Readings—

• J. Peter Burkholder, A History of Western Music, 8th edition
•  Chapter 12: The Rise of Instrumental Music, pp. 264-285 
•  Part Three intro, pp. 286-287
•  Chapter 13: New Styles in the Seventeenth Century, pp. 288-306
•  Chapter 14: The Invention of Opera, pp. 307-328
•  Chapter 15: Music for Chamber and Church in the Early Seventeenth Century, pp. 329-353
• Chapter 18: The Early Eighteenth Century in Italy and France, “The Voice of Farinelli,” pp. 418-419
• J. Peter Burkholder, Norton Anthology of Western Music, 6th edition, Vol. 1 (NAWM)
• NAWM 62-71, 74-75, & 77-81, pp. 358-452, 466-498, & 513-552
• Gary Tomlinson, ed., Strunk’s Source Readings in Music History, rev. ed., Vol. 3: The Renaissance (RESERVE)
• Girolamo Mei, Letter to Vincenzo Galilei, Letter to Vincenzo Galilei, pp. 207, 211-213
• Margaret Murata, ed., Strunk’s Source Readings in Music History, rev. ed., Vol. 4: The Baroque Era (RESERVE)
• Giovanni Maria Artusi, From Artusi, or, Of the Imperfections of Modern Music Second Discourse, pp. 18-26
• Claudio and Giulio Cesare Monteverdi, Explanation of the Letter Printed in the Fifth Book of Madrigals, pp. 27-36

I. Prima and Seconda Prattica

• Girolamo Mei, Letter to Vincenzo Galilei, Letter to Vincenzo Galilei, Vol. 3: The Renaissance, pp. 207, 211-213

Read from the first full paragraph on p. 211 (begins “It appears to be clear enough”) to the bottom of p. 213. Girolamo Mei was an important member of Giovanni de’ Bardi Camerata in Florence. Here, Mei writes to fellow Camerata member Vincenzo Galilei laying out a theoretical foundation for what Monteverdi will eventually call the second practice. Read these pages to learn about the Greek models Mei wants to emulate as well as the problems Mei finds in polyphonic music.

• Giovanni Maria Artusi, From Artusi, or, Of the Imperfections of Modern Music Second Discourse, Vol. 4: The Baroque Era, pp. 18-26

Browse the article (at least up to p. 23) to learn exactly what Artusi dislikes about Monteverdi’s madrigals. On pp. 19-20, Artusi presents a chart of seven “offensive” musical examples from Monteverdi’s Cruda Amarilli (On textbook pp. 298-299, Burkholder marks the “errors” from mm. 1-14 directly on the score). Look for examples that violate one or more of the following “rules” of good, Palestrina-style counterpoint:

1. Dissonance notes should be approached and left by step
2. A dissonant note should be preceded and followed by consonant notes (cannot use two dissonances in a row)
3. The only dissonance permitted on a strong beat is a suspension
4. No dissonances are permitted in homorhythmic passages

Consonant notes are a unison, 3rd, 5th, 6th, or 8ve above the bass (lowest sounding) voice; dissonances are a 2nd, 4th, 7th (or any augmented or diminished interval) above the bass voice.

• Claudio and Giulio Cesare Monteverdi, Explanation of the Letter Printed in the Fifth Book of Madrigals, Vol. 4: The Baroque Era, pp. 27-36

Here Giulio Cesare Monteverdi justifies his brother’s startling (to Artusi, at least) use of dissonance by positing the existence of two styles (practices). G.C. Monteverdi argues that Artusi is judging this new music with criteria that apply only to the older style. Browse through the article to gain an understanding of the two practices. (N.B.: The word “mistress” is the feminine form of the word “master”—it denotes superiority, not inferiority.)

Written Report—Write two paragraphs (no more than one page total) following these instructions:

• Paragraph One—Briefly list important features of ancient Greek music and problems in polyphonic music as identified by Mei. What is the underlying change in the nature of musical expression that makes a new style necessary?
• Paragraph Two—Write your own summaries (please do not quote words or phrases from pp. 27-36) of the characteristics of the first practice (older style) and the second practice (newer style) as described by Monteverdi

II. Baroque Research Project Preparation

It’s time to finalize assignments for your upcoming Baroque Research Project presentations on Baroque Sonatas and Concertos. Please turn in the following items with Encounter 5:

1. A list of all group members (at least 3, but no more than 5).
2. Tell me which group members will cover which part of the presentation—composer background, genre background, etc. Please see the Research Project Overview in Encounter 6 for a full explanation of possible categories.
3. Your group’s top three topic choices. Be sure to include at least one sonata and one concerto. The six works available for this presentation can be found in Encounter 6 in the Research Project Overview.

We will do no more than two Baroque Sonata presentations on Friday, November 18th, and no more than two Baroque Concerto presentations on Monday, November 21st. That fact and multiple requests for the same work may mean you won’t get your first choice, but we will do our best to honor your requests wherever possible.

