marenzio old dissertation

8/19/2019 Marenzio Old Dissertation

1/242

SJJU

V

OICED

s

aCULA

H MA

DRIG

ALS

Off

LUCA

KA

HZNZI

Q

AN

EDITI

ON W

ITH

COMH

ENTAE

Y

By

K

EITH

BE

NNET

T

ras

enose

Colle

ge

S

ubm

itted

or the D

egre

e of

Do

ctor o

f Phil

osop

hy H

ilary

T

erm

973

ABST

RACT

Luca

M are

nzio

has

long

b

een

ackno

wled

ged

as one

of

the

great

est m

aster

s

of

the It a

lian

mad

rigal

,

yet n

o coll

ected

ed

itio

n of

his

work

s ex

ists:

in par

ticu

lar

relat

ivel

y

few of

the

six-

voice

d ma

driga

ls

are

avail

able

in pu

blish

ed f

orm,

a

nd

cr

itici

sm ha

s t

ended

t o

c

once

ntrat

e

o

n t

he f

ive-v

oice

d

works

.

Thi

s t hes

is pre

sents

an Ed

it io

n wit h

C

omme

ntary

of

the

six

-voi

ced m

adrig

als

publ

ished

in

six

book

s betwe

en 1 5

8 1

an

d 1595.

T

wo polyc

hora

l

madri

gals a

nd

a madri

gal

b

y Anto

nio

B

icci al

so

foun

d in

th

ose book

s are

inc

lude

d in

an

A

ppend

ix,

to

get h

er wit h

tw

o fu

rtner

mad

rigal

s in

clud

ed by

Pha

lese

in

his 15

94 ed

itio

n

of B

ooks I

-Y, whic

h

pro

ved

a valu

able

c

ollat

ive

sour

ce.

Th

e Co

mmen

t ary

pre

sents

a

styl

istic

st

udy of

th

e

ma

driga

ls

in t

he Editi

on

a

nd a c

riti

cal

surve

y

o

f t

heir

pl

ace

in

wi

arenz

io's

outp

ut, to

geth

er wit h

a

n ed

itor

ial

comm

entar

y

and ext

ensi

ve bib

liogr

aphi

cal

m

ateri

al. Fo

llowi

ng

an

o

utli

ne of t

he mad

rigal

's

c

hief

c

hara

cteri

stic

s, Ch

apte

r

One

pre

sent

s

a

bio

graph

ical

a

nd cr

itic

al acc

ount

of

Ma

renzi

o f s

w

ork.

Each

book

of

madr

igal

s is

co

nside

red in

divi

duall

y

and

in

re

lati

on to

his styli

stic

d

evel

opmen

t . Fi

nally

t

he chap

ter

t

reat s

b

rief

ly o

f his

inf

luenc

e, w

ith con

temp

orary

a

nd hi

stori

cal-


2/242

-10.-

comment.

A

sty

listic

a

nalysis

of

the musi

c

in

this Edition

fol

lows,

c

onsiderin

g partic

ularly

the relati

onship betw

een

music

and

t

e x t ,

tex

ture,

f o r

m ,

tonal

ity and chro

maticism*

The poet

s, forms and

principal

source

s

o f

the texts

a

re then

consider

ed.

Chapte

r

Pou

r

d

iscusses

th

e

E

dition

- sources

,

notat

ion, tem

po, pitc

h and

musi

ca f

icta - a

nd

conclud

es

with

a

note on perf

ormance*

Two Critical

Commen

taries deal

respectiv

ely with

musi

c and

t e

x t ,

the latte

r providing

a

compari

son betw

een

musical

a

nd litera

ry versio

ns and

l

isting

poe

ts

( s o m e

newly

dis

covered) an

d liter

ary sources.

T h

e Bibli

ography

lis

ts

all published

ap pearanc

es of

the si

x-voiced mad

rigals

and

provi

des a complet

e refer

ence

for

the

lit

erary sourc

es

cons

ulted. The

complete

text

s

of

the madrigal

s ar

e given

in

an Appendix*


3/242

THE

SIX VO

ICED SEC

ULAR MADRIG

ALS

OF L U

C MARE

NZIO

N ED

ITION H if lT H

C O M

M E N T R

Y

BENNE

TT

Bra

senose

Col

lege

* * *

*

*

VOLUME

ONE

COMM

ENT RY

* *

*

*

Submi

tted for

the

Degree

o

f Doct

or

of Philos

ophy

t o

the

Boa

rd o

f t h e F

aculty

of Mus

ic

Un

iversi

ty of

oxfor

d

Hi

lary Term

1

978

E PO S I T E

T H E

S I S


4/242

ACKNOWLEDGE

MENT

I

would

like

to

record my than

ks

t o the

late

Professor Sir Jack

Westrup

for

initial encouragement

and

advice,

t o Professor J o

seph

Kerman

for s

tringent

and

stimulating

c r i t i c i s m . , t o D r . F . t f .

Sternfeld for supervisory

comment

and,

particularly, t o Profe

ssor Denis Arnold for

enthusiasm and encourage

ment in very

difficult

cir

cumstances.

1 must a

lso tnank D r . Rita

Blanchard and

Miss

Sarah Leftwich

for

help with t

he Italian texts

and

M r s .

Susan Vic

kers for

typing the manuscri

pt. Above all

I

m

ust

tnank

my wife for

continued encouragem

ent, forbearance an

d

support.


5/242

C

O

NT

jg

flT

S

a g e

Li

st o

f

Tab

les

v

Cha

pte

r O n e

: T

h e

Ita

lia

r

Ma

dri

gal

and

Lu

ca

Mar

enz

io

T

he I

tal

ian

M

adr

iga

l

Luc

a M

are

nzi

o

5

Mar

enzi

o's

inf

luen

ce:

c

onte

mpo

rar

y

3

3

and

historical

comment

Ch

apt

er

T

wo: The

Mu

sic

4

0

M

usic

and

T

ext

4 1

Tex

ture

5

9

fo

rm

79

T

ona

lit

y

an

d Chr

oma

tic

ism

95

Chapter Three

The

Texts

110

T

he

Po

ets

1

10

Th

e

For

ms

11

4

So

urc

es

1 1 6

Cha

pte

r

Fo

ur:

The

Ed

iti

on

1

18

Sou

rce

s

1

18

Notation

1 2 5

T

emp

o

1 3 1

P

itc

h

1

34

M

usi

ca

fic

ta

143

Te

xt

unde

rla

y

15

3

A

No

te on

Pe

rfo

rma

nce

15

4

Crit

ica

l

Comm

ent

ary

:

Musi

c

165

Cr

iti

cal

Co

mme

nta

ry: Te

xts

1 7 1

Bib

lio

gra

phy

18

6

App

end

ix:

Th

e Tex

ts

20


6/242


7/242

L

S

T

O

T

LE

S

Pa

ge

Cha

pter

O n

e :

T

able

la

: In

iti

al p

ubl

ica

tion

s of

M

aren

zio

'

s

pri

nci

pal

wor

ks

1b

: Ma

drig

als

b y M

aren

zio

pr

inte

d

in

cont

emp

ora

ry

E

ngli

sh

pub

lic

ati

ons

C

hap

ter

T w o

:

Table

2a

:

Coloration

2b

: I

llus

tra

tive

m

elis

mat

a

2c

:

Pa

rti

op

enin

g

in

can

zone

rh

yth

m

2d

:

Co

mpa

rati

ve

len

gths

o

f

ma

dri

gal par

ti

2

e

: Fo

rmal

pat

tern

s

2f

:

Us

e of

Mod

es

2g

: No

n-P

erfe

ct C

aden

ces

2

h

:

Ha

rmo

nic

rela

tio

nsh

ip of

pa

rti

end

ings

C

hap

ter

Pou

r:

Ta

ble

4

a

:

