Listening Assignment

Listening Assignment 1

Broady Eyer

El Grillo is a piece of music made by Josquin des Prez. Josquin was a composer of the renaissance. He was born in 1450 and died August 27, 1521.

The first thing I immediately heard was their vocal instruments. It also sounds like there are few violins or cellos being played. Throughout the whole song they are singing and I can hear that there is a lot of melodic motion. Although I cannot read what they are saying, it is obvious that they are repeating notes and when they go from word to word they change their pitch. The intervals sound as if they are, in most cases, a step apart. There are many phrases within the music. This music’s dynamic seems to be mostly mezzo forte because the instruments and singers sound loud, but there are also some changes in dynamics where it gets quiet and seems to be piano. I also don’t think it would be considered quite forte because although they are loud I feel as there could be many more instruments and singers that could make the song or other songs much louder than this piece. The tempo starts a steady/medium speed and gradually increases a lot throughout the song, and then repeats. There are typically 2-4 beats per measure. The piece sounds as if it homophony because the instruments seem to be playing underneath the singing.

One way this piece of music is typical in the time period is because Renaissance music is smoother and more homogeneous. In the late Renaissance composers began to transition from polyphony to homophony. They liked that homophony emphasized on block chords and Renaissance composers from Josquin on took advantage of that. The Renaissance was a time when there was more focus on individual achievements, people began to show more interest in the world, and the ease of travel and printing books led to a widespread of European cultures. In 1534, Paul III was elected pope. Which later in 1545 he conducted the Council of Trent, although music was only discussed in the...