September is the "rebirth" of organized intellectual persuits in places of learning.
So fitting is it to start our musical exploration into meter, harmony, form, melody and rhythm with plain chant of Medieval times. We listened to plain chant (erroneously called Gregorian Chant), relaxing on the floor as many voices sang as one in a flowing ribbon of sound. Plain chant was the only source of music in the times preceding the Renaissance that has endured. It's unison singing brings calm to the listener, exactly as it was written to do for the monks and nuns who prayed for long spells at a time. Today, yoga instructors have discovered plain chant's calming properties and often use this music in the studio.
Now, the Renaissance is another matter, with music becoming secular and used a great deal in the home. Dancing, too, became a leisure past time. Renaissance men and women would play recorders and hand drums along with lutes. And vocal harmony now became popular, mostly through madrigal groups (groups of 6 voices singing in harmony).
At this age, Renata's class can sing harmony via the round "Oh, How Lovely is the Evening". Susan's class will try a simpler round, and Elaine's class will speak a simple ostinato ( The spider kept on working, until the day was done...) As I read the book, "The Very Busy Spider".
We have begun to learn a Branle from France, a renaissance dance accompanied by recorders and drums. We can only raise our arms so far because renaissance clothing was so heavy.
What the study of renaissance music does is allow these students to see how historical events and thought shape music.
