Missa Pro Defunctis (1605) (Requiem). Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548 - 1611).

Portrait of Tomás Luis de Victoria

(1548 - 1611)

Source: http://web.archive.org/web/20090323042600/http://

www.upv.es/coro/victoria/english.html.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Tomás Luis de Victoria, sometimes Italianised as "da Vittoria" (1548 – 1611), was the most famous composer of the 16th-Century in Spain, and one of the most important composers of the Counter-Reformation, along with Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and Orlando di Lasso (Lassus). Victoria was not only a composer, but also an accomplished organist and singer, as well as a Catholic Priest. However, he preferred the life of a composer to that of a performer. He is sometimes known as the "Spanish Palestrina", because he may have been taught by Palestrina.

Officium Defunctorum is a musical setting of the Office of the Dead, composed by the Spanish Renaissance composer, Tomás Luis de Victoria, in 1603. It includes settings of the movements of the Requiem Mass, accounting for about 26 minutes of the 42 minute composition, and the work is sometimes referred to as Victoria's Requiem.

English: Contemporary printing of the sheet music for 

Tomás Luis de Victoria's Officium Defunctorum.

Français: Une édition de la partition de 

l'Officium Defunctorum de Tomás Luis de Victoria.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Officium Defunctorum was composed for the funeral of the Dowager Empress Maria, sister of

Philip II of Spain, daughter of Charles V, wife of Maximilian II and mother of two Emperors;

it was dedicated to Princess Margaret for “the obsequies of your most revered mother”.

The Empress Maria died on 26 February 1603 and the great obsequies were performed on

22 April and 23 April. Victoria was employed as Personal Chaplain to the Empress Maria

from 1586 to the time of her death.

Victoria published eleven volumes of his music during his lifetime, representing the majority 

of his compositional output. Officium Defunctorum, the only work to be published by itself, 

was the eleventh volume and the last work that Victoria published. The date of publication, 

1605, is often included with the title to differentiate the Officium Defunctorum from 

Victoria's other setting of the Requiem Mass (in 1583, Victoria composed and 

published a book of Masses (Reprinted in 1592) including a 

Missa Pro Defunctis for four-part choir).

Missa Pro Defunctis (1605) (Requiem)

by

Tomás Luis de Victoria

(1548 - 1611).

Available on YouTube

at

http://youtu.be/M1MaAZ086Hc.

Missa O Magnum Mysterium. Tomás Luis De Victoria (1548 - 1611).

Portrait of Tomás Luis de Victoria

(1548 - 1611).

Source: http://web.archive.org/web/20090323042600/http://

www.upv.es/coro/victoria/english.html.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Tomás Luis de Victoria, sometimes Italianised as "da Vittoria" (1548 – 1611), was the most famous composer of the 16th-Century in Spain, and one of the most important composers of the Counter-Reformation, along with Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and Orlando di Lasso (Lassus). Victoria was not only a composer, but also an accomplished organist and singer, as well as a Catholic Priest. However, he preferred the life of a composer to that of a performer. He is sometimes known as the "Spanish Palestrina", because he may have been taught by Palestrina.

Missa O Magnum Mysterium,

by

Tomás Luis de Victoria.

Available on YouTube

at

http://youtu.be/CFupS-yUXgY.

Gothic (Part Four).

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

English: Nave of Salisbury Cathedral, England.

Français: Nef de la Cathédrale de Salisbury, Angleterre.

Photo: 1 September 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Bernard Gagnon.

(Wikimedia Commons)

One of the defining characteristics of Gothic architecture is the Pointed, or ogival, Arch. Arches of a similar type were used in the Near East, in pre-Islamic as well as Islamic architecture, before they were structurally employed in mediaeval architecture. It is thought by some architectural historians that this was the inspiration for the use of the Pointed Arch in France, in otherwise Romanesque buildings, as at Autun Cathedral.

Contrary to the diffusionist theory, it appears that there was simultaneously a structural evolution towards the Pointed Arch, for the purpose of Vaulting spaces of irregular plan, or to bring Transverse Vaults to the same height as Diagonal Vaults. This latter occurs at Durham Cathedral in the Nave Aisles in 1093. Pointed Arches also occur extensively in Romanesque decorative Blind Arcading, where Semi-Circular Arches overlap each other in a simple decorative pattern, and the points are accidental to the design.

The Gothic Vault, unlike the Semi-Circular Vault of Roman and Romanesque buildings, can be used to roof rectangular and irregularly-shaped plans, such as trapezoids. The other structural advantage is that the Pointed Arch channels the weight onto the bearing Piers or Columns at a steep angle. This enabled architects to raise Vaults much higher than was possible in Romanesque architecture. While, structurally, use of the Pointed Arch gave a greater flexibility to architectural form, it also gave Gothic architecture a very different and more vertical visual character than Romanesque.

