Cantar Lontano Marco Mencoboni musicbyClaudio Monteverdi

Monteverdi Vespers

liverecording

Monteverdi Vespers compositions deClaudioMonteverdi(1567-1643)

Cantar LontanoMarco Mencoboni

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1. VersiculumetResponsorium:Deus in Adiutorium 2’39’’ 2. Antiphona:Missus est Gabriel angelus 0’20’’ 3.PsalmusI:Dixit Dominus 7’26’’ 4.Concerto:Nigra sum 3’15’’ 5. Antiphona:Benedicta es tu, Virgo Maria 0’45’’ 6. PsalmusII:Laudate Pueri 6’20’’ 7. Concerto:Pulchra es 3’31’’ 8. Antiphona:Laeva ejus 0’30’’ 9. PsalmusIII:Laetatus sum 6’55’’10.Concerto:Duo Seraphim 5’03’’11.Antiphona:Virgo potens 0’40’’12.PsalmusIV:Nisi Dominus 4’03’’13.Concerto:Audi coelum 7’24’’ 1. Antiphona:Jam hiems transiit 0’42’’ 2. PsalmusV:Lauda Jerusalem 3’53’’ 3. SonatasopraSanctaMaria 7’19’’ 4. Hymnus:Ave Maris Stella 7’34’’ 5. AntiphonaadMagnificat:Beata Mater et intacta Virgo 1’04’’ 6. Magnificat: 15’35’’ Magnificat Anima mea/ Et exultavit/ Quia respexit/ Quia fecit/ Et misericordia/ Fecit potentiam/ Deposuit potentes/ Esurientes/ Suscepit Israel/ Sicut locutus/ Gloria Patri/ Sicut erat - Amen 7. AntiphonaadMagnificat:Beata Mater et intacta Virgo 1’04’’ 8. Oratio 1’18’’ 9. Verso:Benedicamus Domino 1’54’’

La musique the music

Disc 1

Disc 2

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Les interprètes the musicians

sacqueboute/ChristophTimpe,MariaLuisaBarbonviolon/SebastianoAiroldiviolon et alto/PietroMeldolesialto et flûte à bec/MonicaPelliciariviole ténor/CristianoContadinviolone/SimoneVallerotonda,MaurizioPiantellithéorbe/UmbertoForniorgano di ripieno/DavidJosephYacussacqueboute principale/LuigiMangiocavalloorgue

ChoeurPamelaLucciarini,EugeniaCorrierisoprano/RutaVosyliutecontralto/PaoloPeronicontre-ténor/MatteoMezzaro,EneaSoriniténor/DavideBenetti,GuglielmoBuonsantibasse

Schola grégorienneMauroBorgionipremier chantre grégorien/MassimoAltieri,AngeloDePoli,MartinoFedini,MatteoMilanatochantres grégoriens

Cantar LontanoMarcoMencobonidirection et orgue principal

Ensemble vocalLiaSerafini,RobertaMameli,FrancescaLombardisoprano/AsiaD’Arcangelovoix d’enfant/ElenaCarzanigacontralto/AndreaArrivabene,IacopoFacchinicontre-ténor/SimoneSorini,RaffaeleGiordani,LucaDordolo,GianpaoloFagottoténor/MauroBorgioni,MarcoScavazzabaryton/MatteoBellotto,WalterTestolinbasse

Ensemble instrumentalDoronDavidSherwin,JosuéMelendez,AndreaInghiscianocornet à bouquin/MarcelloGatti,LuigiLupoflûte traversière/IsaccoColombochalemie et flûte à bec/StefanoVezzanichalemie/ErmesGiussani,MauroMorini,CorradoColliard,ValerioMazzucconi

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Face aux Vêpres de Claudio Monteverdi

MarcoMencoboni

Je ne fais pas les choses au hasard...Claudio Monteverdi

(PréfaceauCinquièmeLivredeMadrigaux)

Lorsquejesuisentrédansl’églisedeSantaBarbara,ilyadeuxansenviron,etquej’airegardéverslehaut, jemesuisrevuvingtansplustôt.Danscemêmelieu,assisdevantleclavierd’unclavecin,jejouaislabassecontinueauseind’uneformationmusicale:nousenregistrionslesVêpresdeClaudioMonteverdi;c’étaiten1987.Noustravaillionsdanslanefcentrale,auniveauinférieur,maisjelevaissouventlesyeuxversl’or-gue.J’étaisorganiste,diplômédepuisdeuxansenviron;cetinstrumentetsonrépertoireétaientalorstoutemavieetj’étaisdéjàsûrd’unechose:quecettemusique-làdevaitêtrechantéeetjouéelà-hautdanslescanto-rie,lestribunesdeschantresquiétaientjadiségalementappeléescori,leschœurs(ad ecclesiarum Choros,écritMonteverdi).AMantoue,outrelemagnifiqueorguedeGraziadioAntegnatiquiaétérécemmentrestau-réetquiaétélefondementréeldetoutnotretravail,touteslestribunesdeschantres,quisontlesmêmesdepuisl’époquedeClaudioMonteverdi,sontheureusementaccessibles. Larestitutiondetouteœuvremusicaledupasséposeunesériedequestionsinterprétativesqui,danslecasd’unecompositionaussicom-plexe,semultiplientdémesurément.Aucoursdesdernièresdécenniessesontforméesdes«traditions»d’exécutiondictéesdavantageparlegoûtdes interprètesqueparcequiestécritsur lesdocumentsanciens.Cegoûts’estsouventcristalliséetestdevenuainsipourlesmusiciensmo-dernesunesourcefaisantautorité,detellesortequenombred’éditions

