The Renaissance was a period that was centered around “rebirth”. That aspect in itself excites me. I like the idea of a new found interest in the writings, art and philosophies of Ancient Greece and Rome. Another interesting part to me, although being a burden to us now, is the fact that most of the instrumental music was improvised, so we have no records of it now. Another interesting aspect was the fact that music was written for more than one voice to be showcased. But only men were allowed to perform the music in public. Nuns would sometimes be involved in the music, but would never actually be shown singing it. 

A historical event from that period was the Protestant Reformation, which led to the Catholic Church officials banning the use the the secular cantus firmi, which was a borrowed melody used by Guiliaume Dufay to unify the ordinary. The melody consisted of either a sacred chant or secular tune. The textbook describes music from the renaissance period as being characterized by textures of complex intertwining melodies.

The composer I decided to listen to was Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. My first reaction was that it was a beautiful sound, but did sound like something I would hear if I went to Sunday mass. I could also hear the many different voices and sounds within the song, but they all went together very well in my opinion. The music does sound like what I expected. This is because of the many voices and sounds and the heavy influence from the church that can be heard in it.

The Baroque Period

Reading about the Baroque Period it really intrigues me because the type of music that was made in this period was Opera music. The type of music that was created back then is something that would sound very familiar and a familiar type of beat compared to what music sounds like nowadays. The Baroque Period began at around 1600 and ended around 1750. This period had started right after the Renaissance Period. There were many historical events that took place around this time, some out of my knowledge are the death of Elizabeth-I, Establishment of the Dutch East India Company, and another very important event in history during this period was the Salem Witch Trials.

In the textbook it talks about how in the Baroque Period there were Baroque finales that were often featured a “deus ex machina.” While I was reading this part, the part that really excited me and made me think was that “deus ex machina” was a plot device where problems of any sort that were still remaining were resolved somehow. In the textbook it is explained that often these problems were miraculously resolved by “divine intervention.” Also another part that really gained my interest was the part of the textbook that said that opera was incredibly popular and known world-wide, but it was banned in Catholic countries. This really struck out to me because it made me think why can’t Catholic countries listen to this beautiful music?, do the instrumental genres and rhythms insult Catholics in some way? I might be wrong but as I was reading these were some of the questions that kept coming up in my head. There were also many new instrumental genres that arose in the Baroque Period some of which included the suite, the sonata, and the concerto. Also while reading this part of the textbook, it reminded me of the car company sonata, this made me do some research but unfortunately I couldn’t find anything, but a question that came to mind was, does the car company sonata have anything to do with the instrumental genre “sonata”?

This period was definitely a period to remember, because of all the famous composers who made history. A composer who was very known at the time of and to this day people still listen to was known as Johann Sebastian Bach. He was a German composer, and composed amazing music. The piece of work that I chose, is the famous piece, “Complete Cello Suites” by Bach. Listening to this music was definitely now what I expected from this period of time. This piece to me sounded a lot like a music that was from the medieval period. And also it is not what I expected from the way the textbook describes because as I was reading the textbook I kept thinking that this music is for old people and that I wouldn’t enjoy it. But in fact, it’s the total opposite!! I genuinely feel as if this music is very pleasing to the ears and is very soothing. I am usually not into this type of music AT ALL! But I have been listening to this piece for about an hour and it is really helping me in focus on getting my work done.

The Classical Period

The Classical Period excites me because of its’ relation to the Enlightenment. Many historical events occurred within this particular period. The Enlightenment was known for the major shift towards sciences, reason and individual rights. The widespread of advancements contributed to the Industrial Revolution. Furthermore, this leads to rises within the middle class and adjustments in the social-political structures. During this time period, the beginning of political parties was initiated in 1792. From our class discussion, we came to the conclusion that this period was called “classical” after the “classical” architecture of Greece. The music reflects balance and symmetry. It was known as an international style, which also drew from Italian perceptions. Composers depended on divergent melodies and different tonal areas in order to depict formal sections. The composer that stood out to me from the classical period was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. I remember learning a lot about him in high school. The piece I chose by him is called Requiem, K. 626: Lacrimosa. It was written in 1791, which was left incomplete due to his death. This piece is one of the most popular pieces he’s put together. The sound is exactly what I anticipated for it to be. It sounds very soothing and well put together. When thinking about the classical period, this is the type of music you would expect to hear.

The Renaissance Period of Western Art Music ranged from around 1430-1600. During this period ancient Greek and Roman history became the trend. And me, a mythological and philosophy fan, is very intrigued by this period. The thinking and the way society lived during ancient times and the thinking during the Renaissance are fascinating to me. The Renaissance basically made these things that very “the wave” back then popular again, just like how Shakira did after the Superbowl.

During this time, many revolutionary changes happened, the invention of the printing press, which made life and reading a lot easier and cheaper for many, the Protestant Reformation, which shocked the Catholic Church and its influence in Europe, William Shakespeare arose and wrote those dreaded books we were forced to read in high school, and oh gravity suddenly became a thing.

The textbook describes the music during this period as “textures of complex intertwining melodies.” It goes on to say how it was mostly vocal music and chant. During the early times, it was usually music written for a four-voice part and sung by a small group of clerics. During the 15th century, musicians began placing a borrowed Melody in the tenor line of each section and called it a cantus formus. Later on, in the 16th century, more voices were added to the chanson and a variety of national genres spring up across Europe.

One composer that I have selected was William Byrd (1540-1623). The work of art I choose to listen to was his latest hit single according to Spotify, “The Responses.” The music sounds exactly like how I expected it to, uncanny but yet also angelic. As described by the textbook, it’s a choir with multiple voice parts. It also gave me flashbacks to church and how they sang something similar to it, however, I always believed that it was from the Medieval period, not the Renaissance.