Norman Blind Arcading

at Canterbury Cathedral, England.

Note how the Semi-Circular Arches, 

when interlinking, form a Pointed Arch.

Photo: August 2006.

Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Author: Immanuel Giel.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In Gothic architecture the Pointed Arch is used in every location where a vaulted shape is called for, both structural and decorative. Gothic openings, such as doorways, windows, Arcades and Galleries, have Pointed Arches. Gothic Vaulting above spaces, both large and small, is usually supported by richly-moulded Ribs.

Rows of Pointed Arches, upon delicate Shafts, form a typical wall decoration known as Blind Arcading. Niches with Pointed Arches, and containing statuary, are a major external feature. The Pointed Arch lent itself to elaborate intersecting shapes which developed, within window spaces, into complex Gothic Tracery, forming the structural support of the large windows that are characteristic of the style.

A characteristic of Gothic Church architecture is its height, both absolute and in proportion to its width, the verticality suggesting an aspiration to Heaven. A section of the main body of a Gothic Church usually shows the Nave as considerably taller than it is wide. In England, the proportion is sometimes greater than 2:1, while the greatest proportional difference achieved is at Cologne Cathedral with a ratio of 3.6:1. The highest Internal Vault is at Beauvais Cathedral, at 48 metres (157 ft).

York Minster, England.

The Rose Window,

South Front.

Photo: October 2000.

Source: Own work.

Author: Clem Rutter, Rochester, Kent.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Externally, Towers and Spires are characteristic of Gothic Churches, both great and small, the number and positioning being one of the greatest variables in Gothic architecture. In Italy, the Tower, if present, is almost always detached from the building, as at Florence Cathedral, and is often from an earlier structure. In France and Spain, two Towers on the front is the norm. In England, Germany and Scandinavia, this is often the arrangement, but an English Cathedral may also be surmounted by an enormous Tower at The Crossing. Smaller Churches usually have just one Tower, but this may also be the case at larger buildings, such as Salisbury Cathedral or Ulm Minster, which has the tallest spire in the world, slightly exceeding that of Lincoln Cathedral, the tallest which was actually completed during the Mediaeval period, at 160 metres (520 ft).

The Pointed Arch lends itself to a suggestion of height. This appearance is characteristically further enhanced by both the architectural features and the decoration of the building.

On the exterior, the verticality is emphasised in a major way by the Towers and Spires, and, in a lesser way, by strongly projecting vertical Buttresses, by narrow Half-Columns, called Attached Shafts, which often pass through several storeys of the building, by long narrow windows, vertical Mouldings around doors, and figurative sculpture, which emphasises the vertical and is often attenuated. The roofline, gable ends, Buttresses, and other parts of the building, are often terminated by small Pinnacles, Milan Cathedral being an extreme example in the use of this form of decoration.

On the interior of the building, Attached Shafts often sweep unbroken from floor to ceiling and meet the Ribs of the Vault, like a tall tree spreading into branches. The verticals are generally repeated in the treatment of the windows and wall surfaces. In many Gothic Churches, particularly in France, and in the Perpendicular period of English Gothic architecture, the treatment of vertical elements in Gallery and Window Tracery creates a strongly unifying feature that counteracts the horizontal divisions of the interior structure.

Salisbury Cathedral,

has the tallest Spire in England

(123 metres (404 feet)).

Photo: 11 February 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Ashley Pomeroy.

(Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia)

One of the most distinctive characteristics of Gothic architecture is the expansive area of the windows, as at Sainte Chapelle, France, and the very large size of many individual windows, as at York Minster, Gloucester Cathedral, and Milan Cathedral. The increase in size, between windows of the Romanesque and Gothic periods, is related to the use of the Ribbed Vault, and, in particular, the Pointed Ribbed Vault, which channelled the weight to a supporting Shaft, with less outward thrust than a Semi-Circular Vault. Walls did not need to be so weighty.

A further development was the Flying Buttress, which arched externally, from the springing of the Vault, across the roof of the Aisle to a large Buttress Pier projecting well beyond the line of the external wall. These Piers were often surmounted by a Pinnacle or Statue, further adding to the downward weight, and counteracting the outward thrust of the Vault and Buttress Arch, as well as stress from wind loading.

York Minster, England.

Photo: 28 September 2006.

Source: Flickr.

Author: rowanofravara.

(Wikimedia Commons)

York Minster, England.

Photo: 30 September 2009.

Source: From geograph.org.uk.

Author: Peter McDermott.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The internal Columns of the Arcade, with their attached Shafts, the Ribs of the Vault, and the Flying Buttresses, with their associated vertical Buttresses jutting at right-angles to the building, created a stone skeleton. Between these parts, the walls and the infill of the Vaults could be of lighter construction. Between the narrow Buttresses, the walls could be opened up into large windows.

