Podcast appearances and mentions of Claudio Monteverdi

fWotD Episode 2959: Concerto delle donne Welcome to Featured Wiki of the Day, your daily dose of knowledge from Wikipedia's finest articles.The featured article for Wednesday, 11 June 2025, is Concerto delle donne.The concerto delle donne (lit. 'consort of ladies') was an ensemble of professional female singers of late Renaissance music in Italy. The term usually refers to the first and most influential group in Ferrara, which existed between 1580 and 1597. Renowned for their technical and artistic virtuosity, the Ferrarese group's core members were the sopranos Laura Peverara, Livia d'Arco and Anna Guarini.The Duke of Ferrara Alfonso II d'Este founded a group of mostly female singers for his chamber music series, musica secreta (lit. 'secret music'). These singers were exclusively noble women, such as Lucrezia and Isabella Bendidio. In 1580, Alfonso formally established the concerto delle donne for both his wife Margherita Gonzaga d'Este and reasons of prestige. The new group included professional singers of upper-class, but not noble, backgrounds, under the direction of the composers Luzzasco Luzzaschi and Ippolito Fiorini. Their signature style of florid, highly ornamented singing brought prestige to Ferrara and inspired composers of the time such as Lodovico Agostini, Carlo Gesualdo and Claudio Monteverdi.The concerto delle donne revolutionized the role of women in professional music, and continued the tradition of the Este court as a musical center. Word of the ladies' ensemble spread across Italy, inspiring imitations in the courts of the Medici and Orsini. The founding of the concerto delle donne was among the most important events in secular music in late sixteenth century Italy. The musical innovations established in the court were important in the development of the madrigal, and eventually the seconda pratica.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:30 UTC on Wednesday, 11 June 2025.For the full current version of the article, see Concerto delle donne on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm standard Aditi.

durée : 00:22:31 - Disques de légende du vendredi 09 mai 2025 - En 1983 paraissait chez Erato les " Vêpres de la Bienheureuse Vierge Marie " de Claudio Monteverdi par l'Ensemble de Lausanne, les Saqueboutiers de Toulouse et l'Ensemble d'instruments anciens sous la direction de Michel Corboz

durée : 00:22:31 - Disques de légende du vendredi 09 mai 2025 - En 1983 paraissait chez Erato les " Vêpres de la Bienheureuse Vierge Marie " de Claudio Monteverdi par l'Ensemble de Lausanne, les Saqueboutiers de Toulouse et l'Ensemble d'instruments anciens sous la direction de Michel Corboz

Met Chorus Artists will perform on May 4 A few photos on the Met Chorus Artists website show five singers and an accompanist performing at the Howland Cultural Center in 2018. On Sunday (May 4), the group will return with a pianist and narrator along with two tenors, three sopranos, a mezzo-soprano and a bass-baritone to present History of Opera: Up Close. There's a long tradition of classical chamber settings featuring vocalists, usually paired with a piano or small ensemble. The repertoire is known as lieder in Germany, melodie in France and art songs elsewhere, says Sara Heaton, a soprano who will be performing. But selling tickets for stripped-down vocal concerts can be a challenge, says Akiko Sasaki, music director at the Howland Chamber Music Circle. In 2017, Sasaki introduced a Classics for Kids series and eight years ago, Met Chorus Artists performed a show for the wee ones. On May 4, they will present a young person's concert in the afternoon that pulls examples from The Magic Flute to punctuate points. The 4 p.m. adult-oriented retrospective is being performed for the first time ever. Selections range from the Baroque era, represented by Claudio Monteverdi (born 1567) and George Friedrich Handel, to contemporary opera, including works by Igor Stravinsky and Kevin Puts (born 1972). Excerpts by the genre's one-name stars - Mozart, Verdi, Wagner and Puccini - will also air. Heaton and Sasaki's friendship spawned the 2018 visit from Met Chorus Artists, a nonprofit outreach for members of the Metropolitan Opera chorus. "We started it a few years ago with the goal of bringing the music to other spaces outside the opera house and to work on a smaller scale than the grand opera that we do at the Met," says Heaton. Sasaki also takes chamber music beyond the concert hall by programming pop-ups in libraries, art galleries and Beacon Music Factory (on May 3). But the Howland Cultural Center, with its renowned acoustics for unplugged instruments, is a special place to see such a performance, she says. "A program like this fits well in a chamber setting," she says. "It's exciting because opera is usually performed in a big house with 4,000 people in the audience. Here, the singing fills up the room and you can feel their vibrato." The narrator, Whitney Young, a composer and conductor who shatters the stereotype with sleeves, neck tattoos and attitude, inspired the format after several singers in the Met Chorus attended Young's lecture on the history of the string quartet at the Strand Bookstore in Manhattan. The lecture was augmented with a cellist, violist and two violinists who provided live examples on the spot, says Heaton, who lived in Beacon for seven years but moved in 2022 to Westchester to shorten her commute to Lincoln Center. Bringing an expansive ensemble from New York City that provides flexibility to mix and match presents a more varied performance than a soloist singing lieder and art songs. "This is such a great format," she says. "We worked hard putting together a taste of Opera 101." The Howland Cultural Center is located at 477 Main St. in Beacon. Opera for Kids will be performed at 1 p.m. on May 4. Tickets are $15 for adults and free for children. All ages are welcome, but it is recommended for ages 6 and older. The Met Chorus Artists concert is scheduled for 4 p.m. on May 4. Tickets are $35, or $10 for students ages 25 and younger. See howlandmusic.org/tickets for both shows.