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enregistréessurdisqueouprésentéesenconcertsontenquelquesortesimilaires. Pour notre exécution, nous avons choisi de faire tabula rasa, ennousbasantsurlaseulesourceancienneexistante,àsavoirl’éditionde1610deRicciardoAmadino,conservéeetrestéeintacteauCivicoMuseoBibliograficodeBologne(collBB.12).Avecunpetitgroupedechanteurs,nousavonsabordécespartiescommesipersonnenelesavaitexécutéesouécoutéesauparavant,enappliquantuneméthodeélémentaire:lirecequechaquechanteurouinstrumentisteestenmesuredelire,aujourd’huicommealors,àsavoirsaproprelignemusicaleuniquement.Noustrou-vionsparfoisdesdiscordancesentrelespartiesetnousnousarrêtionspourréfléchiretcomprendrepourquoicertainslivretsprésentaientunsi-gneetd’autresnon(pointsd’orgue,discordancesdesignesdemesure,altérations).Nousdécidionsdecettemanièrecequirelevaitd’uneerreurde l’imprimeuroud’une indicationducompositeur.Encequiconcernel’exécutionentantquetelle,nousnoussommesbaséssur lafixitédutempooudelabattue;ils’agissaitend’autrestermesdepartirdupré-supposé,saufindicationexpresseécriteparMonteverdi,quelabattue,commeilétaitd’usageàl’époque,n’auraitpassubidechangement,etcecidudébutàlafindechaquemorceau. La récente tradition sur le plan de l’exécution présente de nom-breuses lectures qui tendent à adapter le mouvement de chaque sec-tionauconfortde l’exécutiondesmusicien ;detelsescamotages,quin’étaientpasréellementcourantsàl’époque,faitsderalentissementsetd’accélérationscontinuels,nousrestituentdesmorceaux«àsections».Cetyped’approchenetrouvepasderéellesconfirmationsdans lesté-

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moignagesdel’époque;c’estseulementen1621,eneffet,queDarioCastello introduirapour lapremière fois les termesAdagioetAllegroàl’intérieurd’unmorceau.Unemanière«nouvelle»d’obteniruncontrasteagogiqueauseind’unecompositionvoitainsilejour,queCastellolui-mê-mequalifieradestil moderno.Appliquercetyped’approcheàunedateantérieure–1610–risqued’êtreforcé:lesVêpresneprésententaucuneindicationd’AdagioouAllegroannotéedelamaindeMonteverdi;lecom-positeurutiliseeneffetladuréedesnotespouratteindresonobjectif. L’idéedenepasfragmenterlesmorceauxensections,surtoutpourlespsaumes,asuscitéunecertaineréticencedelapartdesmusiciensquiétaientavecmoi;c’étaitenjuin2008,dansl’églisedeSanCiriacod’Ancône,pourlefestivalCantarLontano.Jeformulaisdesrequêtesquiétaientbienloindesusagescommuns,jelisaislaméfiancedanslere-garddemescollèguesetnousavonspassédesheuresàdébattreaulieudechanteretdejouer;fairedelamusiqueensembleaheureusementdissipé ces tensions. Après cette première exécution, essentiellementfondéesurl’instinct, j’aieubesoindepasseràundeuxièmeniveaudeperceptionetj’aicommencéàétudierafinderechercherlesensdecetteœuvred’art. Dès la première œuvre publiée de Monteverdi, les Sacrae Cantiunculaede1582(lecompositeuravaitalors15ans),sontprésentesdestechniquesdecompositionraffinéescommeleshémioles,utiliséeségalementsouslaformededescriptionsvisuelles.Parexemple,danslasecondepartiedumotetO magnum pietatis,au-dessusdesmotsterra tunc contremuit et sol obscuravit,l’utilisationdel’hémioleindiqueacou-stiquementunchangementd’accentsdestinéàsimuler letremblement

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deterre;celacorrespondvisuellementàl’obscurité,puisquedansl’hé-miole,lesnotesnormalementblanchessontnoircies.Ils’agitlàd’unlan-gagesymboliqueetdescriptifcommunémentutiliséparlesgrandspein-tres,sculpteursetarchitectes,quiatteintdanslamusiquedeMonteverdidesniveauxtrèsélevés.Certainsélémentslaisseraientenoutresuppo-serquelecompositeurs’estpenchédavantagesurlestextesoriginauxenhébreuquesurlestraductionslatines,pastoujoursfidèles,dispenséesparl’églisecatholique.Lepeud’espacequim’estimpartimepermetdenefaireallusionqu’àdeuxd’entreeux. PrenonslemotetPulchra esàdeuxvoix,lesecondmotetdesVêpres,quisetrouveaprèslesecondpsaume.Monteverdiintroduitunesesquia-ltèremineureauxmotsme avolare fecerunt.Considérédanssoncontex-te,etsil’onseréfèreàlaphraselatineprésentedansl’éditionmontever-dienne,letextedécritunamantquiimploresabien-aiméedenepasleregarderdanslesyeuxcarcegestel’auraitfaitfuir(avolare).Averte ocu-los tuos a me, quia ipsi me avolare fecerunt.Laréférenceautexteamènefacilementlesinterprètesàimiteraumoyendel’exécutionlasensationdefuiteetd’éloignementenimposantàlasesquialtèreuntemporapideetaccélérébienquelasesquialtèremineure,danslecontexteoùellesetrouve,nedoivepasêtreexécutéedemanièrerapide.Pourquoi? Si l’onse réfèreau textehébreuduCantique des Cantiques,ShirhaShirim6:4,laphrasecorrespondantànotrepassageest«she em hirhi-vuni...»,c’est-à-dire«carceux-cimetroublent»,oùlemotquinousinté-resseest«hirhivuni»,quisignifieprécisémenttroubler,bouleverserou,dansuncontexteaussisensuel,exciter.D’autrepart,leterme«avolare»enlatinsignifieuniquement«s’envoler»etunedescriptiondel’excitation

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etdutroubleauneffetmajeursilemouvementdesnotesestplutôtlentquerapide.Latraductiondematricechrétienne,commeilestsouventar-rivédanslatraductiondessaintesécritures,aamenéàdénaturerlasi-gnificationdutexte,commesiellevoulaitcachercequisembleraittropexpliciteetpeccamineux. Il serait utile de savoir quelle était la lecture des textes sacrés àl’époquedeMonteverdiàMantoueetàVenise,quellesétaientlesréfle-xionsquefaisaientlesrabbins,quelleinfluenceasubienotrecompositeur(quiétaitégalementalchimiste)delapartdesescollèguesmusiciensjui-fsets’ilconnaissaitl’hébreu;autantd’aspectsqu’ilfaudraitétudieretapprofondir. Si nous continuons notre étude, nous rencontrons une séquenceinfinie de possibles correspondances symboliques merveilleuses : lePsaume122parexemple,letroisièmedesVêpresetlepremierdesquin-zePsaumesgraduelsouPsaumes des Montées.Ilcommenceparunefi-gurationinnovatricedelabassequisembledécrirelajoieaccompagnantlamontéeversleTempledeJérusalem(Laetatus sumin in his, quae dicta sunt mihi: in domum Domini ibimus.).Audébutdupremierhémisticheduquatrièmeverset,ontrouvelemotIlluc.Monteverdiécritpourcemotdesguirlandesdenotesconfiéesd’abordauxsopranos,puisàtousleschan-teurs.Sil’onmaintientlamesuredudébutdumorceau,nécessairementandantesi l’onveut restituerunecertainesensationde joie, lesnotesdevraientêtreexécutéesàunegrandevitesse,àlalimitedespossibili-téshumaines.Est-cevraimentcequeMonteverdivoulait?Etpourdécrirequoi?

