New Elements of Vocal Style in the 17th Century

Akadémiai Kiadó

New Elements of Vocal Style in the First Half of the 17th CenturyAuthor(s): Éva PintérReviewed work(s):Source: Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, T. 22, Fasc. 1/4 (1980), pp. 205-253Published by: Akadémiai KiadóStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/901997 .Accessed: 03/04/2012 04:01

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New Elements of Vocal Style in the First Half of the 17th Century

by

Eva PINTaR

Monteverdi and his Contemporaries

Claudio Monteverdi was a mature composer when he encountered monodic solo song, the new wave in music at the beginning of the 1600s. The forewords to his Madrigal Book V and his Scherzi musicali (published in 1607) clearly show that he had taken the new endeavours to himself and grasped their essence: the influence of the musical trend intent upon realizing the aesthetic goals of the Florentine Camerata Circle, which had turned its back on the Cinquecento madrigal, is apparent in his works from the late 1590s. Traces of this influence can be found in his Madrigal Books III and IV, but a milestone in his stylistic renascence seems to occur in Book V, published in 1605, and in Orfeo, which was first performed in 1607. From then on, Monteverdi compositions are mostly monodic in intent, which means that from approximately 1605 onwards, the style and form he favoured, apart from opera, was what we now term the concerto.

Justification for choosing this term can be found in the title of his

Madrigal Book VII: Concerto. Settimo libro de Madrigali a 1. 2. 3. 4. et 6 voci con altri generi di canti. Clearly the composer had already felt the urge even in the title to distinguish the new volume from the customary Fiori musicali and Musiche, and so we too feel obliged to adopt, and at the same time to explain, his choice of name.' "Concerto" has enough different meanings for it be applied to the music which, alongside his

five-part madrigal and operas, makes up a major part of Monteverdi's oeuvre. Madrigal Books V to IX, the two volumes of Scherzi musicali and his church music (apart from the Sacrae cantiunculae he wrote in his

youth) can all be grouped under this heading.

1 On the term "concerto" see: H. H. Eggebrecht, 'Concerto' in: Riemann Musik Lexikon. Sachteil, Mainz, 1967. H. H. Eggebrecht, 'Concerto' in: Handwirterbuch der musikalischen Terminologie, Wiesbaden, 1972.

Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 22, 1980

206 E. Pinte'r: New Elements of Vocal Style

Our hypothesis is that the rich output of the last 35 years of Monte- verdi's life form a uniform idiom (despite its variety of form and performing apparatus). This idiom cannot without ambiguity be described

using any of the stylistic terms of the period, since it does not regularly and accurately tally with the realm of musical taste in the first half of the 17th century.

Not many attempts have yet been made in specialist studies to evaluate the stylistic bounds of the concerto. The standard monographs on Monteverdi quite understandably deal with the form in great detail,2 the most comprehensive analyses being by Denis Arnold.3 Excellent

partial studies have also been written, particularly concentrating around

Madrigal Book VIII, Vespro4 and the stile recitativo;5 come to that, every work on 17th century monody, motet and concerto style refers to Monteverdi to a greater or lesser extent. But apart from the writings by Arnold already referred to, there is scarcely an example of a numerical

registration of the existence of the concerto pieces. In the operatic and

madrigal forms Monteverdi's works so clearly make up a closed unit that

they attract for more analysis much more, whereas his concertos are

undoubtedly much more heterogeneous. The first part of this study attempts to present the characteristic

marks of style in Monteverdi's concertos. The second part compares the vocal chamber music of the period as a whole with Monteverdi's compositions, which means non-scenic works that postdate the stylistic change of the 1600s have been collated.

2 G. F. Malipiero, Claudio Monteverdi. Milan, 1929. D. de' Paoli, Claudio Monteverdi. Milan, 1945. H. Pruni'res, La vie et l'ceuvre de Claudio Monteverdi, Paris, 1926. H. F. Redlich, Claudio Monteverdi. Life and Works. Trans. Kathleen Dale, Oxford University Press, 1952. L. Schrade, Monteverdi. Creator of Modern Music. New York, 1950.

D. Arnold, Monteverdi, The Master Musicians. London, 1963. - Seconda prattica: a Background to Monteverdi's Madrigals. In: Music and

Letters, XXXVIII/4, October 1957, pp. 341-52. - Monteverdi Madrigals, BBC Music Guides, London, 1967. - Formal Design in Monteverdi's Church Music in: Monteverdi e ii suo

tempo, ed. R. Monterosso, 1968. 4This is the abbreviated title used henceforth for the Marian Vespers from

Monteverdi's collection, Sanctissimae Virgini Missa senis vocibus ad ecclesiarum Choros ac Vesperae pluribus decantandae cum nonnulis sacris ad Sacella sive Prin- cipum Cubicula accomodata, published in 1610.

5 D. Stevens, Madrigali guerrieri ed amorosi. A reappraisal for the Quater- century. In: The Musical Quarterly, LIII/2, April 1967, pp. 161- 88. H. F. Redlich, Claudio Monteverdi: Some Problems of Textual Interpretation. In: The Musical Quarterly, XLI/1, January 1955, pp. 66-76. P. Epstein, Dichtung und Musik in Monteverdi's "Lamento d'Arianna". In: Zeitschrift fiVr Musikwissenschaft, X (October 1927 - September 1928), pp.

216-- 22.


E. Pintir: New Elements of Vocal Style 207

I

One might take for granted Monteverdi's familiarity with the aesthetic and musical intentions of the Florentine Camerata; he knew Caccini

personally and he must also have been well acquainted with the music of the Camerata composers since he cites Caccini and Peri as representatives of the second'a prattica in his foreword to Madrigal Book V. The manner of composition declared as a new feature by the Camerata, the "accom-

panied solo song", and the influence of chordal musical thinking can

already be felt in Madrigal Books III and IV. Some of its motifs could even be linked by basso continuo:

Madrigal Book III - Se per estremo The opening of the alto solo

Se per e - stre-mo ardo - re Morir po- tesse un co re

The construction technique of the traditional polyphonic cinquecento madrigal soon gives way to a vertical conception with the use of recitative, declamatory passages:

Madrigal Book III - Stracciami pur il core From Bar 59

Ah non la mert' il mio fe- del fe - del ser-vi - re

Ah nona et' io feIdel ser vI I re Ah non la mert il mio fe- del ser- vi - re

Ah non la mertf il mio fe - del ser- vi - re

Ah non lamert' il mio fe- del ser-vi - re

Ah non la mert" il mio fe- del ser- vi - re

The technique of dividing the upper and lower parts becomes typical in Madrigal Book IV. For example, in A un giro sol, the bass part under


208 E. Pinter: New Elements of Vocal Style

the four fioritura upper parts is lean and unmelodic, more of a continuo

accompaniment than a part ranking equally with the others:

Madrigal Book IV - A un giro sol Bass part

A un gi - ro sol debegl' oc-chi lu- cen - ti Ri - de

l'a- ria d'in- tor - no Ri - de l'a - ria d'in - tor- no d'in - tor- no

By Madrigal Books V and VI, the new sound conception had clearly taken root, as one can see from the writing out of the basso continuo,6 and the increased number of solistic sections in the pieces referred to as concertato. However, it is most characteristic that in Monteverdi's case the influence of the 17th century monodic style from Ferrara and Florence does not mean that he utterly abandoned the older madrigal texture and switched over entirely to accompained solo song. For Monte- verdi the cinquecento madrigal represented a form and manner of expression he had matured and brought to perfection, so naturally, having shaped and perfected it to his own satisfaction, he could not discard it so

willingly as the other fashionable monodic composers of the beginning of the century did.

The arrival of the new sound ideal brought along an almost com-

pletely new generation of composers, whereas in Monteverdi's case, the medium for realizing the seconda prattica remained the five-part madrigal. This is decisively significant in his whole corpus of concertos. As can be seen from Madrigal Books V and VI, the madrigal of the prima prattica and the concertato madrigal are complete equals, and the concertato pieces have also grown out of the soil of the other.

Five-part madrigal elements continue to appear in Madrigal Book

VII, published in 1619. For example, the imitating pairs of parts, and trios of complementary rhythm in Eccomi pronta ai baci were conceived in this spirit:

6 The incunabula of Monteverdi's Madrigal Books V and VI include an instrumental accompaniment for each piece: the concertato pieces have an independent basso continuo, and the other compositions basso seguente (an accompaniment doubling the lowest part).

Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 22 .1980

E. Pinter: New Elements of Vocal Style 209

Madrigal Book VII - Eccomi pronta ai baci From Bar 73

ba- ciami ba- cia- mi ba - ciami ba - ciamErga- sto mi -

ba- ciami ba - ciami ba- ciami ba- ciamiErga - sto mi- - o

ba- ciami ba ciami ba ciami ba - ciami Er- ga - sto mi - o

The same endeavour is reflected in the six-part Tutti section of A quest' olmo, although its musical texture is naturally more varied than that of the cinquecento madrigals, with solo and duo sections blended with polyphonic sections. Nor is the polyphonic madrigal form ousted from Ma-

drigali guerrieri ed amorosi (Book VIII), although it no longer appears in its "pure", classical form - the madrigal compositions of the collection also carry all the innovations and changes which have been the constant companions of Monteverdi's art of madrigal since Book IV. From this point of view the category of "five-part madrigal style" includes the

polyphonic pieces with their imitation structure just as much as the

grandious dramatic scenes built on reciting chords. The opening of Hor che'l Ciel, for example, seems to be a latter-day relative of Ecco mormorar l'onde (Book II), with its chordal blocks illustrating immobility. In places the second section of the same piece (Cost sol d'una chiara fonte viva) recalls the composition Ohim' from Madrigal Book IV, and both the structure and part lines of the work remind one of the openwork structure of the five-part madrigal:

a) Madrigal Book IV - Ohim' se tanto amate Soprano, from Bar 48

b) Madrigal Book VIII - Cost sol d'una chiara fonte viva Soprano, from Bar 37

-i

a) hav- re- te mil- le mil- le dole ohi - mrn

a j'F r b) mil- le mil-le volt il di mo- ro

14 Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 22, 1980


This preservation of the prima prattica provides part of the explanation as to how Monteverdi came to use the new idiom in a far more colourful and effortless way than his contemporaries: by salvaging the old scheme he was able to avoid the constriction of the initial uncertainty caused by the new texture and new form. On the other hand, the blending of the old and new idioms also distinguishes Monteverdi from his contemporaries in his attitude to composition. In Monteverdi's case the new style had a

decisively chamber character right from the start: a fondness for polyphony and the addition of various instruments are trends that permeate and run through Monteverdi's concerto style. It is not fortuitous that purely monodic compositions for "1--2 parts and continuo" are rare occurrences

among Monteverdi's secular concerto works. There are hardly any mon-

ophonic pieces even in Madrigal Book VII: the monodic Lettera amorosa and Partenza amorosa, with their academic flavour, are joined only by the strongly scenic Tempro la cetra and by Con che soavit& accompanied by three concertante instrumental consorts (and therefore not really belonging here). Monteverdi was always fond of the richer harmonies and more intriguing rhythmic possibilities that grew out of the assonance of two or three notes. The concerto style of the Madrigal Book VII is

exemplified by virtuoso duets, trios and quartets, which seem to be what he derived out of the apparatus of the fashionable solo works of the period; this bears upon the individual features of the Monteverdi concerto. In terms of texture, his ample repertoire includes few compositions that truly typify the musical tastes of the period. The majority of these are centred around

Madrigal Books V and VII, whereas in Books VI and VIII and in most of

his church works, Monteverdi seems to be following a path all of his own.

Apart from his retention of the polyphonic madrigal, this phenom- enon can be explained in several ways. Beyond the qualities of Monte- verdi as a composer, the specific character of his concerto style A) in

texture, B) in motif formation and C) in form might be justified by the scenic orientation of the Mantuan court and the musical influence of his

Venetian years. A) The Mantuan opera cult and the relatively large, accomplished set

of performers, exerted their influence on Monteverdi's non-scenic works as well, from the early 1600s. We cannot look for the roots of the concertato pieces of Madrigal Book V primarily in the polyphonic madrigal or

the works of contemporaneous monodic composers, even though the collection also draws upon them. This tone is at home in Monteverdi's scenic music, in the pastoral scenes of Orfeo, in the duet of Orfeo and

Apollo, etc. - i.e. the real source of the madrigals of non-scenic inspi-



ration seems to be Monteverdi's own scenic realm. The choral sections, which return as in a ritornello, and the ornate tenor duet sections heard between them, make Ahi come a un vago sol a direct relative of Orfeo. The complexity of the symphonic multi-choral technique of Questi vaghi might best be compared to the great Shepherds' Feast in Act I of Orfeo.

It was primarily the ensembles in the music of Orfeo that served as models for the concertos of Madrigal Book V: their rich timbre and the variety of the pieces counted as extraordinary for the period. In Ahi come a un vago sol the tenor duets are framed by homophonic soprano- contralto-bass ritornelli, and in Amor se giusto sei the soprano, bass and then the tenor solo sections are followed by a polyphonic ending. The soprano solo, stubbornly repeating the opening line of T'amo mia vita, is confronted with the reciting sections of the lower parts, and E cost poco a poco traverses the intensification of duet-trio-quartet construction, as far as the six-part Tutti.

In Book V the scenic effect is thus mainly felt in the rich musical fabric. In Madrigal Book VI, the dramatic tendency emerges more strongly. Here the soli sections no longer serve merely to enrich the timbre: the various solo sections are given independent visages, often embodying various persons. The tenor and soprano solos of A Dio Florida bella clearly depict two persons (lovers bidding farewell). In the duet sections it is not only the melting of the two tone colours that delight the ear; here we can really hear the dialogue of two individual persons:

Madrigal Book VI - A Dio Florida bella

Soprano and tenor, from Bar 51

Benmio ri- mantiin pa - ce Ben mio ri-

E tu ben mi- o Vattenein pa - ce, E tu ben mi- o

man - ti in pa - ce e tubenmi- o Vattene in pa - ce

Vattene in pa - ce Benmio ri- mantiin pa - ce

14* Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarumn Hungaricae 22, 1980

212 E. Pintir: New Elements of Vocal Style

The Tutti sections are also given a different role: the narration between the dialogues and the often whispered farewell words of the ending (it is

again characteristic that the tenor sings a Dio Florida bella as opposed to the a Dio Floro of the other parts), are, besides their form-dividing role, important means of evoking a dramatic situation.

Madrigal Book VI has many more examples of this kind of personi- fication (Misero Alceo, Batto qui pianse Ergasto), and the whole volume can much more aptly be called a collection of dramatic scenes than of

madrigals.' From this point of view Sestina, which was presumably felt

by the contemporaries to be outdated in style, also seems to be a resur- rection of a form that serves dramatic endeavours. Its principle part is the tenor, in which most of the extremely few melismata are heard. For

example, the accosting 0 fiumi in the second section in every other part is a simple broken triad; only in the tenor is the melody lent more dramatic and emotional expression:

Madrigal Book VI - Sestina; Seconda parte Opening of the tenor part

O flu- mi o fiu - - mi o fiu - mi

The newness of this dramatic approach remains conspicious, even

though the composing technique of Sestina, the way it is constructed so as

to contrast a principle part with the recitation of the other parts, has al-

ready appeared in Monteverdi's earlier madrigal books (see Musical

example 2). In his attitude as a composer, Monteverdi seems to be strongly

attracted towards the forming of dramatic scenes and individual human

portraits. Considering it from this context, the preservation of the old

madrigal apparatus does not constitute an anachronism but a recognition of the fact that several parts can offer more in terms of harmony and

rhythm than the solo song with continuo can. The ability of the various

voice-parts and formal sections to portray character provides incompa- rably greater dramatic and musical opportunities than the monophonic vocal style does.

7 Cf. H. Prunieres, The Italian Cantata of the 17th Century. In: Music and

Letters, VII/l, January 1926, pp. 38-48, and VII/2, April 1926, pp. 120- 32.



This dramatic prompting is reflected in Tirsi e Clori and Tempro la cetra, reminiscent of the Prologue of Orfeo (both in Madrigal Book VII), and the scenic resemblances are even more marked in Book VIII, where a good many pieces are scenically conceived: Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda, Introduzione al Ballo, Lamento della Ninfa and Ballo delle Ingrate contain stage and performing instructions. They are scenic works and so their presence in a book of madrigals is rather strange. At the same time, the supposition of a dramatic starting point cannot be excluded with the other pieces of the volume either, even if we find no stage instructions attached to them. The bass solo (io che nell'otio naqui), heard after the opening narrative tenor duet of Ogni amante e guerrier, can be related to the first-person tone of Tempro la cetra or Volgendo il Ciel, just as much as to the Pluto of Ballo delle Ingrate; the soli sections in the Altri canti duet and the Hor che'l Ciel are also strongly dramatic (though there is no evidence of their having been performed on stage).

