Renaissance Music: Josquin Desprez and Ave Maria... virgo serena

vocal music, creating a close relationship between words and music. Renaissance com- posers wrote music to enhance the meaning and emotion of the text. “When one of the words expresses weeping, pain, heartbreak, sighs, tears, and other similar things, let the harmony be full of sadness,” wrote...

vocal music, creating a close relationship between words and music. Renaissance com- posers wrote music to enhance the meaning and emotion of the text. “When one of the words expresses weeping, pain, heartbreak, sighs, tears, and other similar things, let the harmony be full of sadness,” wrote Zarlino, a music theorist of the sixteenth cen- tury. By contrast, medieval composers had been relatively uninterested in expressing the emotions of a text. Renaissance composers often used word painting, a musical depiction of specific words. For example, the word high might be set to a high note and the word arch might be heard with a series of notes that form the curved shape of an arch. Yet despite this emphasis on capturing the emotion and imagery of a text, Renaissance music may seem calm and restrained to us. While there is a wide range of emotion in Renaissance music, it is usually expressed in a moderate, balanced way, with no extreme contrasts of dy- namics, tone color, or rhythm. Texture The texture of Renaissance music is chiefly polyphonic. A typical choral piece has four, five, or six voice parts of nearly equal melodic interest. Imitation among the voices is common: each presents the same melodic idea in turn, as in a round. Homophonic texture, with successions of chords, is also used, especially in light music, like dances. The texture may vary within a piece to provide contrast and bring out as- pects of the text as it develops. Renaissance music sounds fuller than medieval music. The bass register was used for the first time, expanding the pitch range to more than four octaves. With this new emphasis on the bass line came richer harmony. Renaissance music sounds mild and re- laxed because stable, consonant chords are favored; triads occur often, and dissonances are played down. Renaissance choral music did not need instrumental accompaniment. For this rea- son, the period is sometimes called the “golden age” of unaccompanied—a cappella— choral music. Even so, on special occasions instruments were combined with voices. Instruments might duplicate the vocal lines to reinforce the sound, or they might take the part of a missing singer. But parts written exclusively for instruments are rarely found in Renaissance choral music. Rhythm and Melody In Renaissance music, rhythm is more a gentle flow than a sharply defined beat. This is because each melodic line has great rhythmic indepen- dence: when one singer is at the beginning of his or her melodic phrase, the others may already be in the middle of theirs. This technique makes singing Renaissance music both a pleasure and a challenge, for each singer must maintain an individual rhythm. But pitch patterns in Renaissance melodies are easy to sing. The melody usually moves along a scale with few large leaps. 2 Sacred Music in the Renaissance The two main forms of sacred Renaissance music are the motet and the mass. They are alike in style, but a mass is a longer composition. The Renaissance motet is a poly- phonic choral work set to a sacred Latin text other than the ordinary of the mass. The Renaissance mass is a polyphonic choral composition made up of five sections: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei. 2 | Sacred Music in the Renaissance 101  Josquin Desprez and the Renaissance Motet Josquin Desprez (c. 1450–1521), a contemporary of Leonardo da Vinci and Christopher Columbus, was a master of Renaissance music. Like many Flemish composers, he had an international career. Josquin was born in the province of Hainaut—today part of Belgium—and spent much of his life in Italy, serving in dukes’ private chapels and in the papal choir at Rome. In his later years, he worked for Louis XII of France and held several church posts in his native land. Josquin’s compositions, which include masses, motets, and secular vocal pieces, strongly influenced other composers and were praised enthusiastically by music lovers. Martin Luther, for example, remarked: “God has His Gospel preached also through the medium of music; this may be seen from the compositions of Josquin, all of whose works are cheerful, gentle, mild, and lovely; they flow and move along and are neither forced nor coerced and bound by rigid and stringent rules, but, on the contrary, are like the song of the finch.” Ave Maria... virgo serena (Hail, Mary... serene virgin; c. 1475) Josquin’s four-voice motet Ave Maria... virgo