The Baroque period took place from 1600-1750s. One thing about this period that excites me is that opera was invented during this time. The operas they had back then are very similar to musicals that we have today. The operas consisted of a combination between singing, as well as a storyline with a plot usually based on love stories from Greek mythology. Generally, included in the storyline were some sort of divine presence that came to save the day and helped all the issues work out. Early operas featured simple songs, however later on there were alterations between “speech like sections with melodious songs.” It was really fascinating to learn that even in the 16th century they had their own version of Broadway entertainment. 

Additionally, this was a time period when music started to become more adventurous. There were new instrumental genres that were being born such as “sonata” and “concerto.” Despite these broadening genres, all styles of music were still able to be unified. This is because all music from that century came from the same base line known as “basso continuo.” This bass line is what brought together all the different types of music and styles during this period. Furthermore, there were some modern advancements to music during this time, such as the development of major and minor chords, as well as ornaments being added to musical notes.

I chose the composer Gerorge Frideric Handel’s most famous piece,“Messiah.” This music does sound like what I expected from this era. This is because the structure resembled that of an opera, although there is no direct speech. In addition, during this time period musicians were into impressing their audiences. This piece includes fast paced violin as well as the voices reaching high melodic notes, such as the Hallelujah chorus, which are vocally impressive. This piece also has the angelic and divine feels to it, which was popular during the Baroque period.

The Baroque Period

The invention of the new genre,opera is a very exciting part of the Baroque period. Many stories from Greek Mythology were used in the opera songs. There were speeches like songs and melodic songs. 

In the Baroque Period (1600-1750), there were many historical events. There are two historical events that I know of in that time period. One event is the establishment of Jamestown. I remember in elementary school history class, learning a lot about the establishment of Jamestown in 1607. The second event that I know of was when the land of New York was claimed. The land claim of New York is a huge historical event for all, especially us who live in New York!

The music in the Baroque period was very interesting. There were many new genres and instrument music styles being discovered. As I mentioned earlier, opera was invented. In addition, suites,sonato,and concertos were discovered. Many of the songs in that time period were basso continuo. Orchestra,which is a huge part of music today, was invented during the Baroque time period.

I chose to listen to a piece composed by Johann Sebastian Bach called ”air on the g string “. The piece sounded like the textbook described. It had basso continuo which the textbook mentioned to be a music theme for the Baroque time period. It sounded like a baby lullaby. When I played the piece, it sounded very soft and something a mobile would play for an infant.

The 20th Century time period of music is exciting in its newness and technological innovations which are reflected in many composer’s works during this time.

The textbook describes this time period as one containing great changes in technology, medicine, and lifestyle. Styles like impressionism and expressionism came about emphasizing mood and the unconscious mind (respectively). Another style that was prominent of this time was minimalism which was characterized by “harmonic consonance, steady pulse, and the slow, hypnotic transformation of musical phrases” (Cornelius, Natvig).

An example of composer of this time includes George Gershwin (1898–1937). During high school band class, I played many pieces by Gershwin one of which was called “I got Rhythm” which is an upbeat, bright jazz piece published in 1930. The music does sound like what I expected as it clearly contains a mood that is a defining component of expressionism, as mentioned in our textbook. The mood in this piece is cheerful and puts emphasis on brass instruments like saxophone and trumpet. Contrary to this piece, Gershwin also composed “Summertime” which contains a deep, solemn mood that is drawn out and intense. Both pieces are accompanied with lyrics, which I found to be very interesting.

The Baroque period is exciting for me because I recently went to an NYPhilharmonic performance of George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah“, and the fact that it was from the Baroque period is new information to me. Technically speaking, the historical event I do know of “Messiah” then, not as the opera, but as classical music. However, except for that tidbit, I don’t actually know of any actual historical events that took place during the Baroque period. The textbook describes the music from the Baroque period as “ornamentation” as most if not all the music from this period had “the addition of decorative notes, called ornaments, to melodic…performers”. They also included the fact that Baroque music often had the “basso continuo” as a “foundational accompaniment”.

I picked Johann Sebastian Bach and listened to “Orchestral suite no. 3 in d major, bwv 1068: ii. Aria” . Based on the textbook, if I was listening to it for the first time, I would have thought it would be more of a flamboyant type of piano solo, with more energy to the melody’s composition. When in fact, based on my own knowledge and opinion, I knew it to be a more soothing, calm, piece of music. It does have “ornaments” as the textbook said, with delicate high notes bringing the piece together, and the ending part was simple, yet had impact to it from the trill.

The renaissance is a period of renewal and enlightenment a lot of great works were created during this time period. Great art, music, philosophy, and books. The renewed interest is the best part that something old was brought back and kind of re-invented in a way. 

I know that during the renaissance Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel, the printing press was invented and that the Protestant Reformation was led, also around this time everyone was building their own sorts of Christianity, dividing from the mentality of the church being the one church. These are all historical events that happened in the Renaissance, you can gather from that that it was really a time of reconstruction and reveling, evolving into a new mindset and a more modern ideal. The textbook describes the music from the renaissance as characterized by textures of complex intertwining melodies. A lot of music in this time period was written for mass. 

One of the composers from this time period is Guillaume Dufay, his music is very much chorale music and focused on the voice. Usually, there is more than one voice accompanied by an organ or some instruments. It has a very angelic sound and you can tell it’s for a mass. It is unusual in comparison to other mass music since there are multiple harmonies. It sounded exactly as described in the textbook, he defied the ordinary by placing a borrowed melody in the tenor line of each section, also known as cantus firmi.