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Illucest le lieu,etShesshamenhébreuest le faitdese tenir là,devant la lumièredeDieuquipour les juifsmontantvers leTempledeJérusalemconstituaitlemomentmerveilleuxoùilssetrouvaientdevantsaporte.EtredevantDieuestShekinah,aprèsavoirchantésurlesmar-ches,unefoisarrivésàlaporteduTemple,ondansaitetons’enivraitaus-si(atteignaitaussiunétatd’ivresseavecduvin),dansunritueld’éléva-tionspirituellequenoustrouvonsencoresouscertainesformesdefêtestribales.LesfigurationsqueMonteverdiécritsont-ellesdoncl’exemplifica-tionmusicaledel’ivressedelaShekinah?C’estpossible. Quedireensuitedesregistresdel’orguequelecompositeursouhai-taitpourexécuterleMagnificat?PourquoidansleVersetFecit potentiam in brachio suo,l’utilisationpourlemoinsétrangeduregistredelavoixhu-maine–voce umana–est-ellerequise?Voulait-ilparlàindiquerlacraintequesuscitelepouvoirduTout-Puissant?C’estpossible,certes. Cetravailaétéréaliséenessayantdenepasfaireleschosesauhasard,carchaquenotedecettecompositionextraordinairesemblepar-leretraconter,àlamanièredutextequ’ilsert.L’espacequeconcèdelelivretd’unCDestfini,ilyauraittantdechosesàdireetàredire,nousenparleronslorsquenousauronsl’occasiondenousrencontrer;pourlemoment,laissonslamusiqueparlerd’elle-mêmeetprofitonsdudonqueClaudioMonteverdinousafait.

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La musique à Santa Barbara

LiciaMari

(...) on alla aux Vêpres à 21 heures, et tous les psaumes furent chantés avec l’orgue;

et l’Invitatoire et le Magnificat furent chantés “in concerto”(4décembre1572FêtedeSantaBarbara)

C’est ainsi qu’un prêtre anonyme du Chapitre de la basilique pa-latine décrit dans son journal les vêpres solennelles pour la fête deSantaBarbaraen1572.C’est justement l’annéeoùs’achèvent lestra-vaux d’agrandissement de l’église, consacrée par le Cardinal FrédéricGonzagueen1564,quisevoitdotéed’unevasteabsidesemi-circulaire(la«gionta»),précédantl’aménagementdéfinitifdel’intérieur.Lachapel-lemusicale,queleducGuillaumeGonzagueapersonnellementvoulue,estentraindeseconsoliderautourd’unpivotcentral:l’orgueconstruitparGraziadioAntegnatien1565.L’instrument,dotédecaractéristiquestechniquesnouvelles(parmi lesquelles lesdemi-feintespermettantunepuretémajeuredel’accord)etdesonoritéspropres,devientunélémentimportantauseindescélébrations,pouraccompagnerleschanteursoupourjoueravecd’autresinstruments(unepratiqueconnuealorssouslenomdeconcerto),notammentlescornetsetlestrombones. Lesfermentsnovateursde l’époquetrouventenSantaBarbaraunlieufertile,oùlesmusicienscomposent,expérimentent,etexécutentdesœuvresquinesontpasexclusivementdestinéesauducetàsacour.Eneffet,l’églisepalatinen’estpasunechapelledepalais,destinéeàque-lques privilégiés, mais une grande basilique accueillant également lesgensdupeuplequiyaccourentnombreuxpourécouterde lamusique.Car le ducGuillaumeGonzagueest un personnage singulier : prudent,

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enretrait,peut-êtreombrageux,maiségalementdésireuxdeserappor-teràsessujets,deleurdonnernonseulementunexempledemagnifi-cenceetdepuissance,maisaussideculture,despiritualité,d’art.Sonprojetétaitparticulièrementraffiné:l’églises’enrichitdeprécieusesreli-quesdesaints,vénéréesàtraverslescélébrations,lesautelsquiysontdédiésetàtravers lerépertoiremusical,constituéaussibiendeplain-chantquedemotetsoud’hymnescomposésàdessein.Pourlaliturgie(ordinaire et propre de la messe,office), sont copiés plus de vingt re-cueilsdeplain-chant:parmieux,notonsenparticulierleKyrialequide-vientlabasesurlaquellelesMesses Mantouanes,selonlestylesouhai-téparGuillaumelui-même,sontcomposéespardegrandsmusiciensdel’époquequerencontreleduc(commeGiovanniPierluigidaPalestrinaouGiovanniContino).Lepapeapprouvelaconstitutiond’uncollègedecha-noines, présidé par un abbé, et concède de nombreux privilèges, dontl’utilisationd’uneliturgiepropre,avecMisseletBréviaire,définitivementconsacréeen1583.PendantcettepériodesontégalementélaboréeslesConstitutions,quidéfinissentlastructurepropreàSantaBarbara,lesrô-lesconfiésauxmembresduChapitreetàtouslessujetsprenantpartauxcélébrations(chanoines,chapelains,aumôniers,cérémoniaires,diacres,clercs)etlaclassificationdesfêtesdel’annéeliturgique.Lesritessontdécritsavecunegrandeprécisiondans leCérémonial, spécifiantaussibienlesmorceauxdechantquelasubdivisiondesrôlesdansl’exécution. Labasiliquepalatinedevientainsiunlieuspécialoùl’affluencepopu-laireseconsolideaufildesans:AurelioPomponazzoentémoignedansunelettredu5décembre1580oùildécritunebasiliquecomblepourlafêtedeSantaBarbara(célébréelejourprécédent),sibienqu’yentrerde-