E

ngl

ish

tran

sla

tio

ns

in

8-9

35-

36

4 5

49

-50

7 2

81

-83

8

5

98

2

4b

:

T

rip

le

Pr

opo

rti

ons

130

4

c

:

Cle

fs

and

V

ocal

Ran

ges

i

n 1

38

Bo

ok

I

4d

: Clef

s a

nd

Vo

cal

Rang

es

i

n 1

39

Book

VI

4e

:

C

lefs

and

Voc

al R

ang

es

in

1

40

th

e B

eddi

ng M

adr

igal

s


8/242

- 1 -

CH P

TER

T

he

Ital

ian M

adrigal

and Luca

Marenzi

o

The

object

of th

is thesis

is

to present

an edition

o

t

he

si

x bo

oks of six-vo

iced sec

ular madriga

ls publish

ed during

M

arenzio*s

lifetime,

toget

her wi

th

an

edito

rial and s

tylistic

commen

tary. It

is

hoped tha

t the

ed

ition will

provide mate

rial

for

fur

ther

stud

y

not

onl

y

of the

madrig

als thems

elves but al

so

in conjunction

with

the

music

of

other composers

and,

in

conj

unction

wit

h tne discussi

on on

matters aff

ecting pe

rformance

in Cha

pter Pour

,

a

basis f

or perfor

mance; and

that the re

marks

o

n

contempor

ary pe

rformance

i

n C

hapter Pour

will stim

ulate

performa

nces bo

th a

uthentic and

excitin

g.

Th

e

ed

ition i

tself co

nstitutes

Volume

Tw

o of the

thes

is.

The two

main volumes contain

the

complete contents of

the

indivi

du

al

p

ublicatio

ns, exclu

ding on

e

te

n-voiced

ma

drigal, one ni

ne-

voiced

madrigal

and

one madriga

l

a

6

by

A

ntonio

Bicci.

These,

together

with two

furt

ner madri

gals include

d

b

y phale

se in

his

coll

ected ed

ition of t

he

first

five

boo

ks of six

-voiced

madrigals

,

publishe

d in Antwe

rp i

n 1594,

compri

se

an App

endix

t o th

e editio

n.

Details

of

these madrigals

and of

the

sources will

b e

found in

the openin

g sect

ion of

Chapter Pour.

Por

ease

of

re

ference

the

cont

ents of the

editi

on are

listed alphabeti

cally

and

by

number

at

the end

of

t

his volume.

The

I

talian

Madrig

al

It

is

not intended

t o

summarise here

the

musical history

and cnara

cteristic

s of the

Italian

madrigal

s

o

admirabl

y and

thoroug

hly

set out

in Einstein*

s The

Italian

Madrigal

,

illumi

ned

a

s it

is

by

a wonder

ful kno

wledge a

nd

app

reciation

of

ci

nquecento


9/242

-2-

vers

e.

Neve

rthele s

s, t

o a pp

reciat

e

the

ma drig

a l fully

a s

a n

a

rt-

for

m

i

t

i

s

necessa

ry,

perna

ps eve n fo

r th

e pe rf

orme r

to see it

in

r

e latio

n to t

he social an

d

arti

stic cl

imate i

n

which

i

t fl

ourish

ed.

It

w

a s an in

bred form,

c

ultiva

ted

fo

r

the lyric

e x

pre ssi

on of

2

e r

otic s

entime

nt in a

hi

g hly arti

stic form

,

and a

rtific

ially

n

ourish

e d b y

the pri

vate circ

le of

court

or

a ca

demy unt

il it

b

ecame

1 l the m o s t

highl

y re f

ined prod

uct

o

f

I ta lia

n

a risto

cratic

c

ulture

Origi

nating

in

the b

alance

d

fo

rms of

the

High Ren

ais

sance,

the

frott

ola and

chanso

n, i t

M

sought

nobil

ity and

fasti

dious

refi

nement

t o

the po

int of

e xt

ravang a

nce and

se

ntimen

tal

3

affec

tation

.

Nobi

lity

was

foun

d i

n the

re s

ources

of

e cc

lesias

tical po

lyphon

y,

extra

van gan

ce

in

virtu

osic

displa

y

and

a n

i

ncre a s

ing num

be r of

voi

ces, and

a ffect

ation in the

g ro

wth of

musi

ca l s

ymbols

t o

refle

ct

th

e

incr

e asing

obscur

ities

o

f

m

a driga

l

v

erse.

B

e coming

e v

e r more

re fi

ned and

a r

istocr

a tic in sty

le a

nd

concerning itself more and more with e xpressive detail,

the

madri

g a l

tu

rned

in

on

itse

lf for n

ourish

ment,

f

e e ding

on

its

own

manner

isms, an

d be c

a me a f

ield

for

restle

ss e

xperim

e nt in

c

hromat

icism and

new

tonali

ties.

In

doi

ng s o it

a lig

ned

itsel

f

w

ith

the

aestne

tic tre nd

whic

h has

been

label

led Manne

rism ,

where

forma

l balanc

e

w

as

subo

rdinat

ed t o t

he e xpr

e ssion

of

d e t a i } . ,

nove lty

and ca price

were prized, and

artifice

a n d

extra v a g a nce

A.Ei

nstein

, T h e 1

1 a l an

I v l a

d r i g al 3

vois

., Prin

ce ton,

1 9 4

9 ,

re

printe

d

1 9 7

1 . Tn

e 1 9 7 1

rep

rint co

ntains

a

valua

ble

i

nde x

of

'capo

versi.

Re f

erence

s

t

o Ein

stein'

s

te

xt

a r e ,

ho

we ve r,

t

o th

e

edi

tion.

H.Leic

hentri

tt, Mus

ic,

History

and Ideas

, Ha

rvard,

1 9 3 8 ,

p .

9 3 .

*

A.Eins

tein,

A Short

His

tory

o

f

Music,

5 t h . edn

., Londo

n, 1

948,

P . 4 7

,


10/242

- 3 -

were term

s of highest approb

atipn.

This

development, althougn it

c

ontinued

largel

y unaffected

until

the

madr

igal's

demise, di

d not

g o unchallenged.

Vincenzo

Galilei's withering at

tack on el

aborate coun

terpoint and

2

madrigalian

artifice,

Dialogo

della

mus

ica antioa e

della moderna

,

is

perhaps

the

best known but

is

only

one

of many.

G.B.Gira

ldi,

a les

s vehement b

ut more wide-ranging

opponent

of the

manneri

st

3

style,

wrote satir

ically

of

a madriga

l

recital;^

It is

a remar

kable

t

hing

that the

se young

men lam

ent

s o much about

love

. . . some are

alive wit

h

death,

o

thers'die with life: this one

burns i

n

ice, tha

t

one

is

frozen in

fire;

this

one

cries out wnile

keeping

silence,

that

one

is sil

ent v v h i l e

crying o u t , and

all

those things that are

impossible

i

n natur

e appear t o

be pos

sible for

them...

.

4

Ben Johnson decl

ared

of

t h e

whole

mannerist ethos:

That

* Y h i c h i s tortured i s cou

nted t h e more exquisit

e:

nothing is

fashionable

till it is

deformed.

j ? o r the mad

rigal

both

the

principal cha

llenge and

encouragement came

from

t h e

a r c a d e ; n i e and ridotti.

These circ

les

The

term

"Ma

nnerism" has

been var

iously

interp

reted

by

art

historians. T h e view

generally ac

cepted

an

d applied

in

thi

s

thesis

is that of

J . Shearman,

Mannerism, London

, 1 9 6 7 :

for the

above reference see

e s p .

pp.

