Sample Lessons - The Story of Great Music
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IntroductionWhat You Need to Begin4 Steps
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The Renaissance to the Baroque Era1. The Renaissance8 Steps
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Early Church Music, Minstrels & Madrigals (35 min)
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{+} Minstrels to Madrigals
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Palestrina & Church Music
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Palestrina and Monteverdi (40 min)
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English Music in the Renaissance (35 min)
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Listening Journal, Research Papers, and Projects
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Listen: Renaissance Recordings
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Research & Projects: Renaissance (Optional)
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Early Church Music, Minstrels & Madrigals (35 min)
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2. The Early Baroque8 Steps|4 Quizzes
Listen: Renaissance Recordings

Here you will find recordings to listen to on your own. We provide Spotify playlists and Apple Music links to specific albums. They are grouped either by subject or composer.
Choose a few of the composers or topics that interested you and listen through the albums. It’s good to listen to complete albums, primarily because those who were putting the albums together grouped the music that way intentionally.
We also provide links to purchase CDs of the music on Amazon. In some instances, recommended albums or box sets are not available on streaming services, but might be something you want in your library.
If you want to dig deeper into Renaissance music, there is a wealth of incredible material available for you.
The Essential Tallis Scholars – 2 CDs | Includes a variety of Renaissance songs by more composers | Amazon – Apple Music
The Tallis Scholars: Renaissance Radio | An even larger collection of Renaissance hits
Only Available on CD
The Hilliard Ensemble: Renaissance Music – England, Italy, Spain, Mexico – 6 CDs | Amazon
The Hilliard Ensemble: Renaissance and Baroque Music – 7 CDs | Amazon
Tallis Scholars Sing English Madrigals – Apple Music
Tallis Scholars Sing Josquin – 2 CDs | Amazon – Apple Music
Tallis Scholars Sing Palestrina – 2 CDs | Amazon – Apple Music
Monteverdi: L’Orfeo – John Eliot Gardiner & Monteverdi Choir (1987) – 2 CDs | Amazon – Apple Music
Tallis Scholars Sing Thomas Tallis – 2 CDs | Amazon – Apple Music