The Renaissance

  • Period: 1300 to 1377

    Guillaume de Machaut writes the Ars Nova

    Guillaume de Machaut writes the "Ars Nova" some time during his lifetime (the exact date is unclear by historians. This piece of music was very significant, as it paved the way towards modern notation.
  • Period: 1419 to 1467

    Philip the good's musicians

    Phillip the good as his reign as Duke of Burgundy kept a large group of musicians that was an unusal ensemble for the time. While most musical ensembles were based around larger choirs with instruments sprinkled in here and there. Phillip the good had a large group of different instrumentalist which to me personally somewhat resembles the modern day orchestra. It included Trumpeters, harpist, lutenist, organist, drummers, bagpipers and shawm players.
  • 1476

    New musical textures developed

    New musical textures developed
    Josquin des Prez invents the concept of counterpoint. which becomes very popular through out the 1500's. Other musical textures that come about during this time period include Canons, inversion, diminution, and augmentation.
  • 1477

    Johannes Tinctoris claims there has been a rebirth of art music

    Johannes Tinctoris claims there has been a rebirth of art music
    Johannes Tinctoris (a music theorist) in the "Liber de arte contrapuncti" claims that there has been a stylistic rebirth of art music. He said the founders were John Dunstable, Gilles Binchois, and Guillaume Dufay.
  • 1500

    The usage of five to eight voice parts in music became increasingly more popular

  • 1500

    Dynamic marking come about

    The first case of dynamic indication is used in the early 1500's
  • 1540

    Catholic Church calls for the seperation of secular and sacred music

    Catholic Church calls for the seperation of secular and sacred music
    When a composer borrowed previously written melodic ideas in secular music and put them in sacred music they were working on it was called a "Cantus Firmi". This caused secular music and sacred music to sound increasingly similar. But due to church reforms this practice was no longer allowed .
  • 1540

    Madrigals emerge as a new genre

    Madrigals becomes a new genre of sacred music rivaling the cantus firmus. Madrigals were a much more poetic kind of music.