Page 83 - ESSENTIAL LISTENING TO MUSIC

humanism: text and music must work together to persuade and move the lis- tener. They must persuade the Virgin Mary as well, for they plead with her to intercede on behalf of the needy soul at the hour of death.
Finally, notice in our recording of Josquin’s Ave Maria that no instruments accompany the voices. This unaccompanied mode of performance is called a cappella singing (Figure 4.13), and this style has been a hallmark of the Sistine Chapel since its foundation in the late fifteenth century. Even today the pope’s Sistine Chapel sings all its religious music—chant, Masses, and motets—without organ or any other instruments. If you belong to an a cappella singing group today, you are perpetuating this ancient style of performance.
Listening Cue
Josquin Desprez, Ave Maria (c. 1485)
Genre: Motet
Texture: Polyphonic
FiguRE 4.13
During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, women sang with women and men with men, but not in mixed ensembles. In this sixteenth-century Italian fresco we see an all-male choir with choirboys singing the soprano. The most common practice for a polyphonic choir, however, required that the soprano
part be sung by adult males in what is called “head voice,” or falsetto. Beginning in 1562, the castrato (castrated male) voice was introduced into the Sistine Chapel, mainly as a money-saving measure—one adult castrato could produce as much sound as three choirboys. <
watch . . . Alesandro Moreschi, the “Last Castrato,” online.
what to listen for: Opening using imitation (0:00), five sections (0:46, 1:20, 1:58, 2:26, 3:03) commemorating the
events in the life of the Virgin, and a final plea for salvation (3:58)
READ . . . a detailed Listening Guide of this selection online. LiSTEN TO . . . this selection streaming online.
WATCH . . . an Active Listening Guide of this selection online. DO . . . Listening Exercise 4.2, Josquin, Ave Maria, online.
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