serena is an outstanding Renaissance choral work. This Latin prayer to the Virgin is set to delicate and serene music. The opening uses polyphonic imitation, a technique typical of the period. The short melodic phrase on Ave Maria is presented by the soprano voice and then imitated in turn by the alto, tenor, and bass. The next two words, gratia plena (full of grace), have a different melody, which also is passed from voice to voice. Notice that each voice enters while the preceding one is in the middle of its melody. This overlap- ping creates a feeling of continuous flow. Josquin adapted the melody for the opening phrases from a Gregorian chant, but the rest of the motet was not based on a chant melody.            A - ve Ma - ri - a, gra - 𝅗 𝅗 𝅗 𝅗    𝅗 𝅗 𝅗 𝅗 𝅗 𝅗   A - ve Ma - ri - a, A - ve Ma - ri - a,    A - ve Ma -        𝅗 𝅗  𝅗  𝅗  ti - a ple - - - na,  𝅗 𝅗    𝅗  𝅗 gra - ti - a ple - - - na,     gra - ti - a ple - - -     ri - a, gra - ti - a 102 PART III | The Renaissance  Josquin skillfully varies the texture of this motet; two, three, or four voices are heard at one time. In addition to the imitation among individual voices, there is imi- tation between pairs of voices: duets between the high voices are imitated by the two lower parts. Sometimes the texture almost becomes homophonic, as at the words Ave, vera virginitas. Here, also, is a change from duple to triple meter, and the tempo mo- mentarily becomes more animated. But soon the music returns to duple meter and a more peaceful mood. Ave Maria ends with slow chords that express Josquin’s personal plea to the Virgin: O Mother of God, remember me. Amen. Vocal Music Guide JOSQUIN, Ave Maria... virgo serena (Hail, Mary... serene virgin; c. 1475) (Duration 4:47) Listen for the polyphonic imitation among four voice parts and for the change from duple to triple meter at Ave, vera virginitas. 0:00 Each soprano phrase Ave Maria Hail Mary, imitated in turn by gratia plena full of grace, alto, tenor, and bass. dominus tecum, the Lord is with thee, Duple meter. virgo serena. serene Virgin. 0:49 High duet imitated by Ave, cuius conceptio, Hail, whose conception, three lower voices. All four voices. solemni plena gaudio, full of great jubilation, Increased rhythmic coelestia terrestria fills Heaven and Earth animation reflects nova replet laetitia. with new joy. “new joy.” 1:32 High duet imitated by Ave, cuius nativitas Hail, whose birth low duet. Soprano nostra fuit solemnitas, brought us joy, phrase imitated by ut lucifer lux oriens as Lucifer, the morning star, alto, tenor, and bass. verum solem praeveniens. went before the true sun. 2:17 High duet imitated by Ave, pia humilitas, Hail, pious humility, low duet. sine viro fecunditas, fruitful without a man, High duet. cuius annuntiatio whose Annunciation Low duet. nostra fuit salvatio. brought us salvation. 2:50 Triple meter. Ave, vera virginitas, Hail, true virginity, immaculata castitas, immaculate chastity, cuius purificatio whose purification nostra fuit purgatio. brought our cleansing. 3:16 Duple meter, high Ave praeclara omnibus Hail, glorious one duets imitated by angelicis virtutibus, in all angelic virtues, lower voices. cuius assumptio whose Assumption nostra glorificatio. was our glorification. Brief pause. Sustained chords. O mater Dei, O Mother of God, memento mei. Amen. remember me. Amen. 2 | Sacred Music in the Renaissance 103  Palestrina and the Renaissance Mass During the sixteenth century, Italian composers attained the excellence of such earlier Flemish musicians as Josquin Desprez. Among the most important Italian Renaissance composers was Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c. 1525–1594), who devoted himself to music for the Catholic church. His career was thus centered in Rome, where he held important church positions, including that of music director for St. Peter’s. Palestrina’s music includes 104 masses and some 450 other sacred works; it is best un- derstood against the background of the Counter-Reformation. During the early 1500s, the Catholic church was challenged and questioned by the Protestants and, as a result, sought to correct abuses and malpractices within its structure, as well as to counter the move toward Protestantism. This need to strengthen the church led to the founding of the Jesuit order (1540) and the convening of the Council of Trent (1545–1563), which considered questions of dogma and organization. During its deliberations, the council discussed church music, which many felt had lost its purity. Years before, the scholar Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536) had complained: “We have introduced an artificial and theatrical music into the church, a bawling and agitation of various voices, such as I believe had never been