Most people never listen to music from the Renaissance or
Medieval eras. It’s no secret why: no funky beats, catchy melodies, or
danceable rhythms. The style is completely foreign to contemporary ears. BUT…
is it all really so unlistenable and boring?
Below are five pieces that are quirky, beautiful, crazy,
or just downright weird. 10 points if you’ve heard of any of them. 20 points if
you listen to them all the way through. How many points can you get?
5. Carlo Gesualdo: "Moro, Lasso"
Gesualdo is a famous late Renaissance composer… mostly
because he murdered his wife and her lover. As a nobleman, he basically got
away with it, but he was overcome with guilt for the remainder of his life. His
remorse is made manifest in much of his music, which is hauntingly beautiful, very
complex, and often terribly sad. “Moro, Lasso” is a quintessential example –
such extreme chromaticism would not again be heard for 200 years or more.
4. Solage: "Fumeux Fume"
Easily the strangest piece in the list. We know almost
nothing about Solage, a 14th century composer of a complicated style
of music called ars subtilior. Much
of the music in this style is rhythmically complex, but “Fumeux Fume” is unique
for not challenging rhythms, but rather harmonic and melodic weirdness.
Notably, the piece dwells on an interval called the ‘tritone’ (think the
interval from C to F#), which at that time was called ‘Diabolus in musica,’ or
the Devil in Music. It was generally diligently avoided.
3. Luca Marenzio: "Solo e pensoso"
Luca Marenzio was a 16th century composer, incredibly
influential in his day. I included this piece because of the prominent
chromatic scale at the beginning, which I think is really cool.
2. William Byrd: "Agnus Dei from Mass for 4 Voices"
As a practicing Catholic in England at a time when the
government viewed Catholics with great suspicion, William Byrd had to tread
lightly. That didn’t stop him from getting in a lot of trouble, however. This
decidedly Cathloic Mass features a remarkable section towards the end of the
Angus Dei in which there is dissonance on every single beat. In addition to
being masterfully well written, it also sounds gloriously awesome.
1. Pérotin: "Viderunt Omnes"
This might be the most obscure piece in the list. Pérotin
was an early 13th century composer who was highly regarded for his
advances in polyphony (music with multiple, independent melodies running
simultaneously. Viderunt Omnes is a very early example of polyphonic music – in
this case, three similar, though distinct, melodies are sung over a drone.