Dufays Nuper Rosarum Flores Analysis

Dufays Nuper Rosarum Flores Analysis Guillaum Dufay [Dufay] is described in Guillaume Dufay and the early Renaissance-Howard Mayer Brown as the greatest of the early 15th-century Burgundian composers and one of the great figures in the history of western European music. He is credited as being mainly responsible for initiating the Renaissance [meaning rebirth] in music. Nuper rosarum flores is among the most spectacular musical creations of the period. Giannozzo Manetti, who was a politician, described the first performance of Du Fays Nuper rosarum flores as follows- ...it seemed as though the symphonies and songs of the angels and of divine paradise had been sent forth from Heaven to whisper in our ears an unbelievable celestial sweetness [The Renaissance Idea of Wisdom. by Eugene F. Rice, Jr.] In this essay I will discuss the musical background, function and characteristics of Dufays Nuper rosarum flores. Background In order to understand the musical background of Nuper rosarum flores it is necessary to examine the composer and his music. Dufay was born in 1397 and raised by his mother. It is not certain whether he actually ever knew his father but it would seem that his father was not involved in his life. Dufay spent his early life in Cambrai living with a relative who was a canon of the Cambrai Cathedral, which is situated in Northern France. He became a choir boy at aged 12 and his musical talents quickly impressed. By 1418 he was already a priest and a sub-deacon. In 1428 he joined a papal choir, which was considered a great honour and was one of the highest positions for a musician during the fifteenth century. It is right to recognise that most 15th Century composers were trained as choir boys and many Cathedrals and chapels taught not only singing but also music theory, grammar, mathematics and other subjects. This was only the privilege of men as women did not have such an opportunity. Whilst some Nuns and Novices in convents did receive some musical instruction only a very few were ever regarded as distinguished composers. [ Music in the Renaissance -The History of Modern Music] Dufay quickly became a well-known and much respected composer. He travelled frequently across Europe spending a great deal of time in Italy introducing him to perhaps the most advanced musical thinking of his time which influenced much of his writing. He was Chapel master between 1433-35 and again 1437-39 at the Court of Amadeus VIII, King Duke of Savoy. In 1439 a Church council deposed the then Pope and elected Amadeus as Pope. Dufay escaped from the conflict this created and returned to his principal home in Cambrai where he was ultimately appointed Canon of the Cathedral. [ England and Burgundy in the 15th Century, a History of western Music-J Peter Burnholder, Donald Jay Grout Claude Palisca] Dufays musical background enabled him to write a lot of relatively short sacred pieces, in Latin, the function of which was to accompany the liturgical service of the Mass as well as a number of longer and more detailed motets especially dedicated to the Virgin Mary resembling chant. Many musicians and historians suggest that his most impressive and most complex compositions were his isorhythmic motets which were written for a particular historical occasion or a grand occasion like the wedding of a prince; the signing of a peace treaty; or as was the case with Nuper rosarum flores [The Rose Blossoms] the dedication of a Church. Nuper rosarum flores is seen by many musicologists and historians as a truly brilliant isorhythmic motet. Simply explained the definition of an Isorhythm [Greek for the same rhythm] is a musical technique that arranges a fixed pattern of pitches with a repeating rhythmic pattern and a Motet is an unaccompanied choral work. The isorhythmic motet was intended to be sung as part of the church service. According to McComb, Todd M.- Guillaume Dufay (1397-1474) A discography. During his lifetime Dufay completed seven masses, 28 individual Mass movements, 27 hymns, 22 motets (13 isorhythmic), in addition to a variety of additional pieces from plainchant to secular pieces, all of which were spectacular. Before he died Dufay wrote a Requiem mass [now said to be lost] to be sung at his funeral and asked for the best singers from the cathedral sing his motet Ave regina caelorum [Hail, Queen of Heaven] to him on his deathbed. By the time of his death in 1474 Dufay was an extremely wealthy man. He was buried in the chapel of St. Etienne in the cathedral of Cambrai. His portrait was carved onto his tombstone which is now in a museum in Lille. His music survives because nearly 100 manuscripts were copied in Europe between 15th and 16 the Century to preserve them. Had that not have happened his works would have been lost as existing only in his mind. Thankfully in the late 19th and early 20th Century Dufays music was revived and many of the works were edited and transcribed into modern notation and published again for future generations to enjoy. [Guillaume Dufay and the early Renaissance-Howard Mayer Brown] Function The particular function for which Nuper rosarum flores