Music History Ch. 7

Latin

sacred Italian music was in what language?

Italian

secular Italian music was in what language?

Frotolla ( 7 )

- Italian early secular songs written by Flemish composers (Josquin) - strophic , 4 voices - homophonic more often than polyphonic; nothing elaborate - treble dominated - catchy, dance-like rhythm - simple, syllabic text - forerunner to 16th century Madrigal

strophic

same music for each verse of text

El Grillo (2)

- Josquin Frottola - "The Cricket", funny and entertaining text

Early Madrigal (6)

- written by Flemish composers in Italy - direct descendent from Frottala - not strophic; through composed - high quality, short, Italian poetry: Petrarch - 4 voices, alternation between homophony and polyphony - sung at Italian courts after evening meals, etc.

polyphony

independent melodic lines with imitation

through composed

different music for each verse

Arcadelt (3)

- Flemish early Madrigal composer - wrote Il banco e dolce cigno (the white and sweet swan) - poetry by Petrarch based on a legend

Baldasare Custiglione (2)

- Treatise: "Book of the Courtiers" about court manners ex. #1: all courtiers should be able to sing (Madrigals) - Madrigals written in part books ( one part per book )

Classical Phase (Madrigal) (7)

- native Italian composers - more polyphony and imitation than homophony - 5 voices - still Petrarch poetry (high quality) - text-painting: music expresses text - lead to English phase - Orazio Vechio

English phase

- after Classical Phase - Madrigals: good music, mediocre poetry because composers wrote their own

Orazio Vechio (3)

- priest/composer/choir director in Venice and later Ferrara (d'Este's) - wrote version of Il banco e dolce: set to own classical phase madrigal - 1st phrase quotes 1st phrase of Arcadelt's original

Luca Marenzio (4)

- transition between classical phase and late classic madrigal - wrote 500 + madrigals - Italian, very well-known throughout Europe - extreme text-painting and chromaticism: no definite key

Marenzio and D'Este family (3)

- worked for Cardinal Luigi d'Este at Vatican: Luigi retired to Ferrara and Marenzio followed - in d'Este court, wrote for virtuoso female singers "Concerto della Dona" - wrote for other court musicians, mixed gender ensembles, private concerts for d'Estes

Solo e Pensio (2)

- Marenzio Madrigal - poem by Petrarch

Late Madrigal (6)

- all classical phase characteristics pushed to extreme - 5 voices; chromaticism - vague tonality; pitches found outside of chord - extreme text-painting and dissonance - lack of strong cadences until final one - main composer: Gesualdo

Gesualdo (5)

- prince of Venossa - killed wife and her bf and her kid and moved to Ferrara and married Leonara d'Este - Duke Ercole d'Este II gave him refuge and a job - wrote Madrigals for court at Ferrara - wrote Moro Lasso (Late Madrigal, secular)

Gesualdo and emotion

- interested in creating emotions in readers through shocking notes and text - chromatic and dissonant - many looked down on his composing, but he had knowledge of theory because followed the fundamentals of no parallels and stuff - created very unstable feelings with his music; voices imitated each other but at different times and with different note lengths

Luzzaschi

Who was Gesualdo inspired by?

Tenebrae (3)

- service of scripture and prayer (reading and music) - service song in dark (translates to darkness) during holy week (Tuesday) - Gesualdo wrote one; sacred drastically different from "interesting" secular, not as chromatic or dissonant, lower range