The Renaissance Band

http://curtisclark.org/emusic/

A collection of midi files from composers and representative musical styles of the period. Artists and styles are listed alphabetically and can be heard directly from the screen. Handy, fun and nicely done!

Ancient Musical Instruments

http://www.khm.at/homeE3.html

Visual and audio examples of musical instruments of the Renaissance and Baroque era are presented at this site.

Renaissance Composers

http://www.stevenestrella.com/composers/composersren.html

Biographical essays and links to related sites are provided in this abridged dictionary of composers.

Josquin Desprez

http://www.karadar.it/Dictionary/desprez.html

An introduction to the life and times of the composer, including midi sound samples of his work.

Classical Music Pages: The Renaissance

http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/cmp/g_epoch_renaissance.html

A historical overview of the era featuring biographical essays on several prominent composers is provided here.

Thomas Weelkes

http://home.sprintmail.com/~cwhent/Weelkes.html

This biography includes some historical background on the composer's influences and a brief discography of recorded works.

Questions

1			Select 3 musical examples of Renaissance music, and describe their musical form. How do these pieces differ in texture from the Medieval period?
2			In your own words, describe the life and historical importance of three Renaissance composers of your choice.
3			Describe three musical instruments used during the Renaissance period.