Monday, January 27, 2020

Is The Role Of Political Parties In Decline Politics Essay

Is The Role Of Political Parties In Decline Politics Essay Before one speaks of a consolidated democracy, one must first ensure that the three minimal, but necessary, conditions are satisfied. Firstly, one can argue that there must be a state for democracy to exist. In other words, there must be the existence of a state which is a modern polity; which holds free elections; protects the peoples rights, and ensures the efficiency of the rule of law. Secondly, democratic transition must be complete before consolidation takes place, and it is deemed to a necessary condition to hold free elections which are rid of authoritarian control at this stage. Thirdly, for a regime to be called democratic the rulers must govern democratically, that is, governments must not infringe the constitution, or violate individual rights, and must rule within the bounds of a state of law. Hence, when one refers to a consolidated democracy one is not referring merely to liberal nondemocratic regimes, or hybrid democracies. Juan Linz and Alfred Stepan  [1]  assert that a consolidated democracy is a political regime in which democracy, as a complex system of institutions, rules, and patterned incentives and disincentives has become the only game in town. Moreover, democracy becomes the only game in town when no significant political group attempts to overthrow the democratic regime or to promote domestic or international violence in order to secede from the state.  [2]   Political Parties and Their Roles in Society Political parties have been deemed necessary since the early societal grouping of man. Men would find a pattern of the state that would subsume societal conflict and which would allow the rule of law to function and apply it to their state. Thus, one can argue that political systems deal with conflicts and the political institutions they create. Giovanni Sartori  [3]  defines a political party as any political group identified by an official label that presents at elections, and is capable of placing through elections candidates for public offices. It has been argued that political parties are necessary and cannot be replaced by civil society or by any other organized structure created to give representation to citizens because political parties have formed the cornerstone of democratic society and serve a function like no other institution. Hence, in a modern society, democracy cannot seem to function properly without political parties. The active support and collaboration of strong, inclusive political parties in partnership with an effective civil society is fast gaining acceptance as the correctly balanced formula to achieve a somewhat more transparent and participatory system of government. In strengthening democratic institutions in consolidated democracies, it is not a matter of having to choose between building a strong civil society or strengthening political parties and political institutions such as parliaments. The real challenge lies in balancing support for democratic institutions and organizations that are more a ccountable and inclusive, while at the same time continuing to foster and nurture the development of a broadly based and active civil society. In recent years, it emerged that the positions of political parties in the politics of consolidated democracies have decreased drastically. Many argue that the reason behind this decline is primarily the change in the roles of the parties, and in fact Hague and Harrop  [4]  argue that the question for the twenty-first century is whether political parties are undergoing a crisis or whether is merely a change in their role. It is important to emphasise that the parties have not declined in the sense that they have ceased to be important in government, but they have changed, and today perform rather different functions or perform traditional functions in a different manner. Declining role of political parties? Hague and Harrop  [5]  question whether parties are facing a crisis or whether they are declining into weak, decentralized organizations. Amongst other reasons, they argue that major parties no longer offer radically different visions of the good society, and electors party loyalties are weakening as traditional social divisions decay. Furthermore, they state that party members are older than the average person and are becoming less active; and party membership is falling at a fast pace and will continue to do so as older members leave the electorate; young people are more likely to join single-issue groups than parties, and parties have become charity cases, relying for funding on state handouts. Moreover, the trust in parties is lower than for other political institutions, and is declining. On the other hand, Crotty argues that the demands of society have changed, and thus parties change to meet them. Too often, models of what parties ought to be like are drawn from the narrow experience of Western Europe in the twentieth century. Today, it is rather unrealistic to expect the rebirth of traditional mass membership parties with thousands of working-class members and their supporting pillars of trade unions. In an era where mass media and electronic communication play an important role such an organisational format is gone for good. Instead, we have a rather new format of parties found in the consolidated democracies which are somewhat lean and flexible, with communication from leaders trough the broadcast media and the internet. Rather than relying on outdated notions of a permanent army of members, new-format parties mobilize volunteers for specific, short-term tasks, such as election