was commissioned was the consecration of the Cathedral della Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. The piece was written by Dufay especially for this grand occasion and it was probably the first piece of music that greeted Pope Eugene IV as he entered the Cathedral as the piece forms part of the Introit (Latin for entrance) for the commencement of the Mass and used as the clergy process into the church and up to the High alter. In fact, the two tenor voices support the whole structure of the piece which is based on a Gregorian cantus firmus melody which was historically used for the consecration of most Christian churches. The piece, Nuper rosarum flores is a plea to St. Mary of Flowers [as the Virgin Mary was known by the population of Florence], by offering the church to her and asking for her perpetual intercession for her Florentine people. It is widely thought that the dimensions and musical structure of the motet was composed by Dufay with direct reference to the precise measurements and proportions of the cathedral dome, which was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, one of the most famous architects and engineers of the Italian Renaissance. These proportions have been described in this named web based reference as sacred geometry. (AmaranthPublishing.com/dufay) In order to ensure that the piece would meet the high expectation for the function for which it was commissioned, Dufay had to carry out a lot of historical research so that it would work in a modern setting. It would appear that he did this by joining the musical ideas of the Middle Ages with those of the Renaissance and ancient Greece to produce a totally unique piece of music, rather like Brunelleschi had achieved with his dome design, namely to design the dome in a traditional but modern way for that time period. Characteristics The characteristics of Nuper rosarum floreis that of an isorhythmic motet. As stated above an isorhythm composition is one in which a musical technique has a musical arrangement that has a fixed pattern of pitches with a repeating rhythmic pattern. In Nuper rosarum floreis the repeats are in different meters. As Dufay had decided to mix the traditions of the Middles Ages with the ideas of the Renaissance and Ancient Greece this style produced a piece that is seen as more progressive rather than structured. The voices become more and more independent as the piece progresses, unlike in earlier periods where the pieces were heavily structured and had to keep to a certain time signature. It was deliberately notated so that the music increased in volume and therefore did not rely on the structure for this increase. As there are no dynamics on the score the singers had to put in the dynamics themselves. The two tenor parts both still use the original notation of the Gregorian Neumes whilst the Triplum and Motetus use the new notation of crotchets and minims. It is easy to see why there is continued reference to the architecture of the dome when one examines the characteristics of Nuper rosarum floreis because Dufays way of writing re fers back to the old and incorporates the new just like the design for the building the dome on the Cathedral. Nuper rosarum flores is a mensuration canon which means that the main melody is accompanied by one or more imitations of that melody in other voices at different speeds. Accompanying voices may enter simultaneously or successively, as in Le Ray Au Soleyl by Johannes Ciconia,circa late 14c [Harvard anthology of music-Harvard University press 1949]. A very good example can be found in Josquins Agnus Dei [fig 1] each voice sings the same music but at different speeds. This is achieved as follows; the slowest voice is that found in the middle, the lowest voice sings the same music but at twice the speed of the slowest and the highest voice sings the same music at three times the speed of the slowest. This allows the upper voices to move more freely and in a way that can easily be heard. [fig 1 Josquins Agnus Dei] The name for the rhythmic patterns found in Nuper rosarum flores is taleas. A taleas is a freely invented rhythmic pattern which repeats each time in a different meter. The meter is probably better known as the time signature. The rhythm repeats four times and is twenty eight primary measures long. While many might say that the isorhythm was common in the fifteenth century, especially for large occasional pieces, it is also correct to say that music styles were changing rapidly in the 15th century. Another characteristic of this piece is that there are two tenor lines. Each has different rhythmic patterns which retain their own rhythms each time they are repeated. Tenor 1 has 14.5 measures of rest while Tenor 2 has 14 measures of rest. The tenors do not sing at the same time as the upper voices. Here Dufay is displaying the use of contrasting textures. The upper voices are fast moving while the tenors are slow moving. There is an exact balance of the two sections. The duets last 14 primary measures as do the full voices. These contrasting textures became an essential development of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. These