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vientdifficileetquedessoldatsdoiventrégulerleflotdepersonnesàlasortiedelaville. Dansceclimatculturelvivace,lachapellemusicaledeSantaBarbaradevientuneréférence,quiaccueilled’excellentschanteursetmusiciens,en commençant par les responsables officiels : le maître de chapelleGiaches deWert (docte Flamand connu bien au-delà des frontières duduchédeMantoue),l’organisteFrancescoRovigo,tousdeuxactifségale-mentauseindesévénementsmusicauxayantlieuàl’intérieurdelacourdesGonzague.Lacouretlabasiliqueviventeneffetunepériodeintensed’échanges,d’interactions,deconflits.Touslesbonsmusiciensintervien-nentd’uncôtéoude l’autre lorsque l’occasion l’exige :unecérémoniereligieuseimportante—commepourlavisitedesnoblesjaponaisquiar-riventen1585avecdespèresjésuites,aucoursdelaquellesontexécu-téslespsaumespolyphoniquesdeGianGiacomoGastoldi,collaborateurpuissuccesseurdeWert;oubienunereprésentationavecmusiqueetthéâtre–commentoublierlesdifférentesmisesenscèneduPastor FidodeBattistaGuarini,extraordinairesuccèsàl’époque?Cesartistessontmêmecertainementunpeuexploités,sil’onencroitClaudioMonteverdi,quis’estplaintàplusieursreprisesdutraitementqu’ilreçoitetquinepar-vientjamaisàdevenirmaîtredechapelleàSantaBarbara,bienqu’ilsem-bleimpossiblequ’iln’yaitpasexécutésescompositionsextraordinaires. L’importancedelachapellemusicalepalatinesemanifesteparticu-lièrement lorsd’unévénementquiconcernedirectement legrandmusi-ciendeCrémone.Ennovembre1608,sonpèreBaldassarreécritauducVincent:sivraimentcedernierneveutpascongédiersonfils–accablédetravailetdesantéprécaire–enl’aidantàtrouverunechargedansune

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autrecour,qu’aumoinsillesoulagedesesnombreusesactivitésetqu’illuilaisseleposte,malgrétoutprestigieux,demaîtredemusiquesacrée.Eneffet,Gastoldiestdéjàtrèsmaladeetildécèderale4janvier1609,maisleducabiend’autresprojetspourMonteverdi:finnovembreillerappelleàlacourpours’occuperdenouvellesmusiquesthéâtralesetlecompositeur,dansunelettredu2décembre1608,seplaintdesasitua-tionàMantoue,quiconjugueuntravailintense,unepiètrerémunérationetpeudesatisfaction.Lepostetantespéréparl’inassouviClaudioestconfié, après un bref passage d’Antonio Taroni, à unmusicien intéres-sant,StefanoNascimbeni. Laquestiondu rôle jouéparMonteverdi auseinde l’activitémusicalede labasiliquedesGonzagueresteouverte.Malheureusement,iln’enexistepasdetracedanslesarchivesdocumen-tairesduChapitre,maissil’onconsidèrelacirculationdesmusiciensen-trelacouretl’église,ilsembleimpossiblequelaproductiond’unartisted’unetelleportéen’aitpasétéexécutéeàSantaBarbara,danslescélé-brationsplusimportantes.Eneffet,lesétudessursamusiqueontrévéléunlienaveclesritesdelachapellepalatineetontrenforcél’hypothèseselonlaquellesaprésenceaétéimportantedanstouslescontextesdelacour:danslescélèbresVêpres de la Vierge(1610),certainschoixtex-tuelsetstylistiquesdévoilentunpossiblerapportaveclaliturgieetlapra-tiquemantouane,etleplain-chantutilisédansl’hymneAve Maris StellamontredesconcordancessignificativesavecceluiquiestcontenudanslerépertoiredeSantaBarbara. EttoutaulongdelacarrièredeMonteverdi(aussibienlesannéesmantouanesjusqu’en1612quelesannéesvénitiennessuccessives,du-rant lesquelles les rapports avec les Gonzague ne seront jamais tota-

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lement coupés), Santa Barbara regorge de musique, les compositeursélaborentleurrecherchestylistiqueetproposentdifférentsmodesderap-portentrelesvoixetlesinstruments,continuantainsiàfairedesconcertidansunespacequi,néavecuneacoustiqued’unequalitéexceptionnelle,acquiertdeplusenplusdevaleur. Lesonetl’espace:denouveauxconceptsesthétiquessontentraindenaîtredansl’ItalieseptentrionaleduXVIIesiècle,valorisantlarecher-chedetimbresetd’effetssonoresvariablesgrâceàlapositiondeschan-teursetdesmusiciensdanslesdiverslieuxdel’église. Si Venise resplendit avec Saint-Marc, Mantoue possède SantaBarbaraetsesdifférentslieuxoùpouvoirjouerdelamusique:l’orguesurlatribune in cornu Epistulae,enfacedelaquelleestsituéeunetribunesimilaire;l’absideetsonchœur,lagrandetribuneau-dessusduporched’entrée.Decettemanièrepeuventêtremisenvaleurnonseulementlechantsoliste,lesdifférentsinstruments,l’orguenaturellementavectou-teslesnuancesdesesregistres,maisaussidegrandesformations,lapolychoralitécomposéedevoixetd’instruments,quiserépandentdansl’église.Cequ’écritMaurizioPadoansurlapratiquedel’époquepeutéga-lements’appliqueràlabasiliquemantouane:“l’organisation spatiale de la musique en plusieurs sources sonores, les juxtapositions de timbres, les accentuations dynamiques et le déploiement différencié des ‘con-certs’ pour les différents moments liturgiques font en sorte de produire un effet de solennité et de faste ainsi qu’une forte participation émotion-nelle de l’assistance”.

