Remember writing all of your notes for a test on a notecard in the tiniest handwriting you could manage? This chart is kind of like that. Early Music Sources explains it all, with some bonus shoutouts to Thomas Morley!
Castello Sonata Prima!
My listening examples are often vocal music (a side effect of being a singer), but what about the development of instrumental solo genres? Early Music Sources takes this on in a fantastic video with shoutouts to Dario Castello and Salomone Rossi!
Lamentations
The service of Tenebrae has been my favorite Holy Week experience since I first experienced it in 2010, though I've never sung any of the exquisite settings of the Lamentations (Dear Universe... *hint*). Check out this awesome video from Early Music Sources about the Lamentations and how Lassus and Cavalieri wrote their settings!
Ut queant laxis
Ever wonder where solfège/solmization syllables come from? The Gregorian chant hymn "Ut queant laxis" for the feast of John the Baptist (June 24th)! Read more here…
"Neapolitan" 6th chord?
The "Neapolitan 6th" chord - what is it (other than something to trip you up on theory tests) and how Neapolitan is it really??? Early Music Sources tells all about this exciting chromatic "flavor".
Sweelinck's Theme and Variations
Theme and variations = my favorite musical form. How else can composers show off their skill and give the audience an ear worm at the same time? Case in point: this fantastic one by Sweelinck, plus helpful analysis by Early Music Sources!
Burmeister and rhetoric
The term "rhetoric" is thrown around frequently when discussing early music - but what does it really refer to? Check out this awesome video by Early Music Sources (and epic motet by Lassus)!
Vincenzo Galilei and word painting
Frightening children, a lame ox, unintelligible words - clearly the sky was falling! At least, that was what Vincenzo Galilei thought about polyphonic word painting... More in this fantastic video from Early Music Sources!
Stretto fuga - a masterpiece of two intervals
How much can you really do with two intervals? If you were a Renaissance composer, quite a bit! Early Music Sources explains the stretto fuga with some fantastic examples from Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610!
Word Painting
We've talked about word painting a tiny bit, but Early Music Sources does a fantastic job of explaining the different types!