full voiced sections were described as tutti [Howard M Brown Music in the Renaissance (1986) ] reflecting the progressive quality of the music of the seventeenth century and later. Another characteristic is that the piece involves the technique referred to as isomelic. Isomelic is a general term identifying reappearances of the same or similar melodic material in the upper voices at corresponding locations with respect to the divisions of the tenor. [Samuel E Brown, Jr New Evidence of Isomelic Design in Dufays Isorythmic Motets (Journal of the American Musicological Society  © 1957] Dufays musical style was without doubt unique and the composition of Nuper rosarum flores was complex and it is here where it was believed that the proportions in which the repeats were written represented the structure of the cathedral. This is where once again music and architecture meet. Having said that not all historians share the view of the association between Nuper rosarum flores with the cathedral dome. The musical piece acquired renewed interest as recently as 1973 as the result of the discovery by Charles Warren of a strong connection between its musical structure and the dimensions and proportions of the new Cathedral arguing that the unique set of ratios of the piece corresponded to the large-scale architectural dimensions of the Cathedral i.e the nave, crossing, apse, and dome. However, this view was not widely accepted and in an article in 1993 by Craig Wright he suggests that the piece more accurately reflects the mystical numbers of Solomons Temple whose overall length, length of nave and sanctuary, and height were 60:40:20:30 cubits [ the durational ratio is 6:4:2:3 in the piece] Another article written in an attempt to restore Warrens theory was written by M. Trachtenberg and found in, Architecture and Music Reunited: A New Reading of Dufays Nuper Ros arum Flores and the Cathedral of Florence, Renaissance Quarterly 54 (2001), 740-775. Thus the mystery continues. Conclusion Dufays music defined the central style of the music of the 15th century. He changed the overall sound by the use of four voice textures, a defining moment being the performance of Nuper rosarum flores at the consecration of Florence Cathedral. He lived in a period of great musical change in Europe. Dufay, in many respects, paved the way for future composers to use greater imagination and ingenuity in musical composition. (Ogan, 2001) Charlotte Lynch 26th October 2010.

Quentins Passion and Desire in The Sound and the Fury Essay example --

Quentin's Passion and Desire in The Sound and the Fury    As Quentin Compson travels through the countryside with his college friends, the reality of the situation becomes terribly confused by memories and past feelings. After a little girl follows him for miles around town, his own sexuality reaches the forefront of his consciousness and transforms itself into disjointed memories of his sister Caddy. Quentin's constant obsession in William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury, surrounds a defining sexual act with his sister. Though the physical act never appears in plain language, Quentin's apparent lapse into an inner monologue demonstrates his overwhelming fixation with Caddy as well as a textured representation of their relationship. Sexual language pervades his inner consciousness - scents, sounds and colors represent his passion and desire. Elements of nature, when associated with his sister, become erotic; the tiers of description, no matter how seemingly mundane, tend to be steeped in sexuality. Quentin's lapse into past events with Caddy begins in the midst of typical conversation with his friends as they drive through town. His attention to reality is shattered by an unconscious slip into thoughts of his sister. As the eyes of the little girl snap Quentin into a reverie of sexual exploration, his words wander haphazardly, even before the image of his sister, prone on the banks of the river, comes to mind. "If I tried to hard to stop it I'd be crying and I thought about how I'd thought about I could not be a virgin, with so many of them walking along in the shadows and whispering with their soft girlvoices lingering in the shadowy places and the words coming out and perfume and eyes you could f... ... environment to evoke such passion. Although Faulkner rarely refers to sexual acts directly, the use of language through Quentin's consciousness and internal monologue is so rampant with erotic metaphor and passionate depth, that a simple object, such as a pocket knife, transforms into the most vital of symbols. Works Cited and Consulted Faulkner, William. The Sound and the Fury. New York: Vintage Books, 1984. Harold, Brent. "The Volume and Limitations of Faulkner's Fictional Method." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 11, 1975. Hoffman, F. J. and Vickery, O. W.   William Faulkner:   Three Decades of Criticism.   New York, Harbinger, 1960. Irwin, John T. "A Speculative Reading of Faulkner" Contemporary Literary Criticism, Vol. 14, 1975. Polk, N.   New Essays On:   The Sound and the Fury.   Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1993.  

