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Music of the Fifteenth CenturySo, what music would people have been listening to in fifteenth century England? As you can hear below, some of the most exquisitely beautiful and sophisticated music ever written. This page will give a brief introduction to the music of this period and some examples to hear.
GeneralIn the fifteenth century, Europe was in the middle of what would later be called the Renaissance. This period, roughly 1300-1600, was a period of great discovery and accelerated change which would see the foundations of medieval society questioned and finally transformed. The term Renaissance, meaning literally “Rebirth” was coined by the French national historian, Jules Michelet in 1855.The term is justified in that the period saw thinkers and artists repudiate the doctrines of the middle ages and look back to the ideals of antiquity.Signs of the new thinking were evident in art and literature as early as the beginning of the fourteenth century, but the musical Renaissance did not gain ground until the early fifteenth century. In this century, medieval musical forms remained, but new styles and techniques were emerging. Tinctorus, a music theorist and composer of the fifteenth century, published his treatise, “Proportionale musices" in 1474. In it he stated that around 1440, due to the works of the English composer Dunstable and the Flemish composer Dufay, music began a new art, and that anything written earlier than this was not worth hearing. The middle of the fifteenth century was a watershed for musical development. Commerce and affluence increased in the west, due mainly to the ending of the Hundred Years War. In this period, the centre of musical activity in Europe was the court of Burgundy, under Philip the Good and Charles the Bold. Although feudal vassals of the kings of France, the Dukes of Burgundy were their equals in power. While the French had been busy with the Hundred Years War, Burgundy took possession of what are today Holland, Belgium, north-eastern France, Luxembourg and Lorraine. This they added to the medieval Duchy and County of Burgundy in east central France. They ruled over all this territory independently until 1477. During this period, the musicians themselves disseminated musical ideas and techniques through their travels. The demand and competition for musicians in the great houses of Europe, such as the Medicis or the Sforzas, as well as royal courts and church establishments meant musicians could afford to move around a great deal looking for better preferment. The Dukes kept a retinue of composers, singers, and instrumentalists, who provided music for church services and for entertainment of the court, and accompanied their masters on journeys. These musicians were recruited mainly from Flanders, but included Germans, Italians and Portuguese. There were also visits to the court from foreign musicians. Not surprisingly, the style of the court was international and the prestige of the Burgundian court was such that the music played here would influence other courts of Europe. The musicians themselves spread musical styles and forms, as almost all in Europe had either been, or hoped to be, a musician at the Burgundian court. The Franco Flemish school dominated European composition for a hundred years from the middle of the fifteenth century. Click to hear some early 15th century dances by anonymous composers
The role of instruments in Medieval music was primarily to double or substitute voice parts, or to provide music for dancing. One of the greatest changes in music of the Renaissance era was the introduction of an independent instrumental musical form. This started its development during the fifteenth century, but it wasn’t until the sixteenth century that instrumental forms became truly popular.
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