result, a new form of Christianity, known as Protestantism,
was created.

End of the Renaissance

Scholars believe the demise of the Renaissance was the result of
several compounding factors.
By the end of the 15th century, numerous wars had plagued the
Italian peninsula. Spanish, French and German invaders battling for
Italian territories caused disruption and instability in the region.
 Also, changing trade routes led to a period of economic decline
and limited the amount of money that wealthy contributors could spend
on the arts.
Later, in a movement known as the Counter-Reformation, the
Catholic church censored artists and writers in response to the
Protestant Reformation. Many Renaissance thinkers feared being too
bold, which stifled creativity.
Furthermore, in 1545, the Council of Trent established the Roman
Inquisition, which made humanism and any views that challenged the
Catholic church an act of heresy punishable by death.
By the early 17th century, the Renaissance movement had died
out, giving way to the Age of Enlightenment.

Background History of Baroque Period

The Baroque period is divided into three major phases: early,

middle, and late. Although they overlap in time, they are conventionally
dated from 1580 to 1630, from 1630 to 1680, and from 1680 to 1730.
 The Florentine Camerata was a group of humanists, musicians,
poets and intellectuals in late Renaissance Florence who gathered
under the patronage of Count Giovanni de’ Bardi to discuss and guide
trends in the arts, especially music and drama. In reference to music,
they based their ideals on a perception of Classical (especially ancient
Greek) musical drama that valued discourse and oration. As such, they
rejected their contemporaries’ use of polyphony and instrumental
music, and discussed such ancient Greek music devices as monody,
which consisted of a solo singing accompanied by a kithara. The early
realizations of these ideas, including Jacopo Peri’sDafne and
L’Euridice, marked the beginning of opera, which in turn was
somewhat of a catalyst for Baroque music.
Concerning music theory, the more widespread use of figured
bass (also known as thorough bass) represents the developing
importance of harmony as the linear underpinnings of polyphony.
Harmony is the end result of counterpoint, and figured bass is a visual
representation of those harmonies commonly employed in musical
performance. Composers began concerning themselves with harmonic
progressions, and also employed the tritone, perceived as an unstable
interval, to create dissonance. Investment in harmony had also existed
among certain composers in the Renaissance, notably Carlo Gesualdo;
However, the use of harmony directed towards tonality, rather than
modality, marks the shift from the Renaissance into the Baroque
period. This led to the idea that chords, rather than notes, could
provide a sense of closure—one of the fundamental ideas that became
known as tonality.
By incorporating these new aspects of composition, Claudio
Monteverdi furthered the transition from the Renaissance style of music
to that of the Baroque period. He developed two individual styles of
composition – the heritage of Renaissance polyphony (prima pratica)
and the new basso continuo technique of the Baroque
(secondapratica). With the writing of the operas L’Orfeo and
L’incoronazione di Poppea among others, Monteverdi brought
considerable attention to the new genre of opera.

Middle baroque music (1630–1680)

The rise of the centralized court is one of the economic and
political features of what is often labelled the Age of Absolutism,
personified by Louis XIV of France. The style of palace, and the court
system of manners and arts he fostered became the model for the rest
of Europe. The realities of rising church and state patronage created
the demand for organized public music, as the increasing availability of
instruments created the demand for chamber music.
The middle Baroque period in Italy is defined by the emergence in
the cantata, oratorio, and opera during the 1630s of the bel-canto style.
This style, one of the most important contributions to the development
of Baroque as well as the later Classical style, was generated by a new
concept of melody and harmony that elevated the status of the music to
one of equality with the words, which formerly had been regarded as
pre-eminent. The florid, coloratura monody of the early Baroque gave
way to a simpler, more polished melodic style, usually in a ternary
rhythm. These melodies were built from short, cadentially delimited
ideas often based on stylized dance patterns drawn from the
sarabande or thecourante. The harmonies, too, were simpler than in
the early Baroque monody, and the accompanying bass lines were
more integrated with the melody, producing a contrapuntal equivalence
of the parts that later led to the device of an initial bass anticipation of
the aria melody. This harmonic simplification also led to a new formal
device of the differentiation of recitative and aria. The most important
innovators of this style were the Romans Luigi Rossi and
GiacomoCarissimi, who were primarily composers of cantatas and
oratorios, respectively, and the VenetianFrancescoCavalli, who was
principally an opera composer. Later important practitioners of this style
include Antonio Cesti, Giovanni Legrenzi, and Alessandro Stradella.
The middle Baroque had absolutely no bearing at all on the
theoretical work of Johann Fux, who systematized the strict
counterpoint characteristic of earlier ages in his GradusadParanassum
(1725).
One pre-eminent example of a court style composer is Jean-
Baptiste Lully. He purchased patents from the monarchy to be the sole
composer of operas for the king and to prevent others from having
operas staged. He completed 15 lyric tragedies and left unfinished
AchilleetPolyxène.
Musically, he did not establish the string-dominated norm for
orchestras, which was inherited from the Italian opera, and the
characteristically French five-part disposition(violins, violas—in hautes-
contre, tailles and quintes sizes—and bass violins) had been used in
the ballet from the time of Louis XIII. He did, however, introduce this
ensemble to the lyric theatre, with the upper parts often doubled by
recorders, flutes, and oboes, and the bass by bassoons. Trumpets and
kettledrums were frequently added for heroic scenes.
 Arcangelo Corelli is remembered as influential for his
achievements on the other side of musical technique—as a violinist
who organized violin technique and pedagogy—and in purely
instrumental music, particularly his advocacy and development of the
concerto grosso. Whereas Lully was ensconced at court, Corelli was
one of the first composers to publish widely and have his music
performed all over Europe. As with Lully’s stylization and organization
of the opera, the concerto grosso is built on strong contrasts—sections
alternate between those played by the full orchestra, and those played
by a smaller group. Dynamics were “terraced”, that is with a sharp
transition from loud to soft and back again. Fast sections and slow
sections were juxtaposed against each other. Numbered among his
students is Antonio Vivaldi, who later composed hundreds of works
based on the principles in Corelli’s trio sonatas and concerti.
In contrast to these composers, Dieterich Buxtehude was not a
creature of court but instead was church musician, holding the posts of
organist and Werkmeister at the Marienkirche at Lübeck. His duties as
Werkmeister involved acting as the secretary, treasurer, and business
manager of the church, while his position as organist included playing
for all the main services, sometimes in collaboration with other
instrumentalists or vocalists, who were also paid by the church. Entirely
outside of his official church duties, he organised and directed a
concert series known as theAbendmusiken, which included
performances of sacred dramatic works regarded by his
contemporaries as the equivalent of operas.