Human Aggression Essay

This essay concerns one of the most influential works on human behavior today. The title of this article is â€Å"Human Aggression. † This research was conducted by Craig A. Anderson and Brad J. Bushman who are both connected with the Department of Psychology at the Iowa State University. Their research was published in the Annual Review Psychology Journal 2002, vol. 53 pages 27 to 51. Introduction We have heard or witnessed accounts of people victimized by violence. Last September 2001, several hijackers took control of several planes and made them crash through the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Barely several minutes after, another plane hit the Pentagon. In these events hundreds of people died while thousands more were seriously injured. It is true that historically we are all aware that humans are capable of violent behavior. â€Å"Human violence is not new. † (Arthur G. Miller, Ch 8 p. 169) Thus, the act of one person killing another should not come as a surprise for us. Yet in the past years, human behavior is getting more violent. These past events have triggered the scientists and psychologists to once again examine the root cause of violence in human behavior. One of the recent studies was made by Craig A. Anderson and Brad J. Bushman. This essay seeks to understand the General Aggression Model which is a theoretical model proposed by Anderson and Bushman. The objective is to analyze this model in relation to the previous researches on aggressive human behavior and to determine the essential differences of this research to the previous studies. An overview of how this research was conducted will also be explained. The General Aggression Model Anderson and Bushman acknowledged the works of the previous researchers before them. These previous researches have all immensely contributed to our present understanding of how violence is brought about. Some of these researches concluded that the accessibility of guns, global warming, violence against children in schools and widespread exposure to violent entertainment media are all contributing factors to increasing violence. Several theories have also been proposed on human aggression. These are the Cognitive Neo-association Theory, Social Learning Theory, Script Theory, and the Excitation Transfer Theory. Anderson and Bushman believe, however, that these researches on human aggression need a theoretical model that will integrate all these works into a complete whole. (Gerald Amada, 2005, p. 2) They quote a statement made by Jules Henri Poincare, to wit: â€Å"Science is built up with fact, as a house is with stone. But a collection of fact is no more a science than a heap of stones is a house. (Poincare) This theoretical model is known as the General Aggression Model. The General Aggression Model is primarily a theoretical model. There were no specific subjects used or laboratory experiments conducted. It simply incorporated the existing theories that have been published about human aggression. What makes it different from the other research on this topic is that it adds form and structure to the present theories about human aggression by unifying these mini-theories about aggressive behavior to form one complete model on Human Aggression. The General Aggression Model (GAM) examines the effect of certain variables interacting with the thoughts, mood and emotion and the arousal of an individual that may lead to the commission of violence. According to Anderson & Bushman, our thoughts, mood and emotion and our arousal not only interact with each other to determine whether a person will engage in aggressive behavior but they are influenced by two factors: a) the Situation Factors and b) the Person Factors. The Situation Factors pertain to the features of the particular situation that may increase or decrease the aggression. For example: insult, frustration, drugs, the presence of a gun, the presence of a religious leader or the presence of uncomfortable situation. This means that depending on the presence or absence of any of these variables there is a higher or lower probability that aggressive behavior will follow. The Person Factors pertain to the characteristics of a person that he brings to the particular situation. These Person Factors include: traits, beliefs, attitude, sex, values and long-term goals. This means that a person’s beliefs can serve as a powerful stimulus that may influence aggressive. For example, a person who has the tendency to feel that he has been unjustly treated by others is more likely to become suspicious of other people, and to harbor ill will against others. He is also more likely to engage in aggressive behavior. (Stephen Swartz, 2007, p. 2) Under the GAM, the Person Factors and the Situation Factors are only the first stage to the commission of human aggression. The second stage happens when there is an interaction between the Person Factors/Situation Factors with the three internal states: the cognition (hostile thoughts), affect (mood and emotion) and the arousal (physiological process). For example, when a child is exposed to a television show which exhibits violent scenes (Situation Factors) this has an effect on the cognitive in the sense that it gives access to the child’s hostile thoughts. Constant exposure therefore to these violent scenes means that access to hostile thoughts is increased making it more likely that the child will develop a script of his own and manifest aggressive behavior. (Thomas Brady, 2004 p. 3) The relationship between violent video games and human aggression is made clear using the GAM. This research warns us that adolescents’ exposure to video games increases the likelihood that he