durée : 02:28:48 - France Musique est à vous du samedi 15 mars 2025 - par : Gabrielle Oliveira-Guyon - Une symphonie de Vassili Kalinnikov, un quartet avec piano de Danny Elfman, un madrigal de Claudio Monteverdi et une Rhapsodie roumaine de Georges Enesco : voilà un échantillon de ce que vous pourrez découvrir dans l'émission d'aujourd'hui ! - réalisé par : Emmanuel Benito

V soboto 14. decembra ob 19.30 bo v Cerkvi Sv. Trojice v Ljubljani nov koncert Sakralnega abonmaja. Nastopili bosta dve zasedbi: ženski zbor Petrol in moški zbor Coro polifonico Claudio Monteverdi iz Italije. Koncert nam bo predstavil dirigent Jan Gorjanc Daniso.

Claudio Monteverdi komponierte sicher deutlich mehr geistliche Musik als die überlieferten Werke aus seiner Feder. Eine Vesper zu Ehren der heiligen Maria zu rekonstruieren, ist deshalb alles andere als abwegig. Vincent Dumestre versucht sich an einer solchen Rekonstruktion. Das Ergebnis ist großartig.

Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) - L'Orfeofavola in musicaLibretto di Alessandro Striggio Apollo - Roland HermannCaronte - Hans Franzen Euridice - Turbante Dietlinde La Musica - Trudeliese Schmidt Messaggero - Glenys Linos Ninfa - Suzanne Calabro Orfeo - Philippe Huttenlocher Plutone - Werner Groschel Prosperpina - Glenys Linos Speranza - Trudeliese Schmidt  Monteverdi Ensemble dell'Opera di ZurigoCoro dell'Opera di ZurigoErich Widl, Maestro del CoroNikolaus Harnoncourt, direttore d'orchestra Libretto

Avui escoltarem: "Vespro de la Beata Vergine" (selecci

Avui escoltarem: "Lamento d'Arianna" (versi

Avui escoltarem: "L'Orfeo, favola in musica" (selecci

Avui escoltarem: selecci

Avui escoltarem: "Cantiunculae Sacrae" (Can

Send us a textToday we look at the love children of John Donne and Ben Jonson, a group of monarchist soldiers during the English Civil War.  Collectively known as the Cavalier Poets, they are numerous.  We'll look at some representative poems today by Robert Herrick, Thomas Carew, Richard Lovelace, and the ill-fated and unfortunately named Sir John Suckling.Additional music:"Consort for Brass" by Kevin MacLeod"La Violetta" by Claudio Monteverdi; perf. The Boston Camerata, dir. Joel Cohen"In Town Tonight" by Reginald Dixon; perf. Eric CoatesSupport the showPlease like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you!Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.comFollow me on Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok, and YouTube.If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful!Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber OrchestraSubcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish GuardsSound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.orgMy thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!

