Sound Architectures in the Renaissance: from the mysterious to pure listening

Is it true—as is often said—that in the fifteenth century musical composition was imbued with hidden meanings? Indeed it is. At least in the early fifteenth century, the compositions of the great Franco-Flemish masters concealed sonic architectures that were at times quite complex and, however fascinating, remained confined to the compositional design itself. Isorhythm, gematria, acrostics, golden sections, and other symbolic implications almost never reached the listeners’ ears, while still preserving their function as the true and authentic meaning of the work. But something new was destined to arrive from England, gradually altering compositional and musical-aesthetic approaches. Thus, in the second half of the fifteenth century, music moved toward ever greater perceptibility, and with it musical structure, already shaped on the page, began to take on a tangible form in the act of listening, thereby opening the way to the different compositional season of the sixteenth century.