Besides the five-part madrigal style and the scenic inspiration, the unusually large apparatus of Monteverdi's concertos, their bent for drama and monumentality, and the varied chamber character of their musical texture can be explained in terms of the years the composer spent in Venice. There Monteverdi had had an excellent group of vocalists and instrumentalists at his disposal, and also a musical tradition which was luckily suited to his personality. The performing conditions at San Marco Cathedral exerted an enormous effect on both the church and secular works of the last decades of the composer's life. We have already seen that this effect, in his secular works, along with the scenic influence, brought about a peculiarly rich texture, and essentially the same can be said of his church compositions too, although in this field polyphonic, varied texture undoubtedly does not count as such a special feature as it does in the case of the secular concertos.

Though Monteverdi wrote the Vespro volume, published in 1610, while he was still in Mantua, it also shows the influence of sparliling Venice. The alternation of antiphons and psalms, the hymn, the introductory Domine ad adjuvandum and the alternative Magnificats radiate an abundance of different composing techniques and musical solutions that can be considered virtually unmatched in the 1610s. The style of the concertos mainly feeds on the expressiveness of the Florentine monody, but it unmistakably bears the marks of the greatest dramatic composers of the period. The reticent intimacy of the deep-register open-


214 E. Pinteir: New Elemnents of Vocal Style

ing of Nigra sum, the harmonic beauty of Pulchra es and the virtuosity of Duo Seraphim combine the marks of the new style with a mature and

perfect dramatic modelling. The development of the concerto style between Madrigal Books V and VI can best be seen in the concertos of

Vespro, which date from almost the same time as Or/eo and Arianna. The psalms, on the other hand, seem rather to radiate the sumptuous atmosphere of Venice: they are virtuoso, polyphonic, and use several instruments - and they could really be performed only by an excellent

group of musicians. In the eight parts of Laudate pueri, for instance, Monteverdi scored coloured sections which must count as rarity in the

polyphonic church music of the 1610s, and the extent to which his com-

posing conception in this movement started out from solo and concertato is shown by the "irregular" ending of the psalm: the monumental movement ends with a virtuoso tenor duet that is concluded in unison.

The other representative collection of Monteverdi's church music, Selva morale e spirituale (1640) shows a similar richness of texture. In this volume Monteverdi selected the pick of his Venetian church music

output over three decades, and presumably had ample material to choose

from; the richness and the intention of presenting every stylistic type are understandable. There was obviously a good reason why Monteverdi sometimes selected two or three settings of the same psalm, and these

differing settings bear out the fulness and variety of his church music. In the three different arrangements of the psalm Confitebor, for example, the strophic variation principle (2nd setting) appears side by side with what is called French style (3rd variant) and the technique of contrasting concertato and recitative sections (1st variant). The works selected for the volume also show that there must have been some particularly gifted singers active in Venice: Ab aeterno ordinata sum, for instance, makes technical demands and has a vocal range unique even in the ornamented solo motet literature of the period.

B) The development of Monteverdi's motif construction can be traced onwards from Madrigal Books V and VI: the versatility of his musical texture and his retension of polyphony decisively influenced his melodic and colouring technique. Recitatives in the monodic style, with

free, declamatory phrases, also appear in his works, mainly in the mono-

phonic recitatives (see Sfogava con le stelle). Beginning with Madrigal Book V, another tendency also comes to the fore: the various motifs can be assigned a definite melodic character and thus can become form cre-

ating factors - musical "subjects". A melody with an independent motivic facet which can be imitated and varied can also be considered as in-

Studia Mlusicologica Academniae Scientiarumn Hungaricae 22, 1980

E. Pinte'r: New Elements of Vocal Style 215

herited from the polyphonic madrigal. One of its sustainers is form: motif links and references can be brought about only with definitely delineated

subjects, like the refrain of T'amo mia vita, for example:

Madrigal Book V - T'amo mia vita

Beginning of the soprano part

T'a mo mia vi ta

In the soprano-tenor duet of E cosi poco the melodies of the two

parts at a given moment become such complete equals that a regular exchange of line can be brought about between the two parts, of which the rhythm is actually the same:

Madrigal Book B - E cosi poco Soprano and tenor, from Bar 17

Un al - travol-ta mi con- summ' e ar - do

U" a - travo- ta- m" "o u m e F -- - Un al - travol-ta mi con- summ' e ardo

new type of melodiousness in the motifs. The markedly melodious, effortless phrases of Madrigal Book V draw stylistically not on Florentine monody, but on the fashionable arias and canzonette of the time, or on the characteristic idiom described by Monteverdi as "alla francese".8

s For detail on alla francese, see: H. Pruni6res, Monteverdi e la musica francese del suo tempo. In: La Rassegna Musi- cale, II/10, October 1929, pp. 483-93.



Madrigal Book V - Troppo ben pub Soprano part, from Bar 47

Ma non so corn' il lu- sin - gher

mi gion- ge ch'io di- - - co Ah co - re stol- to

In Madrigal Book VII the thematic function of Monteverdi's melodies seems to have stabilized. In the three-part first section of Tu dormi the

questions Tu dormi ? - tu poi dormir ? are sung only by the soprano and tenor; contrasted with them is the contralto sigh motif ah crudo core:

Madrigal Book VII - Tu dormi

Soprano, contralto and tenor parts. Bass tacet

Tu dormi?

Ah crudo co-re Ah crudo co-re

Tu poi dormir ? Tu poi dormir?

Contrasting with the marked, ascending triad motif of the opening subject of Al lume delle stelle, the other accentuated part of the sentence: the characteristic melody of si dolea, with a step downwards of a minor ninth, becomes the countersubject:

Madrigal Book VII - Al lume delle stelle Tenor and bass opening

Al lu-me del-le stel- - le Tir si sort'

un allo- ro

Si dolea



The great demands made on vocal technique by Monteverdi's volumes of concertos show that the composer draws amply upon the

flourishing practice of ornamentation of the day. From Madrigal Books III and IV onwards, the same virtuoso colorature and ornaments replete with emotion that the Caccinis employed appear in his compositions. O come e gran martire and Si ch'io vorrei morire show many examples of the esclamazione of the Florentine monodists; and the trilli and passaggi of the Duo Seraphim concerto from Vespro also point to extremely high technical demands. In Monteverdi, however, these ornaments seem more

organically incorporated into the motifs than was the case with contemporary monody authors: the virtuoso colorature are blended with elements of the word-painting technique of the polyphonic madrigal. In any case it was not as if this practice had ever died out, for even orthodox monodists were unable to renounce mannerist depiction of the text. But in Monteverdi's concertos the new colorature are incorporated with the old flexibility in the compositions: their elaboration, abbreviation and variation means not only the infiltration of the new style but the revival of the old practice as well. In Qui rise Tirsi from Madrigal Book VI the two soprano parts and the contralto part repeat the melisma of the word scherzar in a canonic manner, and the ornamental motif, conforming to the imitative structure, appears in several variations:

Madrigal Book VI - Qui rise Tirsi 1st soprano, 2nd soprano, contralto, from Bar 61

A qui le gra- tie scher;zar vi - di

qui le gra- tie scher zar vi - - - di

Qui le gra-tie scher zar Qui le

Qui le gra - tie scherzar vi- - - di re]g mo - ri

Qui le gra- tie scherzar qui le gra- tie scherzar vi- - delgamo - ri

gra- tie scherzar qui le gra- tie scherzar vi - di e gli• amo - ri

218 E. Pintder: New Elements of Vocal Style

The different ornamentation of some identical framework of motif can also serve as a conceptual and textual division of the parts. In 0 come sei gentile (Book VII) the enamoured poet compares his fate to that of a

caged bird. Of the contrast tu canti per colei che t'ha legato - et io canot

per lei Monteverdi first sets to music only the textual rhyming. Both members of the pair are heard over an identical bass accompaniment, and

despite the different melodic line, the two motifs are variants of each other. The deviation arises from the difference in the ornaments:

Madrigal Book VII - O come sei gentile a) 2nd Canto from Bar 37

b) 1st Canto from Bar 41

a) io can- to

b) tu can- - - ti per colei tu can- - ti per colei

Characteristically, the difference in ornamentation continues

throughout the musical setting of the whole sentence. Monteverdi's madrigal books reach their peak demand on vocal

technique in Books VII and VIII. The requirements clearly arise from the

new, monodic style: the kind of vocal exactions found, for example, in certain sections of Parlo miser, o taccio or Mentre vaga Angioletta, would be virtually inconceivable in a five-part madrigal:

a) Madrigal Book VII - Parlo miser, o taccio

End of bass part b) Madrigal Book VIII - Mentre vaga Angioletta

Soprano, from Bar 139

(1 chi puo mi- rar -

- mi e non lan- guir d'a - mo-

Studia Musicoloqica Acadermiae Scientiarurm Hungaricae 22, 1980

E. Pinte'r: New Elements of Vocal S'tyle 219

b) quan-do commo-di tre-

mo-lie va-gan -

The influence of the new style is also borne out by the development of ornamented sections. Besides word-pictures (eg. giocondo, canto, etc.), such embellishment is most often assigned to words reflecting intensified emotional states. The musical setting of the exclamation "Oh", for ex-

ample, is very typical. It emerges in its original, esclamazione form just as much as in its embellished variant, circumscribed by long scale-progres- sions:

a) Madrigal Book VII - O come sei gentile Opening of the soprano part

b) Madrigal Book VII - Non vedrob mai le stelle First tenor, Bar 24

c) Madrigal Book VII - Augellin Second tenor, Bar 48

d) Madrigal Book VII - Al lume delle stelle

Tenor, Bar 31

a) 0 come sei gen- ti - le

b) O 0 lu-ci bel- le

c) O so- a-ve ca- gion

d)O 0 o ce- le- sti

At the same time the colorature can be given metric characteristics which allow a "thematic" use of melismata. From then on, a coloratura section might have the same function as the ornamented melodies of the



polyphonic madrigal. For example, the middle section of 0 come sei gentile recalls the melismata of Se per estremo from Madrigal Book III:

a) Madrigal Book III - Se per estremo

Contralto, tenor, from Bar 64

b) Madrigal Book VII - 0 come sei gentile From Bar 30

ri- sor- - - - - - - go

ri- sor- - - - go

tu prigion

tu prigion

The imitative construction of the Da vita al canto motif in Due belli occhi is also reminiscent of the "openwork" polyphonic madrigal:

Madrigal Book VIII - Due belli occhi 2nd soprano, from Bar 64

da vi-ta aL can- - - -- - to

Besides the motivic work, rhythm can also play an important role in the development of the formal realm of Monteverdi concertos. The most

typical instances for the form-developing role of motifs with a definite

rhythmic profile can be found in Madrigal Book VII. As an example, the main cohesive force between the strophes of Chiome d'oro lies in the almost invariable repeat of the rhythmic scheme. The motifs of 0 viva

fiamma are primarily related, besides their textual relationship, through the identical rhythm of their lines, and indeed the intensification of

rhythm or metre can equally be a means of musical intensification, as for

example in Dice la mia bellissima Licori:

Studia Musicolo.qica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 22, 1980

E. Pintir: New Elements of Vocal Style 221

Madrigal Book VII - Dice la mia bellissima Licori 2nd tenor, from Bar 35

il mi- ro manol pos- so toccar il mi-ro ma nolposso toc - car nol pos- so toc -

- ---------- r- -

car nol pos-so toccar nol pos-so toccar nol pos-so toccar chesol si toc-ca

C) The special qualities of Monteverdi's type of concerto, with its unique use of motif and rhythm, is closely linked with an endeavour to

develop a closed form. The monodic ideal did not offer many such opportunities to Caccini and Peri's generation, but preserving the polyphonic fabric meant all the more to Monteverdi: along with the musical texture he also "salvaged" the technique of composition, whose structural rules, cadences, polyphonic or homophonic fields, and so on, was likewise

capable of producing a self-determining form of its own. And while his

contemporaries struggled to create the grand form, Monteverdi virtually poured out the various formulae of musical form in prodigal abundance.

Naturally he maintained the principle of "chain formation" equally frequent in the old madrigal style and the new monodic style, but from

Madrigal Book V and the Vespro, the number of closed musical forms, rondo variation structures of various kinds, and connected scenes in his concertos keeps growing. Ahi come a un vago sol in Madrigal Book V and Non e di gentil core in Book VII are rondo developments, and in Qui rise Tirsi Monteverdi even changes the text for the sake of the musical form. The Tutti section 0 memoria felice, o lieto giorno, which recurs as a refrain, features in the original Marini sonnet only once, as the last line of the poem. Monteverdi inserts this line between each strophe, so that as re-

curring Tutti sections it constitutes the pillars of the rondo form and becomes the expression of an overall, somewhat nostalgic basic mood.

Another formal solution favoured by Monteverdi is the variation method, with almost infinite variety of composition. Changing the number of parts can allow a varied recapitulation of the same musical material (as in Duo Seraphim, the third concerto in Vespro); strophic variation



features both in Madrigal Book VII (Ohime dov'd il mio ben) and in

Vespro (the psalm Dixit Dominus). The variation principle can be also

amalgamated with the rondo technique, as in Tempro la cetra. The duets in Madrigal Book IX show such a striking tendency to develop an in-

dependent musical structure that some of the pieces almost have the semblance of a formal game (e.g. Alle danze). Besides a closed form, Monteverdi's concertos show an increasingly marked endeavour to create independent dramatic scenes. The reason once again has to be sought in the close relationship to stage works: the intimate portraits of Tempro la cetra or Con che soavita in Madrigal Book VII form closed, rounded units. But from this point of view the monstre pieces of Madrigal Book VIII (the duet Altri canti, Ardo avvampo, etc.) can also be called dramatic scenes which have outgrown the monodic limits, sound image and formal realm of the first half of the 17th century.

To sum up, the following can be established about Monteverdi's concerto style:

At the time of the stylistic shift of the 1600s, he accepts and makes use of the "new style" both aesthetically and musically. The effect of the monodic style is evident above all in the seemingly identical aesthetic

vantage point he adopts, in the employment of certain gestures taken from the accompanied solo form (e.g. ornaments) and in his adoption of the basso continuo.

Yet he does not discard the cinquecento madrigal either; indeed, this form remains the chamber root of Monteverdi's new musical idiom. The transition is most conspicuous in Madrigal Books V and VI.

In his concertos a strong bent towards dramatizing and an endeavour to lend individuality to the various parts demonstrate a kinship with his

stage works, particularly in Madrigal Books VI-VIII. The influence of the composer's Venetian years can also be felt in the fondness he has for a plurality of parts and concertante instrumental accompaniment.

The musical texture is coupled with a characteristic elaboration of

rhythm and motif and the development of a closed musical unit - the dramatic scene.

In Part Two we shall compare this eclectic musical style, consisting of many components, with the secular and ecclesiastical vocal chamber music of the first half of the 17th century, and seek common and diverging traits between them.



II

As a preliminary it should be noted that musicologists today still discuss the vocal music of the first half of the 17th century without being able to make any claim at comprehensiveness. By far the greater part of this enormous body of material has yet to be published in a modern edi- tion of any kind; and so research work still has to be based on original incunabula. The material I have looked through for the present study constitutes approximately a quarter of all surviving 17th century vocal chamber material.9

The number of theoretical manifestations that have come down to us is not very high: Caccini's Nuove musiche10 can be presumed to give the most exact information about the new trend, since it puts the new

programme into words and goes on to throw light on the issues of com-

posing technique and contemporary interpretation. It clearly shows that the new aesthetic starting point was from the very outset closely linked with the performing practice of the day. Its first interpreters include the most famous performers (Caccini, Peri, Rasi, etc.), which means that the solo fabric conjured up by the Galilei circle also matched the solo demand of the renowned interpreters of the period. Theory and practice became

closely related and decisively determined the musical taste of the first half of the 17th century: the solo character of vocal musical style. It

9The library of the Conservatorio Musicale (formerly: Liceo musicale) of Bologna and the Biblioteca Nazionale of Florence served as the basis for my research. In these libraries I succeeded in looking through 225 score editions and 11 contemporaneous theoretical works. There is quite a substantial body of literature dealing with the early 17th century vocal chamber music; the following works have been considered as points of reference: A. Adrio, Die Anfange des geistlichen Konzerts, Berlin, 1935. J. H. Baron, Monody: a Study in Terminology. In: The Musical Quarterly, LIV/4, October 1968, pp. 462-74. F. Burkley, Priest-Composers of the Baroque: a Sacred-Secular Conflict. In: The Musical Quarterly, LIV/2, April 1968, pp. 169-84. K. G. Fellerer, Die Monodie, Cologne, 1968. N. Fortune, Italian Secular Monody from 1600 to 1635. An Introductory Survey. In: The Musical Quarterly, XXXIX/2, April .1953, pp. 171-95. N. Fortune, Italian 17th Century Singing. In: Music and Letters, XXXV/3, July 1954, pp. 206-19. N. Fortune, Solo Song and Cantata. In: New Oxford History of Music, Vol. IV. The Age of Humanism, Chapter IV, pp. 125-217. I. Horsley, The Diminution in Composition and Theory of Composition. In: Acta Musicologica, XXXV, 1963. J. Racek, Stilprobleme der Italienischen Monodie. Prague, 1965.

