Musical humanism
research‘Musical Humanism and Lute Songs in Italian Renaissance’, Annals for Aesthetics, 44 (2007–8) (to be published)
The tendency for a return to the virtues and norms of the ancient Greek and Roman world had direct impact on the Italian Renaissance musical thought. As the complex, multi-layered texture of Renaissance music impended the comprehensible delivery of the text and it was not consistent with the simplicity and the directness of the ancient Greek monody, new ways of musical expression were sought in order to achieve a distinctive delivery of the text in accordance with the musical and rhetorical models of antiquity. Despite the fact that no fundamental changes occurred in the actual musical language, the result of the tendency was the emergence of solo song on the accompaniment of an instrument, with the solo voice bearer of the meanings of the words and the passions they communicated. The preferred instrument for the accompaniment was the lute since, for Renaissance literary men, the lute often symbolized Orpheus’ lyre and also because it allowed the interpretation of polyphonic textures. Regarding the desirable return to the ancient principles, these solo lute songs had a character more symbolic rather than re-creative. However, the Renaissance symbolism served as the foundation for the important stylistic musical changes that took place with the transition to the seventeenth century.
Published by theodoros on July 25th, 2008
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