III. Paper Preparation

Thinking ahead to the next step—Begin work on the first draft of your paper!

Listening Assignment 5

Monteverdi & the Early Baroque

The listening section of the Early Baroque Quiz will focus on early Baroque vocal music. It will consist of several listening identification examples accompanied by questions drawn from the Study Questions below. The excerpts will be taken from from the Quiz List below. The “identification” component will require more information than in past tests: in addition to composer, title, and genre you must also identify vocal type (only if the genre is opera!) and two significant style features.

Possible genres include continuo madrigal, grand concerto, opera, polyphonic madrigal, and sacred concerto. See the Baroque Vocal Genres Listening Guide for further information on these genres.

Possible vocal types for the opera excerpts include aria, recitative, and arioso. (Chorus is a vocal type that frequently appears in opera; you can find an example in the listening below, but there are no opera choruses on the Quiz List). These four features can help you decide if the vocal type of a work is aria, arioso, or recitative (or a mixture of these). Listen especially for:

• Rhythm (clear beat & meter or freer, speech-like rhythms?)
• Performing forces (solo voice or chorus? accompanied by orchestra or just continuo?)
• Melody (tuneful or speechlike melody? with or without ornamentation?)
• Text setting (with or withou melismas? repetition of words and phrases?)

See the Baroque Opera Listening Guide for further information on these vocal types. All recordings are from NRAWM unless otherwise noted.

Quiz List

1. Monteverdi, L’Orfeo (Opera)—NAWM or RESERVE DVD
• a. “Vi ricorda o boschi ombrosi” (Strophic aria)
• b. “In un fiorito prato” (Recitative)
• c. “Tu se’ morta” (Expressive recitative)
2. Monteverdi, L’incoronazione di Poppea (Opera)—NAWM or RESERVE DVD
• Act I, Scene 3 (Recitative with arioso passages)
3. Caccini, Vedrò ’l mio sol (Continuo madrigal)
4. Monteverdi, Cruda Amarilli (Polyphonic madrigal)
5. Monteverdi, Zefiro torna (Continuo madrigal)—RESERVE CD: Madrigali concertati (track 9)
6. Monteverdi, Lamento della ninfa (Continuo madrigal)—RESERVE CD: Madrigali concertati
• a. Non havea Febo ancora (track 10)
• b. Amor, dicea (track 11)
7. Gabrieli, In ecclesiis (Grand concerto)—Blackboard RESERVE
8. Monteverdi, Vespro della beata Vergine (Venetian Vespers Service)—RESERVE DVD
• Pulchra es (Sacred concerto)
9. Schütz, Saul, was verfolgst du mich (Grand concerto)

To prepare for the listening portion of the quiz, pay special attention to these 12 pieces as you work through the listening below. As always, you really want to read the NAWM (especially for quiz list works) notes and follow the score for every work from NAWM.

Each cluster of works listed below is accompanied by a set of Study Questions. The Study Questions and recordings together are designed to help you prepare for the Early Baroque Quiz and require no written report.

Listening List

The Invention of Opera

A) L’Orfeo DVD—RESERVE VIDEO 782.1 L869

• Claudio Monteverdi, L’Orfeo (Early Baroque Italian Opera)
• Act II excerpts—DVD chapters 8-9 (28:50-43:30)
• Alternate Recording: NAWM 69 —Monteverdi, L’Orfeo—CD4, tracks 27-34
• a) “Vi ricorda o boschi ombrosi” (Strophic aria/canzonetta)—CD4, track 27
• b) “Mira, deh mira Orfeo” (Recitative)—CD4, track 28
• c) “Ahi caso acerbo” (Dialogue in recitative)—CD4, tracks 29-32
• d) “Tu se’ morta” (Expressive recitative)—CD4, track 33
• e) “Ahi caso acerbo” (Chorus/choral madrigal)—CD4, track 34

B) L’incoronazione di Poppea DVD—RESERVE VIDEO 782.1 L741

• Claudio Monteverdi, L’incoronazione di Poppea (Mid-Baroque Italian Opera)
• Act I, scene 3 (Recitative with arioso passages)—DVD track 5
• Alternate Recording: NAWM 70—Monteverdi, L’incoronazione di Poppea—CD4, tracks 35-40

C) NAWM 71—Marc’ Antonio Cesti, Orontea (Mid-Baroque Italian Opera)

• Act II, scene 16: E che si fa? (Recitative)—CD4, track 41
• Act II, scene 17, opening aria: Intorno all’idol mio (Bel canto aria)—CD4, tracks 42-43

Study Questions on A-C:

• 1. As you listen to each number above (5 numbers in L’Orfeo, 1 long one with subsections in Poppea, 2 in Orontea), how would you describe its use of rhythm, instrumentation, melody, & text setting? How does it fit (or not fit) its vocal type (aria, recitative, chorus, or arioso)? How can you tell the difference between recitative, arioso, and aria here in the early Baroque?
• 2. Which seems more important in this music, text depiction (painting) or text (emotional) expression? Why? What is the difference between the two? Where are some good examples of this?
• 3. L’Orfeo was composed early in Monteverdi’s career; L’incoronazione di Poppea is a late work. What clear differences in style do you hear, if any?
• 4. What was it about the Orpheus myth that provided such a powerful analogy for this new Baroque style? Which features of this story do you think held a special fascination for composers such as Peri and Monteverdi? Why?
• 5. How do the textbook segments on the Diva (pp. 324-325) and Farinelli (pp. 418-419) help you better understand early Baroque opera? What impact did this have on the music itself, do you think?

The Early Baroque Continuo Madrigal

Caccini’s Le nuove musiche (1602)

D) NAWM 67—Giulio Caccini, Vedrò ’l mio sol (Continuo or solo madrigal)—CD4, tracks 20-21

Monteverdi’s Book V Madrigals (1605)

E) NAWM 66—Claudio Monteverdi, Cruda Amarilli (Polyphonic madrigal)—CD4, tracks 17-19

Monteverdi’s Scherzi musicali (1632)

F) Claudio Monteverdi, Madrigali Concertati CD (Tragicomedia) —RESERVE CD

• Zefiro torna (Continuo madrigal)—track 9
• Also available on Blackboard in the Assignments module/Encounter Listening/Encounter 5/Zefiro torna

Monteverdi’s Book VIII: Madrigali Guerrieri et Amorosi (1638)
Canti Amorosi (Songs of Love)

G) Claudio Monteverdi, Madrigali Concertati CD (Tragicomedia) —RESERVE CD

• Lamento della ninfa (Continuo madrigal)—tracks 10-12
• Non havea Febo ancora (track 10)
• Amor, dicea (track 11)
• Sì tra sdegnosi pianti (track 12)
• Also available on Blackboard in the Assignments module/Encounter Listening/Encounter 5/Lamento della Ninfa

Study Questions on D-G:

• 6. The madrigal obviously underwent significant changes in the transition from late Renaissance to early Baroque. How would you summarize those changes? How does the addition of continuo change the feel of the madrigal?
• 7. Pick out some examples of text depiction in each madrigal (by keyword and technique used). Which of these works provide especially striking examples of chromaticism? of ostinato bass? of recitative style? of virtuoso vocal techniques? Who uses more text depiction, Caccini or Monteverdi. Which seems more important in this music, text depiction or emotional expression? Where are some good examples of these items?
• 8. Which genre is more dramatic: continuo madrigal or early Baroque opera? Which madrigal(s) seems most operatic? Why?
• 9. Which features of Monteverdi’s music would have seemed most modern in the early 1600s? Which features were more old-fashioned?

The Sacred Concerto

H) NAWM 74—Giovanni Gabrieli, In ecclesiis—CD4, tracks 51-56

I) Vespro della beata Vergine DVD—RESERVE VIDEO 782.522 V579

• Claudio Monteverdi, Vespro della beata Vergine (1610 Venetian Vespers)
• Pulchra es (Solo motet or sacred concerto)—DVD chapter 5
• Alternate Recording: Monteverdi, Vespro della beata Vergine CD set (Concerto Vocale)—Blackboard RESERVE
• See Assignments module/Encounter Listening/Encounter 5/Pulchra es

J) NAWM 75—Alessandro Grandi, O quam tu pulchra es (Solo motet or sacred concerto)—CD4, tracks 57-59

• Alternate Recording: Monteverdi, Venetian Vespers CD set (Gabrieli Consort)—Blackboard RESERVE

K) NAWM 77—Heinrich Schütz, O lieber Herre Gott, SWV 287, from Kleine geistliche Konzerte I (Sacred concerto)—CD4, tracks 60-62

L) NAWM 78—Heinrich Schütz, Saul, was verfolgst du mich, SWV 415, from Symphoniae sacrae III (Sacred or grand concerto)—CD5, tracks 7-10

Study Questions on H-L:

• 10. Just as the polyphonic madrigal was transformed into the continuo madrigal, the polyphonic motet was transformed into the sacred concerto. What features of the motets by Josquin, Victoria, or Lassus are still evident in the sacred concerto? What features are new?
• 11. What are the primary differences between the sacred concerto and the grand concerto? Which work is most dramatic? most intimate?
• 12. Which features of the “hybrid” style (regarded as appropriate for sacred concertos) can be found in these works? How do the recitative-like sections compare with real operatic recitative (as in A-C above)? How do the aria-like sections compare with real operatic aria and arioso (as in A-C above)?
• 13. Compare the sacred concerto with the continuo madrigal. Which features are similar? Which features are different? Which genre uses more examples of text depiction? Where are some examples of these features?