10 G. Caccini, Le nuove musiche. Florence, 1601.


224 E. Pinter : New Elements of Vocal Style

preserved this trait throughout, regardless of school, town or composer, and in the interest of this it more or less rejected the prevailing genres of the second half of the 16th century: the five-part madrigal and the motet

style. This is where the first difference between Monteverdi's "new style" and that of his contemporaries emerges: while Monteverdi from the outset

adapted the new sound ideal to ensemble technique, his contemporaries sought musical precedents for themselves for the new idiom, finding their ideal apparatus in the realm of the villanella and frottola: accompanied solo song, or possibly duets.

Because of this stylistic difference, this chapter replaces the expression "concerto" with the more general term "vocal chamber style".

Performing technique at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries also served to promote the florescence of the new style: composers of the so-called pseudo-monodies, written for virtuoso vocalists, ornamented the upper part of polyphonic vocal pieces, while the lower parts were

played on instruments." It is no accident that most theoretical works

dealing with ornamentation were brought fourth at precisely this period.12 These tracts use theoretical and practical examples to represent the highly developed colouring technique of the period, essentially creating the melodic ornamental turns which, in accordance with the new intellectual demands of the Caccinis, form organic, and indeed dramatic components of the accompanied solo song. In the Sonetto of Puliaschi, who was active in Rome, the passage technique of Bovicelli and his companions, their tonal paraphrases, become the means of word depiction and dramatic

expression. (Supplement No 1). These genre and performing models go hand in hand with the intro-

duction of basso continuo technique - indicating a switch over to chordal musical construction. This tendency is clearly shown in Monteverdi's

11See: C. V. Palisca, Vincenzo Galilei and Some Links Between "Pseudo- monody" and Monody. In: The Musical Quarterly, XLVI/3, June 1960, pp. 344- 61.

12 Of the material studied we should emphasize the following sources: G. Bassano, Ricercate, Passagi et Cadentie. Venice, 1585. G. B. Bovicelli, Regole, Passaggi di Musica, Venice, 1594. A. Brunelli, Regole utilissime per li scolari che desiderano imparare a cantare. Florence, 1606. A. Brunelli, Varii esercitii per 1 e 2 voci, cio& Soprani, Contralti, Tenori et Bassi, per i quali si potra con jacilitah aqquistare la dispositione per la cantare con passaggi; e per esercitio di Cornetti Traverse, Flauti, Viole, Violini et simili strumenti con alcuni ruggieri a 2 soprani per sonare. Opera undecima. Florence, 1614. G. da Casa, II vero modo di diminuir, Venice, 1584. L. Zacconi, Prattica di musica utile et necessaria si at compositore per comporre i canti suoi regolatamente, si anco al cantore per assicurarsi in tutte le cose cantabili. Venice, 1596. (1st ed.: 1592).

Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 22 1980


Madrigal Books III and IV, and indeed in the first decades of the 17th

century chordal bass accompaniment became so established that from

being a fashion it slowly grew into a constraint. For instance, it is typical of the continuo-orientated thinking of the period that in the mid-1610s the Antwerp-based PhalEse firm published a sequence of prima prattica madrigal volumes complete with basso continuo.

These are the roots from which the new vocal music sprang at the

beginning of the 17th century. At the time it did so (c. 1595-1615) the musical texture of the new sound ideal, its aesthetic aim and performing requirements seem to have been clearly defined. The first works were still able to respect the "rules" for writing monody - the timidity of the first pieces might be explained by the ponderousness of the new idiom. The first cleft in the seemingly firm wall of monody appeared with the demand for the composition of form that encompassed musical means, not a mere processing of the textual raw material. Caccini's generation developed two characteristic forms: the madrigal and the aria.13

The structure of the madrigal in this period is characterized by what is called "chain formation", compliance with the text being set to music. But as soon as the polyphonic texture of the rejected cinquecento madri-

gal no longer featured as a form-shaping factor, the solo madrigal became somewhat amorphous, and the need to turn free form into organized form asserted itself with compelling urgency. The means for doing this were textual and melodic repetitions, rhythmic and melodic sequences, etc. In his madrigal Languisco, Domenico Maria Melli, as a representative of the chromatic-passionate style, applies textual and sequential re-

capitulations to provide a closed frame for the piece. The opening of the first two strophes is emphasized by static, short esclamaziones and their

sequences. The closing of the piece is also indicated by a varied and ornamented sequence. (Supplement No 2)

So monodic recital virtually dictated a sense of closedness, even if this checked the flow of the freely shaped arioso. The frequent cadences did not really promote the development of the grand form; this perhaps explains the fact that a structure of tiny melodic cells is quite rare in Monteverdi's concertos. Apart from Lettera amorosa and Partenza amorosa its real field seems to be in his stage works: in the recitativo sections of

13 See: N. Pirrotta, Early Opera and Aria. In: New Looks at Italian Opera. Essays in Honour of Donald J. Grout. Ed. with an Introduction by William W. Austin.


226 k. Pinter: New Elements of Vocal Style

Orfeo, the part of the Prologue or Arianna's Lamento. Monteverdi's aim seems to have been to develop a uniform, connected form; the composer, who had a bent for the monumental and for thinking in large-scale forms, did not have much use for the somewhat halting idiom of the monodies of the 1600s, and so the maintenance of the five-part madrigal texture becomes essential to him.

Of course, Monteverdi's contemporaries also felt the need to create a closed musical form, and when seeking a simple and clearly articulated scheme, they understandably were at least as fond of the strophic form as of the madrigal. The form Caccini and company called the aria actually denoted two similar formal structures: the simple strophic song and the aria with strophic variation.

The strophic aria, scherzo or canzonetta formed an extremely popular form in the 17th century. Its characteristic types are these:

1. A song with a simple melodic line and a lively rhythm (often in

triple time); this is the style of Monteverdi's Scherzi. The strophes might be divided by instrumental ritornelli. An example of this type is

Jacopo Peri's aria, dating from 1609. (Supplement No 3) 2. The strophic structure remains (which is indicated by the first,

scored strophe being followed only by the texts of the other strophes), but the melodics, the rhythm and the overall character of the piece approaches the expressive solo madrigal. The specific tone of Caccini's Ardi cor mio was conceived in this spirit: examining this carefully chiselled

composition, interspersed with exclamations and recurring textual and harmonic repeats, one would hardly believe that the song includes five more strophes, only indicated by the text. (Supplement No 4)

The sonnet, one of the most popular forms of the 17th century, pre- sents itself as a model illustration of strophic variation. The independent, closed composition of the short sonnet strophes brings out the inner

unity of the individual formal parts, while at the same time allows the overall form to emerge by establishing a closer relation between the stro-

phes. Nevertheless, the idea of strophic variation was no novelty: the performing practice of dividing the strophes of a strophic song by various ornaments, did create melodic variations heard over an identical bass. Melli's Sonetto, both in its bass accompaniment and vocal part, clearly shows the tendency towards strophic variation. (Supplement No 5)

Florence was the most important centre in this early period of the new vocal style. Here the florescence of monody established a basis in this form up to the 1620s. The compositions of the Florentine "school" are

interspersed with expansive phrases and exclamations replete with



pathos; the vocal part endeavours to express all the quiverings of the soul. The recitativo and arioso sections have not yet become sharply separated - it is more of an elegant world of small forms.

In the mid-1610s the solo song saw its heyday. Composers used the musical idiom in a select and colourful manner. They no longer stuck

tenaciously to the text, and the creation of form had by that time ceased to be a burden: the independent musical idiom slowly developed its own formal realm. Nor was the number of parts as rigid as it had been in the time of orthodox monody: the 1610s produced beautiful duets and trios. Of the two vocal parts the lower sometimes doubled the continuo, but much more frequently the two vocal parts contrasted with each other, imitating and varying one another's melody. The voice line became

increasingly melodious, with free recitative replaced by light rhythms incorporated into an exact metre. The treatment of the text once again applied the almost naturalistic word paintings of mannerism which had

actually never died out, as is shown by Miniscalchi's Partenza of 1630.