15-22.Shearman

explores

briefly

the relat

ionship between

music

and

Mannerism, p p . 96-104,

as

does F

.B. A r t z ,

From

t h e

Renaissance

t o Romanticism,

Chic

ago,

1 9 6 7 , pp.111-117

T141-147 and

155-156 . Anot

ner usef

ul

explo

ration

of tnis relationship, particularly concerning

the

music of

Gesua

ldo, can be

found

in

G . t f a t k i n s , Gesuald

o; T h e Man

and

His

Music,

Lond

on, 1 9 7 3 , p p . 95-110. Di

scussions of

more s p e c i f i . c

aspects

of this

relationshi

p

can

b

e

fou

nd

in

j.Haar,'c

lassicism

and M anneri

sm in lot

h-Century

M u s i c ' ,

international

Revue

of

Music

Aestheti

cs

and Sociology,

i

(197u),55-b7;D

. H a r r a n ,

"Mannerism" i

n t n e Cinquecen

to Madr

igal

,

Musical Quarterl

y,

I

v

1969)

, 521-544;

M.Maniates,'Musica

l- Mannerism:

Effetene

ss

or'V

irility » , M

usical quarterly.

I v i i .

1971),

270-293:

C .

Pa

lisca,«"Ut

oratoria

m

usica;" the

Rhetor

ical

Bas

is

of

Music

al

Manne

rism',

i

n

The

Meaning of Mannerism, e

d . i \ W . Robinson

&

S .

G

. Nichols, J

r . ,

Hanover, N.H.,

1 9 Y 2 ,

pp.37-65: R.E

.Wolf,

T h e

Aes

thetic

problem

of tne

"Renaissa

nce"',

in

Revue Bei

ge

de

Musicol

o^ie,

ix 1955

),

83-

102; and R.E.

v Y o l

r ,

'Renaiss

ance,

m n n e r i s m ,

B

aroque: Three

Styles, Thr

ee periods',

in

Les Collogue

s

de

wegimont, iv (

1 9 5 7 ) , 35-59.

P

ubl. Venic

e,

1 5 8 1 : excerpts tr

anslated

and

quoted

in

Strunk

,Source

Rea

dings in

Music History,

New York

, 1 9 5 0 , p

p.302-322.

Quote

d in

Sh

earman, Manne

rism, p . 9 9 .

Quoted

in

Artz,

Renaissa

nce

t o

Romanticism

,

p.116.


11/242

- 4 -

3r clubs of aristocrats,

artists

and intellectuals sprang up in

every Italian

a f c t y

rom the

middle of

t&e

fifteenth century

on*

wards for

the promulgation and discussion of

Humanist

ideas* In

1543 the

first purely musical

academy,

the

Accademia

Filarmonica

de

Verona,

to whose members Marenzio dedicated his Book III a

5 «

was

founded,

to

be

followed quickly

by

many others. They

provided

a forum for

the

dissemination

of

aesthetic ideas

and

experiments, enabling composers to

write music whose

style

was

not

dictated

by aristocratic

or

public taste. The more

important

-

particularly the Camerata

of

Count

Bardi in Plorence and the

ridotto

of

Count

Mario

Bevilacqua in Verona

- also

provided a

humanist challenge t o the current aesthetic trends. They opposed

t h e

maniera

madrigalesca

as

an

"imperfect, trivial and

affected"

instrument of

expression, and

looked to classical

models

for a

more 'proper 1

relationship

of

music

and verse. The

principal

musical theorists

except Zarlino sought a

return

to the music

of classical

Greece,

though

their ideas on

what this comprised

and of the means t o achieve it varied

widely:

extremists such

as

Mei and Galilei wanted a return t o monody and the Pythagorean

modes,

Vicentino attempted in L'antica musica ridotto alia

moderna

prattica of 1555

t o

revive what he

considered

the Greek chromatic

and enharmonic genera in experiments in new tonalities, and Doni

even

allowed

some imitation.

Zarlino

supported the retention of

harmony,

which

he

considered

a

superior

invention,

t f i t h

a

remark

able

change of heart

Galilei, in a

counterpoint tr eatise

left

unpublished

at his

death in

1 5 9 1 ,

advocated an extremely

free

p

use

of

contrapuntal dissonance. What

all

sought was the

expression

of

the text

through emotional, gestural

imitation

rather than through literal

or

metaphorical musical imitation

G.B. Doni, cited in Shearman, Mannerism,

p.104.

2

C.Palisea

'Vincenzo

Galilei's

Counterpoint Treatise:

a code

for

the "seconda Practica'" Journal

of

the American

Musicological

S o c i e t y . ,

ix ( 1 9 5 6 ) , 81-967


12/242

-5-

and eye-music, an

attitude

that contained a

strong element

of -

< »

or a striking similarity to - the spirit of the Counter-Reformation:

In

the

academies

one may observe

the

change

from

the

gaiety of the

Renaissance

t o tne severity, the

darkening of

the

minds,

of

the

counter-Reformation.

"The

attempt t o reintegrate c l a s s i c a l * form with

classical content 1

" ,

writea Lowinsky,

"was

doomed t o

failure,

but

it caused

a

profound change in the musical thought and

practice

p

of the Renaissance".

The

most notable

achievement

of the

accademie was

t h e

almost

accidental

creation

of opera. More

specifically

for the

madrigal

they provided, in the

writings

of

Zarlino, the theoretical

basis from

which it developed a n d , in

their reassertion

of

humanistic

ideals

in

the

last

two

decades

of the century,

t h e impetus for its

last

and greatest

flowering

in the music of Marenzio

and Monteverdi.

Luca

Marenzio

Relatively

little i s known

of

Marenzio f s life, but the

general

outline, apart

from his

early

years, is

clear.

Much

can D e culled, for example, from t h e

dedications

and prefaces

of his publications,

which

usually reveal his current

employer,

interests

an^/or

ambitions. Contemporary writers give little

biographical

information, and

Peacham f s story is largely apocryphal;^

Of stature

and

complexion

he

was

a

little and black

m a n ; he was organist

in

the Pope's chapel a good while;

afterward

he < v e n t into Poland, being in

displeasure

with t h e

Pope for overmuch

familiarity

with a

kins

woman of his

. . .

But returning, he found the.affection

of

the Pope

s o estranged from him

tnat

hereupon

he

took a conceit

and

died.

Marenzio did indeed g o t o

Poland at the

end of 1 5 9 5 , but

A .

Einstein, f Early Concert L i f e ' ,

publ. in Essays on Music, E n g .

rev. edn.,

London,

1 9 5 8 ,

p.46.

«

E.E.Lowinsky, ' M u s i c in the Culture

of

the

Renaissance

1 Journal

of

the

History

of Ideas, x ( 1 9 5 4 ) , 509-553.

* G . 2 a c l i n o ,' L e Istitutioni harmoniche, 1st.edn., Venice,

1 5 5 8 .

^ H.Pe ach am, The Gompleat Gentleman,

1634,

quoted in Strunk,

Source

Readings, p.5351


13/242

- 6 -

very

probably

n

ot for

this

reason. Nor was he

ever organist

in

the

Pope's

chapel, and

his patron in his later years in Rome

was

Cinzio,

later

Cardinal, Aldobrandini,

nepnew of Pope Clement

VIII. The

principal published sources are Einstein's

splendid

chapter

on

the

c

o m p o s e r , a

thorough

study

musically

and

historically,

and t h e

weigh

ty collection of bibliographica

l

material

in

Engel's

p

monograph.

Arnold's

recent

s t u d y , though too brief t

o

contain

much

n

ew

information

, i s an illuminating introduction

t o Marenzio's

music. Rec ent researches have unea

rthed

a not

inconsiderable

amount of new documentary material, n

ot

yet publi

shed,

and

t h e

hope of

other

material as yet undiscovered.

Marenz io' s

ou

tput d uring h i s brief

life was c onsiderable,

i n c l u d i n g

n

ine

b

ooks

of f ive-voic

ed

madrigals, six bo

oks of six-

vo i c e d

m a d r i g al s , one

book of four-voic ed madrigals

and one of

madrigal s to four, five

and

six voices. The

princ ipal c ollec tions

and t h e i r initial pub

lic ation dates are s h o wn i n Table 3 a ;

all

were reprinted at

least once

e

xcept for the Boo

k

a

4,5

&

6 of

1588.