Oudemuziekkenner Kees Koudstaal presenteert de mooiste en recentste CD’s met oude en klassieke muziek. Koudstaal kondigt dit keer de nieuwe uitgaven aan van Le Poème Harmonique, Ensemble Les Épopées en Czech Ensemble Baroque Orchestra & Choir o.l.v. Roman Válek. Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) 1. Responsorium: ‘Deus in adjutorium meum intende' 2. Psalm ‘Dixit Dominus secondo' (SV […]

A cura di Carlo Centemeri. Oltretomba come ambientazione letteraria, dal mito di Orfeo allla Divina Commedia fino a Faust, tra fantasmi e ombre: ma come si dipingono questi mondi nella musica? Fracasso infernale, suoni paradisiaci? Con Hector Berlioz, Gabriel Faurè, Arrigo Boito, Camille Saint-Saens, Giovanni Pacini, Claudio Monteverdi, Jacques Offenbach, Goffredo Petrassi, William Bolcom.

durée : 00:59:08 - invitée : Albane Imbs - par : Sébastien Llinares - "Musiques anciennes et instruments d'époque, en particulier le début 17e siècle, une période musicalement incarnée par Claudio Monteverdi, Bellerofonte Castaldi, Domenico Pellegrini. Albane Imbs, vient de leur consacrer un album, elle est accompagnée du grand Rolf Lislevand." Sébastien Llinarès - réalisé par : Patrick Lérisset

Direttore, cantante, didatta e divulgatore musicale, Walter Testolin è stato tra i protagonisti della trama L'eco di Monteverdi, ospitata da una recente edizione di Trame Sonore, Mantova Chamber Music Festival. Alla guida di un imponente ensemble vocale e strumentale, che ha visto uniti RossoPorpora, De labyrintho, La Pifarescha e More Antiquo, sua è stata la lettura del Vespro della Beata Vergine di Claudio Monteverdi nella mantovana Basilica di Santa Barbara… Occasione in cui, a 380 anni dalla scomparsa di Monteverdi, il suo monumentale capolavoro, ha rivisto la luce in uno di luoghi più significativi della sua vita. In quella Mantova che lo ha accolto al servizio dei Gonzaga dal 1590 al 1612. Testolin ci accompagna alla scoperta del monteverdiano Vespro, pagina tra le più importanti e solenni della musica sacra del XVII secolo, data alle stampe nel 1610 con dedica al Papa Paolo V e scritta sopra canti fermi a 6 voci e 6 strumenti. Proprio come indicato nel titolo Vespro della Beata Vergine da concerto composto sopra canti fermi sex vocibus et sex instrumentis. Abbiamo incontrato Walter Testolin, nella sacrestia della Basilica di Santa Barbara proprio in occasione di questa imponente esecuzione.

durée : 00:12:01 - Le Disque classique du jour du mercredi 28 août 2024 - Stéphane Fuget et son ensemble Les Épopées nous offrent leur version de l'Orfeo, l'opéra en 5 actes de Claudio Monteverdi créé à Mantoue en 1607

durée : 01:29:14 - En pistes ! du mercredi 28 août 2024 - par : Emilie Munera, Rodolphe Bruneau Boulmier - En ce mercredi matin en compagnie d'Emilie et Rodolphe, on évoque les nouveautés discographiques qui mettent à l'honneur Mel Bonis, George Gershwin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Claudio Monteverdi, Claude Arrieu, César Franck et Sergueï Prokofiev. En pistes !

durée : 00:12:01 - Le Disque classique du jour du mercredi 28 août 2024 - Stéphane Fuget et son ensemble Les Épopées nous offrent leur version de l'Orfeo, l'opéra en 5 actes de Claudio Monteverdi créé à Mantoue en 1607

durée : 01:29:14 - En pistes ! du mercredi 28 août 2024 - par : Emilie Munera, Rodolphe Bruneau Boulmier - En ce mercredi matin en compagnie d'Emilie et Rodolphe, on évoque les nouveautés discographiques qui mettent à l'honneur Mel Bonis, George Gershwin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Claudio Monteverdi, Claude Arrieu, César Franck et Sergueï Prokofiev. En pistes !

