Polyphonic Music -- Secular vs. Sacred Music

Renaissance, French for “rebirth,” perfectly describes the intellectual and economic changes that occurred in Europe from the fourteenth through the sixteenth centuries.

The Renaissance period in Western European culture is generally recognized as spanning the years between 1430 and 1600.  The sacred music composed during this period was for the Roman Catholic Church. Some instruments may have been employed, but the music was written primarily for acapella choir.

An important development of development of the period was the choir, which performed polyphonic music. Polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody. As opposed to the species terminology of counterpoint, polyphony was generally either "pitch-against-pitch" / "point-against-point" or "sustained-pitch" in one part with melismas of varying lengths in another.

Polyphonic music is built up by superimposed melodies that are independent but harmonized.

Polyphonic music stood as the main structure of choirs during the Renaissance Period.

 

 Secular and Sacred Music


The Mass

The Mass is a performance of the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, based on the words of Christ at the Last Supper.

From very early times, the Mass has been set to music, and some of the greatest music of th  world has been composed for the Mass.

One of the most famous composers of the period was Giovanni Pierluigi de Palestrina (1525-1594), the greatest master of Roman Catholic Church music. Palestrina was the name of the small town near Rome where he was born. He began his musical training when he was seven, starting out as a choir boy. He used that small echo of voices to create his own style. In Palestrina’s works you’d always observe the smooth hums and harmonizing of human voices, wrapping around the atmosphere. It’s almost as if you feel the very presence of God in the music.

 

Motet

The motet is a religious which appeared first in the twelfth century when the cathedral church tended to supplant the monastery church and more elaborate music was needed. During the Renaissance, it had the most elaborate polyphonic treatment. It was not accompanied by any music instrument. In this form, each voice sings a variation of the first phrase of the original melody of the text. The simultaneous singing of the four voices creates a sonorous texture and rhythm.

 

 

Secular Music

The secular music of the Renaissance period consists of three voices which sang melody and two voices which sang harmony.

It’s basically music where composers get to express themselves however they want. It is different from Sacred music because this kind of music isn’t used for the Mass. Instead, it’s used to entertain, to express, and to feel.