Through the Gothic period, thanks to the versatility of the Pointed Arch, the structure of Gothic windows developed from simple openings to immensely rich and decorative sculptural designs. The windows were very often filled with Stained Glass, which added a dimension of colour to the light within the building, as well as providing a medium for figurative and narrative art.

York Minster, England.

Photo: 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Smu03mw.

(Wikimedia Commons)

PART FIVE FOLLOWS.

Saint Edward. King And Confessor. Feast Day, Today, 13 October.

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

From The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Saint Edward. King and Confessor.
Feast Day 13 October.

Semi-Double.
White Vestments.

Artist: Unknown Master. French (second half of 14th-Century).

Title: Wilton Diptych: Richard II of England with his Patron Saints.

Description: Richard II of England with his Patron Saints. 

The Wilton Diptych (circa 1395-1399) is a portable Altarpiece, 

taking the form of a Diptych. 

It was painted for King Richard II.

Date: 1395.

Current location: National Gallery, London, England.

Source/Photographer: Web Gallery of Art.

Author: Unknown.
(Wikimedia Commons)

The left panel of the Wilton Diptych, where Edward the Confessor (centre), with Edmund the Martyr (left) and John the Baptist (right), are depicted presenting King Richard II to the heavenly host.

Edward the Confessor (Latin: Eduardus Confessor); between 1003 and 1005 to 5 January 1066), son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon Kings of England and is usually regarded as the last King of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066.

Edward has traditionally been seen as unworldly and pious, and his reign as notable for the disintegration of royal power in England and the advance in power of the Godwin family. His biographers, Frank Barlow and Peter Rex, dispute this, picturing him as a successful King, who was energetic, resourceful and sometimes ruthless, but whose reputation has been unfairly tarnished by the Norman Conquest shortly after his death.

Other historians regard this picture as only partly true, and not at all in the later part of his reign. In the view of Richard Mortimer, the return of the Godwins from exile in 1052 "meant the effective end of his exercise of power". The difference in his level of activity from the earlier part of his reign "implies a withdrawal from affairs".

Saint Edward's Roman Catholic Church,

Palm Beach, Florida, United States of America.

Photo: 28 November 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Ebyabe.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Edward had succeeded Cnut the Great's son, Harthacnut, restoring the rule of the House of Wessex after the period of Danish rule since Cnut had conquered England in 1016. When Edward died in 1066, he was succeeded by Harold Godwinson, who was defeated and killed in the same year by the Normans under William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings.

Edward is called Confessor, the name for someone believed to have lived a Saintly life but who was not a Martyr (in Latin S. Eduardus Confessor rex Anglorum), as opposed to S. Eduardus Martyr rex Anglorum. He was Canonised in 1161 by Pope Alexander III, and is commemorated on 13 October by both the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. Saint Edward was one of the national Saints of England until King Edward III adopted Saint George as Patron Saint in about 1350.

English: Church of Saint Edward,

Port Alfred, Quebec, Canada.

Français: Église Saint-Édouard de Port-Alfred,

Quebec, Canada.

This photo is of a cultural heritage site in Canada, number 9139

in the Canadian Register of Historic Places.

Photo: 29 September 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: valstoria.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The following Text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Edward, called The Confessor, was a grandson of Saint Edward, King and Martyr.

When he was raised to the Throne of England, "it was seen," says a historian, "what can be done by a King who is the true father of his subjects. All those who approached him endeavoured to regulate their lives according to his. Neither ambition, nor the love of riches, nor any of the passions, which are unfortunately so common among courtiers, were known at his court."

He was everywhere called the father of the orphans and of the poor, and he was never happier than when he could distribute alms (Epistle). He always granted what was requested of him in the name of Saint John the Evangelist. He died in 1066.

Mass: Os Justi.

Gothic (Part Three).

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

The South-Western Tower,

Ely Cathedral, England.

Photo: 22 November 2009.

Source: From geograph.org.uk.

Author: Chris Gunns.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The characteristic forms, that were to define Gothic architecture, grew out of Romanesque architecture and developed at several different geographic locations, as the result of different influences and structural requirements. While Barrel Vaults and Groin Vaults are typical of Romanesque architecture, Ribbed Vaults were used in the Naves of two Romanesque Churches in Caen, France; Abbey of Saint-Étienne and Abbaye aux Dames, in 1120. The Ribbed Vaults over the North Transept at Durham Cathedral in England are probably still earlier. At Durham, the Pointed Arches of the Nave Vault, 1128-1134, were used for the first time in a High Vault.

Other characteristics of Early-Gothic architecture, such as Vertical Shafts, Clustered Columns, Compound Piers, Plate Tracery, and groups of narrow openings, had evolved during the Romanesque period. The West Front of Ely Cathedral exemplifies this development. Internally, the three-tiered arrangement of Arcade, Gallery and Clerestory was established. Interiors had become lighter with the insertion of more and larger windows.