heard in the theaters of the Greeks and Romans.... Amorous and lascivious melodies are heard such as elsewhere accompany only the dances of courtesans and clowns.” At the council sessions, church music was attacked because it used secular tunes, noisy instruments, and theatrical singing. Some complained that complex polyphony made it impossible to understand the sacred texts; they wanted only monophonic music—Gregorian chant—for the mass. The council finally de- creed that church music should be composed not “to give empty pleasure to the ear,” but to inspire religious contemplation. The restraint and serenity of Palestrina’s works reflect this emphasis on a more spiritual music. For centuries, church authorities have regarded his masses as models of church music because of their calmness and otherworldly quality. Even today, the technical perfection of his style is a model for students of counterpoint. Pope Marcellus Mass (1562–1563) Palestrina’s Pope Marcellus Mass, his most famous mass, was long thought to have convinced the Council of Trent that polyphonic masses should be kept in Catholic wor- ship. Although we now know that this work did not play that role, it does reflect the council’s desire for a clear projection of the sacred text. It is dedicated to Pope Mar- cellus II, who reigned briefly in 1555 while Palestrina was a singer in the papal choir. The Pope Marcellus Mass is written for an a cappella choir of six voice parts: so- prano, alto, two tenors, and two basses. We’ll focus on the first section of the mass, the Kyrie. 104 PART III | The Renaissance A miniature showing a mass at the court of Philip the Good in Burgundy. © De Agostini Picture Library/Getty Imags 2 | Sacred Music in the Renaissance 105  Kyrie The Kyrie has a rich polyphonic texture. Its six voice parts constantly imitate each other, yet blend beautifully. This music sounds fuller than Josquin’s Ave Maria, in part because six voices are used rather than four. The elegantly curved melodies summon the spirit of Gregorian chant. They flow smoothly and can be sung easily. Upward leaps are balanced at once by downward steps, as in the opening melody:                  Soprano Ky - rie e - lei - - - - - - son, The Kyrie of the Pope Marcellus Mass is written in three different sections: 1. Kyrie eleison. Lord, have mercy. 2. Christe eleison. Christ, have mercy. 3. Kyrie eleison. Lord, have mercy. This text is short, and words are repeated with different melodic lines to express calm supplication. The rhythm flows continuously to the end of each section, when all voices come together on sustained chords. Each of the three sections begins in a thin texture with only some of the voices sounding; but as the other voices enter, the music becomes increasingly full and rich. In our recording, the third section sounds climactic because it is performed in a somewhat faster tempo and at a louder dynamic level than the first two sections. Vocal Music Guide PALESTRINA, Kyrie from Pope Marcellus Mass; 1562–1563 (Duration 4:49) Listen for polyphonic imitation among six voice parts, and the sustained chord defining the end of each section. 0:00 Tenor quickly imitated in turn by three 1. Kyrie eleison. Lord, have mercy. other voice parts; remaining two voice parts join. Voices imitate each other and repeat words. Sustained chord, pause end section. 1:35 Three voice parts begin at same time; other 2. Christe eleison. Christ, have mercy. three voice parts join in turn. Voices imitate each other. Sustained chord, pause. 3:29 Soprano phrase quickly imitated in turn by 3. Kyrie eleison. Lord, have mercy. three lower voice parts; two other voice parts join. Voices imitate each other. 4:35 Sustained chord ends Kyrie. 106 PART III | The Renaissance 3 Secular Music in the Renaissance Vocal Music During the Renaissance, secular vocal music became increasingly popular. Throughout Europe, music was set to poems in various languages, including Italian, French, Span- ish, German, Dutch, and English. The development of music printing helped spread secular music, and thousands of song collections became available. Music was an important leisure activity; every ed- ucated person was expected to play an instrument and read notation. The Elizabethan composer Thomas Morley describes the embarrassment of being unable to participate in after-dinner music making: “But supper being ended, and Musicke bookes (accord- ing to the custome) being brought to the tables, the mistresse of the house presented me with a part, earnestly requesting me to sing. But when, after many excuses, I protested unfainedly that I could not: every one began to wonder. Yea, some whispered to others, demanding how I was brought up.” Renaissance secular music was written for groups of solo voices