TELEVISION

Great Works of Sacred Music

Series: Great Courses
4.1
(32)
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Episodes
16
Rating
TVPG
Year
2015
Language
English
Publisher
The Great Courses

About

Western classical music is one of humanity's most sublime artistic traditions. This musical language - encompassing genres from symphonic and instrumental music to choral works and opera - was created through the meeting of art and faith. The lineage of sacred works produced some of the greatest masterpieces in Western art and created the foundation of the Western musical canon.

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Episodes

1 to 3 of 16

1. Hallelujah, Amen: The World of Sacred Music

45m

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Begin by exploring the contexts in which Western sacred music developed, from its use in religious ritual to its emergence in the concert hall as edifying entertainment. Then encounter three distinct eras in sacred music, hearing excerpts from medieval chant, Handel's iconic Hallelujah chorus, and Edward Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius.

2. From Chant to Early Sacred Polyphony

45m

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Trace the roots and origins of sacred music in the Christian West, beginning with the history of chant, a way of singing prayer unaccompanied by instruments. Using diverse musical examples, learn about the structure and styles of chant, and how it evolved into polyphony (music with more than one melody sounding simultaneously).

3. The Golden Age of Polyphony

45m

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Follow the rise to prominence of both the composer and their patron, observing how sacred music adapted to musical fashions. Explore polyphonic innovations in masses by Guillaume de Machaut and Guillaume Dufay, and in Josquin des Prez's superlative motet, Ave Maria, gratia plena, one of the first great works of sacred music.

4. The Age of Reformation: Who Will Sing?

45m

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Delve into the religious reformations of the 16th century, and learn how the underlying theological debates shaped sacred music. In particular, grasp how changes in Christian ritual impelled William Byrd, Martin Luther, and Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina to pioneer new musical genres and ways to make sung texts more intelligible and communicative.

5. Sacred Music in a Secular World

45m

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By the 17th century, fashionable music began to be equated with secular music. Through studying Claudio Monteverdi's masterpiece, the Vespro della Beata Virgini, and Heinrich Schütz's extraordinary Musikalische Exequien, learn how both composers mixed sacred styles with elements from secular genres like opera to create music that was both reverent and modern.

6. Man and Meaning: Bach's Cantatas

45m

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Bach's sacred works are perhaps the most celebrated in Western music. Learn about the chorale and cantata, musical forms famously used by Bach. Study his great Cantata No. 80, a beautiful example of Bach's ingenious blending of the traditional (a chorale by Martin Luther) with the new (elements of recitative and aria).

Extended Details

  • Closed CaptionsEnglish

Artists

Charles Edward McGuirewriter