History

I. Renaissance
The Vocal Influence



History
Renaissance

1. What pieces from the Renaissance period have you played before?

- Please be specific if possible about edition, who transcribed it, etc.

2. What recordings of Renaissance pieces have you listened to?

- Please give specific details about recording artist and provide a link to the recording if
possible.

3. What overall details of the Renaissance period are you aware of?

- Are there any major historical details of the period that stand out to you? Are you aware of
any of the artwork, science, history, etc. of the period?

4. What performance conventions are you aware of concerning this style of

music?

- Is there information relating to dynamics, tempo, tone color, etc. that you’ve learned about
this style? If so, where did it come from?

!1
 Renaissance Period
1400-1600


There are many gorgeous guitar pieces that were composed in the Renaissance period. But where did they come
from and what inspired their creation?

Music from this period was composed so long ago that it’s easy to feel disconnected to the style.

The aim of this is to get you acquainted with the basic principles of the Renaissance musical style, so that you
aren’t left in the dark should you ever wish to play or teach someone who plays music from this period.

This will be done through the lens of well-known pieces, discovering their context and hearing an “authentic”
rendition of them by listening to the instruments of the era - the modern classical guitar was not yet invented!

Borrowing:
As you’ll see, borrowing was a very important part of Renaissance music. Composers borrowed from each other
a lot and it’s very useful to know what the source of inspiration was. This was especially the case for vocal
music.

Instrumental music was heavily influenced by vocal music, and composers often ‘intabulated’ (arranged)
vocal pieces or borrowed material directly from them. Music for plucked instruments was notated via tablature,
hence the name intabulation.

Emotion:
There is often a misconception that Renaissance music is not emotional and played with little variety of
dynamics, phrasing, articulation, etc. This is completely wrong and can be proved by simply looking at the texts
that composers were using for vocal music. The texts were full of emotion, contrast and life - instrumental pieces
were very often inspired by that.

Variations
Variation was a significant procedure and included the use of a repeating bass line called a ‘ground bass’. The
popular piece ‘Greensleeves’, which was composed in this period, uses such a ground bass.

The most important guitar-related composers were:

Spain: Luis de Narvaez and Alonso Mudarra
Italy: Luis de Milan
England: John Dowland

!2
Cancion del Emperador by Luys de Narvaez (ca. 1500-1555)


- This gorgeous piece borrows a melody from Josquin’s chanson (secular song) ‘Mille Regretz’ (1000 regrets).
- Can you find the melody in Narvaez’s adaption?

Mille regretz
Original “Mille Regretz” chanson: click here to listen

+!
Amberes 1549 Josquin des Prez (c.1455-1521)

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 Why is this information important for you to know?



Practice the voices:

A chanson (song) contained a set number of voices that were independent lines. ‘Cancion del Emperador’ also contains a set
number of voices that function independently. How many voices are there in Narvaez’s adaptation?

Takeaway: It’s very useful to practice each voice individually so that you’re aware of the conversation that occurs
between the different lines. You should strive to shape each line as though you were singing it, rising and falling according
to the melody’s contour. This method can serve you well when teaching this piece, as it provides a lot of materials and ideas
to focus on in depth, making you stand out as a teacher.

Balance of the parts:

An important feature of the Chanson is that the top voice often contained the melody. This signified a shift in polyphonic
vocal music, as previously it was the bass voice that carried melodies.

Takeaway: Balance. This is an underestimated aspect of guitar playing. The borrowed melody in the top voice of Narvaez’s
adaptation must be brought out clearly. One method for working on this is to sing the melody and play the other voices.

Text Painting:
Knowing the text and title of the original source will influence your interpretation. Here is the translated text (from French to
English)

A thousand regrets at deserting you

and leaving behind your loving face,
I feel so much sadness and such painful distress,
that it seems to me my days will soon dwindle away.

Takeaway: Words are very powerful for creating emotion in our playing. Say this text out loud before playing or
listening to Narvaez’s adaptation and it will surely affect how you perceive the music. Say this text to your students and
them get them to play the piece. That will completely transform how the student interprets the piece overall.