The Abbey of Saint-Denis, France, is generally cited as the first truly Gothic building, however, Noyon Cathedral, also in France, saw the earliest completion of a rebuilding of an entire Cathedral in the new style, from 1150-1231. While using all those features that came to be known as Gothic, including Pointed Arches, Flying Buttresses and Ribbed Vaulting, the builders continued to employ the Round-Headed Arch throughout the building, varying the shape to Pointed, where it was functionally practical to do so.

Ely Cathedral, England.

Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity.

The West Tower (1174–97).

Photo: June 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: User:Tom-.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Wells Cathedral, in England, was rebuilt from 1174-1239, and was the first building where the designers entirely dispensed with the Round Arch, in favour of the Pointed Arch, and is, thus, the very first truly-Gothic Cathedral.

The Eastern End of the Basilica Church of Saint-Denis, France, built by Abbot Suger and completed in 1144, is often cited as the first truly-Gothic building, as it draws together many of the architectural forms which had evolved from Romanesque and typify the Gothic style.

Suger, friend and confidant of the French Kings, Louis VI and Louis VII, decided, in about 1137, to rebuild the great Church of Saint-Denis, attached to an Abbey which was also a Royal Residence. He began with the West Front, reconstructing the original Carolingian façade with its single door. He designed the façade of Saint-Denis to be an echo of the Roman Arch of Constantine, with its three-part division and three large Portals, to ease the problem of congestion. The Rose Window is the earliest-known example above the West Portal in France. The façade combines both Round Arches and Pointed Arches of the Gothic style.

Cathédrale Saint-Gervais-et-Saint-Protais de Soissons, France.

The Nave, looking toward the Altar.

Photo: 6 February 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Soissons Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Gervais-et-Saint-Protais de Soissons) is a Gothic Cathedral in Soissons, France. The construction of the South Transept was begun about 1177, and the lowest courses of the Choir in 1182. The Choir, with its original three-storey elevation and extremely tall Clerestory, was completed in 1211. This was earlier than Chartres, on which the design was supposed to have been based. Work then continued into the Nave until the Late-13th-Century.

At the completion of the West Front in 1140, Abbot Suger moved on to the reconstruction of the Eastern End, leaving the Carolingian Nave in use. He designed a Choir that would be suffused with light. To achieve his aims, his masons drew on the several new features which evolved from, or had been introduced to, Romanesque architecture, the Pointed Arch, the Ribbed Vault, the Ambulatory, with radiating Chapels, the Clustered Columns, supporting Ribs springing in different directions, and the Flying Buttresses, which enabled the insertion of large Clerestory windows.

The new structure was finished and dedicated on 11 June 1144, in the presence of the King. The Choir, and West Front, of the Abbey of Saint-Denis, both became the prototypes for further building in the Royal Domain of Northern France and in the Duchy of Normandy. Through the rule of the Angevin dynasty, the new style was introduced to England and spread throughout France, the Low Countries, Germany, Spain, Northern Italy and Sicily.

While many secular buildings exist from the Late Middle Ages, it is in the buildings of Cathedrals and great Churches that Gothic architecture displays its pertinent structures and characteristics to the fullest advantage. A Gothic Cathedral or Abbey was, prior to the 20th-Century, generally the landmark building in its town, rising high above all the domestic structures and often surmounted by one or more Towers and Pinnacles and perhaps tall Spires.

Cathédrale Saint-Gervais-et-Saint-Protais de Soissons, France.

Photo: 6 February 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana.

(Wikimedia Commons)

These Cathedrals were the skyscrapers of their day and would have been the largest buildings by far that Europeans would ever have seen. It is in the architecture of these Gothic Churches that a unique combination of existing technologies established the emergence of a new building style. Those technologies were the ogival, or Pointed Arch, the Ribbed Vault, and the Buttress.

The Gothic style, when applied to an ecclesiastical building, emphasises verticality and light. This appearance was achieved by the development of certain architectural features, which together provided an engineering solution. The structural parts of the building ceased to be its solid walls, and became a stone skeleton comprising Clustered Columns, Pointed Ribbed Vaults and Flying Buttresses.

Wells Cathedral, England.

". . . the first truly-Gothic Cathedral."

Photo: 8 May 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: Hisane.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Most large Gothic Churches, and many smaller Parish Churches, are of the Latin Cross (or "cruciform") plan, with a long Nave making the body of the Church, a transverse arm called the Transept, and, beyond it, an extension which may be called the Choir, Chancel or Presbytery. There are several regional variations on this plan.

The Nave is generally flanked on either side by Aisles, usually single, but sometimes double. The Nave is generally considerably taller than the Aisles, having Clerestory windows which light the central space. Gothic Churches of the Germanic tradition, like Saint Stephen of Vienna, often have Nave and Aisles of similar height and are called Hallenkirche. In the South of France, there is often a single wide Nave and no Aisles, as at Sainte-Marie in Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges.