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La basilique de Santa Barbara: une architecture sonore

EmanuelaVai

“[…] C’est autant par dévotion que pour l’agrément de la Sérénissime Eléonore Archiduchesse d’Autriche, ainsi que pour le plaisir qu’ils

avaient tous deux à assister aux offices, que Guillaume Gonzague, en raison de la musique chantée, fit naître la somptueuse

fabrique du Noble Temple de Santa Barbara […]”

LesaspectsarchitecturauxetmusicauxdelaBasiliquePalatinedeSantaBarbararevêtentunintérêtparticuliersil’onconfrontelesactionset lessituationsqui enont caractérisé l’évolution : à traversune telleanalysecomparée,onpeutrestituerla«voix»dugroupeconséquentd’ar-chitectes,demusiciens,etengénérald’artistesquiontcollaboréàlaréa-lisationdela«chapellemusicale»deSantaBarbara,àtraversundéve-loppementartistiqueunissantarchitectureetmusique. La passion du duc Guillaume pour la musique et sa participationnotableàlaviemusicaledelacourlaissentsupposerqueleprojetetlaréalisationd’unefabriqueexpressémentconçuepourlamusique,conjoin-tementàunappareil liturgiquespécifique,aeudesconséquencespra-tiques: ilsembleévidentquelesexigencesmusicalesontpoussél’ar-chitecture à offrir des réponses fonctionnelles nouvelles en termesdeconstruction. Lesconditionsacoustiquesdel’espaceecclésial,dansuneoptiqued’optimisation de l’écoute musicale, dépendent de différents facteursspatiaux:ladimension,laformedulieu,latypologiedesmatériauxuti-lisés.Engénéral,lastructurearchitecturaledel’édificejoueunrôlees-sentielentermesdeprestationacoustique.Sadimensionsonoreentreenharmonieetestexaltéepar la forme : l’acoustiqueestdirectement

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proportionnelleauvolumeetàlaformedel’édifice,latypologiearchitec-turaledépenddesexigencesdel’écoute,lesmatériauxdeconstructioninfluencentledegréd’absorptionetlamusiqueestinextricablementliéeautypederéverbérationdel’espaceetparconséquentauxchoixdecon-struction. L’acoustique se définit donc comme la conciliation entre lesdeuxcomposantesduprojet:lacomposanteliturgico-musicaleetlacom-posantearchitecturale. Seuleunevued’ensemblepeutpermettreunelecturecomplète,enreportantàlalumièrel’unitéduprojetquiautrementresteraitinsaisissa-ble.Onnepeutanalyserlaviemusicaledel’égliseindépendammentducontexte, toutcommelacompréhensiontotaleduprincipefondamentalduprojetarchitecturalnepeutêtreatteintesil’onfaitabstractiondesfi-nalitésfonctionnellesdecelieu. CesinterrelationsontétéétudiéeseneffectuantcertainesmesuressurlesreliefsetsurlemodèlevirtueldelaBasilique,ainsiqu’uneanaly-sedelagéométrieetdelasymétriedel’édifice.Lesrésultatsfournissentdesindicationsprécisessurlescaractéristiquessonoresduvolume:laqualitéacoustiques’exprimeen termesdeclarté etdenetteté et,parconséquent,de l’intelligibilité du son.Cesparamètresobjectifs fontdel’égliseunvolumeappropriéàl’écoutemusicale:laBasiliques’avèreêtreunespaceparfaitement«consacré»àl’écoute,puisquesesparamètressontconsidéréscommeoptimauxpourlesédificesecclésiaux. Les solutions architecturales adoptées semblent en effet êtredessinéessur labasedecettenécessité : lastructurede laBasiliquePalatinerépondparfaitementauxexigencessonores,seprojetantcom-meunlieuenmesured’accueillirdesexécutionsmusicalesimprégnées

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d’unethéâtralitéenconstanteévolution.Leprojetdela«forme»archi-tecturaleadoncrecherchéuneacoustiqueoptimale:labasiliquesedéfi-nitcommeleréceptaclearchitecturalauquellesœuvresmusicalesfurentdestinées;unédificeenmesured’accueillirdesexécutionsliturgiquesettriomphalesdeplusenplusliéesàuneffetthéâtraletspectaculaire,ca-pabled’acheminerles«filssonores»versl’assembléedesauditeurs. Onnepeuteneffetpenserquedetellesconditionsacoustiquesetspatialessontlefruitd’unpurhasard:ellesmanifestentplutôtunevo-lontéprécised’édifierun«templepourlamusique»,unlieuréalisédemanièreàmettreenvaleurlamusiqueetàcontribueràsonexpressionidéale. Onpeutainsisupposerquele«projetmusical»aétédéveloppécon-jointementavecle«projetarchitectural»etaveclescaractéristiquesspa-tialesdesespacesdestinésàenaccueillirl’exécution. EspaceetSonsontencesensintrinsèquementindivisibles.Leures-sencesefondesurleurlienréciproqueetsurlanatureindissociabledeleurrelationmutuelle. Leprojetdelabasiliquecomme«espace sonore»estconfirmépardeséléments tangibles repérablesdans l’organisationarchitecturaleetdansleurdispositionàl’intérieurdelafabrique.Lesystèmespatial,ca-ractérisépar leschapelleslatérales, lesdeuxlanterneset la«gionta»- c’est-à-dire « l’ajout » postérieur de la portionabsidiale – forment unensembleunitaireavecl’exécutionmusicaleprovenantdestribunesdeschantressituéesenface,duchœurdeschanoinesetdelalogedelacon-trefaçade.Lamodularitéde laBasiliquecontribueenoutreà laqualitéacoustiquepuisquelasymétriedel’espaceecclésialdéterminelapropa-

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gationderéflexionsacoustiquespropicesàcréeruneenveloppephoniqueoptimale. Touteslescaractéristiquessusmentionnéesdoiventêtreintégréesàunevisionartistiqued’ensemble,quipermetdepercevoiret«d’écouter»lastructurearchitecturaleàtraverslelangagepolyédriqueduson. L’acoustiqueparfaitedelaBasiliquePalatinedeSantaBarbarasemanifestedansl’harmonietotaleentre«matière»et«air»:unespacequi«résonne»dansunensembledesolutionsarchitecturalesetdecom-positionsmusicalesuniesdansl’exécution,demanièreàexalterlespo-tentialitéssonoresquiontétéconçuesspécifiquementpourcetespaceet,précisément,«en raison de la musique».

