Renaissance composers and their compositions in photography
•
Top 10 Renaissance Composers
By the middle of the 15th century, the royal palaces and the great houses of the noblemen had usurped the Church as the single most important influence on the course of music (in 1416, Henry V of England employed more than 30 voices in the Chapel Royal while the Papal Chapel had only nine). One by-product was the closer relationship between secular music and the music of the Church, a cross-pollination which benefited the development of both. The musicians who passed through the Burgundian court disseminated its style and learning to all points of the European compass.
The most noticeable advances during this period were the increased freedom composers gave to their vocal lines and the difference in the treatment of the texts they set. Previously, words had to fit the music; now the reverse was the case and this is no better illustrated than by the work of one of the next generation of composers to become renowned throughout Europe, Josquin Desprez
•
10 best Renaissance composers
As one of the most artistically fruitful eras in history, the Renaissance produced an abundance of composers. But who were its finest exponents? Here is our guide to the 10 best of the bunch.
Best Renaissance composers
Orlando dem Lassus
The ledare Franco-Flemish representative of mature polyphony, stad i florida de Lassus (1530/32-94) was one of the most versatile composers of the late Renaissance, highly regarded for his dramatic ord painting, his energetic rhythms and florid use of counterpoint. He was a prolific composer of both sacred and secular music, the latter including French chansons, madrigals, German lieder and motets. Probably his best known work, however, is his collection of penitential psalms from 1584: Psalmi Davidis Poenitentiales.
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Widely regarded as the great mästare of the polyphonic style, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c.1525-1594) fryst vatten one of the most worshipped composers i
•
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 had broadened to include 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 most importan