campaigns. The form of parties will continue to evolve but their purpose of giving direction to government continues unchanged. According to Hague and Harrop  [6]  , political parties are said to perform four main functions: Directions are given to government by ruling parties and thus some political parties have the vital task of steering the ship of state; Political parties function as agents of political recruitment, and serve as the major mechanism for preparing and recruiting candidates for the legislature and executive; Political parties serve as devices of interest aggregation, filtering a multitude of specific demands into more manageable packages of proposals. Thus, parties select, reduce and combine policies; and Political parties also serve as a brand for their supporters and voters, giving people a lens through which to interpret and participate in a complicated political world. The decline in the role of political parties has been identified mainly in terms of a constant erosion of the above listed functions. In what is already a highly fragmented political system, the decline of these functions has very often led to inefficient government and the wearing away of the legitimacy of institutions. The parties have the task of bridging the link between parliament and the government, sine the party which gets an overall majority in parliament then forms the government. The parties also provide for the scrutiny and control of the government since the party which does not win the election and becomes the Opposition then has the job of constantly attacking and criticizing the government and exposing its failings to the public as well as putting forward alternative ideas of its own. However, in recent years amid the entire furore over the decline of traditional parties, not a single third party has emerged with even the slightest appearance of electoral strength. Third-party candidates have sometimes done very well, but they very often represent more of a protest vote than some distinct social movement. Weaker party identification is producing a more inconsistent electorate prone to sudden shifts in loyalty, to vote splitting and to voting for individual candidates or issues rather than according to traditional party ties. Generally, over the past few years these activists have become more candidate- and issue-oriented, one of their main motivations being to promote a particular candidate or to support just one special issue. Critics argue that these trends have weakened party organization and coherence even further. Parties are the main means through which democratic leaders are recruited and fed into the political system since parties provide us with the personnel who govern that state. There has been a dramatic decline in the membership of the major parties people (especially young people) appear to be less willing to get actively involved in party organisations. Parties are said to provide the most important way in which people become involved in politics. This can be done on a number of levels. However, established political parties have experienced a declining membership that is ageing. Young people are hesitating to join or become associated with political parties. At the same time, support has risen for independent candidates, and interest parties. There has been a dramatic decline in party membership between the 1960s and the 1990s. In Scandinavia, Sundberg  [7]  argues, since the 1970s and the 1980s, membership decline has set in at an unprecedented rate. Denmark is a particularly extreme case, with membership falling from one in every five people in the 1960s to one in twenty by the 1990s. By voting for a party, people are able to express their political opinion and help choose the government. It is parties which give people the choice at elections between alternative views and policies. The parties also provide the voters with a choice in elections by presenting programmes and taking stands on issues parties allow the voters to choose between rival policy packages. Parties produce policies or ideas which they hope will win them power so these ideas have to appeal to a large enough section of the electorate. The parties have to produce policies on a whole range of issues covering all aspects of politics if they are to be taken seriously as a potential government. This gives the voters a genuine choice of alternative packages to choose from. Policy formulation is another role of the parties since they come up with the policy proposals which the voters can choose from and then put those policies into motion if they win the election. Hence, parties initiate the policies / ideas which then govern the nation in a wide variety of areas e.g. foreign policy, environment, health, education etc. In recent years, the parties have become less attached to a fixed set of ideas and are more willing to shape their beliefs and policies to respond to public opinion rather than leading people to follow them, and it can also be argued that parties now also deliberately keep their ideas and policies very vague and refuse to go into detail because this might antagonize voters and also open them to attack about the details. Nowadays, the number of programmatic parties has decreased, and they are in turn becoming catch-all parties. Programmatic parties tend to have definite and fixed set of ideas and beliefs which they firmly believe in and wh ich they can apply in all circumstances. However, parties have now become pragmatic that is they are willing to change ideas to suit changing circumstances. While the former were more interested in transforming society to bring it in line with their ideas over a long period of time, the latters