An additional fourteen madrigals

were

printed elsewher

e,

i n c l u d i n g

h i s

first

publication,

the

f ive-voic ed Donna be1 1 a e

crudeIe,

inc lu ded in

II

primo fiore della ghirlanda Musicale,

p r i n t e d at Venice by Scotto i n 1577.

Many

madriga

l s , p a r t i c ularly

early works,

were

reprinted in misc ellaneou s c o lle ct i o n s , i n

German or E n g l i s h translat ion, in instru menta

l

tr

a n s c r i p t i o n s

or as

c ontrafac ta. Details of prints of the six-voic ed madrigal

vol

umes, and of subsequent p u b l i c a t i o n s of

individual

six-voi

c ed

Einste

i n , I talian Madrigal, ii.608-88.

p

H.Engel, Luca Marenzio, Flore

nce,

1956.

*

D.Arnold,

Marenzio,

London,

1965.

The inventory

of mu sic in

the

library of Alfonse d'Este, d a t i n g

from

about

16

28, mentions

a

s ec ond book of four-voi ced

madrigals,

but there appears to

b e

no

otner evidence

of

this at present.

I

am

grateful

t o

Dr.

S .Ledbetter for this information.


14/242

-

7 -

madrig

als, both

cont

emporar

y and

lat

er,

in I

talian

and i

n

t

ranslat

ion, will be

f

ound

in

the

B

ibliogr

aphy.

Marenz

io was bor

n in

t

he

v

illage of Coc

caglia,

near

Bre

scia, in

1 5 5

3

o r

1 5 5 4 ;

Einst

ein cla

ims tha

t " w

e

now

kn

ow

fo

r

2

cert

ain that

it was

1

553 bu

t give

s no ev

idence,

and

Engel

wa

s

un

able

t o find a

nythin

g concl

usive.

Detai

ls of

his app

rentice

ship are

eq

ually un

certain

,

but

in 1580

he appea

red

in Rome

in

t

he se

rvice of

Cardin

al Luigi

d'E

ste.

In the sam

e yea

r

hi

s fir

st book

of

fi

ve-voic

ed madr

igals

w

as p

ublishe

d, a b

ook

which

conta

ining

as

it d

oes

settin

gs of

poems b

y bo

tn

T

asso a

nd Guar

ini

establ

ishes a r

elation

ship

with

t h e

cour

t of

Ferr

ara which

w

as t o pl

ay a

n imp

ortant par

t in h

is

stylis

tic develop

ment.

T h e

boo

k

achieve

d immedi

ate

suc

cess,

an

d

t

he c

ollecti

on was

repr

inted n o less

tha

n six

times

as an

in

dividu

al

book by

1 6 0 2

. Ma

ny ma

drigals

w

ere

a

lso

reprint

ed indivi

dually,

not on

ly in Ital

y:

t

hree

were

in

cluded in the

firs

t set

of

Musica

Tran

salpina

,

o

ne

in

th

e se

cond and

n o

less

than ni

ne

in t f a t s o n

s Ital

ian

Madrig

als

English

ed

of

1 5

9 0 . It alre

ady

display

s consi

derable

techni

cal acco

mplishm

ent; consi

der,

a

mong

Z

much

e

lse,

the

light

ness of

touch

in Liq

uids perle a

mor,

the

No attempt

has

been mad

e here t o

list

the

num

erous

appear

ances of

these madrigals in manuscript

f o r m .

The

British

Museum catalogue

al

one lists

1 0 2 appea

rances

( 7 6

o

f th

em in

two MSS

of the

eig

hteen

th ce

ntury

enthus

iast and

schola

r, B.J.W

arren),

but there

may

well

b

e

mor

e:

D

r .

R.

Bray, fo

r

ex

ample,

h

as

recentl

y disc

overed unkno

wn

inst

rumenta

l t

ranscri

ptions

of

t h e Boo

k a 4,3

&

6 in

B.M

. MS R.M.

2

4.d.2.

Detai

ls of p

ublica

tions of ot

ner

madriga

ls

an

d Villan

elle,,

of some

ma

nuscrip

t

transcr

iptions

an

d

o

f mo

dern

edition

s t o 1956

ar

e

gi

ven

in

the thorou

gh,

if

occas

ionall

y inac

curate

concord

ance

i

n Engel,

Maren

zio,

p p . 223-50

.

2 It

alian M

adrigal

, ii.

60 8-609

.

•

L.Ma

renzio

, 3 a m f l .

i c h e \Verk

e;Madri

gale f

ur fu

nf

Stim

men,

Buch

I-VI

,

2

vols.,

ed.A.Einstein

(Puolikationen

alterer i v i u s i k ,

iv &

v i ) ,

Leipzi

g, 1929

&

193

1,i.1(I

.1). Vo

lume one

o

f

Einst

ein

s

edi

tion

conta

ins Book

s

I,

II,

& III a 5 ;

volum

e t # o

cont

ains

Books IV,V

V I a 5 .

Thr

oughout

thi

s thesi

s

refere

nces t o

Ein

stein s

edi

tion

will give

tne

volume

and page nu

mber,

follow

ed

by th

e

ori

ginal

book

num

ber

a

nd t h e

number

of th

e madr

igal

in

tha

t

book

(Einste

in s

edit

ion f

ollows the

same ord

er)

usin

g the same

method

a

s r

eferenc

es

t o tnis edit

ion.


15/242

-

8-

T

LE

I

ni

tia

l

pub

li

ca

tio

ns

o

f Ma

ren

zi

o»

s p

ri

nci

pa

l

w

ork

s.

Da

te

Col

le

ct

ion

A

;

Ma

dri

ga

ls

1

58

0

1

5 8

1

15

82

15

84

1

5 8 5

1587

15

88

1 5

9 1

1

5 9

4

1

5 9 5

1 5 9 8

1

5 9 9

B

oo

k I

a

5

B

oo

k

II

a

5

B

oo

k II

I

a

5

Book IV a

5

B

ook

I a

6

B

oo

k

I I a

6

Ma

dr

iga

li

S

pi

rit

ua

l

a

5

Bo

ok

I

a 4

Boo

k

V

a

5

B

oo

k

a 4

,5

&

6

Bo

ok

VI

a

5

B

oo

k V

II

a

5

Book

YIII

a

5

B

ook

IX

a

5

Boo

k

II

I a

6

Book

IY

a

6

B

ook

Y

a

6

o

ok

V

I a

6

Pub

li

she

r

Ga

rd

ano

G

ar

dan

o

Ga

rda

no

Ga

rda

no

Vincenti

Amadino

G

ar

dan

o

Ga

rda

no

Ga

rda

no

Sco

tt

o

Sc

ot

to

Yincenti

Vi

nc

ent

i

G

ar

dan

o

G

ar

dan

o

Ga

rda

no

Ga

rd

ano

Gardano

Gar

da

no


16/242

- 9 -

T

BLE

a * , (continued)

Dat

e

B : Villan

elle

Collection

Publisher

1584 B o o K :

I a 3

1585

Book

II delle Canzonet

te alia

Nap

oletana a

3

Book

III

a

3

1587

Book IV

a

3

B

ook

V a 3

1 5 9 1

Eight

pieces i

n

I nte

rmedii

et

Concert

i

Vincent

i

&

Amad

ino

Vincenti

&

Amadin

o

Gardano

Vincenti

Sc

otto

V

incenti

C ; Sacre

d Mus

ic

1585

Motectorum

pro festis

toti us

anni

1592

M

otectorum

II

( l o

s t )

159

5

Complet

orium

et

A

ntiphonae

a 6

( l

o s t )

16

14

Motett

i a

1 2 ( l o s t )

1616 Sacrae

Cantiones

a 5,6 &

7

Scotto

A

madino &

Vincenti


17/242

1

expressive counte

rpoint

and harmonies

of

Doiorosi

martir, and

more

generally the complete integration of mus i cal

and

verbal

rhythms and

the

subtle

changes

of

texture and scoring whic h

give simultaneously

variety and

expressivenes

s .