and for solo voice with the accompaniment of one or more instruments. Word painting—musical illustra- tion of a text—was common. Composers delighted in imitating natural sounds such as birdcalls and street cries. In a famous piece entitled La Guerre (The War), the French- man Clément Janequin (c. 1485–1560) vividly imitated battle noises, drumbeats, and fanfares. Secular music contained more rapid shifts of mood than sacred music. As Morley advised one composer, “You must in your music be wavering like the wind, sometimes wanton, sometimes drooping, sometimes grave and staid;... and the more variety you show the better shall you please.” The Renaissance Madrigal An important kind of secular vocal music during the Renaissance was the madrigal, a piece for several solo voices set to a short poem, usually about love. A madrigal, like a motet, combines homophonic and polyphonic tex- tures. But the madrigal uses word painting and unusual harmonies more often. The Renaissance madrigal originated in Italy around 1520, during a creative explo- sion in Italian poetry. Madrigals were published by the thousands in sixteenth-century Italy, where they were sung by cultivated aristocrats. Among the many Italian madri- galists were Luca Marenzio (1553–1599) and Carlo Gesualdo (c. 1560–1613), the in- famous prince of Venosa who had his wife and her lover murdered after finding them together in bed. In 1588—the year of the defeat of the Spanish Armada—a volume of translated Italian madrigals was published in London. This inspired a spurt of madrigal writ- ing by English composers, and for about thirty years there was a steady flow of En- glish madrigals and other secular vocal music. The time of Queen Elizabeth I (reigned 1558–1603) and William Shakespeare (1564–1616) was as much a golden age in En- glish music as it was in English literature. The impetus for both arts arose in Italy. But the English madrigal became lighter and more humorous than its Italian model, and its melody and harmony were simpler. 3 | Secular Music in the Renaissance 107  As Vesta Was Descending (1601), by Thomas Weelkes Among the finest English madrigalists was Thomas Weelkes (c. 1575–1623), an or- ganist and church composer. Weelkes’s As Vesta Was Descending comes from The Triumphes of Oriana (1601), an anthology of English madrigals written to honor Queen Elizabeth, who was often called Oriana. The text of this six-voice madrigal pictures Vesta (the Roman goddess of the hearth) coming down a hill with her attendants, “Di- ana’s darlings.” (Diana was the Roman goddess of chastity, hunting, and the moon.) At the same time, the “maiden queen,” Oriana (Elizabeth), is climbing the hill with her shepherd gallants. Vesta’s attendants desert her and race down the hill to join Oriana. As Vesta Was Descending has the light mood typical of English madrigals. Word painting is plentiful. For example, the word descending is sung to downward scales, and ascending to upward ones.      Alto           a As Ves - ta was de - scend - - - ing, Alto                 b  She spied a maid-en Queen the same a - scend - - - ing, When Vesta’s attendants run down the hill, “first two by two, then three by three to- gether, leaving their goddess all alone,” we hear first two voices, then three voices, then six voices, and finally a solo voice. In the extended concluding section, “Long live fair Oriana,” a joyous phrase is imitated among the voices. And in the bass this phrase is sung in long notes, with the longest note on the word long. Vocal Music Guide WEELKES, As Vesta Was Descending; 1601 (Duration 3:11) Listen for the word painting in this madrigal. The word descending is sung to downward scales, and ascending to upward scales. Descending scales. As Vesta was from Latmos hill descending, Ascending scales. she spied a maiden queen the same ascending, Rapid descending attended on by all the shepherds swain, figures. to whom Diana’s darlings came running down amain. Two voices, First two by two, Three voices; all voices. then three by three together, Solo voice. leaving their goddess all alone, hasted thither, and mingling with the shepherds of her train with mirthful tunes her presence entertain. Then sang the shepherds and nymphs of Diana, Brief joyful phrase Long live fair Oriana! imitated among voices; long notes in bass. 108 PART III | The Renaissance The Renaissance Lute Song A simpler type of secular music than the madrigal is the song for solo voice and lute. The lute, which derives from the Arab instrument known as the ‘ūd (literally, the wood), is a plucked string instrument with a body shaped like half a pear. The lute’s versatility—like that of the guitar today—made it the most popular instrument in the Renaissance home. It could be used for solos or for