Music and Musicians in the Renaissance Essay examples -- Exploratory E

Music and Musicians in the RenaissanceIf music be the nourishment of love, play on Orsino, Twelfth NightIn the Elizabethan season (1558-1603) and the Jacobean Era (1603-1625), there was a fondness for spectacle and pageantry. At court, huntsmans horns and drums resounded to announce mealtimes in town, these instruments were utilise by theatre troupes to herald forthcoming performances (Renaissance & Baroque Society of Pittsburgh, 2003, and Folkerth, 2002). Music, then, is applied boldly and lavishly in common life and in drama, an imitation of life.Musical Instruments The major classes of musical instruments used in the eminent and Late Renaissance include plucked strings, bow down strings, brass, double reeds, other winds, keyboards, and percussions (McGee, 1985). Lutes, drums, and trumpets were often used, but the instruments that were especially favourite during the Renaissance include the bass viol, treble viol, viola, violin, line sackbut, cornetto, bass sackbut, curtal, tenor shawm, bass recorder, and harpsichord (McGee, 1985).Instrumental Music From the Early Renaissance to the High Renaissance, there was a movement from vocal music to a conclave of vocal and submissive music (Brown, 1976). There are seven categories of instrumental music 1) vocal music played by instruments, 2) settings of pre-existing melodies, 3) transition sets, 4) ricercars, fantasias, and canzonas, 5) preludes, preambles, and toccatas for solo instruments, 6) dance music, and 7) songs composed specifically for lute and solo theatrical role (Brown, 1976). Italy dominated the stage for instrumental music at this time, and it was not until the drop dead decades of the sixteenth century that English instrumental music became popular (Brow... ...cobean periods. flora Cited Brown, Howard M. Music in the Renaissance. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1976.Folkerth, Wes. The Sound of Shakespeare. London Routledge, 2002.McGee, timot hy J. Medieval and Renaissance Music A Performers Guide. Toronto University of Toronto Press, 1985.Novak, Elaine Adams. represent Shakespearean Theatre. Cincinnati, Ohio Betterway Books, 2000.Renaissance & Baroque Society of Pittsburgh. Shakespeares Top 40. Available http//www.rbsp.org/current_season/shakespeare.php, March 2003.Shirley, Frances Ann. Shakespeares Use of Off-Stage Sounds. Lincoln University of Nebraska Press, 1963.University of Victoria. Elizabethan Court Musicians. Available http//web.uvic.ca/shakespeare/Library/SLTnoframes/literature/courtmusicians.html, date unavailable. Accessed March 4, 2003.