William Byrd and the Breakdown of Modality - Composer Insights
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Date: 2022-03-28
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Comments and reviews: 10
Franz
Dear Gareth, you're totally right to point out that it's not very appropriate to see Renaissance music through a modern harmonic looking glass rather than to recognize its modality. I wonder a little bit why you chose to present the piece in a modern transcription being transposed a whole tone lower to the finalis c, being originally a mode in re, i.e. on d (d Aeolian one might say). These modern transpositions are all the more misleading to a major-minor-related thinking. I would always recommend to show the original notation to be more sure about the mode a Renaissance piece represents. Also I personally prefer the appearance of the original note values in white mensural notation, by which one usually can differentiate between the fundamental note values (breves/double whole notes, semi breves/whole notes and minims/half notes) which carry the harmonic substance and the declamation of the text syllables, and the smaller (black) values semi minims/crotchets/quarter notes and fuses/quavers/eigth notes that fulfill the task of ornamentation and melismatic coloratura. The music looks differently in the old mensural notation habits, it has an esthetic of its own, different to the narrow space of a modern 4/4 bar, more breathing.
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Dear Gareth, you're totally right to point out that it's not very appropriate to see Renaissance music through a modern harmonic looking glass rather than to recognize its modality. I wonder a little bit why you chose to present the piece in a modern transcription being transposed a whole tone lower to the finalis c, being originally a mode in re, i.e. on d (d Aeolian one might say). These modern transpositions are all the more misleading to a major-minor-related thinking. I would always recommend to show the original notation to be more sure about the mode a Renaissance piece represents. Also I personally prefer the appearance of the original note values in white mensural notation, by which one usually can differentiate between the fundamental note values (breves/double whole notes, semi breves/whole notes and minims/half notes) which carry the harmonic substance and the declamation of the text syllables, and the smaller (black) values semi minims/crotchets/quarter notes and fuses/quavers/eigth notes that fulfill the task of ornamentation and melismatic coloratura. The music looks differently in the old mensural notation habits, it has an esthetic of its own, different to the narrow space of a modern 4/4 bar, more breathing.
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Johannes
Thank you very much for this great explanation. I am from germany and always was frustrated by musical theory. In Germany kids are told musical theory by the functional concept of Riemann. This never explaindes the music I was interested in tings like old music and -modern- stuff like Santana, Pink Floyd and so on. Thanks to the internet I found the concept of roman numerals, accord scale theory, the concept of modal interchange and so on and this really solved sort of a knot in my brain. Since my early days I have been feeling music as modes in sort of colors and emotion. And now I get to know that this is completly all right. MAking music whilst knowing what is going on is so much more fun. And it makes you so fast :-) And perfect intonation in choral music is much easier to achieve.
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Thank you very much for this great explanation. I am from germany and always was frustrated by musical theory. In Germany kids are told musical theory by the functional concept of Riemann. This never explaindes the music I was interested in tings like old music and -modern- stuff like Santana, Pink Floyd and so on. Thanks to the internet I found the concept of roman numerals, accord scale theory, the concept of modal interchange and so on and this really solved sort of a knot in my brain. Since my early days I have been feeling music as modes in sort of colors and emotion. And now I get to know that this is completly all right. MAking music whilst knowing what is going on is so much more fun. And it makes you so fast :-) And perfect intonation in choral music is much easier to achieve.
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Randolph
Thanks, another good one! I took a semester course in Renaissance modal music a few years ago, and this video brought it all back. As I recall, much of the musica ficta was not notated -- rather, the performer was expected to know where to change the notes. In the notation for this Byrd piece, is the musica ficta notated? Also, I remember that great care was taken to use primarily consonant intervals among the parts, with dissonance only sparingly used -- and immediately resolved.
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Thanks, another good one! I took a semester course in Renaissance modal music a few years ago, and this video brought it all back. As I recall, much of the musica ficta was not notated -- rather, the performer was expected to know where to change the notes. In the notation for this Byrd piece, is the musica ficta notated? Also, I remember that great care was taken to use primarily consonant intervals among the parts, with dissonance only sparingly used -- and immediately resolved.
