Yesenia Madrigal

Dr. Rik Noyce

HUM 200-04
Essay Question #8
Art and music both differed greatly as there was a transition from medieval to
Renaissance periods. During the middle ages, there was a rise of Christianity and of the Roman
Catholic Church- there was also an establishment of the feudal system and Christian Crusades
were often conducted. However, during this time there was also a rise of famine, plagues, and
persecutions (Christian Crusades). Since people during the middle ages were going through
really hard times, they looked to the church for spiritual guidance. Contrary to the middle ages,
the Renaissance varied greatly from the time period that preceded it as it was characterized by a
rebirth of ancient Roman and Greek culture. What really stood out from the Renaissance period
was the rise of Humanism. This marked the transition from people heavily relying on the Church
for guidance and focused more on human dignity and self worth, whereas during the Middle
Ages humility, introspection, and meekness were the values that were approved of.
During the middle ages, Gregorian chant was the official church music. The musical
texture of Gregorian chant was monophonic which meant that there was a single melodic line
without counter melodies and there was no musical accompaniment. The goal of Gregorian chant
was to represent the single voice of the church which is why there were no countermelodies or
distractions such as instruments. On the other hand during the Renaissance, music was no longer
monophonic and liturgical but polyphonic. What characterized the polyphonic musical texture
was that there were now two or more independent, separate melodic lines. There were two main
sacred genres which were the mass (ordinary of the mass), and the motet (proper of the

mass).Composers of polyphonic works included Josquin de Prez and Giovanni Pierluigi da

Palestrina. Josquin de Prezs Ave Maria is an excellent example of his style. It is a motet with
text from a Latin prayer and it is in polyphonic style. Opposite from Josquin de Prezs
polyphonic style, a Gregorian chant wouldnt have much variety of voices, its style is much less
complex and usually when one pitch of voices sang, the others wouldnt whereas in Ave Maria
we can hear the different voices singing at the same time. Also word painting is more prominent
which basically refers to the musical technique in which the music imitates the text. In Ave
Maria we can hear how when the words such as earth are sung, they are in lower notes but
when words like heaven or Mary are sung, they are in higher notes. This technique was new in
the Renaissance and wasnt seen during the middle ages.
Music wasnt the only area that changed from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance; there
was a significant transition in art style and techniques. Artworks during the middle ages were
more abstract such as is seen in Giotto di Bondones The Crucifixtion (The Lamentation) which
is more symbolic and doesnt represent the world as it is. The beings flying above Jesus and the
other saints represent the angels mourning for Christ and the halos around the peoples heads
represent that they are important biblical figures or saints. In Leonardo da Vincis painting The
Last Supper we see how the use of a horizon line is used as well as convergence lines which was
a new technique that flourished during the Renaissance. Jesus is the focus of the painting and the
disciples are put into groups of three which brings into play the harmonic balance in the painting
which is the result of a complex mathematical formula known as the Golden Ration- a
technique from classical Roman and Greek times.