(Supplement No 6) The period between 1610 and 1620 was undoubtedly the golden age

of monody: the new style had ripened and taken on an independence, while losing nothing of its initial freshness and charm. Small-scale forms still continued to prevail, and the elegant and aristocratic Florence remained the main centre.

This golden age is illustrated here by Sigismondo d'India's solo

madrigal, composed with rich invention. The piece in places draws on the

vocabulary of madrigalism (canto, piange, etc.), and in others utilizes the

conceptual rhyming of the strophes: the contrast between nel tuo venir and nel tuo partir, or the simile character of piangon la tua partita and piange mesto il mio core. The triple musical setting of the basic thought, in the first line of the poem, is characterized by a particular care, the rhythm of which runs through the whole piece. (Supplement No 7) ,,• ,J

Understandably, this period of artistic solo song welcomed the virtuoso chamber pieces in Monteverdi's Madrigal Book VII with its duets and trios of winning beauty; in the 1620s monody composers were assured success if they could publish one or two Monteverdi pieces in their collections, and Monteverdi met their requests. But equally understandably, Madrigal Book VI did not have a success like Books V and VII. The collection, interlarded with dramatic scenes such as Sestina

15* Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 22, 1980

228 I. Pinter: New Elements of Vocal Style

and Zefiro torna written in the "old style" and Arianna's Lamento ex-

panded into five parts, was received with aversion by fellow composers. The 1610s was not a period of monumental forms and apparatuses - the

crystallizing of the grand forms was to take place in Venice.

By the early 1630s this city had almost no rivals. The tastes of its

composers perceptibly differed from those of contemporary Florence. Their basic principle was no sometimes extravagant or over-refined ex-

pression of pathos-laden texts, but beautiful, soaring and pliable melodies, with an intensified sensitivity of colour. Essentially this is the time of the first bel canto arias of melodious melodic contours, somewhat more mechanical colorature, less modulation and a tendency towards a uniform key.

Changes in idiom go hand in hand with changes in form: the re- constituted madrigal form came to be more complex, and to consist of more sections, with recitative-like passages followed by sections of a more taut rhythm and differing metre. In Sances's Cantada the

long middle section with its uneven beat, built on a passacaglia sub-

ject, is flanked by the first and third sections in duple time. (Supple- ment No 8)

In the complex works of Sances and his fellow composers the genre of monody seems to enter into transition once again, opening the way towards the great Baroque forms. During its several decades of development, the secular branch of monody remained unchanged from two

points of view: it remained lyrical (i.e. neither dramatic nor epic) and of solo character throughout. The few parts, composition for "one or two voices and instrumental accompaniment" proved the most adequate to

convey its attitude towards life; a grandiose apparatus, a great number of vocal parts or the addition of many concertato instruments seem to be alien to this manner of expression. That is why Monteverdi's Madrigal Book VIII has essentially no secular counterparts in the late 1630s. The collection is presumably the final conclusion of a special life's work, and not inspired by a need to keep abreast of fashion. It shows in a sum-

mary way the uniqueness of Monteverdi's concerto style - and the situation is similar with his church compositions, as well.

In the 1600s monodic style slowly seeped over into church music, too. Its roots were in part the same as those of the secular branch of solo

song: church singers were among the most highly esteemed artists of the


-1. Pinter: New Elements of Vocal Style 229

age, and the introduction of basso continuo is firmly linked with church

pieces.14 A decisive qualitative difference from secular monody lay in its aesthetic starting-point. Liturgical music primarily served to manifest faith; the 17th century ecclesiastical composers did not ask themselves how to create a new musical idiom to replace the rejected old style, but how they might yield to the attractions of the new fashion in the disguise of the old style. Viadana's concertos, for example, differ from the old motet style only in their use of basso continuo. Traditional motet construction did not become extinct; even if not in other fields, in their masses the composers remained more or less faithful to Palestrina's idealized style. (Characteristically enough, a complete concertante mass has not come down to us even from Monteverdi, although he if anyone was a man of tradition.)

As far as motets are concerned, there was a greater opportunity to establish the new style. The acceleration of this process was presumably also encouraged by the art of performance: the most exacting and live- liest pieces of church solo song were born in Rome, the city of highly accomplished papal singers and eminent priest-composers. At that time Venice could at most claim a group of composers of similar standard, but at the time of the two Gabrielis the musical scene in Venice was far less favourable to the spread of the church chamber genre. Venice followed a different road, and that road met the path of development of church

monody only in the 1620s; until then Rome had remained the main base for ecclesiastical solo song.

The monodists of Rome could rely on an especially developed art of

performance: the peculiar, almost perfunctory manner of notation of

Kapsberger's motet quoted here, perceptively served the most exact

possible notation of a kind of virtuoso performing practice: the various coloratura groups denoting phrase limits, agogics, and breathing places. (Supplement No 9)

In the knowledge of such a highly developed vocal culture, the fla-

grant technical requirements of Monteverdi's Vespro, written in the hope of receiving a papal post, do not seem unique, but the expressive passion of the concertos and psalms of the Vespro count as all the more unique. It is almost certain that this tone, rooted in the Florentine style, was far removed from the official musical trend of Rome, or from the well balanced, dignified elegance of Antonio Cifra or Anerio. Without making any kind

14 See: L. Viadana, Cento concerti ecclesiastici a 1, a 2, a 3, e a 4 voci. Con il Basso continuo per sonare nel' Organo. Venice, 1605. (1st ed. 1602).


230 E. Pint6r: New Elements of Vocal Style

of qualitative comparision between the art of Giovanni Francesco Anerio and that of Monteverdi, it is worth comparing Concerto No I (Nigra sum) of the Vespro with a section of Anerio's motet on a similar text, published almost simultaneously: the two styles show a striking difference. (Supplement No 10)

Anerio's motet shows that the effect of secular monody could be felt even in the "balanced" kind of church monody. There is, for instance, a marked frequency of texts selected from the Song of Solomon, which in both content and language shows little difference from early 17th century love poetry. A similar approach can be observed in word depictions: surge amica mea, for example, is most often heard with fast-moving scale

passages:

a) Giulio Belli: Concerti ecclesiastici a 2 et a 3 voci, Venice, 1613. Doi Soprani o doi Tenori. Vocal parts originally written in soprano clef. 1st soprano, from Bar 49

b) Ercole Porta: Sacro convito musicale ornato di varie et diverse vivande spirituale a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, et 6 voci. Opera settima, Venice, 1620. Tenor solo over Canto. Originally written in the tenor clef. From Bar 30

Sur = .- -.

ge

sur- - - -gam

Pietro Pace found an interesting and suggestive solution for the et hi unum sunt ending of his motet Duo Seraphim: Canto I and the bass part noted down in the part-book are one bar shorter than Canto II that concludes the work, and the continuo. (See Ex. 21.)

The development of ecclesiastical vocal chamber music essentially followed the path of secular vocal music: the formal exploration of the

experimental period is felt in the church solo pieces just as much as in their secular companions. The strophic principle lent itself, at the most, to the musical setting of hymns, and the composers availed themselves more often of strophic variation, ostinato or passacaglia technique. The initial formal uncertainty gave rise to a special formal type: the rondo-

type motet.


t. Pinter: New Elements of Vocal Style 231

Pietro Pace: L'ottavo libro de motetti a 1, 2, 3 e 4 voci con ii Salmo Dixit, et Magnificat a 6 voci, il tutto concertati con it basso continuo per sonare. Opera decimanona, Roma, 1619. A 2 et a 3. Se piace, Canti, o Tenori et Basso. Two upper parts originally written in soprano clef. From Bar 45

Tres sunt qui te-sti- mo-ni-um dant in coe - lo Pa - - ter

Tres sunt qui te- sti- mo- ni-um dant in coe - lo Ver -

Tres sunt qui te- sti-mo-ni-urnm dant in coe - lo

44 3

et :spi-

ri-tus san - ctus ct hi tres u - - - numsunt

- b~m et spi - ri-tus san c Itus et hi tres u- - num sunt

et spi- ri-tus san - ctus et hi tres u- num stnt 6__

The roots of this lie in the antiphonal-responsorial, recurring litur-

gical forms and in the multi-choral technique. The cori spezzati principle remained highly fashionable in the 17th century; Monteverdi's posthumous volume of church music (1650) also includes some, although the degree of difficulty in his instrumental and vocal parts can be considered exceptional.