Lincoln Cathedral, 

Lincoln, England.

Clerestory and Triforium.

Photo: 16 April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Lincoln Cathedral, 

Lincoln, England.

Sexpartite Vaulting above the Nave.

Photo: 16 April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In some Churches with Double Aisles, like Notre Dame, Paris, the Transept does not project beyond the Aisles. In English Cathedrals, Transepts tend to project boldly, and there may be two of them, as at Salisbury Cathedral, though this is not the case with lesser Churches.

The Eastern Arm shows considerable diversity. In England, it is generally long and may have two distinct sections, both Choir and Presbytery. It is often square ended or has a projecting Lady Chapel, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. In France, the Eastern End is often polygonal and surrounded by a walkway, called an Ambulatory, and sometimes a ring of Chapels called a "chevet". While German Churches are often similar to those of France, in Italy, the Eastern projection, beyond the Transept, is usually just a shallow Apsidal Chapel containing the Sanctuary, as at Florence Cathedral.

PART FOUR FOLLOWS.

The First Joyful Mystery Of The Holy Rosary. The Annunciation.

Artist: William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825–1905).

English: Innocence.

Français: Bouguereau — L'Innocence.

Русский: "Невинность", картина Виллиама Бугро. 

И маленький ребёнок, и ягнёнок — символы невинности.

Date: 1893.

Source/Photographer: http://www.illusionsgallery.com.

Author: William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825–1905).

(Wikimedia Commons)

The First Joyful Mystery 

of the Holy Rosary.

The Annunciation.

Vocal Credits:

The Daughters of Mary & Bishop Joseph Santay.

http://www.daughtersofmary.net/music.php

Accompanied with verses from 

"The Children's Ballad Rosary".

Composed by John O'Hagan (1822-1890).

Available on YouTube

at

http://youtu.be/0-p4HB2qU0Q

Feast Of The Maternity Of The Blessed Virgin Mary. Feast Day 11 October.

Illustration taken from the Web-Site of  ST ANDREW MISSAL

11 October.

Feast of The Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Double of the Second-Class.

White Vestments.

HAPPY FEAST

Zephyrinus notes that his good friend, Matthaeus, also has a Post about this lovely Marian Feast Day on his Blog at SUB UMBRA ALARUM SUARUM

Ave Maris Stella.

Available on YouTube

at

http://youtu.be/TacNIbmDZ4s

Ave Maris Stella.

Available on YouTube

at

http://youtu.be/NOipola4doE

Gothic (Part Two).

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,

unless otherwise stated.

The Nave, 

Cologne Cathedral, Germany.

Photo: 6 September 2004.

Source: From de.wp

Author: Thomas Robbin.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Gothic East End of Cologne Cathedral 

represents the extreme of verticality. 

(Nave, dating to the 19th-Century).

The Catholic Church prevailed across Europe at this time, influencing not only Faith but also wealth and power. Bishops were appointed by the Church and often ruled as virtual Princes over large estates. The early Mediaeval periods had seen a rapid growth in Monasticism, with several different Orders being prevalent and spreading their influence widely. Foremost were the Benedictines, whose great Abbey Churches vastly outnumbered any others in England. A part of their influence was that they tended to build within towns, unlike the Cistercians, whose ruined Abbeys are seen in the remote countryside. The Cluniac and Cistercian Orders were prevalent in France, the great Monastery at Cluny having established a formula for a well-planned Monastic site, which was then to influence all subsequent Monastic building for many centuries.

In the 13th-Century, Saint Francis of Assisi established the Franciscans, or so-called "Grey Friars", a mendicant Order. The Dominicans, another mendicant Order founded during the same period, but by Saint Dominic, in Toulouse and Bologna, were particularly influential in the building of Italy's Gothic Churches.

From the 10th-Century to the 13th-Century, Romanesque architecture had become a pan-European style and manner of construction, affecting buildings in countries as far apart as Ireland, Croatia, Sweden and Sicily. The same wide geographic area was then affected by the development of Gothic architecture, but the acceptance of the Gothic style and methods of construction differed from place to place, as did the expressions of Gothic taste.

English: Cathedral of Saint-Gatien, Tours, France.

Français: Cathédrale Saint-Gatien de Tours.

Photo: 22 April 2008.

Source: Own work; this file is adapted from the file 

by this uploader on Wiki Commons.

Author: Goldmund100.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The proximity of some regions meant that modern country borders do not define divisions of style. On the other hand, some regions, such as England and Spain, produced defining characteristics rarely seen elsewhere, except where they have been carried by itinerant craftsmen, or the transfer of Bishops. Regional differences, that are apparent in the great Abbey Churches and Cathedrals of the Romanesque period, often become even more apparent in the Gothic.

