The Effects of the Attitudes and Behaviors of the Christian Church Towards Music from the Medieval Era to the Renaissance Era

Location

Sydnor Performance Hall, Schewel Hall

Access Type

Open Access

Entry Number

108

Start Date

4-5-2023 10:30 AM

End Date

4-5-2023 10:45 AM

College

Lynchburg College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Music

Abstract

Sacred music has played an important part in its development in western society, as seen in the development of Christian music from the Medieval to Renaissance era (476 – 1600). With the intent of improving music pedagogy, the purpose of this research was to investigate the attitudes and behaviors of the Christian church towards the development of music from the Medieval to Renaissance Era. The particular problems of this study were (1) to identify the usage of music in the Catholic Church; (2) analyze their attitudes and behaviors towards music; (3) examine the effects of the Protestant Reformation on the music of the Lutheran and Calvinist Churches; and (4) compare and contrast representative Catholic and Protestant hymns of these eras.

In the Medieval era, the Catholic church utilized music to create an ambient space for connection with God. In the Renaissance era, Catholic music began to break away from this mold, but was still generally inaccessible to the average follower. The Protestant Reformation accompanied a great schism in the Christian church, the music of the most prominent Protestant denominations overall was made to reach the general population and utilized different composition forms to achieve this. This change in Christian liturgical music across the Medieval and Renaissance era is exhibited in the significant changes in textures, melody, note range, harmony, and rhythm in representative Catholic and Protestant hymns. This analysis directly serves to advance musical pedagogy by offering a different way at approaching context-based learning by providing learners with the social lens through which to interpret music. Moreover, this research seeks to provide a point of connection for the modern era.

Faculty Mentor(s)

Dr. Cynthia Ramsey

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Apr 5th, 10:30 AM Apr 5th, 10:45 AM

The Effects of the Attitudes and Behaviors of the Christian Church Towards Music from the Medieval Era to the Renaissance Era

Sydnor Performance Hall, Schewel Hall

Sacred music has played an important part in its development in western society, as seen in the development of Christian music from the Medieval to Renaissance era (476 – 1600). With the intent of improving music pedagogy, the purpose of this research was to investigate the attitudes and behaviors of the Christian church towards the development of music from the Medieval to Renaissance Era. The particular problems of this study were (1) to identify the usage of music in the Catholic Church; (2) analyze their attitudes and behaviors towards music; (3) examine the effects of the Protestant Reformation on the music of the Lutheran and Calvinist Churches; and (4) compare and contrast representative Catholic and Protestant hymns of these eras.

In the Medieval era, the Catholic church utilized music to create an ambient space for connection with God. In the Renaissance era, Catholic music began to break away from this mold, but was still generally inaccessible to the average follower. The Protestant Reformation accompanied a great schism in the Christian church, the music of the most prominent Protestant denominations overall was made to reach the general population and utilized different composition forms to achieve this. This change in Christian liturgical music across the Medieval and Renaissance era is exhibited in the significant changes in textures, melody, note range, harmony, and rhythm in representative Catholic and Protestant hymns. This analysis directly serves to advance musical pedagogy by offering a different way at approaching context-based learning by providing learners with the social lens through which to interpret music. Moreover, this research seeks to provide a point of connection for the modern era.