The polyphonic church pieces did not attain the virtuosity of the solo motets even at the golden age of the monodic style, but with Monte- verdi the ornamented sections of the psalm Dixit Dominus show no great difference from the embellishments of his church solo concertos:

Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hlungaricae 22, 1980


Selva morale e spirituale / Dixit Dominus, Secondo

1st and 2nd sopranos, tenor, from Bar 192

(2-2.)

exal- ta .. ..-

- bit

exal- ta - - bit

exal -

ta ..-

-bit

Besides the cori spezzati principle the recapitulation impression, brought forth by the contraposition of solo and choir, and, closely linked with this, the technique of alternating instrumental inserts with vocal sections, soon became popular. In the secular solo song the function of instruments, besides providing accompaniment, was to be an interlude

dividing individual strophes rather than independent concertato sections.

(Up to the end of the 1630s no obligato instrumental secular composition has been found which renders the vocal part concertato: this assertion, however, is based merely on the material we have looked through and

may therefore be erroneous.) Instrumental groups responding with choral blocks had already

spread by the beginning of the 17th century, particularly in places like

Venice, where the composer had several instrumental performers at his

disposal, i.e. in larger cities and in churches. We know of a real concertato instrumental style only from the beginning of the 1620s: besides their concertato character, the instrumental sections can also maintain their ritornello function, as in Alessandro Grandi's motet Tota pulchra es. The violin part of Tarquinio Merula's work already points towards the

Baroque aria type: it imitates the song or conforms to it with passages of thirds; in its introduction it anticipates the opening melody of the vocal part. (Supplement No 11)

The use of instrumental blocks alternating with vocal parts and of concertato instruments is of great importance in Monteverdi's concertos. In his church pieces this technique does not count as a speciality (apart from its technical difficulties), but in his secular concertos the presence of instruments is of all the greater significance. If the instrumental



concertato passages of A quest'olmo or Ardo avvampo can be explained as having any effect at all - apart from their scenic effect - this must presumably be sought in ecclesiastical vocal chamber music - and this indicates further individual features in the Monteverdian concerto.

A comparison of 17th century secular and church vocal chamber music with Monteverdi's concerto style leads to a more or less negative result. Although the function of the compositions - their non-scenic function and their role of replacing and succeeding the five-part madrigal - seems identical, the characteristic features of Monteverdi's concertos (as listed at the end of Part I) seem to be unique in the practice of the

period. Characteristic of that uniqueness is that it conformed only occasion- ally with the musical fashion of the day. By tracing the fate of the various volumes it can be established that Madrigal Books V and VII kept most abreast with current musical trends: the former being the product of a spectacular forging ahead of the style, and the latter of its maturation. At the same time, the pieces of Madrigal Books VI and VIII are more or less unique, like the church concertos. The exceptional character of Selva and his posthumous volume of church music might be explained by the specific conditions of his activity in Venice, and it was presumably no accident that the representative Vespro did not help him obtain the post in Rome he so fervently desired, precisely because of its nonconformist style.

Although it was possible to register the roots of this concerto style, in the idiom thus brought forth contemporaries too sensed the specialness of Monteverdi's genius, his matchless individuality. Monteverdi was supposedly fully aware of what was excepted of him, only he did not always comply with it. He was willing to send some pieces to his fellow composers, to embellish their collections and raise their fame, and in these works he faithfully adhered to the musical requirements of his day. But in his own collections he reserved the right to go his own way -

luckily for all of us. It is possible that the monody composer, flexibly adapting to the art of his contemporaries, was lost in him, but his genius, his creation of a new style and a new era, have survived.


234 I. Pinter: New Elements of Vocal Style

Supplement. Selections from the vocal chamber music of the first half of the 17th century

This is presumably the first modern publication of these compositions. In

transcribing them the following points have been followed: 1. At the end of the Supplement we give: a) The exact title and year of publication of the volume that includes the

piece; b) The separate inscription belonging to the piece, or in case of a score, the

page number; c) The possible corrections, which in the score we have indicated by the

sign *; d) The original clefs; to accord with present-day scoring, we have replaced

C clefs by treble or bass clefs. 2. In works copied from scores we have retained the original bar lines. In

compositions written out from part-books we have indicated the bar lines in

conformity with the metre indication. 3. In the transcription of the rhythmic values we have aimed at a faithful

reproduction of the original score image: 1 whole note = 1 semibreves

" !='O

Notes to the score selections.

I. Giovanni Domenico PULIASCHI: Musiche varie a una voce con il basso continuo per sonare, con alcuni Motetti posti in musica del Signor Gio. Francesco

Anerio, Rome, 1618.

Sonetto, pp 18-20. II. Domenico Maria MELLI: Le seconde musiche, Venice, 1609 (1st ed.: 1602)

P. 1, the upper part was originally in soprano clef.

III. Jacopo PERI: Le varie musiche a 1, 2 e 3 voci con alcune spirituali in ultimo per cantare nel Clavicembalo e Chitarrone et ancora la maggior parte di esse

per sonare semplicemente nel Organo, Florence, 1609. P. 5, another three strophes are indicated only by the text. The upper part was originally in soprano clef.

IV. Giulio CACCINI: Le nuove musiche, Florence, 1601. Aria seconda; a further

five strophes are indicated only by the text. The lower part was originally written in baritone clef.

V. Domenico Maria MELLI: Le terze musiche, Venice, 1609. Sonetto, pp. 17-19.

The upper part was originally in soprano clef. VI. Guglielmo MINISCALCm: Arie. Libro terzo per cantarsi nella spinetta, chitarrone

e simile istromento con l'intavolatura per la Chitarra spagnola, Venice, 1627

(1st ed.: 1625) Partenza, pp. 35-6. Another strophe is indicated only by the text.

VII. Sigismondo d'INDIA: Le musiche. Libro terzo a 1 e 2 voci, Milan, 1618.

Voce sola. The upper part was originally in soprano clef. * Originally: missing syllable



VIII. Giovanni Felice SANCES: Cantade a voce sola commode da cantarsi sopra Tiorba, Clavicembalo, Arpa o alto simile instrumento. Libro secondo. Parte prima, Venice, 1633. Cantata a voce sola, pp. 27-33. * Bar lines according to the original score

IX. Giovanni Girolamo KAPSBERGER: Libro primo di Motetti Passeggiati a 1 voce, Rome, 1612. P. 23.

X. Giovanni Francesco ANERIO: Motectorum singulis, binis, ternis, quaternis, quinis senisque vocibus. Liber secundus, Venice, 1612. A 2. Canto et Tenore Canto originally in soprano clef, tenor originally in tenor clef, basso continuo originally in tenor clef. * Originally: these two bars were written in the bass clef

XI. Tarquinio MERULA: II primo libro de motetti e sonate concertati a 2, 3, 4 e 5 voci, co'l Basso per l'Organo. Opera sesta, Venice, 1624. A 2. Canto et Violino Vocal part was originally in soprano clef.


236 1. Pinter: New Elements of Vocal Style

Ar- do chiuso l'ardor nel cor pro- fon- do sl che sa- lar non publa fiamma

- a fu-rio sol di so- spirt a gl'ocdiin-vi- a e quel pian - to ne tra-

-Mm ,ja

-he che mal na- scon - do e quel pian - to

ne trahe che mal na - - scon - - do

-VO

Seconda parte

Tal co-lachiude nel suo centiil mondo cieca fiamma d'ogni altro as- sai piu ri - a chard'e non

S f -

strugg e quindiavvienche s - a fonr- te d'e- terna pe - n'a spit- t'immondo

fonte d'e - terna pena spir -

Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hunqaricae 22, 1980


- to immondo Tropp' al - to a mai pochai foil' e super -

-bo pen-tir non giov' an- zi nel cor in - ter - no per - ti - nac' il de-sio pri-

-mier ri- sen- to per- ti - nac' il de-sio pri-

- mier ri-sen - to Chiuso 1 mio fuoco et e'l tor -

-men- toe-ter- no co-si d'in-fer- nal pe- nail a cer - bo in front' al mio bel

Sol scrit- to di - scer- no in front' al mio bel Sol scrit - to

di - ser - - I di - scer - no.

