The Composition of Musical Instruments - Research Paper Example

Investigating Western Music s Music surrounds people in different places and moments of their life. There are different types of music, which exists for different occasions. The aim of this work is to research the development of Western Music during the Renaissance period and analyze its influence on the society. “Listening to art music is an art itself, and good listening is an active, creative experience. The listener must possess a fair measure of knowledge and experience in order for the cycle of creation, interpretation (performance), and appreciation of art music to be successfully completed” (Jean Ferris, 1985). It is a well-known fact that meditation cleanses the system from its negative energies and vibrations. Music is a powerful assistant of meditation. In many meditation workshops, music is used to make people more aware of their moods and feelings. Many people believe that any type of music has positive influence on the person, regardless of its content, as it affects them in different ways. History of music went through the different stages of its development. Donald Jay Grout wrote: “The history of music is primarily the history of musical style, and cannot be grasped except by first-hand knowledge of the music itself” (1937). The Renaissance period is a turning point in the history of European cultures. In Italy, this stream appeared in the XIII-XIV centuries, in other European countries - in the XV-XVI centuries. The representatives of this period proclaimed the person as the highest value and worshiped his welfare and the right for free development of personality. The stream was called "humanism”. Humanists saw the image of ideal person in antiquity, as well as in the ancient Greek and Roman arts. These cultures served as models for the artistic creativity. The name of the era - the Renaissance reflected the desire of people to "revive" the ancient culture. The worldview of the Renaissance reflects art (including music) in its fullest meaning. Vocal church music took the leading place among different musical flows of that period. The further development led to the emergence of “polyphony”. This type of music required several voices, which sounded simultaneously. Polyphony did not make the work more complicated, but it allowed the author to express personal understanding of the text, and made the composition more emotional. Polyphonic music was produced according to the strict and complex rules, which required deep knowledge and virtuosity from the composer. Polyphony predetermined the development of different ecclesiastical and secular genres. These changes influenced on the appearance of the Dutch polyphonic school. By the XV century the Netherlands reached high economic and cultural level and turned into a prosperous European country. The development of a polyphonic school was one of the biggest music events of the Renaissance period. One of the most important things for the development of the art of the XV century was the communication of musicians from different countries and the exchange of experience between them. The School of Netherlands absorbed the traditions of such countries as: Italy, France, England and so forth. One of its outstanding representatives was a Franco-Flemish composer, Guillaume Dufay. The compositions of Dufay were inspiring and full of inner life. The younger contemporaries of Dufay were Johannes (Jean) Ockeghem and Jacob Obrecht. Using the achievements of their predecessors the composers developed the new polyphonic tradition. Their music was full of contrasts, even when the composers turned to the traditional church genres. The impact of Orlando Lasso to the Netherland’s music of the Renaissance period is obvious. His contemporaries called him "Belgian Orpheus" and "Prince of Music. Since the childhood, Lasso sang in the church choir. In 1555 appeared his first album, containing motets, madrigals and chansons. Lasso studied and analyzed the best compositions, created by his predecessors (Dutch, French, German and Italian composers), and used their experience in his work. As Lasso was an extraordinary person, he tried to overcome the abstract character of music and make it more specific. To achieve this purpose, he combined the religious and secular traditions. The works of Zhaneken Clement achieved a great popularity among people. In 1555 he became a musician of the Royal Chapel, and in 1556-1557 was characterized as the Royal composer. Clement Zhaneken created two hundred eighty chansons (published between 1530 and 1572). His songs had often an iconic character. In his compositions the listener could see the pictures of battle ("The Battle of Marignano", "Battle of Rent", "Battle of Metz"), hunting scenes ("Hunting"), images of nature ("Birdsong", "The Nightingale", "Skylark" ), everyday scenes ("Women chatter") and so forth. “In studying the history of music it is of course necessary to learn certain facts about musical forms and styles in the different historical periods; but it is even more necessary to get to know the music itself. The facts are but dry bones: the music alone gives them life and meaning” (Donald Jay Grout, 1973). The works of Zhaneken comprised the idea of life and meaning in its best manifestations. At the same time the French Protestants (Huguenots) abandoned Latin and polyphony. Spiritual music applied more open and developed character. One of the brightest representatives of this musical tradition became Claude Gudimel (between 1514 and 1520 - 1572), who was the author of the psalms and biblical texts. Chanson was one of the main musical genres of the French Renaissance, originated from folk art. It included love, household, humorous, satirical songs and so forth. With the rise of Renaissance in Italy, there appeared different circles of music lovers. It predetermined the emergence of two schools: Roman and Venetian. People get acquainted with Italian madrigal music, which emerged on the basis of national (pastoral) songs. Madrigals were sung by two or three voices, often without instrumental accompaniment. They were based on the poems of contemporary Italian poets, who used love as the main subject of their work. At the same period appears Roman polyphonic school, headed by Giovanni Pierluigi, one of the greatest composers of the Renaissance period. The greatest master of the secular madrigal was Carlo Gesualdo di Venosa (about 1560-1613). The composition of musical instruments, in the Renaissance period, expanded significantly and the new species of them were added to the already existing strings and brasses. Viola – was characterized by the beauty and nobility of the sound. The vibrations of the strings made the sounds smooth and velvety, but the tool was difficult to use in the orchestra, as the strings were often distuned. In the XV-XVI centuries appeared different types of keyboards. The main types of such instruments – harpsichord and clavichord were actively used in the music of the Renaissance period, but they gained their success much later. “Music faithfully reflects the great upheaval that is implicit in the rise of this new aspect of life. The small garden of secular music grows into a vast nursery of flowers. Frottola, villanella, madrigal, chanson occupy the composers, and the output spills over the old boundaries to inundate the entire domain of music” (Paul Henry Lang, 1953). Concluding this article, it is necessary to say, that the development of the history of Western music predetermined the appearance of the world famous works of art and introduced the new streams into the world music treasury. Works Cited Jean Ferris. Music. The art of listening. Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Publishers Dubuque, 1985. Print Donald Jay Grout. A History of Western Music. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. INC., 1973. Print. Paul Henry Lang. Music and history. Munich: Vassar College, 1953. Print. Read More