Music in the Renaissance
by Gustave Reese
Period: Renaissance
Born: c. 1525 in Palestrina (near Rome), Italy
Died: Wednesday, February 2, 1594 in Rome, Italy
Nation of Origin: Italy
Major Works:
105 masses
250 or more motets
Many liturgical works for voices
One book of secular madrigals
Mass of Pope Marcellus
Missa ad fugam
Repleatur os meum
Veni sponsa Christi
Improperia
Stabat Mater
Other Information:
Born near Rome in a town called Palestrina. Died in Rome. "The
Prince of Music," as choirmaster at St. Peters in Rome, was the
major representative of the Council of Trent's reforms. His style
is based in Franco-Flemish imitative counterpoint, voice parts flow
in continuous rhythm, with a new melodic motive for each phrase of
the text. Palestrina avoided chromaticism, and he allowed cadences
to accurately define tonal centers. Dissonances were handled
discreetly.
Composer Bibliography:
Coates, Henry, Palestrina, Hyperion Press, June 1979, ISBN:
0883557320
General Bibliography:
Kennedy, Michael, The Oxford Dictionary of
Music, Oxford University Press, 2nd Edition, 1997, ISBN:
0198691629
Reese, Gustave, Music in the Renaissance, W.W. Norton &
Company; November 1959, ISBN: 0393095304
Sachs, Curt, The Rise of Music in the Ancient World , W. W.
Norton & Company, 1943, ASIN: 0393097188
Sadie, Stanley and Tyrrell, John; Editors, The New Grove
Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Groves Dictionaries, Inc.,
January 2001, ISBN: 1561592390
Slonimsky, Nicolas and Kuhn, Laura; Editors,
Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, Gale Group,
December 2000, ISBN: 0028655257
Links to essays at other sites:
Music in the Renaissance by Gustave Reese |
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Biographical essay from the Grove Concise Dictionary of
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Biographical essay at the Karadar site
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directly.
Biographical essay at the Naxos site
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