Late baroque music (1680–1730)

 Through the work of Johann Fux, the Renaissance style of
polyphony was made the basis for the study of composition.
A continuous worker, Handel borrowed from others and often
recycled his own material. He was also known for reworking pieces
such as the famous Messiah, which premiered in 1742, for available
singers and musicians

COMPOSERS AND THEIR Musical work

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

This is a list of compositions by Giovanni

Pierluigi da Palestrina, sorted by genre. The
volume (given in parentheses for motets) refers
to the volume of the Breitkopf&Härtel complete
edition in which the work can be found. Six of
the volumes of masses and some of his motets
and other works were published in these
editions during Palestrina's lifetime. Others
were collected later, from papal choirbooks and
other sources. The dates of most pieces are
unknown, unless they were known to have been composed in
connection with some celebration. Of those works published during
Palestrina's lifetime, many were composed considerably earlier that
their date of publication, and of the others a large number remained
unpublished until the 19th century.
 The 32 volumes of Palestrina's collected works were published by
Breitkopf&Härtel between 1862 and 1907. The volumes of the masses
maintain the order of works in the previously published volumes (with
the Collected Works Vol. 10 corresponding to the first book of Masses,
and so on.) Some of the pieces in the last three volumes, 30–32, are
considered spurious or doubtful.

Johann Sebastian Bach

In 1950, Wolfgang Schmieder
published a thematic catalogue of Bach's
compositions called the Bach-Werke-
Verzeichnis (Bach Works
Catalogue).Schmieder largely followed the
Bach-Gesellschaft-Ausgabe, a
comprehensive edition of the composer's
works that was produced between 1850 and
1900. The first edition of the catalogue listed
1,080 surviving compositions indisputably
composed by Bach.
Compositions
BWV 1–224 - Cantatas
BWV 225–231 - Motets
BWV 232–243 -Liturgical compositions in Latin
BWV 244–249 -Passions and oratorios
BWV 250–438 -Four-part chorales
BWV 439–524 -Small vocal works
BWV 525–771- Organ compositions
BWV 772–994- Other keyboard works
BWV 995–1000- Lute compositions
BWV 1001–1040- Other chamber music
BWV 1041–1071- Orchestral music
BWV 1072–1078- Canons
BWV 1079–1080- Late contrapuntal works

Antonio Vivaldi

He was an Italian Baroque musical composer,

virtuoso violinist, teacher, and priest. Born in
Venice, the capital of the Venetian Republic,
he is regarded as one of the greatest Baroque
composers, and his influence during his lifetime was widespread across
Europe. He composed many instrumental concertos, for the violin and
a variety of other instruments, as well as sacred choral works and more
than forty operas. His best-known work is a series of violin concertos
known as the Four Seasons.

George Frideric Handel

He is regarded as one of the
greatest composers of the Baroque
era, with works such as Messiah,
Water Music, and Music for the
Royal Fireworks remaining
steadfastly popular. One of his four
coronation anthems, Zadok the
Priest (1727), composed for the
coronation of George II, has been
performed at every subsequent
British coronation, traditionally during
the sovereign’s anointing. Another of his English oratorios, Solomon
(1748), has also remained popular.