accompaniments; to play chords, melodies, and rapid scales; and even in polyphonic music. In England the lute song was widely cultivated from the late 1590s to the 1620s. In contrast to much Renaissance music, lute songs are mostly homophonic in texture. The lute accompaniment is secondary to the vocal melody. During the Renaissance, sing- ers could accompany themselves, or have the lute accompaniment played by another musician. Flow My Tears (c. 1600), by John Dowland (1563–1626) The leading English composer of lute songs was John Dowland, a virtuoso performer on the lute famous throughout Europe. His lute song Flow My Tears was extraordi- narily popular in Shakespeare’s time, and in our own day it has been recorded by many singers, including the rock star Sting. Flow My Tears expresses the intense melancholy of someone whose happiness has been abruptly shattered. Such emotionally charged words as tears, despair, woes, sighs, groans, fear, and grief dominate the song’s text, a poem that may have been written by Dowland himself. The expression of melancholy was a prominent feature of English literature and music in the time of Elizabeth I and Shakespeare. Dowland, especially, seems to have cultivated a melancholy public image, and he composed many pieces with sad titles such as Semper Dowland semper dolens (Always Dowland, Always Sorrow). Flow My Tears consists of three brief musical sections (A, B, C) that are each im- mediately repeated: AA (stanzas 1 and 2), BB (stanzas 3 and 4), CC (stanza 5 repeated to the same melody). Dowland’s music heightens the mood of grief through its slow tempo, minor key, and descending four-note melodic pattern that represents falling tears. This descending pattern appears throughout the song with variations of pitch and rhythm. The opening four-note descent, in minor, on Flow my tears, is immediately repeated— with greater emotional intensity—on higher, slower notes to the words fall from your springs.   Four-note descent Four-note descent          Flow my tears, fall from your springs Part B begins with a contrasting major-key version of the four-note descent on the words Never may my.    Four-note descent    Nev - er may my woes 3 | Secular Music in the Renaissance 109  Dowland creates variety by opening part C with a stepwise ascent, turning the four- note pattern upside down on the words Hark you shadows. Four-note ascent      Hark you sha - dows In much of the song, the lute accompaniment is subordinate to the voice. However, in part B, the lute momentarily gains prominence as it imitates the voice’s gasping up- ward skips on and tears, and sighs, heightening the agitated mood. As Sting has observed, even though Flow My Tears is “a song about hopelessness, it is strangely uplifting.” Vocal Music Guide DOWLAND, Flow My Tears; 1600 (Duration 3:59) Listen for the minor key that expresses the melancholy of the text. Notice the descending four-note pattern, representing falling tears, which is varied in pitch and rhythm throughout the song. 0:00 A Minor key. Flow my tears, fall from your springs, Exiled for ever: Let me mourn where night’s black bird her sad infamy sings, there let me live forlorn. 0:38 A Minor. Down vain lights, shine you no more, No nights are dark enough for those That in despair their lost fortunes deplore, light doth but shame disclose. 1:18 B Major. Never may my woes be relieved, Minor. since pity is fled, Lute imitates voice. and tears, and sighs, and groans my weary days, of all joys have deprived. 1:55 B Major. From the highest spire of contentment, Minor. my fortune is thrown; Lute imitates voice. and fear, and grief, and pain for my deserts, are my hopes since hope is gone. 2:31 C Minor. Hark you shadows that in darkness dwell, learn to condemn light, Happy, happy they that in hell feel not the world’s despite. 3:13 C Minor. Hark you shadows that in darkness dwell, learn to condemn light, Happy, happy they that in hell feel not the world’s despite. 110 PART III | The Renaissance  Instrumental Music Though still subordinate to vocal music, instrumental music did become more im- portant during the Renaissance. Traditionally, instrumentalists accompanied voices or played music intended for singing. Even in the early 1500s instrumental music was largely adapted from vocal music. Instrumental groups performed polyphonic vocal pieces, which were often published with the indication to be sung or played. Soloists used the harpsichord, organ, or lute to play simple arrangements of vocal works. During the sixteenth century, however, instrumental music became increasingly emancipated from vocal models. More music was written specifically for instruments. Renaissance composers began to exploit the particular capacities of the lute or organ for