Lesson 3

Polyphony Comes of Age

(1500-1600)

This lesson focuses on the rapid development of polyphony during the 16th century as embodied in the poetry and music of the madrigal.

Word Painting in Madrigals

In this popular technique, composers gave special musical treatment to words like “anger” or “love” based on the word’s meaning and sound. And so “anger” was often a high volume, dark utterance (although polite and restrained nonetheless) and “love” was as soft and fuzzy as a Teletubby.

Madrigals

In the last lesson, we covered the transition from monophonic to polyphonic forms of music. Now we’ll look at various European masters of the madrigal during the 16th century.

Sound Bite

I recommend that you begin this lesson by listening to a streaming audio sample of madrigal-style choral work performed by the King’s Singers of England. This will enable you to better appreciate the discussion of the madrigal presented in this lesson.

The sample I’d like you to listen to is “Amor Vittorioso,” from an outstanding CD:

Madrigal History Tour
King’s Singers

Catalog Number: 69837
UPC: 77776983721
Format: CD
Release Date: Jun 6 1989
Label: ANGEL CLASSICS

The Madrigal: Here, There . . . and Gone

To be historically accurate, I should explain that madrigals had been written as early as the 13th century; however, the earliest forms of the madrigal were much simpler in construction than the refined madrigals of the 16th century. The madrigals we’re considering in this lesson are those that were written during the latter half of the Renaissance, when polyphony was widely accepted and used by the century’s foremost composers.

You should also know that the music “recipe” we describe as a madrigal went by many different names in the 16th century — canzonet, sonet, ballet, pastoral, and even motet — but madrigal appears to be the most popular. That doesn’t mean, however, that all ballets (or sonnets, etc.) are madrigals. On the contrary, the ballet, we now recognize, is a meaningfully different form than the madrigal, as are the canzonet and other forms that were sometimes confused with the madrigal during the 16th century.

By definition, a madrigal is an unaccompanied vocal composition for two or more vocal parts that is based on a poem. Most madrigals were secular, many were lighthearted and spirited, and some (mostly of Italian origin) were downright decadent. In fact, some sacred madrigals, most notably those by Palestrina, were written as a protest to such lascivious compositions.

The madrigal blossomed in Italy, but those initially responsible for its growth were the Flemish composers brought to Italy from the Netherlands to work as church musicians. It wasn’t long before Italian composers mastered the techniques of their Flemish instructors and transformed the madrigal into an Italian treasure. The English were quick to follow, adding their own distinctive influence and eventually adopting madrigal singing as an after-dinner entertainment, at least in the houses of the affluent.

The reign of the madrigal style of singing was somewhat short-lived. Most music historians list the beginning of the 17th century as the end of the madrigal’s popularity, and the beginning of the musical stage play that came to be called opera.

Note: To read more about madrigals, refer to the following books:

• The Oxford Book of Italian Madrigals (ISBN 0193436477)
• The Oxford Book of English Madrigals (ISBN 0193436647)
• Elizabethan Madrigal Dinners (ISBN 0916656128)

The Flemish School

Not a “brick-and-mortar” school at all, but rather a recipe for writing music used by composers from the Netherlands during this period of time. Chapter 7 of The History of Western Music discusses several artists of the Flemish school and the rise of national styles. How did these assorted styles affect international musical styles? Go to the message board to discuss.

The Flemish

Chief among Dutch musicians was Orlando di Lasso (1532 – 1594), considered by many historians to be the leading representative of the Flemish school of musical thought and practice. He was a prodigious composer who wrote more than 2,000 works, including masses, motets, chansons, madrigals, and other styles. He traveled extensively, residing in various European countries, and enjoyed a level of fame reserved for only a few among his contemporaries.

At different times in his life, Lasso was occupied as a freelance composer, church musician, and royal chapel master. In 1571 Pope Gregory XIII conferred upon him the Knighthood of the Golden Spur as a reward for his work in sacred music. Lasso had already received a hereditary patent of nobility and coat of arms from the Emperor Maximilian for his musical genius.

