# I'm Back / Early Music Paper Topic?



## Turangalîla (Jan 29, 2012)

Hello my dearest of friends,

I have been very well (albeit very busy) this past year or so. There are many of you I have been thinking about specifically and hope that everything has been going peachily here at TC!

I have been faced with a paper to write-the first of my musical studies at university-and I immediately thought that some of you here might have a nugget or two to suggest. We have to write a short (only five to seven pages) research paper on _any_ topic that pertains to pre-Baroque music. We were given a couple of sample topics but they were dreadfully dull and I would much rather pick a lesser-known, more interesting subject. Any early music enthusiasts here that have any fascinating research areas to suggest? I would be particularly interested in connecting early music and religion (as theology is an area of personal interest), but I would love to hear anything anyone has to say.

I am really missing the company of like-minded friends (the folks at music school are no substitute for you people!) and I hope to be around the forum a little more these days.

Best,
Carter


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

Hey, welcome back!

Three ideas off the top of my head.

1)You could write about how the english Virginalist tradition and viol consort tradition extended and thrived well into what was stylistically, the baroque era on the continent. I'm referring to the main ones like Orlando Gibbons, John Bull, and others, but particularly later subsequent composers like William Lawes and Thomas Tomkins. 

This could get interesting as you compare and contrast with contemporary English and continental composers in the early to mid 16th century.

2)You could also write about one of the earliest and most significant composer for non organ keyboard(clavichord), Antonio de Cabezon. 

3) The struggle that many English composers had(I think mainly of Thomas Tallis) in keeping their career's afloat and remaining public figures without being hung and punished in some way, since they had a different church in power every other day(not literally, but things were pretty inconsistent with the Catholic and Anglican churches), and this also corresponded to which monarch was currently in power.


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## Turangalîla (Jan 29, 2012)

Thank you for the suggestions! All three of those were interesting topic choices so I will see what information I can dig up on those  My topic proposal is due in two days so I will work quickly!


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

You could write about the effects that the Reformation had on musical styles.


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## MagneticGhost (Apr 7, 2013)

I've read in some CD liner notes that the Italian 'Alfonso Ferrabosco' composed in England for many years and was hugely influential to Tallis and Byrd. Perhaps you could explore this influence and shine a light on this pretty obscure(ish) composer.


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## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

violadude said:


> You could write about the effects that the Reformation had on musical styles.


I was going to suggest something along those lines... I've been reading about Josquin and humanism and was intrigued to come across the idea that Savonarola might have been an inspiration for Josquin's Miserere. Even if that particular claim isn't true, Savonarola did call for greater intelligibility of texts in polyphony, which was very much what was going on in Josquin's music.


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

Please let us know how the paper goes!


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

Turangalîla said:


> Hello my dearest of friends,
> 
> I have been very well (albeit very busy) this past year or so. There are many of you I have been thinking about specifically and hope that everything has been going peachily here at TC!
> 
> ...


Check out the latest threads in the "Music and Religion" forum. Is chant tonal? Good luck on the py-anner studies!


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Don't go away!! I'm almost finishing typing it up!!!!


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## Musicforawhile (Oct 10, 2014)

I was going to mention the banned 'devil's interval,' but I guess it's not relevant now.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

clavichorder said:


> Please let us know how the paper goes!


Is that before or after grading, or only / just after its completion? :lol:


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## hreichgott (Dec 31, 2012)

Turangalîla said:


> I would be particularly interested in connecting early music and religion (as theology is an area of personal interest), but I would love to hear anything anyone has to say.


Hi Carter!
Hope all is going well and that you're happily playing up a storm.
There's quite a fascinating chapter in Taruskin about Byrd and others in England who wrote music for use in underground Catholic services after the English Reformation. Taruskin thinks the experience of being dissidents affected the music. Might be a fun place to start.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

How about attempting to document that whole legendary story of how Palestrina "saved music" by writing his _Missa Papae Marcelli_, composed in honor of Pope Marcellus II, who reigned for three weeks in 1555. Where does the legend come from? What is the "real" story?


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

Ambrosian chant. Not only is the music interesting, its history is too.


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## Turangalîla (Jan 29, 2012)

Hi folks...unfortunately, I asked this question a little too late and didn't have enough time to assemble a bibliography for any of these ideas. I ended up sending in a topic proposal of analyzing the musical-historical significance of Gesualdo's madrigals—also a very interesting topic.

However, thank you for the ideas...I will keep them in mind for my next paper!


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