Moral Dilemmas

and “Perfect Art”:

Palestrina and Sacred
Music of the
Late Renaissance
 at t l e
c al B
E t h i
r al /
M o

Palestrina, Lamentations
 I. Ars perfecta (“Perfect[ed] Art”)

A. = Catholic Sacred Music of Late Renaissance

B. = ca. 1550 - 1600

C. = Josquin + sacred music of later Renaissance:
•Lasso (Germany),
•Byrd (England),
•Victoria (Spain) and

•Palestrina (Italy)
II. Placing the Ars perfecta historically
Dufay: Early Renaissance

Josquin: Mid- High-Renaissance

Madrigal: Secular Music in the High Renaissance

Palestrina: Late Renaissance

 II. Placing the Ars Perfecta historically

A. Chronology:
Early Ren 1. Dufay Binchois 1425-75

2. Ockeghem, Busnois and Contemporaries 1450-1500

High 3. Josquin and Contemporaries 1480-1520

4. Arcadelt, Gombert, Willaert 1500-60

Late ARS PERFECTA 1550-1600

5. Palestrina, Lasso, Victoria, Byrd
Stable Features? Changing Features?
1.Performing Forces?
2.Texture?
3.Tempo (Fast – Slow – Moderate)?
4.Tempo (Steady Pulses or Fluctuating)?
5.Number of Different Voices?
6.Amount of Dissonance?
7.Amount of Imitation?
8.Phrases clearly set off or “Run on”?
 II. Renaissance in Review: Placing the Ars Perfecta
historically

A. Chronology:
1.Performing Forces?
Early Ren 1. Dufay Binchois
2.Texture? 1425-75

3.Tempo (Fast
2. Ockeghem, – Slow
Busnois – Moderate)?
and Contemporaries 1450-1500
4.Tempo (Steady Pulses or Fluctuating)?
3. Josquin
High 5.Number of Different Voices? 1480-1520
and Contemporaries

6.Amount
4. Arcadelt, of Dissonance?
Gombert, Willaert 1500-60
7.Amount of Imitation?
Late ARS PERFECTA 1550-1600
8.Phrases clearly set off or “Run on”?
5. Palestrina, Lasso, Victoria, Byrd
Stable Features? Changing Features?
III. Placing the Ars Perfecta Musically

1. Stable Traits from Early to Late

• performance style: a cappella
• texture: polyphony; some homophonic texture
• phrases: seamless, no sharp breaks, stops, or silences
• tempo: moderate and steady pulse

2. Changing Traits
• increasing preference for more voices (fuller textures)
• increasing use of imitation
• increasing control of dissonance

3. Imitative polyphony in many voices +

careful control of dissonances= A “Perfect Art”
III. Placing the Ars Perfecta Musically

4. In Late Renaissance polyphony, harmony

arises from combination of independent
melodic lines.
IV. Sacred Music and Catholic Liturgy
Gloria and Agnus Dei from the Pope Marcellus Mass by Palestrina

A. Mass vs. Offices (Hours)

B. Proper of the Mass vs. Ordinary of the Mass (see Wright reading)

C. The Texts of the Ordinary

Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei
*Ite missa est (rarely set as polyphony)
D. Masses often take titles from borrowed music:
cantus firmus, paraphrase (e.g., Missa L’homme arme)
V. Palestrina and the Counter-Reformation

A. Council of Trent, 1545 - 1563

V. Palestrina and the Counter-Reformation

A. Council of Trent, 1545 - 1563

B. Controversies Surrounding Music

• Lack of standardization

• Use of profane melodies in cantus firmus compositions

• Complicated imitative polyphony renders sacred

words unintelligible

C. Palestrina and the Myth of the Pope Marcellus Mass

No problemo!
 Palestrina, Pope Marcellus Mass, Gloria

Et in terra pax hominibus,

bonae voluntatis,

Laudamus te,
benedicimus te,
adoramus te,
glorificamus te

Gratias agimus tibi,

propter magnum gloriam tuam . . .
Palestrina, Pope Marcellus Mass:
Agnus Dei
VII. A Perfect Art: The Musical Style of Palestrina
and the Late Renaissance

A. Melody

B. Harmony

C. Dissonance
 (Finetti Suspensions)

Suspension:
1. Preceded by Consonance (Cons)
2. 1 voice “hangs onto” its note while other voice moves (Diss)
3. Suspended note “catches up” resolves down by step (Cons)
V. A Perfect Art: The Musical Style of Palestrina
and the Late Renaissance

A. Melody

B. Harmony

C. Dissonance Treatment

D. Texture

E. Pulse or Beat
Lamb of God, Have Mercy on Us
 Exam Format

• 5-6 IDs (composer, title, period)

• Listening (e.g. discant vs. organum style,
melismatic vs. syllabic chant)
• Objective questions (based on reading and
class)
• Short essay (1-2 paragraph)
Lamb of God, Have Mercy on Us
Wright Textbook, p. 100:

Even today, courses for advanced music students

include practice in composing in the pure contrapuntally
correct style of Palestrina. Thus, the spirit of the
Counter-Reformation continued to influence
musicians long after the Renaissance had come to an end.