Representing Beauty Musically in 1600 Term Paper

Introduction

Music has evolved over the centuries with a progression from elementary works of art to the complicated and more entertaining compositions of the present age. Music has been used for various purposes leading to the development of the numerous genres. Traditionally, love and romance were common themes in most works of art. Alongside them, the theme of beauty has evolved in a significant manner.

An essential period in the history of music is the 1600 where there was a transformation in Europe from the period of the renaissance to the Baroque era. The transformation was in all avenues of life including music. This period is presented in the change of composition between the two periods. Famous composers, performers, and musicians lived in this age. They are celebrated over the centuries.

Among them are famous composers such as George Frideric Handel, Antonio Vivaldi, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Claudio Monteverdi. They made changes in musical techniques, instrumentation, and themes. Moreover, opera emerged as a genre during this period of history.

With it came the theme of beauty represented in the dressing and musical compositions presented therein. The essay focuses on the changes taking place in the era of 1600, their significance in music, and the presentation of beauty in the music composed and played during this time.

Changes in the 1600s

The seventeenth century was part of the renaissance age, which was characterized as the reclamation of culture with a progression in art, music, literature, science, and education (Mendelssohn 1956, 24).

It stands out as a period that saw changes in music in terms of sound and composition with English composers breaking off from the tradition of dissonance that was the essence of music on the European continent at that time to more uniform lines that encouraged sonority above everything.

These changes in music composition brought up a new style, the English style, whose leading composer John Dunstable and his contemporaries used a technique called faburden (Walton 1988, 24). Other proficiencies such “as taking the chant melody and putting it in the superiors” (Mendelssohn 1956, 25) were also employed.

These changes in English music composition were a source of inspiration to composers all over Europe to raise their music to the next level of its development.

It was during this period that “music in particular was thought of as an expressive art to move the emotions and sway the senses” (Walton 1988, 24) bringing with it the senses of humanism. In his motet ‘O Rosa Bella’, Johannes Ciconia shows the humanistic approach to music, which made it elicit an emotional response besides appealing to the senses based on the sweet fragrance of a rose combined with its beauty.

It stands out as a song that inspired many composers to set poetry into music without excluding the famous John Dunstable. The end of the renaissance period saw the birth of several song genres including the Parisian chanson and the Italian madrigal, an all-voice piece, which sounded every phrase of music for one line of text, which had become famous by the late 1590s thus extending into the Baroque period (Krausz 1993, 54).

The term madrigal was in general a reference to a range of “poetical types including the sonnet, balata, canzone, or poems that were meant to be specifically composed as madrigals” (Mendelssohn 1956, 24). The late 1590s and early 1600s also saw the emergence of a new vocal technique in Italy, the Bel Canto, which means beautiful singing. Italian singers used this florid style of singing in art songs and operas.

It was developed in the search for divine vocal beauty. It was based on the Idea of ease, purity, evenness of tone production, and a skilled use of voice. This search led to the development of the opera, the first opera being the Euridice (Krausz 1993, 54).

Operas

Gesualdo’s madrigal is a marvellous example of representation of beauty in any piece of work in this period. Gesualdo used descriptive music to express the theme of beauty for a woman during his time (Schulenberg 2001, 23). He tried to bring out this theme alongside the theme of romance in his expression of love for the newfound love. He achieved this by his choice of words in the composition.

An opera is a class of prowess that was considered possibly the most complicated and beautiful, as it “combined singing, orchestral music, acting, costumes, and scenery and dancing” (Slonimsky 1965, 74). It uses the enormous capacity of music to communicate feeling since music is believed to convey feelings more profoundly than verbal lyrics.

Operas skilfully show how vocal and orchestral music can induce happiness, cause an individual to think ,or move one into sadness, a concept that makes it a more beautiful form of music. The initial operas such as those performed by the camerata consisted of Greek tragedies and Roman mythologies (Robinson 1998, 34). They were known as opera in musica. Opera was declared an artistic form during the Baroque period in 1600-1750.

The music during this period was characteristically elaborate and emotional (Slonimsky, 1965, p.74). This was a period known for its love for magnificence and splendour, as expressed in their music.

In the 1600s, the operas were performed such that the characters were able to convey their emotions and sentiments besides flaunting their vocal prowess, which was not only a beautiful but also a moving feat. This vocal artistry flourished in the 1600s.

Claudio Monteverdi’s first opera masterpiece, Orofeo, made Venice the centre of the opera in the 1600s. It was a forerunner of greater works to come. How was beauty represented in the music?

Beauty in the Music

The 17th century represents the last year of the renaissance period and one of the centuries with some of the greatest musicians to ever walk the earth. The 1600 also marks the beginning of the Baroque Era. Beauty in the 1600 was adequately presented in music by the various artists of the era. Various writers have referred the music in this era as classical and one that is full of emotional intrigues (Raffman 1993, 76).

In presenting emotions and feelings, the opera music was successful in presenting love and resentment. However, beauty also emerged as a popular theme for musicians in operas and concerts. In his article, Mendelssohn states that music in this century had a common theme of beauty that effectively represented the then field of music.

