Abstract
Renaissance and Baroque are no doubt the Golden Age in the history of humankind. The quantity of prominent figures in the both periods is innumerable. It is impossible to analyze even the minute part of their works in one short research. This research takes into consideration the major aspects of musical culture of the specified ages and focuses on finding differences between the two ages.
A) Introduction: Renaissance and Baroque
B) General Discussion
1) The Historical Background and Key Features of Renaissance
2) Baroque Age and its Characteristic Trends
3) Comparison of the Periods
4) The Great Composers of the Two Ages
C) Conclusion

From the Paper
"The art historian Giorgio Vasari first used the term "Renaissance" in 1550. He used the word rinascita (Italian for rebirth) to describe the return of the ancient Roman manner of painting in the works of Giotto di Bondone. The word Renaissance acquired a wider meaning in the eighteenth century when Voltaire characterized the period between fourteenth and sixteenth centuries in Italy as the great age of human cultural achievement. In the nineteenth century, Jules Michelet and Jakob Burckhardt distinguished the era of Renaissance as a prominent historical period, which gave birth to the modern age. Everything started with the interest to antique culture of ancient Greece and Rome: imperishable beauty of ancient statues appeared before the eyes of the man after archeological digs, undertaken on the territory of Eternal city. The word "Renaissance" has to be understood in a wider meaning. It does not only describe the return of ancient culture, but it also symbolizes the unprecedented ascension of the literature, painting and architecture, as the golden age of human genius. Neither of the epochs produced such a great quantity of prominent figures in every sphere of culture. There are still no more notorious and respected painters, than Leonardo da Vinci, Rafael, Michelangelo. Fine arts depict the ideals of Renaissance most brilliantly. "

Tags:composers, Michelet, Burckhardt, Gendel, music