Book I

a 6

appeared i n

t h e following year, de dicated

to Duke Alfon

so d'Este of Ferrara. Arnold finds

it

a

little

unexpected that

Marenzio,

a

c omposer

w

i t h

no

ambitions

t o

write

sacred

music,

should have gone

t o Rome, where composers

were

out

of

touc h with

the

musical developments o

f madrigal compos

i t i o n i n

the north,

though

there is ample evidence of amateur

2

music-making in

tne English manner. Einstein, however,

clas s ifies

this

as

a Book of Roman Idylls

and

ele

gies , and

claims

that it

was

secretly

ded i cated

t o Cleria C

esarini,

a

noted Roman beauty whose name

is

farmed

by t h e

initia

l letters

of the lines

of the

first m

adrigal, Come inanti de 1

'alba.

Certainly there are

no

harmoni c experiments, eight madrigals

have

the

archa

i c

alia

b r g v ^ e signature and several

are mod&l i n

flavour. However, Marenzio*s

mus i c

has none of

the

unpr

etentious

sobriety

of

Palestrina's

madrigals; already

the text

is

abundantly

illustrated,

and in the faster madrigals

there is lightness and

v

irtuosity.

T h e

contrast

t o

w h i c h E i n s tein

refers can be clearly

seen between suc h madrigals

a s Nel piu fiorito Aprile ( 1 . 8 ) and

0 dolorosa

sorte

( 1 .

9 ) . The

first

is a

l

ignt,

virtuoso

piece of

descriptive

writing,

w h i c h deservedly

achieved fame through

many

reprintings. The second, in m i s u

ra di breve, is a piece

of sustained though

subdued melancholy, indulging in mild harmonic

word-pain t i ng

on

su c h

words

as moro

and crudo . A more

profound

passage of word-painting through harmony and scoring

appears

i n

Marenzio,

Werke, i.16 ( 1 . 6 ) .

2 Mar

enzio, p .

5 I t al i an

Madrigal, ii.618.


18/242

- 1 1 -

th

e

in

spire

d s

ettin

g

of w

Poi

sos

piran

do, disse

: Ah

irael

ch'io

ag g i

acci

a^In

Strin

se Amar

illi

( 1 . 1 5

, kara

23 -

38).

D e

n

rinf

orzat

e (1.12)

is

ano

ther fi

ne

madri

gal whic

h

inco

rpor

ates

t o

a l

imite

d

exten

t

some

of the

ill

ustr

ative

aspe

cts of

the

ligh

ter

piec e

s,

thoug

h i

n misur

a d i bre

ve.

Its

. s c o

r i n g ,

SATTB

B,

co n

trast

s with

the

SSAA

TB

of the

fol

lowin

g ma

drigal

, a li

vely

and jo

yful

setti

ng of t

he wor

ds

"Ca

ntate

Nin

fe le

ggiad

rette

e

b

elle"

,

illus

trati

ng alre

ady Ma

renzi

o's

awar

eness

and

c o

n t r o l ,

of

th

is me

ans

of e

xpres

sion

in the

ri

cher

mediu

m of six

voic

es.

Pe

rhaps

his gr

eates

t i

nspi

ratio

n in t

his

book i

s re

serve

d

for

t

h e l

ast

six-v

oic ed

m

adrig

al, a

tw

o-par

t set

ting of

Pet

rarch

's

sonn

et L

'aura

sere

na (

1 . 1 7 )

,

a

pie

ce ric

h

in t

extur

e and expr

ession

,

It

look

s for

ward t o

late

r

ac hi

eveme

nts in th

e

ratn

er u

neasy

f

alse

r

elat

ions of

the

openi

ng

phras

e

and

t h e sens

e

of

relea

se in

the

ir

resol

ution

in the

sec

ond Qu

into e

ntry,

t h

e dif

feren

t

rhythmic interpretations

by

Sesto and Basso of

the

sa

me

mel

odic

figur

e

at

"Fam

mi

ris

ovenir

" ( b a

r s 17

-19),

a

nd th

e d

ancin

g pair

s

of

si

xths and

t

hirds

over

a

slow

ly

desce

nding

scale

in

bar

s

35-

4 3

o

f

t

he

sec

onda par

te.

In

the

fol lo

wing

ye

ar,

1 5 8 2

, Mare

nzio p

ublis

hed his

sec

ond book

of

fi

ve-vo

ic ed madr

igal s

,

which

in many

ways cont

inues

the

stylistic contrasts and

developments

of its predecessors.

P

erhap

s m 6 .

s t

strik

ing are

t w o of

the

thre

e P

etrar

ch sett

ings,

2

5

I'

piang

o an

d 0 voi

c h

e sos

pirat

e ( t h e

thi

rd, S e

r l

pen

sier is

for e

ight

voic

es in

tw

o

fo

ur-pa

rt

cho

irs).

T

he

firs

t

of

th

ese

op

ens wit

h a

prog

essio

n fr

om

a

c

hord of

G

majo

r t o on

e of E

maj

or,

the to

p vo

ice

movi

ng

from G

natur

al t

o

G

sh

arp, a

sim

ple but

1 We

rke,

i.72

(11.1

2).

2 We

rke,

i,6

9

(

11.10

).

3

We

rke,

i.85

(11.1

6).


19/242

2

w

onderf

ully

expres

sive

chrom

atic step

wh

ich was

t o

becom

e

an

imp

ortant

part of

Maren

zio's

harmo

nic vocab

ulary.

Th

e

second

incl

udes tne

f

amous

set

ting

of the

word

s Mu

ti una volt

a que

l

sua

antic

o stilo

i

nvolvi

ng the en

harmon

ic combin

ation

of

G -

sharp

/A flat an

d 3 ?

shar

p/G

flat,

cert

ainly

amaz

ing harmon

ies

whi

ch appear

to

indica

te that

Mare

nzio was

aware

of equ

al

temper

ament o

r someth

ing ve

ry s

imilar

, but

which have

com

e

t

hrough

ov

er-expo

sure po

ssibly

t

o seem

more t

ypical

of Mare

nzio's

harmo

nic s

tyle tha

n

in fact

th

ey a r e .

Cert

ainly it

i s n

ot f

ollowe

d up *

here

one migh

t hav

e

e

xpecte

d, in

t h e third

book

of five-

voiced

madrig

als pu

blishe

d

two year

s

l

ater a

nd

dedi

cated

t o

the

A c c a

d e r n i c i

Pilarm

onici of

Verona

.

This b o

o k , accor

ding

t o Ei

nstein,

shows m

ore virtu

osity

2

but

. . . i s al

so shal

lower

than

its three

predec

essors

.

Certa

inly

th

e book

leans more

hea

vily

on pi

ctoria

l descri

ption

and h

as

no

darin

g harmon

ic exper

iment,

but

generally speaking

it

follows

the li

ne of Mar

enzio'

s

develo

pment a

t t

his time.

The s

tyle

of

virtu

osity a

ppears

t o

betray

t o som

e exten

t t

h e influ

ence

of

a

visi

t t o t

he C

ourt of Pe

rrara w

itn

its fam

ous

three

lady

virtuo

si -

s

e e ,

for

exampl

e, th

e

t

hree-v

oiced i

mitati

ve op

enings

of Ridea

n

gia

a

nd Sch

erzando

con

d

iletto

- b

ut it pr

ovokes

a fasci

nating

experiment in

texture in Occhi lucenti

e

b e l l i -

3

in which

the

Ca

nto, e

xpandi

ng

the usual eye-

symbol

fo r

o

cchi

t o inter

pret

als

o t

he siate semp

re

sereni

of t

he l

ast line o

f

the

te

xt,

s

ings

The

que

stion

of

tu

ning a

nd te

mperame

nt in

the si

xteent

h cent

ury

is di

scusse

d ve

ry tho

rougnl

y in

J.M.

