In the sixteenth century music was considered to be a highly important art. After the uncertainty of the so-called Dark Ages there was a rediscovery of culture and learning that had not been seen for many centuries. Durig this new period of Renaissance there was a burst of creativity in all the arts, and the music of this time attained a refined beauty and polish that make it a peak of artistic achievement of the last thousand years.
This music tends to be contrapuntal and full of imitation; it was constructed with the old modes, for our more recent system of major and minor scales was yet undeveloped.
Palestrina was a master of contrapuntal composition, composing masses, motets and magnificats. He was chosen as a "model" composer by the Council of Trent (1545-63), a committee convened by the Catholic Church to improve the state of church music. The Council considered that music was becoming too ornate and the words unintelligible as the voices were too interwoven; it was too worldly, as popular songs were often used as a "theme" running thorugh these interweaving parts. Only music of pure clarity was allowed; "pure" implying that it was free of secular connections.
Byrd was a founder of the English school of madrigal writers, and also composed pieces for the virginals, but his church music perhaps represents his finest work. Try one of his three masses for unaccompanied voices and notice how the vocal lines all merge beautifully with one another, and how the Latin words appear all mixed up together - but to glorious effect.
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Byrd, Monteverdi, Tallis, Palestrina, Tomkins, Dowland