Music and Role in the Renaissance

Music and its Functions and Roles

Music has always been an integral part of human civilization. It is what binds individuals to their culture, people to their country. From the majestic stories of India to the concert halls of Vienna to the radio station playing mariachi music here in LA, music pervades our lives. Since our beginnings, music has accompanied rituals and ceremonies, and as time passed, began to fill other roles in religion, society, education, and entertainment. Within these different categories, music served to educate, unite, provide accompaniment to activities, and also function as a means of courtship. Like all things, however, philosophers found inherent dangers and benefits of music.

Music served various purposes throughout the history of mankind. Its development and the attitudes surrounding it have changed as time elapsed. Plato felt that it was beneath the elite to listen to music for pure enjoyment, stating that only "commonplace people" hired the services of women to dance and sing for their enjoyment. The elite should believe that music to be used for higher purposes, such as celebrating religion, education and ritual. Conversely, Aristotle believed that music could be used for the purposes of entertainment and relaxation, as long as it was not excessive nor distracting. Along with the emergence of the Renaissance came the movement of Humanism. Humanism stated that the cultivated and sophisticated aristocrat should be able to write poetry and compose music as easily as lead a brave army into battle. Music for them was encouraged as a pastime, and having musical ability during the late sixteenth century was critical to being popular in polite society because music took a new social function. A conversation between the Count and Lord Gaspar in Castiglione's book revealed an appreciation for the qualities of music during the time of the Renaissance. Prior to the renaissance, music was an art enjoyed only by the elite. However, two developments took place that lead to the availability and popularity of music to the masses. The invention of the printing press allowed music to be distributed and sold to the masses in quantities unheard of. That, coupled with the emergence of an affluent middle class and their desire to be cultivated led to the shift of artists seeking indirect patronage from the public. The impacts of that shift are apparent even today. Recordings of popular artists can be obtained nearly anywhere, as well as their music. However, some things that have not changed are the roles that music fulfills.

Music serves a variety of functions, of which include roles in religion, society, education, and personal amusement. Music was an integral part of religious service virtually from the very beginning of the Christian Church. Activities such as dancing, singing and acting have been a part of religious rituals even before the establishment of the Christian church. In fact, it has even been said that the development of Greek tragedy was linked to religious celebrations. In Catholic churches, music was seen to be a gift from god, a "honey for the bitter medicine" in religion. St. Basil stated that music was given to mankind because of our sinful inclination toward pleasure, that "He [God] devised for us these harmonious melodies of the psalms, that they who are children in age or even those who are youthful in disposition might all appearances chant, but, in reality, become trained in the soul." In the Protestant church, music was viewed similarly. Johann Walther of Germany spoke of Martin Luther, "Martin Luther took great pleasure both in plainsong and polyphonic music. I spent many hours singing with him and saw how happy and joyful he was then. He could never get enough of music and he spoke about it magnificently..." Opposing views, however, did exist. Radical reformists Zwingli and Calvin both believed that music was superfluous, and distracted from the worship of God. Zwingli even went as far as to destroy superfluous ornaments, religious vestments, books, relics, paintings and church organs to purge the church from all things that interfered with the worship of God. Calvin was less extreme. He appreciated the powers of music, but worried that music would spread ideas and behaviors that were unacceptable. The majority of the religious leaders found that music was an essential part of their religious service. They also believed that song united the worshippers. It instilled within them a sense of belonging and solidarity.

For polite society, music also had its proper role and functions. With the advent of Humanism and all that entailed, a new ideal of the cultured and sophisticated gentleman emerged. No longer was a capable ruler just a military leader, but also had to be well rounded and versed in the arts. In this sense, music served as a subversive statement to status. To show neighboring dukes and ambassadors the affluence of the ruling family, courts would often hire and retain groups of professional musicians, purchase expensive instruments, and commission performances to show that if they could spend that much money on a luxury like music, imagine the size of the mercenary army they could garner if need be. Other than being an indicator of status, music was also used in polite society for dance, courting rituals, and as entertainment. Various forms of song became popular during Renaissance, including the Burgundian Chanson, Italian Frottola, the Spanish villancico, and German Lied. They were poems of courtly love, the genre where a nobleman professes his unwavering faith toward a woman who either of higher social status, already married, or does not reciprocate his affections. For the lower classes however, music was for leisure, as an accompaniment to festivities and special occasions. Often you could find street performers in the streets, performing for the public