University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
Literature and Styles in Music I
Opera in the Baroque Period
I Antecedents of Opera
A. Liturgical Dramas and Mystery Plays had used music intermittently
B. Intermezzi or Intermedi between acts of a Renaissance theatrical production or as an independent performance celebrating some major event
- Both often included elaborate musical productions involving soloists, choruses and instrumental ensembles
C. Dialogue Madrigals, usually based on a dramatic poem, approximate the musical exchange of opera
D. Madrigal Cycles (comedies)
- Brief and simple plots with two or more characters set forth in dialogue but with numerous solos and choruses
- Most famous example: Vecchi's L'Amfiparnaso (1596)
- Also works by Adriano Banchieri
E. Musical style for these antecedents suitable for expressing thoughts and emotions of individual characters, but still not appropriate for narrative or dramatic purposes
- most Renaissance entertainments were based on "Pastoral" poetry which did not require a "realistic" musical style to depict dramatic exchanges of dialogue (the dialogue sections being generally spoken)
II Florentine Camerata and Monody
A. Camerata consists of a loose association of musicians, poets and scholars who sought to return to the Ancient Greek ideas of song as embodied in the Greek Tragedy (most notably Girolamo Mei, Govanni Bardi, and Vincenzo Galilei)
- Sought to duplicate Greek idea of a "speech-song" declaimed in the natural accent of the text (with a minimal accompaniment by some supporting chords)
- No style of solo song then existed which would be appropriate for this purpose
- e.g., lute song relied on a conventional madrigal-like lyrical melody with the other parts reduced to a simple lute accompaniment
B. "Monody" is the name given to the new musical style which would reflect the natural meter and accents of speech more accurately than had any musical style to that point
C. Vincenzo Galilei, in his "Dialogue on Ancient & Modern Music," (1581) attacks the idea of polyphony.
Since only one musical idea could express a given text idea, additional musical ideas (expressed in multiple melodic lines) could only confuse the issue
- How could a number of different melodic lines be thought of as expressing the same text? There would be "contradictory impressions."
- To be most effective, song must be "monodic," featuring a solo song with speech-like characteristics over a simple chordal accompaniment
D. Other major figures involved in the Camerata:
- Rinuccini (1562-1621)
- Peri (1561-1633)
- G. Caccini (c. 1545-1618)
E. Monodic style applied to solo arias and madrigals (especially Caccini), and new "stilo recitativo" or "recitative" style, which was closest to spoken speech
III First Operas Incorporate Monody
A. Peri's Euridice (1600); librettist: Rinuccini
- Peri had earlier collaborated with Rinuccini on "Daphne," a dramatic pastoral
- In Euridice, Peri achieves a new dramatic "speech-song" or "recitative" by freeing the voice both harmonically and rhythmically from the underlying musical accompaniment while still deriving musical coherence from it
- Results in a free, somewhat dissonant style that avoids cadences
- Some pieces in a more conventional "Aria" style are also included, e.g., songs in regular rhythm with typically "tuneful" melody
B. Monteverdi's L'Orfeo (1607); Librettist: Striggio
- Striggio's libretto emphasizes the tragic elements of the mythological story, preserving the original story more faithfully
- Monteverdi's music notable for a more varied representation of emotions
- L'Orfeo also exhibits a wider range of musical styles than Peri's Euridice
- employs speech-like monody like Peri, but style is generally more continuous with a more well developed contour; more rhythmic repetition used and melodic sequences occuring occasionally
- melody and more consonant with underlying harmony; harmony seems more "goal directed"
- employs more conventional solo arias and duets as well as madrigal-like choruses and dances in alternation with passages of monody
- Uses an unusually large orchestra (over 40 instruments) inherited from the extravagant ensembles associated with the "intermedi"
C. Later Florentine operas:
- Marco da Gagliano (1594-1651): Dafne (1608) & Il Medoro (1619)
- Francesca Caccini (daughter of Giulio; 1587-1640?): La liberazione di Ruggiero dall'isola d'Alcina (1625)
D. Later operas by Roman composers
- Stefano Landi's Sant' Alessio (1632)
- Luigi Rossi's Orfeo (Paris, 1647)
E. Later operas in Venice:
- Benedetto Ferrari & Francesco Manelli produced the first public opera performance, Andromeda, in 1637
- Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse (1641), and L'incoronazione de Poppea (1642)
- Pier Francesco Cavalli (1602-76) Giascone (1649) Egisto (1643), Calisto (1651)
- Antonio Cesti (1623-69): Il pomo d'oro (Vienna, 1667), Orontea (1649)