It is an ancient Hindu tradition that there are as many ragas (musical scales) as there are Krishnaís wives (over 64,000). Each scale is designed for the purpose of exciting, calming, saddening, strengthening, etc. the listener and/or his/her environment. It has been said that a particular well-performed raga could start a fire while another could put a whole kingdom to sleep. We may think of this supposed power of the Indian ragas while considering the limitations set by Plato in his hypothetical Republic.
Both Plato and the Hindus seemed to believe that the structure of the sequence of notes used in music could affect the listeners emotionally in profound ways. For Plato the effects were considered beneficial or harmful for the development of an impressionable listenerís character. Plato’s ideal kingdom, described in the Republic, would allow the use of only two musical scales for its music which was, for Plato, inseparable from poetry. Platoís choices of modes (scales) may be based on his own intuition and/or the conventions of his era. This illustrates what sounds ìnormalî to us may also be based on our own traditions and conventions.
Centuries after Plato, the Christian Church Fathers in the West expressed some of Platoís concern for the potential detrimental effects of music. They would often outline rather detailed parameters for music considered appropriate for the church. Music continued to grow in complexity within those parameters throughout medieval times (one example is a motet with forty separate voices) until the Counter-Reformation when the Council of Trent ordered a return to simplicity. This group, made up of the most powerful clerics of the Roman Catholic Church, merely supported a style of composing which was becoming prevalent during the Renaissance, and utilizing that model, the composer, Palestrina, wrote in a way which perfectly suited the church leaders. He was commissioned by Pope Gregory XIII to rewrite works written previously by other composers so they might conform to the preferred style.
Thus, during the Renaissance composers often enjoyed demonstrating their skill by writing pieces based on a models written by other composers. This was done more out of respect, almost as an homage, to the composer whose work was being altered. Arranging others’ works is something that is done quite often, even today. However, in the case of Palestrina, the purpose of such rearrangements was often to adjust musical composition to suit clerically arbitrated”moral” principles. Click here for further information on Palestrina and the Counter-Reformation from the New Grove Dictionary of Music.
Read the recommended excerpt from Plato’s Republic, selections of the Church Fathers on Music, the Decree on Music by the Council of Trent and Pope Gregory’s behest to Palestrina.
*(See study materials section of this page to view these readings.)
Listen to the early plainchant (plainchant.mp3) form of Missa Nigra sum, the five-part motet called Nigra sum sed formosa (motet.mp3) by Jean Lheritier and the version, Missa Nigra Sum (missa_niga_sum.mp3), by Palestrina.
*(See study materials section of this page to listen to each.)
For journal entry 1, write a description of your impression of the differences between the two pieces. In the process, state which version you prefer and why by examining if you may have your own moral reasons for preferring one over the other.