Adam de la Halle
He occupies a unique position astride two
trends in music history. On the one hand,
he was the "last of the Trouvères,"
bringing to a close the brilliant early
flowering of Old French lyric poetry; the large body of his facile and
conventional courtly chansons stand perfectly in line with the traditions
fostered by Eleanor of Aquitane; Thibault de Champagne, King of
Navarre; and the eloquent GaceBrulé. On the other
hand, Adam mingled this traditional monophonic composition with the
more esoteric form of the thirteenth century motet, and performed the
first experiments in polyphonic secular song. In this respect, he placed
himself squarely in the middle of stylistic trends that would come to
greatest fruition in the next century, with the Ars Nova.
As noted above, Adam de la Halle produced a remarkably versatile
body of works. And unlike the majority of the Trouvère poets, whose
songs survive in large anthologies, several manuscripts attempt to
collect music only of his; one manuscript in Paris even
presages Machaut by sorting Adam's "collected works" by genre. He
composed 36 chansons in the Trouvère tradition -- a comparatively
prolific number. Seventeen jeux-partis (stanzaic dialogues between two
poets) contain his wittily phrased (if conventional) contributions on the
subject of courtly love. His longer works include an epic Chanson de
geste about the King of Sicily, a satiric drama (Le jeu de la Feuillée),
and a pastoral drama with music -- Le jeu de Robin et de Marion --
which is often dubbed the "first comic opera."
In addition, he completed at least five essays in the genre of the
polytextual French motet, and a set of 16 dance-based refrain songs of
various forms called Rondeaux. This last set, called Le Rondel Adam in
a manuscript copy of his works, contains probably the first polyphonic
settings of vernacular song in Europe.

Thomas Morley
 He was an English composer, theorist, singer
and organist of the Renaissance. He was one
of the foremost members of the English
Madrigal School. Referring to the strong Italian
influence on the English Madrigal, Philip Brett
and Tessa Murray state that Morley was
chiefly responsible for grafting the Italian shoot
on to the native stock and initiating the
curiously brief but brilliant flowering of the
Madrigal that constitutes one of the most colorful episodes in the
history of English Music. Thomas Morley’s compositions include:
 April is in my Mistress’ Face
 Though Philomela Lost Her Love
 Fantasia for Keyboard

MUSICAL CHARACTERICTICS OF MEDIEVAL PERIOD

The first characteristics is chivalry. This deals with knights and their
code of honor, which included being of service, being honest, and
helping those less fortunate.
The second characteristics is magic. This came in many forms,
especially in what we would consider today as the supernatural. If you
look to the Arthurian legends, Merlin is at the forefront of the stories’
magic, making people invisible or making himself appear out of thin air.
The third characteristics is love. A knight’s love for a woman knew no
bounds. He would face a dragon or the strongest knight to win the favor
of the woman he loved or to save her.
You may find other characteristics, but these are generally the three
main characteristics, while the others are simply examples of the three
listed above.

MUSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF BAROQUE PERIOD

A monody is a single voice line supported by an instrumental bass line,
upon which chords were constructed. The voice line followed the
natural speech rhythms of the words. This style of writing for the voice
(half singing and half reciting) became known as recitative. All the
composer wrote down beneath the melody was a bass line to be played
by a low stringed instrument, such as a cello. This was called the
'basso continuo', but the composer expected another continuo player
on harpsichord, organ or lute, to build up chords upon the bass line. As
these chords had to be improvised, the player had to be very skillful.
Figures below the notes indicated which chords to play. This is called a
figured bass.
The first opera was written in 1597, called 'Dafne', and was composed
by Peri. It had choruses, dances and instrumental pieces, all done by a
small orchestra. It contained music and drama (i.e. Music-Drama). The
first truly great opera was composed by Monteverdi in 1607, and was
called 'Orfeo'. The music heightens the dramatic impact. The music and
drama blend together well. There was a lot of instrumental ritomello
(Italian for return, and means when a section returns). Before each
verse of the aria (song), we hear an instrumental ritornello.

MUSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF RENAISSANCE PERIOD

Catherine Medici almost singlehandedly brought about many musical
and artistic changes including giving her unfaltering support for the new
instrument called the violin. This is in no small way altered the music
that was being composed at the time as the expressive qualities of the
violin effortlessly put the viol in the shade.
Instruments in regular use during the Renaissance with the obvious
exceptions of voice were a curious collection compared to what we are
accustomed to seeing and hearing today. The Viol family accounted for
the common string instruments whilst the woodwinds would have
included recorders, simple flutes and the predecessor of the oboe, the
shawm.
Brass performers played valveless trumpets and the wonderfully
named sackbut; an early version of the trombone. Renaissance
keyboards included virginals, early harpsichords and clavichords all of
which often looked far more enticing than they sounded as they were
prone to tuning issues.
Lutes, mandolins, theorbo, harps and the superb hurdy-gurdy features
as accompanying and solo instruments in this period of music too.
Percussion instruments were mostly different forms of small to medium
drums, tambourines and shakers.

Examples of Musical Composition

Gregorian Chants Musica Transalpina Oratorio
Concerto Grosso
Cantata
Troubadour
Project in Music and Arts

Submitted by;
Danielle Mari Ysabel Bringas
Dessa Mae Guimbangunan
Mitch Yvonne Dagaang
Nesel Bilgera
Submitted to:
Mr. Amilcare Panelo