!4



Task 1

- Identify the Mille Regretz melody

in Narvaez’s adaptation. Circle it in
the score (on pg. 2) and share it.

- Practice the voices individually.

What does this process reveal to you?
Record your work.

- Briefly discuss how knowing the

original version and text inform your
interpretation?

!5
Lachrimae Pavan by John Dowland (1563-1626)
- Dowland
 was a lutenist who wrote many works for solo lute and for voice with lute accompaniment.
- Many of his lute pieces were reworked as songs for lute and voice (or vice versa)
- This piece was reworked for voice and lute, called “Flow my Tears”
- A Pavan is a dance in slow duple time with an accent on the 3rd beat. The form is A A’ B B’ C C’ (basically written out
variations of each section)

Flow my tears
Lachrimae

John Dowland
(1563-1626)

! !!
arr. Ming-Jui Liu (2015)

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Copyright © staffordgitar 2013




Task 2

- Listen through Lachrimae Pavan.

Identify and describe each variation
(brief written reflection).

- Practice the divisions as indicated.

Record your work.

- Practice the melody on its own

and treat it like a vocalist would
sing it. Record your work.

!8
 Guardame las Vacas: Variations and Grounds
- Variation

 forms were common in Renaissance instrumental music.
- The method of choice was to use a repeating bass line and/or chord progression called a ground bass
- These often have names like ‘Romanesca’ and ‘Passamezzo antico’
- The Spanish tune “Guardame las vacas’ uses a Romanesca bass line. Narvaez wrote variations on this tune, which is
credited as being one of the earliest examples of a notated theme and variations piece.
- Greensleeves uses modified versions of both a Passamezzo antico and Romanesca, which are very similar to one
another.

Passamezzo Antico Romanesca

Am C Am E C G Am E

C G Am E Am C G Am E Am
1

Greensleaves
Greensleeves
Traditional

I: Modified
Pazzamezzo Am C G Am F E
Antico
8

Am C G Am E Am

16

2: Modified
Romanesca C G Am F E

25

C G Am E Am
!9
 Diferencias (Variations) on Guardame las Vacas

q»¡§º
3 =FA#

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By Luis de Narvaez
Primera diferencia
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* Segunda diferencia
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Variation 1

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Luys de NARVÁEZ : DIFERENCIAS SOBRE GUARDAME LAS VACAS www.delcamp.net

-1-

!10
 w.
Tercera diferencia
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Quarta diferencia
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4

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* !11
Luys de NARVÁEZ : DIFERENCIAS SOBRE GUARDAME LAS VACAS www.delcamp.net
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Why is this information important for you to know?



Theme and Variations:

Many popular Renaissance pieces tend to use this kind of “theme and variations” form and avoid the “standard” forms like
binary, ternary, etc. Knowing this helps you analyze and better comprehend Renaissance pieces. A simple way to work
on a piece like this is to break down each variation and describe what is happening (melody, rhythm, texture, overall
character of the variation, etc.). How would you describe each variation of Guardame las Vacas?

Chords:
Knowing the underlying chord progression is important for how you shape and interpret the piece. Since the bass line
repeats itself and creates a unifying element, it’s important to bring out the bass line and make it clear to the listener.

Grounds are common:

Many other Renaissance pieces use grounds, so it will serve you well to have some knowledge of them. It’s very useful to
play the underlying ground to get a feel of it. Get your student to play the ground while you play the melody and
variations.

One of the most popular forms of ground bass was the ‘Folia’, which persisted until the time of Ponce! Here are composers
who wrote variations on La Folia through time:
• Gaspar Sanz
• Mauro Giuliani
• Fernando Sor
• Daniel Fossa
• Manuel Ponce

Listen to solo lute version: click here

Listen to solo lute version that combines Greensleeves and Guardame las
Vacas: click here

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 Task 3

- Identify and describe each variation in

Guardame las Vacas

- Strum the chord progression behind the

piece. Record your work.

!13