instrumental solos. They also developed purely instrumental forms, such as theme and variations. Much of this instrumental music was intended for dancing, a popular Renaissance entertainment. Every cultivated person was expected to be skilled in dance, which was taught by professional dancing masters. Court dances were often performed in pairs. A wide variety of instruments were used during the Re- naissance. Hans Burgkmair’s woodcut of the emperor Maximilian with his musicians (1505–1516) shows (left) an organ and a cornett; (center) a harp; (on floor) a drum, a kettledrum, a trumsheit (string instrument), and a sackbut; (on table) a viola da gamba, an oblong keyboard instru- ment, a flute, recorders, a cornett, and a krummhorn. © The Metropolitan Musuem of Art/Art Resource, NY 3 | Secular Music in the Renaissance 111  Much instrumental music of the Renaissance was intended for dancing. This illustration is from a book of hours produced in Tours, France, c. 1530–1535. © The Pierpont Morgan Library/Art Resource, NY A favorite pair was the stately pavane, or passamezzo, in duple meter, and the lively galliard, in triple meter. Dance music was performed by instrumental groups or by so- loists like harpsichordists and lutenists. A wealth of dance music published during the sixteenth century has come down to us. Renaissance musicians distinguished between loud, outdoor instruments like the trumpet and the shawm (a double-reed ancestor of the oboe), and soft, indoor instru- ments like the lute and the recorder (an early flute). The many instruments used in the Renaissance produced softer, less brilliant sounds than we hear from instruments today; most came in families of from three to eight instruments, ranging from soprano to bass. Among the most important Renaissance instruments were recorders, shawms, cornetts (wooden instruments with cup-shaped mouthpieces), sackbuts (early trombones), lutes, viols (bowed string instruments), organs, regals (small organs with reed pipes), and harpsichords. Often several members of the same instrumental family were played together, but Renaissance composers did not specify the instruments they wanted. A single work might be performed by recorders, viols, or several different instruments, depending on what was available. Today’s standardized orchestra did not exist. Large courts might employ thirty instrumentalists of all types. On state occasions such as a royal wedding, guests might be entertained by woodwinds, plucked and bowed strings, and keyboard instruments all playing together. Passamezzo and Galliard, by Pierre Francisque Caroubel, from Terpsichore (1612), by Michael Praetorius This passamezzo and galliard illustrate the Renaissance practice of pairing contrasting court dances in duple and triple meter. These dances come from Terpsichore, a collec- tion of over 300 dance tunes arranged for instrumental ensemble by Michael Praetorius 112 PART III | The Renaissance  (1571–1621), a German composer and theorist. (Terpsichore was the Greek muse, or goddess, of the dance.) A few dances in the collection, including the passamezzo and galliard studied here, were composed by the French violinist Pierre Francisque Ca- roubel (1576–1611). Both dance types originated in Italy and were popular during the sixteenth century and the early seventeenth century. Selection available on: The passamezzo is a stately dance in duple meter and the galliard is a quick dance Connect Music in triple meter. The dance-pair studied here is written for five unspecified instrumen- Mp3 download card tal parts. In our recording the two dances are performed by a Renaissance string en- semble including violins, violas, and bass violins (ancestors of the cello), lutes, and harpsichord. Both the passamezzo and galliard are made up of three brief sections (a, b, c). The two dances can be outlined as follows: Passamezzo: aa bb cc abc Galliard: aa bb cc Selection available on: The music of the galliard is a variation of the preceding passamezzo, but sounds Connect Music very different because its tempo is faster and its meter is triple rather than duple.       Mp3 download card           Passamezzo, section a               Galliard, section a In each dance, section b brings greater rhythmic animation. Section b of the passa- mezzo introduces quicker note values (eighth notes).                    Gentile Bellini (c. 1429–1507), Procession in St. Mark’s Square. The focal point for music in Venice was St. Mark’s Cathedral. © Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY 3 | Secular Music in the Renaissance 113  Section b of the galliard brings delightful rhythmic irregularity because  meter alter- nates with the prevailing  meter. That is, six fast pulses divide alternatively into two groups of three pulses (1-2-3 4-5-6) and three groups of two pulses (1-2 3-4 5-6).                       