will behave aggressively. (Thomas A. Kooijmans, 2004, p. 1) Video games like Doom or mortal combat explicitly shows two characters attacking each other and trying to kill each other. (Situational Factor) This variable interacts with the Arousal or the physiological changes that are already happening to a child who is reaching puberty. The third stage is the appraisal and the decision making process. At this stage the individual evaluates and appraises all these variables that enter his brain. From then on he will either make a snap judgment (impulsive decision) or he may re-appraise the whole situation and come up with a more controlled and deliberate action. And then the last stage is the outcome. Evaluation of the General Aggression Model The GAM is unlike the previous theories of human behavior. It is more complex and at the same time it is more integrative. (â€Å"Psychology: An International Perspective†) It is more complex in the sense that it takes into account not only the character traits and the personality of the individual but it also includes his internal state such as his emotions and thoughts. It is more integrative because it successfully saw the connection among the past researches on human aggression and combined them under the GAM. The GAM is also more realistic compared to the other mini-theories on human aggression. Some of the other theories on human behavior even boldly claim that there is a direct relationship between some variables or factors such that the presence of these variables can help predict human behavior. On the other hand, the GAM only highlights how complex human behavior is. There are so many processes that must be taken into consideration before we could actually predict human behavior. As the Anderson and Bushman explained, the Situational Factors and the Person Factors are not the only variables to be considered in predicting future aggressive behavior. Any researcher must also take into account the person’s internal state such as his mental state, emotional state and the physical state. Before, I thought that engaging in aggressive behavior or performing an act that causes damage to another is always a conscious and deliberate product of the mind or the emotion. I thought that if a person commits violent behavior it is either because it is premeditated or it is because of heightened emotion. It is only now that I realized that the stimulus for aggression may also come from extrinsic factors that have no relation to the person engaging in aggressive behavior. For me, the most significant piece of information I found in this research paper is that certain Situational Factors such as the hot temperature or existing frustration may result to aggression. Conclusion The General Aggression Model is indeed one of the most comprehensive researches that deal with aggressive human behavior. As a theoretical model of human aggression, it is the first research to see the connection between the person’s characteristics, the particular situation he is in, his thoughts, his emotion and the physiological processes in his body. Though it provides a model for explaining how aggressive behavior is brought about, it admits that human behavior is unpredictable.

Sodium in Water Chemistry Demonstration

The sodium in water chemistry demonstration illustrates the reactivity of an alkali metal with water. This is a memorable demonstration that creates a spectacular reaction for students. Still, it can be performed safely. What to Expect A small piece of sodium metal will be placed in a bowl of water. If a phenolphthalein indicator has been added to the water, the sodium will leave a pink trail behind it as the metal sputters and reacts. The reaction is: 2 Na 2 H2O → 2 Na 2 OH- H2(g) The reaction is especially vigorous when warm water is used. The reaction may spray out molten sodium metal and the hydrogen gas may ignite, so use proper safety precautions when conducting this demonstration. Safety Precautions Never use a piece of sodium larger than a pea or pencil eraser.Wear safety goggles.Perform the experiment behind a clear safety barrier or at a distance from the students. Materials Sodium metal stored under mineral oilA 250 mL beaker, filled halfway with waterPhenolphthalein (optional) Procedure Add a few drops of phenolphthalein indicator to the water in the beaker. (Optional)You may wish to place the beaker on an overhead projector or video screen, which will give you a way to show the reaction to students from a distance.While wearing gloves, use a dry spatula to remove a very small chunk (0.1 cm3) of sodium metal from the piece stored in the oil. Return the unused sodium to the oil and seal the container. You can use tongs or tweezers to dry the small piece of metal on a paper towel. You may wish to allow the students to examine the cut surface of the sodium. Instruct the students that they can look at the sample but must not touch the sodium metal.Drop the piece of sodium into the water. Immediately stand back. As water dissociates into H and OH-, hydrogen gas will be evolved. The increasing concentration of OH- ions in the solution will raise its pH and cause the liquid to turn pink.After the sodium has reacted completely, you can flush it with water and rinse it down the drain. Continue to wear eye protection when disposing of the reaction, just in case a bit of unreacted sodium remained. Tips and Warnings Sometimes this reaction is performed using a small piece of potassium metal instead of sodium. Potassium is even more reactive than sodium, so if you make the substitution, use a very small piece of potassium metal and expect a potentially explosive reaction between the potassium and water. Use extreme caution.