The local availability of materials affected both construction and style. In France, limestone was readily available in several grades, the very fine white limestone of Caen being favoured for sculptural decoration. England had coarse limestone and red sandstone, as well as dark green Purbeck marble, which was often used for architectural features.

English: Saint Gatien Cathedral, Tours, France.

High Altar and Choir.

Français: Cathédrale Saint-Gatien, Tours, 

Indre-et-Loire, Centre, France.

Maître-autel et chœur.

Photo: 22 September 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Tango7174.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In Northern Germany, Netherlands, Northern Poland, Denmark, and the Baltic countries, local building stone was unavailable, but there was a strong tradition of building in brick. The resultant style, Brick Gothic, is called "Backsteingotik" in Germany and Scandinavia and is associated with the Hanseatic League. In Italy, stone was used for fortifications, but brick was preferred for other buildings. Because of the extensive and varied deposits of marble, many buildings were faced in marble, or were left with undecorated façade so that this might be achieved at a later date.

The availability of timber also influenced the style of architecture, with timber buildings prevailing in Scandinavia. Availability of timber affected methods of roof construction across Europe. It is thought that the magnificent Hammer-Beam roofs of England were devised as a direct response to the lack of long straight seasoned timber by the end of the Mediaeval period, when forests had been decimated, not only for the construction of vast roofs, but also for ship building.

Gothic architecture grew out of the previous architectural genre, Romanesque. For the most part, there was not a clean break, as there was to be later in Renaissance Florence with the revival of the Classical style by Filippo Brunelleschi in the early 15th century, and the sudden abandonment in Renaissance Italy of both the style and the structural characteristics of Gothic.

Amiens Cathedral 

Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens, 

France.

Photo: 9 January 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Amiens Cathedral

Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens,

France.

The Last Judgment Tympanum.

Photo: 9 January 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana.

(Wikimedia Commons)

By the 12th century, Romanesque architecture (termed Norman architecture in England because of its association with the Norman invasion), was established throughout Europe and provided the basic architectural forms and units that were to remain in evolution throughout the Medieval period. The important categories of building: thecathedral church, the parish church, the monastery, the castle, the palace, the great hall, the gatehouse, the civic building, had been established in the Romanesque period.

Many architectural features that are associated with Gothic architecture had been developed and used by the architects of Romanesque buildings. These include ribbedvaults, buttresses, clustered columns, ambulatories, wheel windows, spires and richly carved door tympana. These were already features of ecclesiastical architecture before the development of the Gothic style, and all were to develop in increasingly elaborate ways.

It was principally the widespread introduction of a single feature, the pointed arch, which was to bring about the change that separates Gothic from Romanesque. The technological change permitted a stylistic change which broke the tradition of massive masonry and solid walls penetrated by small openings, replacing it with a style where light appears to triumph over substance. With its use came the development of many other architectural devices, previously put to the test in scattered buildings and then called into service to meet the structural, aesthetic and ideological needs of the new style. These include the flying buttresses, pinnacles and traceried windows which typify Gothic ecclesiastical architecture.

Interior of the Middle Temple Hall, London, 

with its Double Hammer Beam roof.

Photo: September 2013.

Source: Own work.

Author: Cmglee.

(Wikimedia Commons)

English: The Steeple of the Cathedral of Saint Lazarus, Autun, France.

Français: Clocher de la cathédrale Saint-Lazare d'Autun (Saône-et-Loire, France)

Photo: 14 October 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: Kokin.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Autun Cathedral (French: Cathédrale Saint-Lazare d'Autun) is a Roman Catholic Cathedral, and a national monument of France, in Autun. Famous for its Cluniac inspiration, and its Romanesque sculptures by Gislebertus, it is a highlight in Burgundy and it is the seat of the Bishop of Autun. The Bishop of Autun set forth the construction of the Cathédrale Saint-Lazare, as a result of the large movement of pilgrims travelling to Vezelay, as they progressed 

on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela.

Due to social practices, that involved pilgrims venerating the Relics of Saints in this period, the Bishop of Autun ordered the creation of a larger Cathedral, to house the Relics and accommodate the influx of pilgrims into Autun. The Column Capitals and main façade of the Church are embellished with realistic sculptures carved by Gislebertus. The artwork is a means of teaching the population of Christian ethics, with dramatic scenes of Heaven and Hell.

But while Pointed Arch is so strongly associated with the Gothic style, it was first used in Western architecture in buildings that were, in other ways, clearly Romanesque, notably Durham Cathedral in the North of England, Monreale Cathedral and Cathedral of Cefalù in Sicily, and Autun Cathedral in France.

