Submitted by jsdubois015 on Fri, 02/26/2010 - 17:14
While driving around the other day, I had the radio on the local classical station. The current program was doing a comparison between the works of Thomas Tallis and his lesser-known contemporary John Shephard. To be honest, this was the first time I had actually listened to any Renaissance music for quite some time. Yet, it was incredibly refreshing. There is something about the music of the Renaissance, of Palestrina and Allegri, Tallis and Monteverdi, that, even today, possesses a unique and striking quality. Maybe it's the purity of the music, or the solemn character. For me, Renaissance music seems to defy time. The music flows and moves and it seems to escape the necessity of rhythm, yet at the same time it possesses rhythm. Robert Schumann once referred to the works of Palestrina as the "music of the spheres." There certainly is a harmony about Renaissance music that extends beyond the mere notes that form the interweaving lines. So, I am definitely going to have explore again this great period of music that I have, perhaps, unwisely neglected.
Rediscovering the Past
Submitted by jsdubois015 on Fri, 02/26/2010 - 17:14
While driving around the other day, I had the radio on the local classical station. The current program was doing a comparison between the works of Thomas Tallis and his lesser-known contemporary John Shephard. To be honest, this was the first time I had actually listened to any Renaissance music for quite some time. Yet, it was incredibly refreshing. There is something about the music of the Renaissance, of Palestrina and Allegri, Tallis and Monteverdi, that, even today, possesses a unique and striking quality. Maybe it's the purity of the music, or the solemn character. For me, Renaissance music seems to defy time. The music flows and moves and it seems to escape the necessity of rhythm, yet at the same time it possesses rhythm. Robert Schumann once referred to the works of Palestrina as the "music of the spheres." There certainly is a harmony about Renaissance music that extends beyond the mere notes that form the interweaving lines. So, I am definitely going to have explore again this great period of music that I have, perhaps, unwisely neglected.