Ba

rbour,

Tuning

and Te

mperam

ent

;

A His

torica

l Surve

y, M

ichigan

, 1 9

5 1 . Fo

r a discus

sion

of

it in

re

lation

T

O

w

arenzio

's

madr

igals

see Chap

ter

4 p p . 15

8-159.

2

Italian

Madrigal,

i i .

6 2 7 .

3 W

erke,

i.118

(I

II.11).

4

Werk

e,

i.11

2

(I

II.8).

5

Werk

e, i.122

(III.

12).


20/242

- 1

3 -

eix

phras

es co

nsist

ing

6n

ly o

f semib

reves

* h

i l e t h

e

four

l

ower

voi

ces enjo

y a #

ide

va

riety

of

imi

tativ

e

a

nd

ha

rmoni

c

text

ures.

Scal

dava

il

s o l ,

a v

ividl

y descr

iptiv

e pie

ce,

is

descr

ibed

by

A

rnol

d as on

e

of the

la

rge-s

cale

mad

rigal

s whi

ch

ar

e the

gl

ory

p

of

th

e yo

ung

Mare

nzio 1 1

.

Otne

r

ma

driga

ls,

p

arti

cular

ly Mad

onna

po

i c

h f u

ccide

r mi vol

ete,

con

tain

pas

sages

of

homop

honic

co

ncisi

on wh

ich cont

inue

f

rom t

h e textu

re i

f not

neces

saril

y

the

expre

ssive

ness of I

'pian

go.

Boo

k

II a

6 , pu

blish

ed in 1

584

an d

dedi

cated

t o Car

dinal

de

Guise,

the

nephew

of

Luigi

d»Este,

is

similar

in

style

t o

Book

I a

6 .

Six

madri

gals ar

e com

posed

in th

e

mis

ura

d i

br

eve

and t

here

i

s the s

ame

div

ision

betw

een t

he past

oral and

the

path

etic,

bet

ween the

idi

om of

Vag

hi

e

lie

te fa

nciul

li

I I

. 3 )

an

d that

of Tu

tti

s

ue

s

quadr

e

I I .

6 ) . I

n the

latt

er,

a s in

Nes

sun viss

e gi

am ai

I

I . 2 ) and

Del

cib

o (1

1.11),

E

inste

in

comments that Mar enzio

seems

an xious

t o

prove that he

i s

also

perfe

ctly able

t o writ

e in

the

o l

d ,

al

most

imp

erson

al

s

tyle

1 1

.

Del

cibo

, inde

ed, p

rovid

es a

fas

cinat

ing c

ompar

ison

wi

th its

im

media

te p

redec

essor

in t

he bo

ok Qant

ai gi

a lie

tp

(11

.10).

Th

e

latt

er i s r

ich ly

desc

ripti

ve and

var

ied in

text

ure,

with

some

fine

co ntr

ap unt

al a

nd m

elism

atic w

ritin

g and

exp

ressi

ve

harmonies employing pedal notes and suspensions;

as

. v i t h

the

e

xpres

sive

six-

three

harm

onies

on t

he word

s

pian

to and

co

ntra

mo

rte

in

Nes

sun visse

giam

ai

I I .

2 ) ,

the

se

are les

s

sta

rtlin

g

but

mo

re smo

othly

inte

grate

d int

o the

textu

re th

an

the p

revio

us

exa

mples

f

rom

Bo

ok II a

3

. By co

ntras

t p

el cibo

( II.

11) i

s

a

ve

ry effe

ctive

piec

e of

under

state

ment:

full

-textu

red,

a

rest

ricte

d

wer

ke,

i.12

6 ( I

II.H)

.

p

^ Maren

zio,

p.

16.

5

Werk

e, i.93

(III

.1).

4 Itali

an Madri

gal,

ii

.633.


21/242

14

use

of

counterpoint ( f o r

example, only t w o voices out

of

four

singing may

b e

involved in

imitation),

some

very mild harmonic

word-pa

inting

("dolcezza" in

bars

27-30 o

f

the

seconda

parte),

and a slow steady momen

tum in which even crotchet

decoration is

rel

atively infrequent. In un bel

bosco i l

l

. 9 i s another

fine

piec

e

wi t h a sensitivel

y dra

wn contrast

be

tween

t h e

two part

i,

unlike

bot

h tne pieces

just discussed, which attempt

t o combine

the

parti

(r

ather

unu

sually;

through

uniformity of style

and simi

larity of

motive.

T n e m

ost famous

madrigal in

t h e b o o k

, both

wedding-sonnet

and

peaen

t o

t h e

eternal

c i t y ,

Cedan

l ntiche

( 1 1 . 4 ;

-

anothe

r

which

justly

passed

throu

gh many, if bowdlerised,

reprintings -

is

anotn

er splendidly eff

ective p i e c e ,

wit

h its

famed pictorialisms

and marvellous vocal sco

ring.

T h e

preface of this book

reflects that m u s i c , far

from

simply delighting

the

s e n s e

s , should

bring peace t o

t h e

soul

through

self-restraint, a

Platonic

comment

that says as

much for

t h e

Roman influence

on Marenzio's music a s f

or its future

development. Already, t h o u g h ,

textures are som

ewhat lighter and

more

spacious - most

remarkably in t h e

s p a r s e , fleet ing

textures

of Marenzio's setting of

Jacchetti's fourteenth-century

c a c c i a .

Passando

con pensier ( 1 1 . 1 5 ) ,

which

is in

marked c

ontrast

t o

the

ratner

solid

eight-voiced

setting

of

Peter

Philips, the

only

other

setting

of this text

composed in t h e sixteenth

and

s

eventeenth

centuries -

and there i s complete mastery

of

contra

puntal devices

.

Three

more publicat

ions followed sw

iftly: the

Madrigali

Spiritual a

cinque,

dedicate

d on Apri

l

29th ( B o

o k

II a

6

had been dated Apri

l

1 5 t h ) ,

the fourth book

of

fiv*v

oiced

madrigals,

dated

May

5 t h ,

and his first book of

light,

diatonic,


22/242

15

«

simple

b

ut

perfectl

y accom

plished thr

ee-voiced Villanell

e. The

j J a

d r i g a l i Spirit

ual cont

inue tne

contrast

of sty

le

observed in

earl

ier

bo

oks, the "spi

ritual" sonnets,

mostly i

n misura

d i breve,

being "always

at

least reserved, sustained and somewhat archaic",

and the sett

ings

o

f

madrig

al

texts

in

mi

sura commune

conti

nuing

the

sty

listic deve

lopments o i the

earlier

pastoral

m

adrigals* The

fourth book of

five-

voiced madr

igals likew

ise

remain

s,

in

Marenzi

o's

t e r r

a s ,

fairly

co

nventional,

a

nd

according t o

Einstein

p

"con

sists lar

gely

of

oc

casional pieces"

- no dou

bt in an

attempt

to

make

the

most of his current popularity. Perhaps the most

interesti

ng,

in

view of later

developme

nts

in

t h e

work both

of

i

v i a r e n z i o

an

d of o

ther madrigali

sts, i s

the four-pa

rt cycle

with

which the

book opens,

Giunto a la tomb

a,

the

text

of

which is

take

n from

Tasso's La

Gerusa

lemme Li

berata; it opens

wi

th richly

descri

ptive descen

ding counterpoin

t against

a

stately

motive

heard first

in the Canto

and then

in

the

Quinto

( h e r e

the

fourth

voic

e) and

though

in misura

d i breve

with genera

lly

ric

h, full

texture

s continues

large

ly

in

this pict

orial vein, in

st

rong

contrast, f

or e

xample, t

o tne simpler and

more

dramatic s

etting

A

by

Giaches

de Wert of

the first

t w o stanz

as.

