Logan Emlet 1

Agnus Dei, from Mass for Four Voices

William Byrd

1592

William Byrd’s “Agnus Dei,” from Mass for Four Voices comes from the English Renaissance period. Composed in 1592, this text comes from the Ordinary of the Catholic Mass. This text was set multiple times by Byrd, as well as by Medieval composers before him (such as Palestrina), and would continue to be set to music centuries later by future composers. Sung in Latin, the text is repeated three times, with the choir asking Christ for mercy, finally ending with the phrase “dona nobis pacem” (“grant us peace”).

Byrd’s arrangement of this text serves to gradually increase the tension and thickness of texture throughout the piece. The piece begins with short, imitative motifs in the soprano and alto voices, creating a simple polyphony. On the second repeat of the text, the tenor enters, increasing the complexity and length of the imitative polyphonic motifs. Byrd then adds the bass voice, and continues to increase the length and overlap of phrases driving towards the final cadence. All four voices singing the final syllable of the word “pacem” together, ending the piece in a moment of homophony and peace.

This piece speaks to me as a future choral director because of the simplicity and beauty in Byrd’s arrangement and setting of the text. Byrd weaves the four voices together marvelously, giving each voice an independent melody that at the same time functions harmoniously with the other voices. To me, this musical setting imparts meaning to the text, where we are asking Christ for mercy as individuals, but at the same time, all of humanity is asking for the same thing with us. As the music progresses, the requests for mercy become more urgent and passionate, until everyone winds up together at the cadence asking for the simplest and at the same time most complex request – peace.

[302 words]

Logan Emlet 2

“Tu se’ morta” from Orfeo

Claudio Monteverdi

1607

Orfeo, composed by Claudio Monteverdi near the beginning of the Baroque era, is known today as having been the first great opera. The opera is a musical telling of the classic Greek myth of Orpheus (Orfeo). Orpheus’s bride, Eurydice, is bit by a snake and dies. Orpheus travels to the underworld to rescue his bride, where Pluto agrees to release Eurydice on the condition that Orpheus not look behind him to see if she is following. Orpheus is eventually tempted by doubt, and looks back only to see Eurydice disappear.

“Tu se’ morta” is a recitative in which Orfeo learns of Eurydice’s death, and vows to save her from the underworld. The recitative opens with a sustained chord in the accompaniment, and a suspended, dissonant utterance of the phrase: “Tu se’ morta” (“You are dead”) from Orfeo. The text is delivered in a rhythm similar to spoken text, a key characteristic of recitative. However, Monteverdi is able to use music to elevate the emotion higher than that of spoken word alone, using word painting to enhance the text. For example, the word “abissi” (“abysses”) is sung on a low note, while the word “stele” (“stars”) is sung on a higher pitch.

As a singer, Monteverdi’s Orfeo is of particular interest to me, as it sparked the creation of the genre that I study most. I chose to look at “Tu se’ morta” in particular because of the fact that it is a recitative. The creation of recitative is what allowed the genre of opera to come into existence. Without this new technique developed by Monteverdi in Orfeo, the great operas of Mozart, Verdi, Rossini, Puccini, Wagner, Strauss, Britten and many others may not have come into creation.

[287 words]