Opera music in this era was not just meant to represent beauty but also to evoke the feeling of beauty. In his book, Kendall Walton (1988) argues that music should evoke feelings beyond the anticipated effect, which include the feeling of beauty. Beauty is also a common theme in most works of art in this century, and is usually used to express emotion (Levingson 1990, c).

Although beauty is presented in the wording of the musical pieces done in this era, the performances in the operas were also a show of beauty. The Baroque era featured the use of ‘Basso Continuo’ that was an instrumental piece accompanying the music though independent of it but often requiring a chordal instrument.

This stood as an effective way of presenting beauty in complexity that resulted therein, as it allowed flexibility in the music. An example of a famous composer during this time is Handel. He was born in an age where people began to attach attention to proper behavior and physical appearance (Levinson 1990, 53).

The rich used clothing to make them beautiful by attaching gold and silver to their clothing and coats to display their wealth. Embroidered waistcoats were worn when slightly open. This would reveal their shirts made of sheer linen and expensive ruffles. Wigs were worn on the heads of fashionable men, a case that was closely defined in the music made at this time.

Most o the musicians including Handel and Gesualdo were drawn in this types of attire, and their music was consistent with it. Perruquiers were specialists who looked after these wigs, as they were precious to their owners (Shusterman 2000, 98). In Handel’s music, “a remarkable ointment for the scalp and hair called Pomatum were used to keep the wigs curly” (Slonimsky 1965, 77).

It is also in the music that one learns that thieves would steal the wigs from these famous men, as it would fetch a lot of money in the black market. Women in the songs were even outlandish than men, and were defined as having a high hair that towered above their heads. This made them appear taller in relation to men. In the music, taller and slim women with tiny waists were considered attractive with suitors going after them.

On their head was “a head cushion with large curls on each side, which was meant to give a decoration to the head as a hairstyle base” (Bowman 2005, 34). Hoops were more common in this age. Women wore them under their skirts to make them appear larger below the waist. The skirts would bulge out below the knee to make the umbrella appearance.

All these were the definition of beauty at this age, and a fair deal of music in operas was performed in these attires. The bulk of people who went to operas would enjoy the beauty of music and the outlandish clothing worn in them.

Although this was considered beautiful, it would be regarded otherwise in the present day era. Most of the women skirts would take up more space along the sidewalk. Behind them would be a long train of the dress, which would make the current-day streets hard to walk on.

Despite the above shortcomings, the representation of beauty in music in the 1600s was effectively done. This was a departure from the current-day operas and musical pieces. However, the makeup worn in the present era also finds a place in the 1600 operas (Bowman 2005, 34).

Women would prefer pale skin, as it was beautiful to them. Men also preferred women with pale skin. Handel described most of the beautiful women as having a pale skin. To achieve this, he described white lead as the ornament of choice. Lips would be covered with a colored plaster or red leather with a black lead covering the eyebrows if they had not been replaced with synthetic ones.

In most of the 1600 music and operas, people with patches on the face covering smallpox scars or at times expressing political opinions rather than beauty frequently wore false teeth. A distinctive accent was also common among women. This was because of the cork balls they put in the mouth to make their cheeks appear rounder and bigger (Bowman 2005, 35).

In one of the operas, wealthy “women would carry a case full of scent bottles with the rest carrying purses of their favorite scents” (Bowman 2005, 34). These, as they appeared in the musical pieces, would mask the smells that people had out of not showering. Music in this era was therefore an effective tool to represent beauty. The composers were adroit at the presentation.

Conclusion

In conclusion, 1600 was a momentous period in the development of music. The use of creative art to present the theme of beauty was evident in the music alongside other works of art. George Frideric Handel used his musical compositions to bring out this theme in an effective way.

The descriptions of beautiful women and heir suitors are evident in the operas at this age as seen above with the description of most linen and ornaments worn.

Another significant work presenting the theme of beauty was Gesualdo’s madrigal, which described the women he encountered besides his love life. In summary, the period under scrutiny can be described as the period that saw the dawn of beauty that is evident in virtually all classes of music today.

References

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Krausz, Michael. The Interpretation of Music. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.

Levinson, Jerrold. Music, Art, and Metaphysics. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1990.

Mendelssohn, Felix. Letter to Marc-Andre Souchay. In S. Morgenstern (ed.), Composeys on Music: An Antholofly of Composeys’ Wyitinflsfyom Palestha to Copland. New York: Pantheon Books, 1956.

Raffman, Derrick. Lanpafle, Music, and Mind. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1993.

Robinson, Jenefer. The Expression and Arousal of Emotion in Music. In P. Alperson (ed.), Musical Worlds: New Directions in the Philosophy of Music. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1998.

Schulenberg, David. Music of the Baroque: An Anthology of Scores. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.

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Slonimsky, Nicholas. Lexicon of Musical Invective: Critical Assaults on Composers since Beethoven’s Time. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1965.

Walton, K. (1988). “What is Abstract About the Art of Music?.” Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 46, no. 1 (1988): 351-64.