The Pointed Arch, one of the defining attributes of Gothic, was earlier incorporated into Islamic architecture following the Islamic conquests of Roman Syria and the Sassanid Empire in the 7th-Century. The Pointed Arch, and its precursors, had been employed in Late-Roman and Sassanian architecture; within the Roman context, evidenced in early Church building in Syria, and occasional secular structures, like the Roman Karamagara Bridge; in Sassanid architecture, in the parabolic and Pointed Arches employed in Palace and sacred construction.

Increasing military and cultural contacts with the Muslim world, including the Norman conquest of Islamic Sicily in 1090, the Crusades, beginning in 1096, and the Islamic presence in Spain, may have influenced Mediaeval Europe's adoption of the Pointed Arch, although this point remains controversial. Certainly, in those parts of the Western Mediterranean subject to Islamic control or influence, rich regional variants arose, fusing Romanesque and, later, Gothic traditions, with Islamic decorative forms, as seen, for example, in Monreale and Cefalù Cathedrals, the Alcazar of Seville, and Teruel Cathedral.

Cathedral of Monreale, Sicily, Italy.

Exterior Arabesque ornaments on the Rear Apses.

Photo: August 2004.

Source: Own work.

Author: Bernhard J. Scheuvens aka Bjs.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The outsides of the principal doorways of Monreale Cathedral, and their Pointed Arches, are magnificently enriched with carving and coloured inlay, a curious combination of three styles - Norman-French, Byzantine and Arab.

English: Unfinished Cologne Cathedral, 1856, with ancient crane on South Tower.

Deutsch: Vor dem unfertigen Dom: Zollverwaltung „Am Bollwerk“ mit achteckigem Zinnenturm.

Photo: 1856.

Source: Uta Grefe: Köln in frühen Photographien 1847-1914, 

Schirmer/Mosel Verlag, München, 1988, 

ISBN 3-88814-294-6. Scan by Raimond Spekking.

Author: Johann Franz Michiels (1823–1887).

(Wikimedia Commons)

English: The Nave Vault, 

with Pointed Transverse Arches, 

Durham Cathedral, England.

Norsk: Durham katedralen, Interiør.

Photo: 18 November 2004.

Source: Own work.

Author: Foto: Nina Aldin Thune; 

this version adapted.

(Wikimedia Commons)

PART THREE FOLLOWS.

Gothic (Part One).

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Deutsch: Kölner Dom, Ost-Ansicht.

English: Cologne Cathedral.

Photo: 6 June 2013.

Source: Own work.

Author: Rolf Heinrich, Köln.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the High- and Late-Mediaeval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture.

Originating in 12th-Century France and lasting into the 16th-Century, Gothic architecture was known during the period as Opus Francigenum ("French work"), with the term "Gothic" first appearing during the latter part of the Renaissance. Its characteristics include the Pointed Arch, the Ribbed Vault, and the Flying Buttress.

Gothic architecture is most familiar as the architecture of many of the great Cathedrals, Abbeys, and Churches of Europe. It is also the architecture of many Castles, Palaces, Town Halls, Guild Halls, Universities and, to a less prominent extent, private dwellings.

It is in the great Churches and Cathedrals and in a number of civic buildings that the Gothic style was expressed most powerfully, its characteristics lending themselves to appeals to the emotions, whether springing from Faith or from civic pride. A great number of ecclesiastical buildings remain from this period, of which even the smallest are often structures of architectural distinction, while many of the larger Churches are considered priceless works of art and are listed with UNESCO as World Heritage Sites. For this reason, a study of Gothic architecture is largely a study of Cathedrals and Churches.

A series of Gothic Revivals began in Mid-18th-Century England, spread through 19th-Century Europe and continued, largely for ecclesiastical and University structures, into the 20th-Century.

English: Basilica Saint Remigius, Reims, France.

Français: Basilique Saint-Remi (Basilica St. Remigius), 

tombeau refait en 1847 avec les statues du XVIIème siècle, 

vue est et nord, Reims, France.

Photo: 3 December 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana - Mattis.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The term "Gothic architecture" originated as a pejorative description. Giorgio Vasari used the term "barbarous German style", in his Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, to describe what we now consider the Gothic style, and in the introduction to the "Lives" he attributes various architectural features to "the Goths", whom he holds responsible for destroying the ancient buildings, after they conquered Rome, and erecting new ones in this style. At the time in which Vasari was writing, Italy had experienced a century of building in the Classical architectural vocabulary, revived in the Renaissance, and seen as evidence of a new Golden Age of learning and refinement.

The Renaissance had then overtaken Europe, overturning a system of culture that, prior to the advent of printing, was almost entirely focused on the Church and was perceived, in retrospect, as a period of ignorance and superstition. Hence, François Rabelais, also of the 16th-Century, imagines an inscription over the door of his utopian Abbey of Thélème: "Here enter no hypocrites, bigots . . ." slipping in a slighting reference to "Gotz" and "Ostrogotz."