The Rise of Instrumental Music in the Late Renaissance

Read the textbook’s discussion of Renaissance instrumental music in Chapter 12 before you listen to these works. Pay special attention to the five broad categories described on pp. 268-281: dance music, arrangements of vocal music, settings of existing melodies, variations, and abstract instrumental works.

M) NAWM 62—Tielman Susato, From Danserye

• a) Basse danse La morisque—CD3, track 84
• b) Pavane and Galliard La dona—CD3, tracks 85-86

N) NAWM 63—Luis de Narváez, From Los seys libros del Delphin

• a) Cancion Mille regres (Intabulation of Josquin’s Mille regretz)—CD4, track 1

O) NAWM 64—William Byrd, Pavana Lachrymae (Pavane variations)—CD4, tracks 3-8

P) NAWM 65—Giovanni Gabrieli, Canzon septimi toni a 8, from Sacrae symphoniae (Ensemble canzona)—CD4, tracks 9-16

Study Questions on M-P:

• 14. What specific models (from the world of Renaissance vocal music) do the last three works above follow (N-P)? N and O rework specific compositions by earlier composers—what techniques do they use to make them work as instrumental numbers? P is not based on a specific composition, but is modeled after one of the standard vocal genres of the day. What genre is that, and how does this Gabrieli work resemble a vocal work in that genre in its use of texture, form, and so on?
• 15. How do the Susato dances compare in sophistication with vocal works from Encounter 4? How do they compare with the last three instrumental works (N-P)? What is the importance of pairing dances like the pavane and galliard?
• 16. What style features of Narváez’s cancion are typical of late Renaissance arrangements of vocal music? How similar is this work to Josquin’s Mille regretz (from Encounter 3)?
• 17. What style features of the Byrd pavane are typical of late Renaissance variations in general? How similar is Byrd’s pavane to the Dowland lute song from Encounter 4, Flow my tears?
• 18. Which style features of the Gabrieli ensemble canzona are typical of Renaissance abstract instrumental works? Which style features demonstrate the novel performance practices associated with the Church of St. Mark in Venice?

Early Seventeenth Century Instrumental Music

Q) NAWM 79—Girolamo Frescobaldi, Toccata No. 3 (Early Baroque toccata)—CD5, tracks 11-12

R) NAWM 80—Girolamo Frescobaldi, Ricercare after the Credo, from Mass for the Madonna, in Fiori musicali (Early Baroque ricercare)—CD5, tracks 13-14

S) NAWM 81—Biagio Marini, Sonata IV per il violino per sonar con due corde (Sonata for violin and continuo)—CD5, tracks 15-22

Study Questions on Q-S:

• 19. What important differences do you hear between the early Baroque toccata, ricercare, & sonata? Which categories on textbook pp. 344-353 do each of these works belong to? How do these categories compare with the Late Renaissance instrumental genres described in Chapter 12? What are the most significant features of each genre?
• 20. Where would these works have likely been performed: church, chamber, or theater? How is each work appropriate to its venue?

Extra Credit Listening—

• MCD G118m—G. Gabrieli, Music for San Rocco (Gabrieli Consort)
• RESERVE CD—Monteverdi, Madrigali Concertati (Tragicomedia)
• MCD M781/A1R—Monteverdi, L’Orfeo (Chiaroscuro & London Baroque)
• MCD G118v—Venetian Vespers (Gabrieli Consort)
• VIDEO 782.1 L741—Monteverdi, L’incoronazione di Poppea DVD (Jacobs)
• VIDEO 782.1 L869—Monteverdi, L’Orfeo DVD (Savall)
• VIDEO 782.522 V579—Monteverdi, Vespers of the Blessed Virgin DVD (Gardiner)
• MCD D489 1998—Development of Western Music recordings (DWMA), 3rd edition, Volume I, CD4-CD5
• DWMA 90—Giulio Caccini, Amarilli mia bella (Continuo Madrigal)—CD4, track 9
• DWMA 98—Heinrich Schütz, O quam tu pulchra es (Sacred Concerto)—CD5, track 1
• DWMA 99—Heinrich Schütz, Die sieben Worte...Jesu Christi am Kreuz: Introit (Motet)—CD5, track 2
• DWMA 100—Jan Pieterzoon Sweelinck, Fantasia chromatica (Early Baroque Imitative Fantasia)—CD5, track 3
• DWMA 101—Anonymous, Canzona per l’epistola (Canzona)—CD5, track 4
• DWMA 103—Girolamo Frescobaldi, Il secondo libro di toccate: Toccata nona (Toccata)—CD5, track 6
• DWMA 105—Girolamo Frescobaldi, Messa della Madonna, Ricercar dopo il Credo (Ricercare)—CD5, track 10