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Tackling Claudio Monteverdi’s Vespers

by Marco Mencoboni

Idon’tdomythingsatrandom...Claudio Monteverdi

(Preface to the Fifth Book of Madrigals)

When I entered the church of Santa Barbara a couple of years ago and looked up, I saw myself twenty years younger. In that same place, seated at the keyboard of a clavichord, I played the continuo for a mu-sic ensemble: it was 1987 and we were recording Claudio Monteverdi’s Vespers. We were working in the main nave, at ground floor, but I often loo-ked up, towards the organ. Having obtained my organ diploma a couple of years earlier, that instrument and its repertoire were my whole life and one thing I knew for sure already: that music should be sung and played from up there, from the chancels, which in the past used to be called “choirs” too (adecclesiarumChoros, wrote Monteverdi). Luckily in Mantua, besi-des Graziadio Antegnati’s magnificent organ – recently restored and the true foundation of all our work – all the chancels are accessible, the same ones that were available in Claudio Monteverdi’s time. The rendition of any musical work of the past poses a series of in-terpretative issues, which increase exponentially in the case of a complex piece like the Vespers. The performing “habits” established in the course of the last decades are dictated by the taste of the performers more than by what was written on the ancient documents. Often that taste crystalli-sed, becoming for modern musicians an authoritative source in their turn, up to the point that many of the editions recorded on disc or presented during concerts, sound more or less the same.

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For our performance we chose to make tabularasa, simply relying on the sole existing ancient source: the 1610 print by Ricciardo Amadino, kept intact in the Civico Museo Bibliografico in Bologna (coll BB.12). With a small group of singers, we took those parts as if nobody had ever perfor-med and listened to them, applying an elementary system: reading from the original parts, where every singer, today as then, can follow only his own musical line. Occasionally we found discrepancies among the parts and we stopped to ponder, trying to understand why some libretti had cer-tain signs and others didn’t (fermate, time discrepancies, alterations). This way we decided which were mistakes or oversights by the copyists and which were the composer’s indications. In preparing the actual per-formance, we based it on the fixity of time or beat, taking for granted that – apart from the changes of time expressly written by Monteverdi – the beat, as it was usual at the time, wouldn’t change from the beginning to the end of the piece. Recent performing practice presents many readings which tend to adapt the movement of each individual section to the performing conve-nience of the musicians; subterfuges which were not exactly common at the time, such as continuous rallentandi and accelerandi, result in musi-cal pieces “in sections”. This kind of approach doesn’t find so many fo-otholds in the testimonies of the time; as a matter of fact, only in 1621 did Dario Castello introduce for the first time terms such as Adagio and Allegro within a musical piece. This gave birth to a “new” way of obtai-ning agogic contrast within a composition, which Castello himself defined as modernstyle. Applying this kind of approach before 1610 risks being an anachronism. In the Vespers we never find indications like Adagio or

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Allegro in the hand of Monteverdi: the pen of the composer uses the dura-tion of the notes to fulfil his aim. The idea of not fragmenting musical pieces in sections, especially the psalms, was met immediately with a certain reluctance by the mu-sicians themselves who were with me – it was June 2008, in the church of San Ciriaco in Ancona, for the Cantar Lontano Festival. I found myself asking things of them that they were not used to; I read distrust in the eyes of my colleagues; we spent hours discussing, instead of singing and playing. Luckily, making music together ended up dissolving these ten-sions. After that first performance, based for the most part upon instinct, I needed to pass to a second level of perception, and I started studying the meaning of this work of art. Already in the first work published by Monteverdi, the SacraeCantiunculae, of the year 1582 (the composer was 15 then), we can find refined composition techniques such as hemiolias, used in a visually de-scriptive way too. In the second part of the motet Omagnumpietatis, for instance, upon the words terra tunccontremuitetsolobscuravit, acou-stically the use of the hemiola indicates a change of accents to simulate a earthquake; the sight perceives darkness, since in the hemiolia, notes normally written in white were blackened – a symbolic and descriptive lan-guage commonly used by great painters, sculptors and architects, which might have reached very high levels in Monteverdi’s music. Moreover, a few cues could let us suppose that the composer might have looked more at the original Hebrew texts than at the Latin translations, not always pre-cise, produced by the Catholic Church. The limited space allows me to mention only a couple of them.

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Let’s take the motet Pulchraes for two voices, the second motet of the Vespers, which we find after the second psalm. Monteverdi introduces a minor sesquialtera on the words meavolarefecerunt. Considered within its context and referring to the Latin sentence present in the Monteverdi edition, the text describes a lover imploring his beloved not to look him in the eyes, because this would cause him to flee (avolare): Averteoculostuosame,quiaipsimeavolarefecerunt. The reference to the text easily brings the interpreters to imitate in their performance the sense of esca-ping, running away, thus imposing on the sesquialtera a rapid and accele-rated tempo, even if in this context the minor sesquialtera should not be fast. Why is this? If we read the Hebrew text of the SongofSongs (Shir haShirim 6:4), for our passage we find: sheemhirhivuni, that is “because they perturb me”, where the word we are interested in is hirhivuni, meaning to perturb, to upset or, in such a sensual context, to excite. On the other hand, the Latin avolare only means “to fly away”, and a description of the excitement or the perturbation is more effective if the movement of the notes is slow rather than fast. The Christian version, as has often happened in the tran-slation of the Holy Scriptures, distorts the meaning of the text, almost in an attempt to hide what might seem too explicit or sinful. To this day we don’t know which reading and interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures was adopted in Mantua and Venice in Monteverdi’s time, what feelings the rabbis had about this at the time,which corruption of the text had reached our composer through the Jewish musicians he mixed with, and most of all if he knew Hebrew: all these aspects still need to be investigated.

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Continuing the study, we run into an endless sequence of possible, wonderful symbolic references: Psalm 122, for instance, the third of the Vespers and the first of the 15 AscensionalPsalms or Cantidegliscalini (Songs of the Steps). It starts with an innovative figuration of the bass, which might appear to describe the joy of ascending to the Temple of Jerusalem (Laetatussumininhis,quaedictasuntmihi:indomumDominiibimus). At the incipit of the first hemistich of the fourth verse we find the word Illuc. For it Monteverdi writes wreaths of notes entrusted first to the sopranos and then to all the singers. Keeping the beat of the beginning of the piece – necessarily andante if we want to covey a certain feeling of joy – the notes would have to be read as fast as humanly possible. Is this what Monteverdi wanted? To describe what? Illuc is the place, Shessham in Hebrew means to stay there, in front of the light of God, which for the Jews climbing to the Temple of Jerusalem was shining in front of its door. Being in the presence of God is Shekinah. After having sung along the steps of the staircase and arrived at the door of the temple, they danced and became intoxicated with wine too, in a ri-tual of spiritual elevation that still can be found in certain forms of tribal celebration. Therefore, are the figurations written by Monteverdi the musi-cal exemplification of the dizziness of the Shekinah? Perhaps yes. What can we say then about the organ stops requested by the com-poser for the performance of the Magnificat? Why in the verse Fecitpoten-tiaminbrachiosuo does he indicate the use – bizarre to say the least – of the register of the Voceumana? Perhaps he wanted to indicate the tremor induced by the power of the Omnipotent’s arm? It is possible, certainly. In this work we tried not to do “things at random”. Every note of this

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extraordinary composition seems to speak and tell as much as the text it wants to serve. The space allowed by a CD booklet is limited; there would be so much to say and to object. We will talk about it when we have the opportunity to meet. For now, let’s allow the music speak for itself and en-joy the gift Claudio Monteverdi gave us.

