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CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI
presented by Karen Chan
Background Information
• Born: May 15, 1567 in Cremona, Italy
• Died: November 29, 1643
• Known for vocal music, especially madrigals & operas
• Many works have been lost including much sacred music, 10+ stage works
Famous for...
Proposing idea of “second practice” or “seconda pratica”Landmark opera L’Orfeo, first performed Feb. 1607
Timeline......
• 1582: Published “Sacrae cantiunculae”
• 1590: Court musician for Duke of Mantua
• 1601: Became Master of Music for Duke of Mantua
• 1613: Maestro di capella at the Cathedral of St. Marks in Venice
“Seconda pratica” or “Second practice”
• Criticism by music theorist Giovanni Maria Artusi (c. 1540-1613)
• Student of Zarlino
• Believed in strict rules of counterpoint
• On the Imperfections of Modern Music (1600)
• Criticizes the “errors” that were found in Monteverdi’s to-be-published madrigal Cruda Amarilli
“The writing was not bad—though, as you will see, it introduces new rules,
modes, and idioms that are harsh and hardly pleasing to the ear. It could not
be otherwise, for these new rules break the [established] good rules,
which are founded in experience (the mother of all things), derived from
Nature, and confirmed by demonstration. These new rules must therefore be deformations of nature
and the propriety of correct harmony. They are far from the purpose of
music…”-Artusi
“Seconda pratica” or “Second practice”
• Response by Monteverdi - publish the Cruda Amarilli!
• First madrigal in a collection of 5-voice madrigals (1605)
• 1607: Giulio Cesare (Monteverdi’s brother) publishes Scherzi musicali
• Introduces Monteverdi’s idea of “seconda pratica”
• Labels Zarlino’s approach as “prima pratica”“The words should be the boss of the
harmony, and not the harmony the boss of the words.” -Monteverdi
L’Orfeo
• Thought of as the “first great opera”
• Story of Orpheus
• Commissioned by Accademia degli Invaghiti in Mantua
• Liberetto by Alessandro Striggio
• Premiered Feb. 24, 1607 at Gonzaga’s palace
• Contained a prologue and 5 acts
• Used a variety of genres - recitatives, ariosos, arias, ensemble works, dances, ritornelli
• Chiastic structure: based upon single climatic point in the middle of the work
• Possente Spirito (“Powerful Spirit”) aria in Act III
“If you trust that the modern composer builds on the
foundation of truth, you will live happy.”-Monteverdi
“Claudio Monteverdi.” Naxos. Naxos Classical Music. 5 Nov. 2013. Web. 7 Nov. 2013.
“Claudio Monteverdi.” Sinfoni Music. Sinfoni Music. n.d. Web. 7 Nov. 2013.
“Giovanni Maria Artusi, On the Imperfections of Modern Music (1600).” Music History Resource Center. Schirmer Cengage Learning. n.d. Web. 7 Nov. 2013.
Kurtzman, Jeffrey. “Deconstructing Gender in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo.” Journal of Seventeenth-Century Music 9.1 (2003). Web. 7 Nov. 2013.
Sanford, Sally. “A Comparison of French and Italian Singing in the Seventeenth Century.” Journal of Seventeenth-Century Music 1.1 (1995). Web. 7 Nov. 2013.
Terrantino, Todd. “Claudio Monterverdi: Orfeo.” n.p. 2012. Web. 7 Nov. 2013.
Works Cited