policies are designed to win the next elections and to deal only with current and short term issues. The programmatic parties aim to bring the people around to their way of thinking and to agree with their principles, while the latter seek to find out what the people want and then fit their ideas and policies to match so that they can gain popularity and elect candidates. Catch-all parties tend to change their policies on a regular basis to match changing circumstances and public opinion, while the programmatic parties tend to stick to long held policies and not change them. Representation is also of the main functions of political parties in a democracy. They are to serve the interests of their people as party representatives, and they are also supposed to represent the nation as a whole. Through representation, parties help to link the government to the people because they attempt to match their policies to public opinion as much as possible and then if they win the election they can carry out those policies hence, translating what the public wants into action. However, recently it has been argued that the parties are not representing those who elect them properly because many MPs are elected by a minority of their constituents, for instance, in Britain, the first past the post system means that MPs do not have to be chosen by a majority of the voters in their area. E.g. some Scottish seats the MP were elected with only 1/3 of the vote. Furthermore, the government itself can be elected to rule with minority of the vote. Conclusion Therefore, one can say that the roles of political parties have declined, and this is evident if we compare

Saturday, January 18, 2020

McCrae and Costa’s Concept of Introversion Essay

1.According to McCrae and Costa, Neuroticism are factors or traits characterized by anxiousness, depression, tension, irrational behavior, moodiness, low self-esteem, guilt feelings, worriedness, insecurity nervousness and are high strung. Sabrina would score high in neuroticism because she possesses some of the traits or factors. In the case study, Sabrina is insecure and has a low self-esteem because she is not satisfied with her body and she wishes to have surgery to correct her supposed â€Å"defects† such as her nose too big, her small breast, she looks fat even though she is not, she also wants to look less African-American . 2.Openness to experience according to McCrae and Costa is characterized by factors such as originality, independence, creativity and a daring attitude. Sabrina would also score high on this because she is very original and creative, an example is that when Sabrina dresses up for her job as a waitress, she tries out different roles; wearing loud, flamboyant and gregarious outfits in order to perfect her acting skills. She is also very daring and independent; Sabrina likes to try new things, such as dressing in the bohemian way and incorporating African-American styles as well, she also tries different foods which include Ethiopian food, and she also loves to travel. 3.McCrae and Costa’s concept of introversion and extraversion is very similar to that of Carl Jung. They both see extraverts as outgoing, open, sociable, and lively and oriented to the external world, introverts are seen as shy people. Carl believes that everyone possesses both attitudes and can exhibit both but only one is dominant, and while Eysenck believes that these attitudes or traits tends to remain stable throughout one’s life despite the different social and environmental experiences people have.

Friday, January 10, 2020

Baroque Music

Opera was the new musical form of the Baroque period and it was very expressive of the baroque cultural values. By then end of the operatic form was stylized into a recipe, including improbable plots, small motivations for the characters, and magical transformations, which were signs of opera's baroque nature. Oppress united drama, dance, elaborate stage mechanisms, and scenery with music. Johann Sebastian Bach was one artist whose greatest legacy was religious music.His works re distinguished by their inventiveness and complete mastery of major and minor tonality. George Frederic Handel was renowned for his Italian-style operas. He had a brilliant way in which music allows the singers to show their virtuosity. Yes, Opera was the new musical form of the Baroque period; it originated from Italy in the late sixteenth century by a group of Florentine musicians and poets who had ties with the aristocrats. However, let us not forget that if it was not for the four trends that gave he musi c of this time period its distinctive qualities.One in which was the creation of the major and minor tonality which was prefigured by Joaquin des Perez. That was the rise of modern music. The second was the mixing of the genres, which was well known in the literature and the arts made its way into baroque music. In addition, the third thing was the expressiveness in the music in the late 1 sass; it became more magnified and was used in emotions in the text of the music that may not have been eared. And lastly was the age of virtuosos, master musicians, especially singers, who would perform with great technical skill and vivid personal style, and of a growing variety of musical instruments. † That brings us back to Opera; this musical form brings all the mentioned trends together, became the ultimate symbol of the age. Claudio Monteverdi was the first great composer of opera; he composed Refer (1607) about a legendary ancient Greek poet-musician named Orpheus. It incorporated r am, dance elaborate stage mechanisms and painted scenery with music (410).Monteverdi was known for expanding the dramatic appeal by