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Music in Santa Barbara

by Licia Mari

Vespersstartedat9pmandallpsalmsweresungwiththeorganandinstrumentsconcertisingattheInvitatorioandattheMagnificat.

4 December 1572, Feast of Santa Barbara

Thus an anonymous priest of the Chapter of the Basilica Palatina de-scribed in his diary the solemn Vespers for the feast of Santa Barbara in 1572. That same year work on enlarging the church was about to be fini-shed: the basilica, consecrated by Cardinal Federico Gonzaga in 1564, was endowed with a large semicircular apse (the so-called “gionta”); this was followed by the final rearrangement of the interior. Moreover, the musical chapel wanted by Duke Guglielmo Gonzaga was consolidating more and more around a fundamental pivot: the organ built by Graziadio Antegnati in 1565. The instrument, with its new technical features (the most impor-tant being split keys for higher purity of tuning) and with its sonorities, be-came an important element in celebrations, in accompanying singers and in concert with other instruments, primarily cornets and trombones. The innovative ferments of the time found fertile ground in Santa Barbara, where musicians composed, experimented, performed not only for the duke and his court. Indeed the palatine church was not a pala-ce chapel for few privileged guests, but a grand basilica meant also for the people, who came in great numbers just to listen to music. Duke Guglielmo was a singular character: shrewd, secluded, perhaps surly, yet eager to relate to his subjects, to give them not only an example of ma-gnificence and power, but also of culture, spirituality, art. In his project we can discern a refined plot: the church was enriched by precious relics of saints, who were venerated with ceremonies, altars devoted to them and

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musical repertoire, consisting of cantusfirmus, but also of specifically-composed motets and hymns. For the liturgy (Ordinary and Proper of the Mass, Office), more than 20 choral codes of cantusfirmus were compiled. Among them the Kyriale deserves special attention: it became the basis of the MesseMantovane (Mantua Masses), composed in the style reque-sted by Guglielmo himself from great musicians of the time with whom he came in contact (like Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina or Giovanni Contino). The pope approved the constitution of a canonical college presided over by an abbot and conceded many privileges, among them the use of a spe-cial liturgy, with Missal and Breviary, definitively confirmed in 1583. In that period the Costituzioni (Constitutions) were drawn up; through them we grasp the structure peculiar to Santa Barbara, the tasks entrusted to the members of the Chapter and to all the subjects involved with the ce-lebrations (canonists, chaplains, masters of ceremonies, deacons, cle-rics), and the classification of the feasts of the liturgical year. The rites were described with utmost care in the Cerimoniale (Ceremonial), which specified both the pieces to be sung and the subdivision of tasks in the performance. Therefore the Basilica Palatina became a special place, where the in-flow of the populace continued to increase in the course of the years: with very vivid words, in a letter dated 5 December 1580, Aurelio Pomponazzo described the basilica as being very full for the feast of Santa Barbara (ce-lebrated the day before), so much so that it was impossible to enter and the flow of people leaving town had to be regulated by soldiers. In this lively cultural atmosphere, the musical chapel of Santa Barbara became a reference point; it welcomed excellent cantors and instrumen-

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talists, starting from the first officials in charge: the maestrodicappella Giaches de Wert (the learned Flemish musician esteemed far beyond the borders of the dukedom of Mantua) and the organist Francesco Rovigo. Both were also active in the musical events held within the Gonzaga court. Indeed court and basilica lived through intense moments of exchanges, in-teractions, conflicts. All the good musicians were involved with one or the other if the occasion required it: an important religious ceremony (the po-lyphonic psalms by Gian Giacomo Gastoldi – Wert’s collaborator and later his successor – performed for Japanese nobles who arrived in 1585 with some Jesuit fathers); or a theatrical performance with music (how could one forget the mise-en-scènes of the Pastor fido, with text by Giovanni Battista Guarini, a real rage at the time?). Perhaps these artists were a little exploited too, if we are to believe Claudio Monteverdi, who more than once lamented the treatment he received and the fact that he never ma-naged to become maestrodicappella in Santa Barbara, although it seems impossible that he never performed his extraordinary music there. The importance of the palatine musical chapel can be grasped from an event involving the great musician from Cremona himself. In November 1608 his father Baldassarre asked Duke Vincenzo that, if he really did not want to discharge his son – overloaded with work and suffering from health problems – and help him to obtain employment at another court, he could at least relieve him of his manifold tasks and grant him the still prestigious position of maestro for sacred music. As a matter of fact, Gastoldi was very sick already and was to die on 4 January 1609. But the duke had other plans: at the end of November he summoned Monteverdi to court to entrust him with new theatre music and the composer, in a

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letter dated 2 December 1608, lamented his accommodation in Mantua, with lots of work, low wages and little satisfaction. After a short period with Antonio Taroni, the post coveted by Monteverdi was occupied by an interesting musician: Stefano Nascimbeni. Hence the question of the role played by Monteverdi within the musical activity of the Gonzaga basilica still remains open. Unfortunately there is no trace of it in the documenta-ry archive of the Chapter but, even considering the circulation of the mu-sicians between court and church, it seems impossible to assume that, during the most important celebrations, the work of such an important artist would not have been performed at Santa Barbara as well. In fact, studies of his music reveal a bond with the rites of the palatine chapel which strengthens the hypothesis that his presence had been significant in every aspect of the court’s life: some textual and stylistic choices of the very famous VesprodellaBeataVergine (1610) are possibly related to the Mantua liturgy and praxis, and the cantusfirmus used in the hymn AveMarisStella has shown some significant concordance with the one in the Santa Barbara repertoire. And exactly in the Monteverdi years (both the ones in Mantua until 1612 and the succeeding ones in Venice, during which the relationship with the Gonzagas was never totally severed), Santa Barbara resounded with much music, in which composers elaborated their stylistic research, seeking different ways of relating voices and instruments, continuing to “concertise” in a space that, born with exceptionally fine acoustics, acqui-red more and more value. Sound and space: new aesthetic concepts were taking shape in Northern Italy in the XVII century, enhancing research into timbre and the