Julian Prégardien ist ein wunderbar expressiver Orfeo in der Neueinspielung unter Stéphane Fuget. Ein Titelheld, der auch Töne riskiert, die nicht immer perfekt und restlos schön sind, dafür aber unglaublich ausdrucksintensiv. Eine absolut empfehlenswerte Aufnahme dieses Meisterwerkes.

durée : 01:27:58 - En pistes ! du jeudi 27 juin 2024 - par : Emilie Munera, Rodolphe Bruneau Boulmier - Dans la playlist d'Emilie et Rodolphe ce matin, les œuvres de Frédéric Chopin, Ludwig van Beethoven, Heinrich Schütz, Claudio Monteverdi, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Heino Eller, Robert de Visée et Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. En pistes !

L'opéra raconte une histoire, celle imaginée par le livret, mise en musique par un compositeur et interprétée par des chanteurs lyriques. Il s'agit donc d'un spectacle complet, porté par les accents de l'orchestre.Le théâtre grec, dans l'Antiquité, et certains ballets de cour, à l'époque de la Renaissance, ont pu donner un avant-goût de l'opéra, dont la naissance remonte au début du XVIIe siècle.C'est en effet à ce moment que ce type de spectacle apparaît à Florence, capitale du grand-duché de Toscane. On le doit aux initiatives d'un petit groupe d'artistes et d'intellectuels, la "Camerata fiorentina" ou "Camerata de Bardi".Les musicologues s'interrogent sur le premier opéra à avoir été écrit. Les avis divergent à ce sujet. Si l'on se fonde sur la composition même de l'œuvre, il semble bien que "La Dafne", du compositeur italien Jacopo Peri, ait été le premier opéra jamais composé.En effet, il en écrit la musique, sur un livret d'Ottavio Rinuccini, à l'occasion du carnaval florentin de 1597. Le même musicien compose la musique d'un autre opéra trois ans plus tard, en 1600, sur un texte dû au même librettiste. Il s'agit d'"Euridice", d'après le mythe d'Orphée, qui sera représenté pour la première fois en octobre 1600 au palais Pitti de Florence.Si l'on prend comme critère la représentation de l'œuvre, "Euridice" peut encore être considéré comme le premier opéra. D'autant que Jacopo Peri a introduit dans sa partition des éléments, comme les duos, les chœurs ou les solos, que l'on retrouvera dans tous les opéras à venir.Pour certains, cependant, la première œuvre musicale méritant vraiment le nom d'opéra est l'"Orfeo" de Claudio Monteverdi, sur un livret d'Alessandro Striggio. Créé en février 1607 à Mantoue, cet opéra marque la transition entre la musique de la Renaissance et celle de l'époque baroque.L'opéra italien sera introduit en France, dès le milieu du XVIIe siècle, grâce à Mazarin qui, fin mélomane, fait représenter plusieurs de ces œuvres à la Cour de France. Hébergé par Acast. Visitez acast.com/privacy pour plus d'informations.

Terza e ultima delle puntate dedicate a Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643), uno dei compositori più importanti, e più rivoluzionari della storia della musica: nessuno come lui è riuscito a eccellere in àmbiti estetici così diversi. Egli raccoglie l'eredità del Cinquecento per trasformarla nella nuova estetica concertante, è protagonista della prima stagione del melodramma, con opere che sono rimaste nel grande repertorio, è in prima linea nella trasformazione della musica sacra attraverso elementi inauditi di modernità. Giuseppe Clericetti ci racconta il percorso biografico e artistico di Monteverdi, da Cremona a Mantova fino a Venezia, e contestualizza la sua attività e la sua musica nella magica stagione di inizio Seicento: i madrigali e le sperimentazioni scandalose, la nascita dell'opera e gli sviluppi veneziani, la direzione musicale a San Marco, con uno sguardo alle altre arti, letteratura, pittura, architettura. Ospite al microfono di Giovanni Conti il musicologo Giuseppe Clericetti autore del libro per la casa editrice Zecchini.