taking each of the five acts and ending them with a powerful chorus. He took the use of aural symbols and music phrases to intensify events. Jean-Baptists Lully was the founder of French opera but he was actually Italian. He would later become a French citizen and serve as Louse's court composer. French opera under Lully's direction would become more dignified and full of choruses and would add ballet and French text. Baroque Music The name Baroque, which is a French word from the Portuguese’s barroco, originally used in architectural design in Europe specifically in Italy having a deformed style as an irregularly shaped pearl. In music, it is known for its inconsistencies that the twentieth century historians later used the term baroque as an identification of the Early Classical Period in music.Instrumental music using piano or clavier (a German word for keyboard), violin, harpsichord and other string instruments ruled the Baroque Era of Western European Art Music between the years 1600 to 1750. Characteristics and Forms Although Temperley argues that â€Å"Baroque music was written largely for monarchs, aristocrats, and authoritarian church leaders† (par 9), the soulful melody and dramatically arrangement of any musical piece created during this era captured the hearts of the religious and nonreligious groups.Furthermore, as Kisser said â€Å"the middle class formed too in this era† (par 1). Generally, baroque music has the counterpoint and contrast as the main ingredients. Its characteristic is designed to be emotional in nature having a more rigid formal design with modern tones and experimental rhythm using the combination of a firm and repeatedly strong bass line with florid treble as composers aimed to communicate with contemporary music in accordance to their affectionate behavior. Musical forms are not stiff to instrumental music alone.Along with suite, fugue, partita, canzona, sinfonia, fantasia, ricercar, toccata, chaccone, sonata, concerto and concerto grasso, which the orchestra is composed mainly of different musical instruments to create a smooth polyphony sound, the use of vocal music with the form of cantata, monody, anthem, passion, masque, chorale prelude, oratorio and opera started to emerge and soon became in-demand. The incorporation of ballet dancing and theatrical arts is also introduced, and the public appreciated it as such. The Era of Baroq ue Music 1600-1630 (Early Baroque)The death of Renaissance period segued into the Early Baroque Music in the year 1600. It started when the Florentine Camerata decided to reinvent the conventional polyphonic sound from complex arrangements to basic accompaniment and simple melodies. As a result, counterpoint musical compositions began rising. The initiative to use chords instead of notes created tonality, and harmony is then expressed. As Baroque genre is starting to emerge, Protestantism also appears elsewhere in Italy. Experimentation in arts and music becomes powerful in reviving Catholicism.Instrumentation and lively orchestral music was one of its products. However, when public grew tired listening over purely musical instruments, another innovation come out. The use of music and text is demonstrated in Orfeo, the first ever opera composed by Claudio Monteverdi with the use of singer actors and music combined. 1630-1680 (Middle or Classic Baroque) Due to the patronage in Baroqu e genre, availability of orchestral instruments increased. Playwright artists gave vast contributions and became popular as well as opera and other theatrical drama, dances such as ballet, and vocal music genre.Most of their themes were excerpted from the rhetorical approach of Greek and Roman in arts and music. Formal teaching of art lessons specifically music started in Middle Baroque to give focus more on music and harmony. Counterpoint compositions turned out to be more systematic and well-arranged. However, the attractiveness of theatrical genre did not give concerto and concerto grasso a hindrance to be accepted. Instead, music in this era is more appreciated by the public. Some of the endless masterpieces created during the Classic Baroque survived until today like George Friedrich Handel’s Hallelujah and Johann Pachelbel’s Canon in D.1680-1750 (Late Baroque) The declination of Baroque period began in the year 1680 and ended in the year 1750. Germany in this tim e adopted Italy’s artful tradition that they developed later on putting German touch. Music here was high-priced due to the demand of royal courts and members of the aristocracy. European art-music started to be respected by other neighboring continents like the United States of America. Knowledge and scientific discoveries as well as art and music were given utmost attention where composers and musicians are treated patrons even by the secular and religious members.Before the Baroque period moved to classical era, another significant innovation in music has been made available, and two composition styles were observed. These are called â€Å"the homophonic dominated by vertical considerations and the polyphonic dominated by imitation and contrapuntal considerations†. (Wikipedia par 69) Composers and Musicians of Baroque Era Further studies of Thornburgh and Logan said, â€Å"Baroque musicians were not concerned with expressing their own feelings and emotions, rather they sought to describe with objectivity, feelings and emotions which were distinct from what they actually felt†.(par 21) Here are some of the most admired, influential and well-appreciated composers, playwright artists, and musicians during this era. Italy: Monteverdi, Frescobaldi, Corelli, Vivaldi, Domenico and Scarlatti France: Corneille, Racine, Moliere, Couperin, Lully, Charpenter, and Rameau Germany: Praetorius, Scheidt, Schutz, Telemann, Pachelbel, Handel and Bach England: Purcell, Donne and Milton R E F E R E N C E S Baroque Music. Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia. 11 Nov. 2007 < http://en. wikipedia. or g/wiki/Baroque_music>Bukofzer, Manfred. Music of the Bartoque Era. New York: Norton Company Inc. , 1947 Kisser, Brandon. A Brief History of Music: The Baroque Era Part I. Sept. 2007. Newsvine. Com. 12 Nov. 2007 Temperley, Nicholas. Baroque Artists of Champaign-Urbana: Baroque Music. 11 Nov. 2007 < http://www. baroqueartists. org/guide. asp> Thornburgh, Elaine and Log an, Jack, Ph. D. Baroque Music Part One. 12 Nov. 2007 Baroque Music According to Craig Wright, â€Å"â€Å"baroque† is the term used to describe the art, architecture, dance and music of the period 1600 to 1750 (Wright, 97). † The sound has been described as â€Å"rough, bold [and] instrumental† (Ibid). Originally, the term â€Å"baroque† was pejorative (Ibid). One of the main traits of baroque art and architecture, that extends itself to the music of the period, is massiveness. Everything in baroque society was larger than life. Grandiose was also a term that was used to define the music of the period.With this grandiosity was also an attention to detail that showed itself in â€Å"vigorous, pulsating rhythms with strong, regular beats and many smaller subdivisions (Ibid). † During the baroque period, there was much development and innovation in the field of music. During this time, three musical forms developed and reached their zenith, the Baroque Opera, Concerto Grosso, and the Cantata. These three forms were be st represented by Claudio Monteverdi, Antonio Vivaldi, and Johann Sebastian Bach. The first form that came to innovation was the Baroque Opera. This was best exemplified by the operas of Claudio Monteverdi.One of his operas was The Coronation of Poppea. In it, you hear the swelling melodies and subtle undertones that define baroque music. Though it is one of Monteverdi’s last compositions, many critics view it as one of his best, sowing the seeds for all future Italian opera. Tim Smith of the Baltimore Sun notes that â€Å"[t]his is a pinnacle of early baroque style (Smith, 2009). † Craig Wright states that Monteverdi and other composers of early opera used a particular style to convey heightened passions. It was a â€Å"new, more expressive and flexible style of solo singing for the stage called stile rappresentativo (Wright, 107).† This form allowed the singer to move from one mood to another without alerting the viewer to the subtle changes in mood. This was a key component of baroque music, as one of the key aims of baroque is to create emotion in the listener and to give a sense of grandness to the vocal production. Eventually, â€Å"stile rappresentativo would soon be transformed into two different and contrasting types of vocal writing, recitative and aria (Ibid). † The second form of baroque music that emerged during this time period was concerto grosso.According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, concerto grosso was â€Å"characterized by a contrast between a small group of soloists and the full orchestra (Britannica, 2009). It flourished eventually as secular music for the royal court (Ibid). Britannica says that the typical â€Å"instrumentation†¦was that of the trio sonata (Ibid). † It consisted of two violins, a bass string instrument and a harmonizing instrument like a harpsichord. â€Å"Wind instruments were also common (Ibid). † The number of movements for the concerto varied depending on the compose r. Some had three movements, others had four.The fast movements â€Å"often used a ritornello structure, in which a recurrent section, or ritornello, alternates with episodes, or contrasting sections played by soloists (Ibid). † The composer best known for this form was Antonio Vivaldi. Vivaldi’s greatest concertos are the series known as the Four Seasons. More than 150 recordings have been made of the Four Seasons alone. In his works, you can hear the melodies and subtleties that make up baroque music. The final form of music that was developed during this time was the cantata. The cantata was a form first used by the Italians, and was later adopted by Johann Sebastian Bach.Though Bach never called them cantatas, they were considered such due to their structure. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Bach rejected calling his works cantatas because that connoted secular music, and if there was something that Bach was not, it was secular. When one listens to Bachâ⠂¬â„¢s music, one can hear the massiveness of the sound that is obviously designed for a church and for a multi-voiced orchestra. Under Bach, â€Å"the music of the Baroque reaches its greatest glory (Wright, 127). † He was a great virtuoso on the organ, studying his craft by listening to others and even traveling hundreds of miles just to hear a performance.He was a composer of church music, and later became a court conductor. One of Bach’s greatest known cantatas is a seven-movement work known as Awake, a Voice is Calling. It is a more formalized structure, with movements one, four, and seven being choruses, movements two and five being recitatives and movements three and six aria duets. This piece is a chorale piece, which is a spiritual melody or religious folk song (Ibid). The Baroque period, while a young period in musical history is full of new and innovative developments.The opera, the concerto grasso, and the cantata are all innovative developments in music th at show us how our rich musical history developed and changed over the hundreds of years that we have been maintaining our musical