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various sound effects obtained by placing singers and instrumentalists in different places within the church. If Venice shines with San Marco, Mantua has Santa Barbara, with its different places in which music could be performed: the organ in the chan-cel incornuEpistulae, in front of which there is a similar chancel; the apse and its choir; the great chancel above the entrance portal. This is a way of highlighting not only solo singers, individual instruments, obviously the or-gan with all the shades of its registers, but also large formations, the po-lychorality made of voices and instruments expanding in the church. What Maurizio Padoan wrote about the praxis of the time applies to the Mantua basilica as well: thespatialorganisationofmusicinseveralsourcesofsound,thetimbrejuxtapositions,thedynamicaccentuationsandthema-nifold deployment of the “concerts” in the different liturgicalmomentsaresuchastoachieveresultsthataresolemnandsumptuousaswellasstronglyinvolvingemotionallyforthebystanders.

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The Basilica di Santa Barbara: a Sound Architecture

by Emanuela Vai

ForhisowndevotionsaswellasforthecomfortoftheSereneArchduchessEleanorofAustriahisconsort,andforthe

pleasuretheybothtookinattendingeverydayatthedivinehours,forreasonsofsungmusicGuglielmoGonzagastartedthesumptuous

buildingoftheNobilissimoTempiodiSantaBarbara.

The architectural and musical history of the Basilica Palatina di Santa Barbara acquires special interest if we evaluate the actions and situations that characterised its evolution: through such a comparative analysis we can give “voice” again to the vast team of architects, musicians and ar-tists in general who partook in the realisation of the “cappella musicale” of Santa Barbara, an artistic development where architecture was entwi-ned with music. Duke Guglielmo’s passion for music and his peculiar involvement with the court musical activities suggest that the coeval planning and rea-lisation of a “fabbrica” (factory) expressly conceived for music, in conjun-ction with a specific liturgical apparatus, must have had a practical purpo-se: it is evident how musical requirements compelled architecture to offer new functional answers in constructive terms. In order to use ecclesial space for musical performances, its acou-stic conditions have to obey specific spatial factors: the dimension, the shape of the space, the kind of materials used to define it. In general, the architectonic structure of a building is paramount in terms of acoustic per-formance. Its sound dimension is harmonised and enhanced in its rela-tionship with the shape: the acoustics are directly proportional to the volu-me and to the shape of the building; the type of architecture depends on

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the listening requirements; the building materials influence the degree of absorption and music is indissolubly correlated to the kind of environmen-tal reverberation and consequently to the building choices. Therefore the acoustics become a conciliation between two components of the project: the liturgical-musical and the architectonic ones. A comprehensive reading can be attempted in an overall view only by bringing back to light a planning unity which would be lost otherwise. The musical life of the church cannot be analysed out of context and we can-not fully understand the architectural planning if we do not consider the functional purpose of the place. To investigate such interrelations, surveys and the virtual model of the basilica were measured, while the geometry and the symmetry of the building were analysed. The results provide precise indications on the sound characters of the volume: the acoustic quality is expressed in terms of clearness and, consequently, of understandabilityofthesound. Such objective parameters characterise the church as a space predisposed to music-listening: the basilica reveals itself as a space perfectly “dedica-ted” to listening, falling within the parameters considered optimal for ec-clesial buildings. The adopted architectural solutions seem to have taken shape on the basis of this necessity: the structure of the Basilica Palatina respon-ds perfectly to the sound requirements, being intended as a place able to host new musical performances of ever-increasing theatricality. Therefore the planning of the architectural “shape” pursued optimal acoustics: the basilica is the architectural container for which musical works were desti-ned, a building capable of hosting liturgical and theatrical performances

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more and more aimed at creating a spectacular effect, and able to convey the “sound threads” towards the audience. Indeed it is unthinkable that such acoustic and spatial conditions are the fruit of mere casualness; rather, they let us suppose a precise will to build a “temple for music”, a place constructed so as to emphasise and contribute to the utmost expression and the best performance of music. Therefore we can suppose that for the most part the “musical plan-ning” was cultivated in close correlation with the “architectural project” and with the spatial characteristics of the areas destined to host the per-formances. In this respect, Space and Sound are intrinsically inseparable. Their essence lies in their mutual bond and in their reciprocal and unavoi-dable conditioning. So the planning of the basilica as “sound space” finds practical con-firmation in the architectonic organisation and in the allotment of space inside the “factory”. The spatial implant, with the lateral chapels, the two lanterns and the rear addition in the apse portion form a unicum with the music coming from the opposed chancels, from the choir of the canons and from the loggia of the counter-façade. The modularity of the Basilica Palatina also contributes to the acoustic, because the symmetry of the ec-clesial structure causes a flow of the acoustic reflection which results in excellent surrounding sound. Each of the above-mentioned architectural-spatial characteristics fin-ds full affirmation exclusively in an overall artistic vision which allows us to perceive and “listen” to the architectonic structure through the many-sided language of sound.

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The perfect acoustic of the Basilica Palatina di Santa Barbara is ap-parent in the total harmony of “matter” and “air”: a space that “resounds” in a mass of architectonic solutions and musical compositions jointly co-hesive in performance, so as to optimise the sound potentials conceived for that space “for reasons of music”.

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Les sources Sources

Claudio MonteverdiSanctissimaeVirginiMissasenisvocibusacVesperaepluribusdecantan-dae,cumnonnullissacrisconcentibus,adSacellasivePrincipumCubiculaaccommodata. Opera a Claudio Monteverde nuper effecta ac Beatiss.PauloV.Pont.Max.consecrata. -Venetiis,apudRicciardumAmadinum.1610.ExemplaireconservéauMuseointernazionaleebibliotecadellamusicadeBolognesouslacoteColl.BB12