9:• j j t J I I OI -0

doJ



Lan - gui- - sco e mo- - - ro Ahi cmn da

Ahi cru - da ma tu fe - ra ca- gion de la mia

sor - te, Deh Deh, per pie- t'a I)eh, per pie - ah con - so-la

D'una la crima so - - la si do- lo- ro - sa mor - te

On-de di- caper fin del mio langui - re Ifor

------- ---

chepieto- sa sei Dol - c~il mo-ri re Dol - ce I il mo-ri- re

* originally: o

** originally:



Al fon-teil pra- to Al bo- sco allom- bra Al fre-sco fia- to

che'l cal- do sgom- bra Pastor cor- re- te cia- sann ch'ha se - te

madi pi bei ra - i Ar-

cia-scuch'e stan- co Ri - Po sil fianr - co cia-scun ch'e anco Ri-pe- sil fian- co

-d rrr

... MI

I "/ "

r Iw

Ar - - di Ar- di cor mi - che non fu vista ma-i fa-



fo - co che tin - cen- de Piji chia-ro splende de rai del hion-do

Di- o Ar- - di cormi-

I i

-o Ar- - di cor mi - 11 10 14

* originally: V,

Parte prima

Tu pa-sci Armil-la E i se-re-nioc-chi inchi-ni ver-sole wrdiherhet- tee versoi fiori

A che? per in-vaghir dar- den-ti a- m - ri Forse vi - vi sme - ral - di

Parte seconda

0 i bei ru - bi - ni? O purperchquei lumi peregri-niE- mu-li de la stelle ardordeco-

-ri In-super-bi-ti de lor propriiho-no- n Sdegnan mi- rar del ciel gl'oc -


J?. Pinter: New Elements of Vocal Style 241

A che ti gio-va in a-ri-dir la ter-ra Di nobil fiammaein gelo-sir il Cie- lo s'an - co non tendi I1. II2.

al trionfar de" I

-, ' a- - - - me

Par - - - to nel mio par - tir Sen - to mi lalma i- scir Ohim dal pet-

[1

. . . . .to T mioben mio di- let- toRe-sti privo di

[TJ• 6 111 -0- , 1#[1]6


242 E. Pintr.: New Elements of Vocal Style

me E co-me sen-za te vi - ver poss' i - o E co-me dir potr6 s'io non morrb

mi ad

Lon-tan date m'en v6 da te m'en v5 ti la - - -- scio ' Di - o

-1 -

:-I E pur tu pa- ti ohi me dol- cernia vi - ta

e pur tu parti ohi - me e pur tu par - ti joi- me dol - cemia vi - ta nel tuo ve-nir al

Can-- - to sciol - si la lingma

in a-mo- ro si ac - cen - -ti nel tuo partir [1

al pianto sciol - - - - goquestoc-chi las- si di la -

co . . o


A. Pinter: New Elements of Vocal Style 243

- grime gia fon-ti an- - zi torren- ti pian- - gon la tua parti - ta queste ve - dove

mu- ra e questi sas - - [sir)

pian - - ge me - stoilmioco - re e se-co piange a do-lo-ra - - - to A-more

e se-co pian- - - geado-lo-ra - to- - mo re

Mi- se-ra horsi chil pian-to al- lasmari-ta li-ber-ta consacro ca singu -i

)I

can - to e di lagrime for - mo ar- pio la-vacro e chi sia ohi - me che mi r-sa - n il

co - re se di se stes-so m.ina-

mora a-mo-re

•-.4o1 a - TI

_

".• .. . .•'- •;M ,• J J'] J J_•

bJ11 AL"

16* Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 22, 1980

244 E. Pint'r: New Elements of Vocal Style

0-4a "

I'-I

d'a - - mor a- man - - do amo - re se so-lo0a- nior de-

s[- o dunque bra - mo al mioar.dor

dunque bramo al mio ar.

dor

ma-gio -re purnon va-

neggi.o ches'el mi- - rountrat- to so ch'e- gliamor

-,,

oamor o amor el suo ritrat-to

lApril diqueiverd' an - ni come dol - ce dol- cem'al- let - ta dol- cem'al-

-let- ta c ma - do- o - ra son so- a - viglaf- fan- -

-

- ni ma non si colgon fru - ti in

?7 &


E. Pinter: New Elements of Vocal Slyle 245

grem- - baa flo - ra ca - .

- - de la vi - te

a verdera- mouni- ta e dan nor-ma le vi - ti al- - la

mia vita Sil- - vio let immatl- ra

. . ..1 nI IqoI TIt tq I

nonpu6dar senon frut- ti .a- cer..

T- I--"

.bie cru- di mi- ra- coldina- tu - ra sias'al fi c c lat- tan-te ilme-le su- di

manonsonfior ter- re - ni inquel belvi- sochun i - ne- sto gentil

di Pa- - ra - di -so E qual nonmi sia ca-ra

I -

ca - - do-ta pri-ci-pi-to o iniqua sor-te pertela-ni-mumpr- pa-racome


246 E. Pint'r: New Elements of Vocal Style

dole al-la vita an - co la mor- te tant" al- - mea tan-te mor-

-ti haves-s'io a- vez-ze quan- te per dar mi vi - ta hai tu hai tu bel- lez- ze

-. FF

E - go dormi - o e- - -- - - go dor- - -

,0I 0

%- 0-d

- mi - o Et cor me - - - um vi - ci-lat

Vox di - le-cti me - - i pul- san- -

- - t A- pe-ri mi- - hi A-pe-ri mi- hi so- ror

me - a, a- mi - ca me - a c•lu-

- mba me - a imma - cu- la - ta



me - .-

a A- pe-ri

mi - hi so- ror me - a, a- mica me- a co-lumba me- a im-

6rM1!-

-ma-cu-la-ta me- a Al- le- - - lu - - -ia al- le -

-lu- -. - ia AI- le- lu- ia al- le- lu- ia al-

... le

. . .- -.lu - ia

C (Seconda parte)

Sur- - - - --ge a- mica me- - a et ve -

Sur- - - --- ge a- mica me- - a et ve -


248 E. Pintdr:

New Elements of Vocal Style

- ni in hor- - tum me- - um Jam

-ni in hor- - - - turn in hor - - tumrn me - um Jam enim hiems 5 6 4 3

enimhiems transi - it im - ber a - bi-it im - ber a- bi-it et re-ces-

trans - -i it imber a - bi-it imber a - bi-it et re- ces - sit 5 6 if 9

565 6

sit flo - - res ap-pa-ru- e-runtin ter-ra no -

flo- - res ap-pa-ru - e-runtin ter-ra no - stra ap-pa-ru- 5 6

- -M bJJ

-

- stra flo - - - - res appa-ru-e-runt in ter-ra no - stra appa-ru- e-runtin ter-ra

eruntapparu- erunt in terra no - straap- pa-ru- e-runtinterra no-stra flo -

no - stra tempuspu-ta - ti - o- nis ad - ve- - nit

-res ap-pa- ru- e-runt in ter-ra no - stra tempus pu- ta- ti o - nis ad-ve -

5 6



tem-puspu-ta-ti-o-nis tem-puspu- ta-ti- o- nis ad- ve -

- nit temrn-pus pu-ta- ti - o - nis ad -ve- 7 6

nit ad- ve - - nit

nit ad- ve- - nit 5 6

6 5 6 5 6 5 6 6 5 6 56 5 6

C.. , Aq f2 o!9u l



Nigra sumsed for- mo - - - --- - -sa

- li-ae fi - li- ae Je- ru - sa- lem an-nun-ti- a- - - te

6 1 i Mr

annunti-

I? I o•p -50•6 6 y-



a- a - te di- - - le- - - cto me- o

5 6 5 6 5 6

quam magnum quam magnum cha-ri- ta - tis sit in-

cen - di-um cha-ri-ta-tissit in- cen- - di- um

56

et in- gens amoris flam-

+):• ,; I j I F • J



- ma

Sumnigra sed for-mo - sa sum nigra sed for- mo - sa 6 5

admira - - mini gen - tes

jb I I IFI

admi-ra - -mi - ni gen - tes sumnigra sed for- mo -

6 5 & 4

q:, I_ J . -IP-

r A .,


E. PinteJr: New Elements of Vocal Style 253

-sa ad-mi- ra- - - mi-ni gen-tes Al-le-lu-

-ia alleuia Al- le - lu - ia Al-lelu-ia al-le-lu- ia Al-le-lu-ia al-le4u- sic!

-ia al- le-lu - ia Al-le-lu- ia al-le-lu-ia al- le- lu - ia al-le-lu-

-ia al-le-lu-ia al-le-lu- ia al-lelu-ia ? al-le4u-ia al-le-lu- ia al- le-lu- ia

..4== 00


New Elements of Vocal Style in the 17th Century

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