heritage. We need to embrace and encourage our musical growth and musical challenges so we may continue to grow as a culture and as a society. Works Cited â€Å"Cantata. † Encyclopedia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 18 Apr 2009. . â€Å"Concerto Grosso. † Encyclopedia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 18 Apr 2009.. Smith, Tim. â€Å"Opera Vivente tackles timeless ‘Coronation of Poppea'. † Baltimore Sun 09 Mar 2009 Web. 18 Apr 2009. . Wright, Craig. Listening to Music. Second Edition. St. Paul: West Publishing, 1996. Print. Josquin Desprez was a giant of Renaissance music. According to Craig Wright, he was the greatest composer of the Renaissance or any age. He was born on the border between modern France and Belgium and died in the same region.He was attracted to Italy for the same reason many oth er composers were attracted to the region—professional and monetary gain (Wright, 86). He worked consistently as a singer at the cathedral of Milan, the chapel of a cardinal in Rome, the Sistine Chapel of the pope, and in the chapel of the Duke of Ferrara. According to Wright, he â€Å"possessed a temperamental, egotistical spirit typical of many artists of the Renaissance: He composed only when he, not his patron wished; he demanded a salary twice that of composers only slightly less gifted; and he would break into a rage when singers tried to tamper with the notes he had written (86).† One patron threatened to throw him in prison if he did not stop composing for outside clients, yet he was recognized for his genius. He was praised by contemporary humanists of the time, and he was a favorite of Martin Luther, who said in essence, that Josquin mastered the notes; the notes did not master him (Ibid). â€Å"Josquin wrote more than twenty settings of the Ordinary of the Mass and a large number of French chansons (Ibid). † According to Wright, he especially excelled in a form called the motet.A motet is a composition written for a choir, setting a Latin text on a sacred subject. It was intended to be sung in a church or chapel or at home in a private devotion. Most were sung a capella, which literally means â€Å"in the chapel (Ibid). † This means that they were performed by voice alone, without any instrumentals. Instruments other than the organ were not allowed in churches during the Renaissance (Ibid). This clean, a capella sound accounted for the â€Å"often serene quality of the sound of Renaissance sacred music (Ibid).† Wright states that the Renaissance is often called â€Å"the golden age of a capella singing (Ibid). † It is in this setting that Josquin wrote Mille Regretz, a beautiful a capella piece that brings male and female voices together in harmony. The male and female voices play off each other, pulling the listener into the music and the gentle harmonies that are displayed. Josquin’s talent is evident, as the music has clean lines and tones, and the notes are precise and well-toned to blend together flawlessly.The first voices you hear are the male and female voices in harmony, and then it seems as if the female voice takes over, but there is a subtle bass to the tones, then the men dominate the piece while the women play a supporting role. Next the men and women are in harmony together, blending and rising their voices in a slightly mournful tune reminiscent of the Ave Maria. This piece speaks very well to the time period in which it was written.Mille Regretz means â€Å"A Thousand Regrets† in Italian, and it would seem as though this religious piece plays to the penance one would have to pay for their sins. There is a great emphasis placed on the polyphonic nature of the tones, and the multitonalism that results from the blending of the voices; all characteristic of R enaissance religious music. This piece probably represents Josquin at his height, as a power player in the courts and chapels of Italy. Listening to this piece, there is no reason to doubt his standing as one of the premier composers of his day, and this piece attests to it.This has the a capella quality that was desirous in Renaissance music, and there are few voices involved, which means that it was most likely meant for a small chapel and not for a grand cathedral. Josquin accomplished his goal of creating peaceful, religious music that soothes the soul and easily defined the time period in which it was popular. Then there is the quality of imitation involved. Josquin used this technique often. Imitation is a process â€Å"whereby one or more voices duplicate in turn the notes of a melody (Ibid).† You can clearly hear the imitation by the male and female voices as they move through the piece. In Josquin’s imitative writing, all the voices have a chance to equally pr esent the melodic material and all are of equal importance (Ibid). You can also clearly hear the â€Å"point-counterpoint† pattern in the singing that is common when the voices are working together to compliment each other. The sound produced would, on paper, appear to be discordant, but is far from such, as the â€Å"point-counterpoint† creates a harmony that belies what is placed on the paper.The voices work smoothly together to create a cohesive whole, so the piece comes together as a masterwork. Josquin’s work was a sublime effort despite his temperamental soul. Though he may have been tormented by having to achieve perfection, his works show he did just that. We can look at his music and clearly see the liturgical future that music took. He was a pioneer in sacred music, and his contributions must continue to be appreciated for how it speaks to us and our musical future. Works Cited Wright, Craig. Listening to Music. Second Edition. St. Paul: West Publishin g, 1996. Print.