In English 17th-Century usage, "Goth" was an equivalent of "Vandal", a savage despoiler with a Germanic heritage, and so came to be applied to the architectural styles of Northern Europe from before the revival of classical types of architecture.

English: Saint Peter's Cathedral, Beauvais, Picardy, France.

Français: Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Beauvais, Oise, Picardie, France.

Photo: 2 September 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Tango7174.

(Wikimedia Commons)

According to a 19th-Century correspondent in the London Journal, "Notes and Queries":

"There can be no doubt that the term 'Gothic', as applied to pointed styles of ecclesiastical architecture, was used at first contemptuously, and in derision, by those who were ambitious to imitate and revive the Grecian orders of architecture, after the revival of classical literature. Authorities such as Christopher Wren lent their aid in deprecating the old Mediaeval style, which they termed Gothic, as synonymous with everything that was barbarous and rude".

On 21 July 710, the Académie d'Architecture met in Paris, and among the subjects they discussed, the assembled company noted the new fashions of bowed and cusped Arches on chimney-pieces being employed "to finish the top of their openings. The Company disapproved of several of these new manners, which are defective and which belong for the most part to the Gothic."

Gothic architecture is the architecture of the Late-Mediaeval period, characterised by use of the Pointed Arch. Other features, common to Gothic architecture, are: The Rib Vault; Buttresses, including Flying Buttresses; large windows, which are often grouped, or have Tracery; Rose Windows: Towers; Spires and Pinnacles; and ornate façades.

Coutances Cathedral,

Normandy, France,

from the North.

Photo: October 2006.

Source: Own work.

Author: Aroche.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Coutances Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Coutances) is a Gothic Roman Catholic Cathedral, constructed from 1210 to 1274, in the town of Coutances, Normandy, France. 

It incorporated the remains of an earlier Norman Cathedral.

It is the Seat of the Bishop of Coutances and Avranches, previously the Bishops of Coutances.

Standing 80 metres (295 ft) tall, it dominates the town and can be seen from as far away 

as the Island of Jersey. It is a classic example of the Gothic style of Normandy 

in its use of long, straight, vertical lines.

As an architectural style, Gothic developed primarily in ecclesiastical architecture, and its principles and characteristic forms were applied to other types of buildings. Buildings of every type were constructed in the Gothic style, with evidence remaining of simple domestic buildings, elegant Town Houses, Grand Palaces, commercial premises, civic buildings, Castles, city walls, bridges, village Churches, Abbey Churches, Abbey complexes and large Cathedrals.

The greatest number of surviving Gothic buildings are Churches. These range from tiny Chapels to large Cathedrals, and although many have been extended and altered in different styles, a large number remain either substantially intact or sympathetically restored, demonstrating the form, character and decoration of Gothic architecture. The Gothic style is most particularly associated with the great Cathedrals of Northern France, England and Spain, with other fine examples occurring across Europe.

The Vault, above the Ambulatory, 

Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Coutances, 

Coutances, Normandy, France.

Photo: 8 April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana - Mattis.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Coutances, 

Coutances, Normandy, France.

Photo: 8 April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana - Mattis.

(Wikimedia Commons)

At the end of the 12th-Century, Europe was divided into a multitude of City States and Kingdoms. The area encompassing modern Germany, Southern Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, Czech Republic, and much of Northern Italy (excluding Venice and the Papal States) was nominally part of the Holy Roman Empire, but local rulers exercised considerable autonomy. 

France, Denmark, Poland, Hungary, Portugal, Scotland, Castile, Aragon, Navarre, Sicily and Cyprus were independent Kingdoms, as was the Angevin Empire, whose Plantagenet Kings ruled England and large domains in what was to become modern France. Norway came under the influence of England, while the other Scandinavian countries and Poland were influenced by trading contacts with the Hanseatic League. Angevin Kings brought the Gothic tradition from France to Southern Italy, while Lusignan Kings introduced French Gothic architecture to Cyprus.

Throughout Europe, at this time, there was a rapid growth in trade and an associated growth in towns. Germany, and the Low Countries, had large flourishing towns that grew in comparative peace, in trade and competition with each other, or united for mutual wealth, as in the Hanseatic League. Civic building was of great importance to these towns as a sign of wealth and pride. England and France remained largely feudal and produced grand domestic architecture for their Kings, Dukes and Bishops, rather than grand Town Halls for their Burghers.


PART TWO FOLLOWS.

Kyrie. Missa Papae Marcelli. Giovanni Pierluigi Palestrina (1524 - 1591).

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

(1525 - 1594).

Source: http://xoomer.virgilio.it/senesino/Dei/Palestrina.jpg.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Kyrie.

Missa Papae Marcelli.

Palestrina.

Available on YouTube

at

http://youtu.be/IIcrgNtyX0U