We now arrive at the singular musical genius of Claudio Monteverdi. In any list of the most important composers in history, he’s Top 10, easily. As much as I love Tallis and Allegri, neither is on Monteverdi’s level artistically. Unlike Bach, who fully embodied his age with such mastery that (at least for me) his … Continue reading Renaissance Music IX: The End of an Era, Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643), Part I
Tag: music theory
Renaissance Music V: Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594)
All visits to Rome trace (at least in part) the career of Giovanni Palestrina, who at times was employed at Santa Maria Maggiore, the Vatican, and San Giovanni in Laterano. Palestrina is also arguably the most important composer in history, even if the most celebrated story about him turns out not to be true. No … Continue reading Renaissance Music V: Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594)
Renaissance Music I: John Dunstable (1390-1453)
It was the English composer John Dunstable who introduced the third to music, creating the unique color palette that allowed Western music to flourish. In short, a "third" is simply the third note above the root note: If your root note is a C, the third interval is an E. Thirds are referred to in … Continue reading Renaissance Music I: John Dunstable (1390-1453)
A brief introduction
At its core, music is as much mathematics as art: The godfather of Western music—all Western music—is none other than Pythagoras, the Triangle King himself. In or around 500 BC, Pythagoras developed the modern scale by taking metal bars and dividing them sequentially by 2/3 to create successive notes. Pythagoras’ scale had 12 tones—you can … Continue reading A brief introduction
A Gertus History of Music 