A similar alternation can be heard in America, from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story, studied in Part IX, “Music for Stage and Screen.” 4 The Venetian School: From Renaissance to Baroque During the sixteenth century, Venice—an independent city-state on the northeastern coast of Italy—became a center of instrumental and vocal music. Venice is a seaport built on tiny islands separated by canals; it was a thriving commercial center for trade between Europe and the near east. Venice proclaimed its importance both by means of magnificent processions and through its architecture and painting. Venetian painters such as Titian, Tintoretto, and Veronese were inspired by the city’s special light and used rich, brilliant colors. The focal point for music in Venice was St. Mark’s Cathedral. The cathedral was colorful and wealthy, and it employed up to twenty instrumentalists and thirty singers for grand ceremonies within the cathedral and in St. Mark’s Square. The music directors and organists at St. Mark’s, such as Adrian Willaert (c. 1490–1562), Andrea Gabrieli (c. 1520–1586), and Andrea’s nephew Giovanni Gabrieli, were among the finest com- posers of the Renaissance. They and their colleagues are called the Venetian school. Venetian composers were stimulated by an architectural feature of St. Mark’s Cathedral—two widely separated choir lofts, each with an organ—and wrote much music for several choruses and groups of instruments. Unlike most Renaissance choral music, Venetian choral music of the late sixteenth century often contains parts that are written exclusively for instruments. This conscious use of instrumental color brings some works of the Venetian school close to the early baroque style. Another early ba- roque feature of some Venetian music is a tendency toward homophonic texture, rather than the polyphonic texture typical of Renaissance music. Giovanni Gabrieli and the Polychoral Motet Giovanni Gabrieli (c. 1555–1612), a native of Venice, was the most important Venetian composer of the late Renaissance. He studied with his uncle Andrea Gabrieli and was an organist at St. Mark’s from 1585 until his death. His compositions include organ and instrumental ensemble works and polychoral motets: motets for two or more choirs, 114 PART III | The Renaissance  often including groups of instruments. Gabrieli’s Sonata pian e forte (1597) is famous as one of the earliest instrumental ensemble pieces in which dynamics and instrumen- tation are specified by the composer. His polychoral motets for two to five choirs call for an unprecedentedly large number of performers and brilliantly exploit contrasts of register, sonority, and tone color. Plaudite (Clap Your Hands; 1597) Giovanni Gabrieli’s spectacular polychoral motet Plaudite was intended for a joyful cer- emony at St. Mark’s Cathedral. Its Latin text calls for praise of God. The motet is writ- ten for a large vocal and instrumental ensemble of twelve voice parts divided into three choirs, or performing groups, that contrast in register. It has one low choir, one choir in a middle register, and one high choir. The choice of instruments is left to the performers. In our recording, some voices are reinforced by three sackbuts, three cornetts, or an organ. Gabrieli exploits the “stereophonic” possibilities of St. Mark’s by rapidly tossing short phrases among the three separate choirs. Often the choirs combine to produce splendidly massive sonorities. Gabrieli unifies the motet by using the same music (A) for each of four short alleluia sections. These sections are in triple meter and contrast with the prevailing duple meter of the motet. With its homophonic texture and its flamboyant use of contrast- ing sonorities, Plaudite is at the border between the Renaissance and early baroque styles. Vocal Music Guide GIOVANNI GABRIELI, Plaudite (Clap Your Hands; 1597) (Duration 2:48) Listen for the different tone colors of the three different choirs, each with accompanying instruments. 0:00 Plaudite, Psallite, Clap your hands, sing praises, Jubilate Deo sing joyfully to God, omnis terra: all the earth. 0:14 A alleluia, Alleluia. benedicant Dominum Let all the nations omnes gentes, bless the Lord, collaudantes eum: together praising Him. 0:50 A alleluia, Alleluia. quia fecit nobiscum Dominus For the Lord hath acted in His misericordiam suam: mercy with us. 1:28 A alleluia, Alleluia. et captivam duxit captivitatem, And led captivity captive. admirabilis et gloriosus Admirable and glorious in saecula: He is forever. 2:21 A alleluia. Alleluia. Climactic section in alleluia. Alleluia. duple meter ends Plaudite. 4 | The Venetian School: From Renaissance to Baroque 115