Book contents
- The Cambridge History of Fifteenth-Century Music
- Series page
- The Cambridge History of Fifteenth-Century Music
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Music examples
- Notes on contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I Historiography
- Part II Improvisation and composition
- Part III Humanism
- 13 Humanism and music in Italy
- 14 Fifteenth-century humanism and music outside Italy
- 15 Poetic humanism and music in the fifteenth century
- 16 Canterinoandimprovvisatore: oral poetry and performance
- 17 Liturgical humanism: saints’ Offices from the Italian peninsula in the fifteenth century
- Part IV Music and other arts
- Part V Music in churches, courts, and cities
- Part VI Religious devotion and liturgy
- Part VII Theory and practice
- Part VIII Sources
- Part IX Genres
- Part X Reception
- Index
13 - Humanism and music in Italy
from Part III - Humanism
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 July 2015
Book contents
- The Cambridge History of Fifteenth-Century Music
- Series page
- The Cambridge History of Fifteenth-Century Music
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Music examples
- Notes on contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I Historiography
- Part II Improvisation and composition
- Part III Humanism
- 13 Humanism and music in Italy
- 14 Fifteenth-century humanism and music outside Italy
- 15 Poetic humanism and music in the fifteenth century
- 16 Canterinoandimprovvisatore: oral poetry and performance
- 17 Liturgical humanism: saints’ Offices from the Italian peninsula in the fifteenth century
- Part IV Music and other arts
- Part V Music in churches, courts, and cities
- Part VI Religious devotion and liturgy
- Part VII Theory and practice
- Part VIII Sources
- Part IX Genres
- Part X Reception
- Index
Summary
Of all the varied strands woven into the cultural fabric of Renaissance Italy, the most vivid in the quattrocento was that associated with the study of ancient literature christened "humanism" by nineteenth-century scholars. Aristotle's analysis set the agenda for humanist debates about the role of music in elite education. The idea that the history of music could be represented as a narrative of progress from generation to generation is only one example of the ways in which rhetorical literature was to influence how humanists understood and analyzed music. The earliest humanist criticism arose in the mid-fifteenth century from efforts to establish moral criteria for distinguishing good and bad music. Johannes Tinctoris's impressive musical scholarship probably played some role in winning acceptance for famous composers and singers as artists worthy of respect. The music being sung in courts, whether monodic, homophonic, or polyphonic, was increasingly written by professional composers and sung from printed books.
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- The Cambridge History of Fifteenth-Century Music , pp. 231 - 262Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2015
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