When he died in 1594, his four sons honored their father’s memory by publishing a collection of his works.

Palestrina

Palestrina refused an offer in 1568 to become musical director at the court of the emperor Maximilian II in Vienna because the pay was too low! To learn more about the life of Palestrina (including his real name) read pages 345 – 352 in Classical Music: The 50 Greatest Composers and Their 1,000 Greatest Works. Pages 251-256 of The History of Western Music offer an in-depth discussion of “the Palestrina style.”

The Italians

The standard-bearer for the Italian madrigal is a musician considered by many scholars to be the greatest composer of the 16th century: Giovanni Palestrina (1525 – 1594). Though his name and the Italian madrigal are almost synonymous, Palestrina’s large body of compositions also includes masses, motets, and other forms of church music as well as a sampling of secular music.

Unlike his Flemish counterpart, Lasso, Palestrina stayed relatively close to home. He held various musical positions in Rome, where he lived a prosperous and happy life, content to write and perform his exquisite music.

A master of the madrigal and other unaccompanied choral styles, Palestrina’s influence on 16th-century music is immeasurable. His compositions are considered the scale on which all other music of that period is weighed.

The following selection provides a good sampling of the Italian madrigal:

Disc 1, track 3: “Missa Sicut Lilium”

Tallis Scholars 25th Anniversary
The Tallis Scholars

Catalog Number: 454990
UPC: 28945499024
Format: CD
Release Date: Sep 15 1998
Label: POLYGRAM RECORDS

Don’t Shoot Me — I’m Only the Virginal Player

The piano as we know it was not invented until 1709 in Italy. The most important difference between the piano and its predecessors is that the piano enables players to control the volume of a struck note. The harpsichord (or virginal, as it was known in England) renders each plucked note at the same volume.

The English

We now turn our attention to William Byrd (1542 – 1623), whose compositions were as sublimely expressive and sophisticated as those of Lasso and Palestrina. The majority of his compositions were written for voice, mostly in the form of choral music both sacred and secular. Madrigals, of course, made up a large part of his vocal music. He also wrote works for viols, as well as 140 compositions for the virginal (i.e., the harpsichord).

Like many of his well-known contemporaries in other countries, Byrd was employed as a church musician for most of his life. He eventually came to the Chapel Royal where he served at the behest of Queen Elizabeth I as the chapel’s organist and principal composer.

Byrd was an important founding member of the English Madrigal School. He was also responsible for establishing England as the creative and foundational center for keyboard music for decades to come, based on his large body of innovative compositions for the virginal.

The following selections provide a good sampling of Byrd’s repertoire:

Illumina, Disc 1, track 5: “O Lux Beata rinitas”; [UPC: 40888012528]

Elizabeth’s Music, Disc 1, track 3: “My Lord Oxenford’s Mask”

Elizabeth’s Music

Catalog Number: 90015
UPC: 53479001528
Format: CD
Release Date: Mar 23 1999
Label: DORIAN

Greatest Hits: Harpsichord, Disc 1, track 4: “Lavolta”

Greatest Hits: Harpsichord
Same Day Delivery in Manhattan.

Catalog Number: 68458
UPC: 74646845820
Format: CD
Release Date: Aug 22 1995
Label: SONY

Moving Forward

Now that we’ve covered the madrigal, in the next lesson we’ll look at some of the forms that developed in its wake: opera, cantatas, and sonatas. In the meantime, check out the quiz and assignments. And for a deeper understanding of the music of the Late Renaissance, be sure to read chapter 8 of The History of Western Music. According to your text, Martin Luther “believed strongly in the educational and ethical power of music.” How does that belief compare to Aristotle’s views of music? How does compare to contemporary discussions of pop culture? Go to the message board and discuss these questions.

Assignment: Polyphony Comes of Age (1500-1600)

1. Listen to a madrigal by Palestrina or Lasso.
2. Chapter 7 of The History of Western Music discusses several artists of the Flemish school and the rise of national styles. How did these assorted styles affect international musical styles? Go to the message board to discuss.