The fiftn boo

k of

five-vo

iced madrig

als

w

as also

completed in

1 5 8 4 : t h e

dedication

t o

Nicolo Pallavicino,

a

Genoese

noblem

an,

was dated

Decem

uer

1 5

t h , though

the book

was

no

t publi

shed

unti

l earl

y 1 5 8 5 .

I

t contains seve

ral featu

res o

f

inte

rest. Tne

opening

piece,

fluent and

skil

ful tho

ugh not

par

ticularly adventurous

, is a

complete

settin

g

of

Sannaza

ro's

Einstein, Italian

. f a d r i g a l , i i * . 6 3 7 *

Italian

Madrig

al id .63

8.

5 Werke ii 1

UV 1

* O

riginally

published

in

C J .

d e t f e r

t ,

II

settimo

libro de ma

drigali.

Venice,

1 5 8 1 ;

modern ed

ition in Einstein

,

Italian i v i a d r i

^ a l i l l '


23/242

-16

-

s

esti

na.

Sol

a an

gio

lett

a,

tiar

enzi

o's

m

ost

l

engt

hy

c

omp

osi

tio

n

to dat

e.

The

c

ont

ras

t

be t

wee

n ti

me-

sign

atu

res

re

mai

ns,

f

ive

of

th

e

se

ven

tee

n pie

ces

b

eing

in

mi

sur

a

di br

eve.

One

o

f

the

se,

a

p

setting

of Giovanni

della

Casa's sonnet

S

f

io

vissi

ci

eco

,

expl

ore

s

n

ew

har

mon

ic regi

ons

w

ith

a

k

ey

s

ign

atu

re of

t

wo

fla

ts

( a si

gna

ture

no

t

us

ed in

th

e si

x-v

oic

ed

me

drig

als

).

Ano

the

r,

Fill

i

tu

sei

p

i f r

b

ell

a,

is

en

tit

led

Ari

a ,

an

d

is

wri

tte

n i

n

a

hom

oph

oni

c

de

cla

mat

ory st

yle

, fo

ur-

voi

ced

a

lmo

st t

hro

ugh

out,

a

se

con

d ten

or

pa

rt

bei

ng a

dded

on

ly

at

poi

nts

of

st

ruc

tur

al

acc

ent

. Th

ere

ar

e

four

brief

stanzas

and

a

commiato

divided between

two

parti;

with

on

ly ve

ry s

lig

ht

al

ter

ati

ons,

s

tan

za t

wo

is

set

t

o the

mus

ic

of

st

anz

a o

n e ,

an

d st

anz

a

fou

r t o

tha

t o

f sta

nza

t

hre

e, e

ach

part

i

th

us c

omp

risi

ng

tw

o

s

tat

eme

nts

p

lus

, in

t

he

fir

st

a si

mple

rep

eti

tio

n

of

th

e fin

al

ph

ras

e,

and

in

th

e se

con

d the

s

ett

ing

o

f t

he com

mia

to,

it

sel

f inv

olv

ing

a

sli

ghtl

y de

cor

ated

rep

eti t

ion

of

the

las

t

two

lines of

text.

Formally,

this

is of

a

kind

with

the

experiments

of Bo

ok

11

1 a

6 ,

whi

ch fo

llo

wed

on

ly t

wo m

ont

ns

lat

er;

st

ylis

tic

all

y,

t

he

i

nfl

uen

ce

of

We

rt,

and

bey

ond

hi

m

of

tne Fr

enc

h

ch

ans

on,

i

s

cl

e ar

. O

the

r s

imi

lar

itie

s

of s

tyle

,

o

r

p

erh

aps

ev

en de

lib

erat

e

t

rib

utes

t o

o

tner

co

mpo

ser

s,

can

u e s

een

else

whe

re:

i

n L

a re

te

/

c

fu,

whi

ch qu

ote

s Pa

les

tri

na^

l o so

n

fer

ito

^ wh

ere

th

ese

wor

ds

occur;

in

the

opening

of

Basciami

mille

volte,

which

is

7

simi

lar

t o

tna

t o

f

D

ome

nic

o

Fe

rra

bos

co f s

set

ting

o

f

1554

; a

nd

o

in D

ue

ro

se

fre

sch

e,

in

wh

ich

the

Can

to's

op

enin

g mot

if

ec

hoe

s

We

rke,

i

i.4

7

(V.

1).

2

We

rke

. i

i

.

9 3

(

V.1

7).

3

Wer

ke,

ii . 7

8

(V.

11).

4

Werke,

ii.66

(V.6).

*

Mod

ern edi

tio

n

in

G

.P.

de p

ale

stri

na,

L

e

ope

r^ com

plet

e,

e

d .

R .

Gas

imi

ri

e t

al.

,32

vols

.,

Rome

,

1939

-,

xxv

iii

.

17

9.

6

Wer

ke,

ii

.

8 5 (

Y.U

).

^

quo

ted

i

n E

ins

tein

,

Ital

ian

i

Via

drig

al. i.31

1.

8

Wer

ke, i

i.9

0

Y.

16)

.


24/242

- 1 7 -

that

of Andr

e a Gab

rieli'

s sett

ing of 1

572 1 -

pro

viding,

inc

identa

lly,

a n

in

terest

ing

contra

st of n

armoni

c

id

iom.

The

y e a r

15

85

sa* severa

l

more p

uolica

tions:

the thi

rd

book of six- voiced madriga ls,

the

first book of four- voiced

madr

igals,

two b

ooks of

Vil

lane

li

e and the

fi

rst bo

ok

o

f mot

ets,

Ma r

e nzio'

s on

ly s

urvivi

ng

s

acred

music

apa r

t from

the

posth

umous

pu

blica t

ion of

Amad

ino and V

icenti

of 1

6 1 6 .

The

firs

t of thes

e t

o a ppe

a r wa s

Bo ok

III

a 6 ,

whi

ch

a

ppe a re

d in

Fe

bruary

,

dedic

ated t o

Bian

ca

M

edici,

Grand

Duch

ess

of Tuscany,

in

the

hope of procuring he r

favour; at the

same

t

ime, de

spite his

low s

alary,

a ckno

wledgin

g

the

o

pportu

nities

fo

r compo

sition

a

fforde

d

h

im by

his p

resent

patron

, a fact

a mp

ly attes

ted by

the num

ber of

publ

icatio

ns s

o

far

produc

ed.

(In

deed, t

he

dr

a stic s

lowing

-down of

pr

oducti

on from

1587 was

c

onceiv

a bly

at

le

ast a s

mu

ch

d

ue t o t

he

death

of

his

pa

tron -

perhaps simply less fa vourable working conditions

-

a s

to

the

si

g nific

a nt

c

hang e

of

style tn

at oc

curred

at that t

ime).

For

the first

time all

t h e pie c

es are

i

n t h e

m i

sur

a comm

une an

d a

ll

are

pasto

ra l in ch

aracte

r, a tone

s

et

by

t h e st

raighf

orward

dia

tonic s

tateme

nt

of

l o moriro

d' Am

ore

wit

h whi

ch

the

boo

k

op

ens;

though

with

in

tnis

out

wa rd

simil

arity

there is

y

a rieta

enough.

The

trend of

the

five-voiced books

t o

more direct

st

atemen

t

i

s cont

inued,

numo

ers

li

ke

l o mori

ro

d'Amore

(III

.1)

and

Da

i

bei lab

ri

(111

.12)

demons

tratin

g very

cl

early

that

homop

nonic writi

ng is

now

as

much

t

he

nor

m

a

s contra

puntal.

C

onvers

ely, shor

t p

assag e

s like

t h e

ope

ning of

t h e

s

econd

p

arte

of

Co

n dol

ce sgu

ardo ( I I I .