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Tim
Thanks for this, it was really enjoyable and informative. Being a teacher of contemporary music I've always said to students that when you take jazz into account, there are basically two definitions of modal music - the style you're alluding to here, and the jazz modal style, which is of course songs that have many bars of the same chord and where the improvisation will essentially utilise one particular modal scale over that chord.
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Thanks for this, it was really enjoyable and informative. Being a teacher of contemporary music I've always said to students that when you take jazz into account, there are basically two definitions of modal music - the style you're alluding to here, and the jazz modal style, which is of course songs that have many bars of the same chord and where the improvisation will essentially utilise one particular modal scale over that chord.
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mathyys
You say say that erlier in the Renaissance period one would have expected a non-altered modal interpretation (Bflat etc..). But Guillaume de Machaut for instance is late Medieval but is widely interpreted with ficta leading tones (even doule leading tones !!).
So it seems to me that strictly modal viewpoint disappeared somewhere in medieval development of polyphony. I do not know when hough, that' s a great question.
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You say say that erlier in the Renaissance period one would have expected a non-altered modal interpretation (Bflat etc..). But Guillaume de Machaut for instance is late Medieval but is widely interpreted with ficta leading tones (even doule leading tones !!).
So it seems to me that strictly modal viewpoint disappeared somewhere in medieval development of polyphony. I do not know when hough, that' s a great question.
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Jon
Why no good music in England until the 20th century? The protestant regression... revolt... re-formation was in full force and rejected anything beautiful and true that was Catholic. It was the same everywhere regression theology enslaved the populous. Except maybe Germany where Luther still encouraged music. But they still had to start over and rebuild after rejecting orthodoxy and reason.
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Why no good music in England until the 20th century? The protestant regression... revolt... re-formation was in full force and rejected anything beautiful and true that was Catholic. It was the same everywhere regression theology enslaved the populous. Except maybe Germany where Luther still encouraged music. But they still had to start over and rebuild after rejecting orthodoxy and reason.
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iLeftism
Hello Gareth, first of all thank you for all you do for us! I'm trying to re-create this piece using Cubase and some choirs, however Tenor looks very hight in treble clef. the second note seems to be C4 which is very high for tenor, right? Am I missing something? or is it a typo in clef symbol? shouldn't it be alto or bass clef? Looking forward to reply, thank you!
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Hello Gareth, first of all thank you for all you do for us! I'm trying to re-create this piece using Cubase and some choirs, however Tenor looks very hight in treble clef. the second note seems to be C4 which is very high for tenor, right? Am I missing something? or is it a typo in clef symbol? shouldn't it be alto or bass clef? Looking forward to reply, thank you!
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John
Byrd is one of my favourite composers. I have many keyboard works which I play on my virginal. However, after over 50 years of harmonic music, it's nice to hear modal music. So, which do I prefer? It would probably have to do with what I-m hankering for at the moment.
Thank you so much for your analysis of this wonderful William Byrd piece.
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Byrd is one of my favourite composers. I have many keyboard works which I play on my virginal. However, after over 50 years of harmonic music, it's nice to hear modal music. So, which do I prefer? It would probably have to do with what I-m hankering for at the moment.
Thank you so much for your analysis of this wonderful William Byrd piece.
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Mater
My all time favourite composer. Thanks for shedding light on his music. Prophetic indeed. The sadness in his music always moves me. Very generous of you to offer such help. True spirit of Byrd himself who always looked to encourage people in faith through his beautiful music.
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My all time favourite composer. Thanks for shedding light on his music. Prophetic indeed. The sadness in his music always moves me. Very generous of you to offer such help. True spirit of Byrd himself who always looked to encourage people in faith through his beautiful music.
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notshi
So interesting! Thank you for this snapshot of a composer I am not familiar with. I only found out about Byrd via his '14 Pieces for Keyed Instruments' when I was looking for a keyboard transcription of John Dowland's 'Lord Willoughby's welcome Home'. Beautiful pieces!
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So interesting! Thank you for this snapshot of a composer I am not familiar with. I only found out about Byrd via his '14 Pieces for Keyed Instruments' when I was looking for a keyboard transcription of John Dowland's 'Lord Willoughby's welcome Home'. Beautiful pieces!
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