Music-of-the-renaissance-and-reformation-periods. Music in the Renaissance | Thematic Essay. Music was an essential part of civic, religious, and courtly life in the Renaissance. The rich interchange of ideas in Europe, as well as political, economic, and religious events in the period 1400–1600 led to major changes in styles of composing, methods of disseminating music, new musical genres, and the development of musical instruments. The most important music of the early Renaissance was composed for use by the church—polyphonic (made up of several simultaneous melodies) masses and motets in Latin for important churches and court chapels. By the end of the sixteenth century, however, patronage was split among many areas: the Catholic Church, Protestant churches and courts, wealthy amateurs, and music printing—all were sources of income for composers.
The early fifteenth century was dominated initially by English and then Northern European composers. The Burgundian court was especially influential, and it attracted composers and musicians from all over Europe. The Reformation Brings New Approach to Sacred Music. The Reformation Brings New Approach to Sacred Music As the Protestant Reformation swept across Europe, those who rebelled against Catholicism cast their new forms of worship in opposition to the Catholic Mass—including its music. How sacred music developed as part of the Reformation was explored in a presentation on Sept. 22 by Jane Dawson, Ph.D., the John Laing Professor of Reformation History at Edinburgh University’s School of Divinity.
By the late Middle Ages, Dawson said, the performance of sacred music was relegated mainly to professionals who could understand its elaborate polyphonic structure. Protestant reformers, however, feared the power of music to influence and distract, so they entered the notion that church music must serve the words—because the words were the word of God. "They also stipulated that words should be audible and that the language must be comprehensible," Dawson said. For the first time, Scots were singing together in church. Music and the Counter-Reformation. The early decades of the 16th century were fateful ones for the Roman Catholic Church. With the threat of Lutheranism in and , the success of Calvinism in , and the formation of in independent Church of England with King Henry VIII as its head, Catholic officials realized that a reform of their church was timely and necessary.
After much delay, the council which aimed at a “cleansing” of the Catholic Church finally met in December, 1545, at , an imperial city beyond the Italian frontier in the . Among the many reforms which resulted from the decrees of the Council of Trent were concerned with the use of music in worship. Although discussions on church music made up only a small portion of the work of the Council of Trent, the fact that it dealt with music at all demonstrates its importance in church life. Another problem addressed by the Council of Trent was the inappropriate manner in which some of the cathedral Canons chanted the Divine Office. Patrick May December 6, 2010. Music and the Counter Reformation. The Council of Trent To respond to the influence of Protestantism with its emphasis on unmediated, individual devotion, the Roman Catholic curia convened the many sessions which together are known as the Council of Trent.
In the context of reforming the liturgy, the church laid down precepts governing how music should be conceived and set. While reflecting the views of St. Augustine who felt that the beautiful sound of music could overwhelm contemplation of the meaning of the text, the reforms were also influenced by the humanist perspective on the power inherent in text.
Bishop Cirillo Franco in a letter of 1549 stated the problems of the old style: I should like, in short, when a Mass is to be sung in church, that its music be framed according to the fundamental subject of the words, in harmonies and rhythms apt to move our affections to religion and piety, and likewise in Psalms, Hymns, and other praises that are offered to God..... Index. Counter-Reformation. A copy of the Vulgate (the Latin edition of the Catholic Bible) printed in 1590, after many of the Council's reforms had begun to take place in Catholic worship. The Counter-Reformation (also the Catholic Revival[1] or Catholic Reformation) was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War (1648), and was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation.
The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort composed of four major elements: Ecclesiastical or structural reconfigurationReligious ordersSpiritual movementsPolitical dimensions Council of Trent[edit] A session of the Council of Trent, from an engraving. Pope Paul III (1534–1549) initiated the Council of Trent (1545–1563), a commission of cardinals tasked with institutional reform, addressing contentious issues such as corrupt bishops and priests, indulgences, and other financial abuses. Religious orders[edit] Politics: The Netherlands[edit]