1

5 )

and

b

ars

1 3 - 2 1 of

0

quante

v

olte

(

I I I .

1 6 )

s

how t

hat th

e

idiom

of

the

e a r

lier m i sura

di

breve

piec

e s has b

een s

uccess

fully

a ssimil

iated into

that

of

t

he m i s

ura

Mo

dern

editi

on

in

Einste

in,

It

alian Madri

g al,

iii, 1

82-189

(

n o .

6 2 ) . T

he t*o

openin

g s are

quoted

in j

& n s . t e i

n ,

I tali

an Madrig

al

i f .

6

4 3 .


25/242

18

comm

une.

T

here

i

s a

lso

a

marke

d i

ncre

ase

over Bo

ok I

I a

6 in

the

vi

rtuo

sity

of

the

voca

l writ

ing,

no

dou

bt

in part a

t

leas

t

du

e to

f u

rthe

r vis

its

t o

the j

B s t e cou

rt

at t

f e r r a

r a , w

hich

a

s

Marenzio w as still employed

b y

Luigi

d ' j S s t e

w ere

probably

not

infr

eque

nt.

Ei

nste

in's

examp

le,

the

phr

ase S

pars

e

onde

ggia

va

fr

om

3

u

1'a

mpia

fr

onte

I I

I . l a

,

bar

s

9

-13),

a

wond

erful

pi

ece

o

f

d

escr

ipti

ve co

unte

rpoi

nt ,

is t

oo

co

mplex

to be

typi

cal

of

t

he bo

ok as

a w

hole

, but

it

i

llus

trate

s clea

rly

the

te

chnic

al

c

ompl

exit

ies of

whic

h M

arenz

io was

no

w c

apab

le, a

nd lo

oks

fo

rwar

d

t o

the

elaborate

writing

of

Lucida perla

( Y I . 1 J ,

La

dove

sono

(VI.

4; and

0 v

erdi

selve

( V

I . 5 ;

in

the

l

ast

boo

k

of

six-

voic

ed

madr

igals

. Ther

e

is a

lso

a m

arke

d in

creas

e i

n the

or

name

ntal

u

se of

the sem

iqua

ver,

the

syl

labi

fica

tion

o

f

th

e q

uave

r

i

n

o

rnam

enta

l

a

nd

qu

asi-r

ecit

ativ

e

p

assag

es,

and

in t

he

clo

sene

ss

o

f

the

co

nt ra

punt

al

wr

iting

.

The

counterpoint ing

in

tne

above

example

of six

voices

g

roup

ed in

pair

s in si

xths

and

thi

rds

illu

strat

es a fur

ther,

les

s

orna

menta

l vir

tuos

o elem

ent in

the

tech

nique

of

voc

al

scor

ing

and

the

expl

orat

ion of

new so

nori

ties,

as if

M

aren

zio

now felt

hi

mself

able

t o explo

re m

ore

ful

ly

the

ric

her

poss

ibil

it ie

s of

th

e s

ix - v

oiced

mediu

m.

Fasc

inat

ing so

nori

ties ar

e c

reat

ed

in

suc

h

passages

as bars 22-3 of

Posso cor

mio

( I I I . § ) ,

where

two

pairs

of

voic

es are

in

cl

ose

imi

tat i

on bet

ween

a

b

fla

t p

edal

in

Canto

and

Bass

o;

i

n t h e

cont

rapu

ntal

bui

ld-u

p of

ent

ries

o

f pai

red

voi

ces at

the op

enin

g of T

igre

m

ia

(III.

9): an

d

by the

pi t ch

and

s

paci

ng of

tne

imi

tati

ve

w rit i

ng at t

he w

ords

M

'asc

onde

rai

s

otto

( q u e b i a n c

i i i

pann

i)

i

n Quel

l f

omb

ra ( I

I I . 11).

P

erha

ps

most

stri

king

is th

e c

oncer

n f o

r fo

rmal

s

hape

and th

e c

hoic

e

o

f t

exts

refl

ect i

ng

t

his,

j&g

ht

of the

t w e

nt y-

one

i

ndiv

idua

l ma

drig

al part

i hav

e

a

re

cog ni

sabl

e st

ruct

ural

pa

t ter

n,

1 I

tali

an

M

adri

gal,

ii

.64 8

- 64 9

.


26/242

-19

-

in

all

ca

ses

a si

mple

tri

par

tite

stru

ctu

re,

AA

'B,

A

BA* or

AB3

Th

e

pri

ma pa

rte

of Qu

al

per

om

bros

e re

peat

s

the

sam

e

mu

sic t

o

two

sta

nza

s

in

th

e ma

nne

r of Fi

lli

tu

s

e i

pi

u b

ella

f

rom

Bo

ok

V

a

5

and

two texts

repeat their

opening

line(s)

at the end,

e

nab

ling

t

o a r

e n z i

o

sim

ply

t o r

epe

at

( l o

mo

rir

o, I

II.

1 )

or

exp

and

(

Pos

so

cor

mi

o, III.

8)

his

mu

sica

l

ma

ter

ial

a

ccor

din

gly.

T

he

out

sta

ndin

g madr

iga

l o

f

the

b o o k

,

Pia

nge

a Fi

lli

(

I II

. H) *

ref

lec

ts m

any

of

the

se

qu

ali

ties

.

In

t

he fir

st

ha

lf

o

f t

he m

adr

igal

,

sco

red

for

t

he uni

que

c

ombi

nat

ion

o

f SAT

TTB

,

four- and five-part

pas

sag

es

of

narr

ati

ve o

r

de

scri

pti

ve

wr

itin

g

ar

e

int

err

upte

d

dra

mati

cal

ly fou

r

tim

es b

y

the

id

ent

ical

cri

es

of

t

he s

hep

herd

ess

, le

d b

y t

he sop

ran

o

o

n to

p a .

Fol

low

ing

c

com

ple

x an

d d

ecor

ati

ve

i

llu

stra

tio

n of

i

fi

or, I'

her

b'e

l

e fro

nde

t

he

sho

rter

se

cond

sect

ion

is

gi

ven

an

ext

end

ed r

epe

at.

Th

is

mad

riga

l is

prop

het

ic

in

oth

er

ways

a

lso,

f

or

the

p

oig

nanc

y of

the sh

eph

erd

ess'

s c

ries

loo

ks f

orwa

rd

t o

th

e mor

e str

ong

ly

emo

tio

nal

wor

ks of

t h e

lat

er

pe

riod

.

Po

r

such

a

mas

ter

t o tu

rn

t o four

-vo

iced

ma

dri

gals

i

s

per

haps

rat

her

rem

arka

ble

, bu

t in

the

b

ook

of f

our-

voi

ced

mad

rig

als

publ

ish

ed b

ix m

ont

hs l

ater

an

d

dedi

cat

ed,

s

ign

ific

ant

ly

in

v

iew

of

t

he med

ium

,

t o a

pat

ron

at

the pa

pal

c

our

t, Mons

ign

ore

Mar

c'A

nto

nio S

erlu

pi,

u

a a r e

n z i o

seem

s

t o b

e see

kin

g

t o re

fin

e h

is

pa

sto

ral

styl

e w

ith

in t

he

pos

sib

ili

ties

and

l

imit

s

o

f

ra

nge

of

the

f

our-

voi

ced te

xtu

re.

The

ton

e of

t

he b

ook

i s

s

et b

y t

he poet

s:

se

ven

of t

he te

xts

are

by Pe

trar

ch,

f

ive

by

S

ann

azar

o

(inc

lud

ing

a lo

ng t

rip

arti

te

madr

iga

l,

V

ienn

e mon

tan,

fr

om t

he 9 t

h .

eclo

gue

of

the

Ar

cadi

a )

an

d ot

her

s b

y T

asso

,

dell

a Ca

sa and

Mosc

agl

ia.

Q

uit

e

pos

sib

ly the

se

madr

iga

ls

marenzio old dissertation

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