Seconda delle tre puntate dedicate a Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643), uno dei compositori più importanti, e più rivoluzionari della storia della musica: nessuno come lui è riuscito a eccellere in àmbiti estetici così diversi.Egli raccoglie l'eredità del Cinquecento per trasformarla nella nuova estetica concertante, è protagonista della prima stagione del melodramma, con opere che sono rimaste nel grande repertorio, è in prima linea nella trasformazione della musica sacra attraverso elementi inauditi di modernità. Giuseppe Clericetti ci racconta il percorso biografico e artistico di Monteverdi, da Cremona a Mantova fino a Venezia, e contestualizza la sua attività e la sua musica nella magica stagione di inizio Seicento: i madrigali e le sperimentazioni scandalose, la nascita dell'opera e gli sviluppi veneziani, la direzione musicale a San Marco, con uno sguardo alle altre arti, letteratura, pittura, architettura. Ospite al microfono di Giovanni Conti il musicologo Giuseppe Clericetti autore del libro per la casa editrice Zecchini.

Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) è uno dei compositori più importanti, e più rivoluzionari della storia della musica: nessuno come lui è riuscito a eccellere in ambiti estetici così diversi.Egli raccoglie l'eredità del Cinquecento per trasformarla nella nuova estetica concertante, è protagonista della prima stagione del melodramma, con opere che sono rimaste nel grande repertorio, è in prima linea nella trasformazione della musica sacra attraverso elementi inauditi di modernità. Giuseppe Clericetti ci racconta il percorso biografico e artistico di Monteverdi, da Cremona a Mantova fino a Venezia, e contestualizza la sua attività e la sua musica nella magica stagione di inizio Seicento: i madrigali e le sperimentazioni scandalose, la nascita dell'opera e gli sviluppi veneziani, la direzione musicale a San Marco, con uno sguardo alle altre arti, letteratura, pittura, architettura. Ospite al microfono di Giovanni Conti il musicologo Giuseppe Clericetti autore del libro per la casa editrice Zecchini.

The marvellous, a key concept in literary debates at the turn of the seventeenth century, involved sensory and perspectival transformation, a rhetoric built on the unexpected, contradictory, and thought-provoking. The composer Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) created a new practice in which the expressive materials of music and poetry were placed in concert. This innovative new study of Monteverdi's literary personality integrates musical and poetic analysis to create an approach to text-music relations that addresses scholars of both literature and music.  Roseen Giles' book Monteverdi and the Marvellous: Poetry, Sound, and Representation (Cambridge UP, 2023) illuminates how experiments in language and perception at the turn of the seventeenth century were influenced and informed by the work of musicians of that era. Giles provides a new perspective on the music and poetry of Monteverdi's madrigals through the poetics of the marvellous. In his madrigals, Monteverdi created a reciprocity between poetry and music which encouraged audiences to contemplate their interactions, and, consequently, to listen differently. Kate Driscoll is Assistant Professor of Italian and Romance Studies at Duke University. She is a specialist of early modern Italian and European literary and cultural history, with interests in women's and gender studies, performance history, and the cultures of diplomacy and reception. Email: kate.driscoll@duke.edu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

The marvellous, a key concept in literary debates at the turn of the seventeenth century, involved sensory and perspectival transformation, a rhetoric built on the unexpected, contradictory, and thought-provoking. The composer Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) created a new practice in which the expressive materials of music and poetry were placed in concert. This innovative new study of Monteverdi's literary personality integrates musical and poetic analysis to create an approach to text-music relations that addresses scholars of both literature and music.  Roseen Giles' book Monteverdi and the Marvellous: Poetry, Sound, and Representation (Cambridge UP, 2023) illuminates how experiments in language and perception at the turn of the seventeenth century were influenced and informed by the work of musicians of that era. Giles provides a new perspective on the music and poetry of Monteverdi's madrigals through the poetics of the marvellous. In his madrigals, Monteverdi created a reciprocity between poetry and music which encouraged audiences to contemplate their interactions, and, consequently, to listen differently. Kate Driscoll is Assistant Professor of Italian and Romance Studies at Duke University. She is a specialist of early modern Italian and European literary and cultural history, with interests in women's and gender studies, performance history, and the cultures of diplomacy and reception. Email: kate.driscoll@duke.edu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

The marvellous, a key concept in literary debates at the turn of the seventeenth century, involved sensory and perspectival transformation, a rhetoric built on the unexpected, contradictory, and thought-provoking. The composer Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) created a new practice in which the expressive materials of music and poetry were placed in concert. This innovative new study of Monteverdi's literary personality integrates musical and poetic analysis to create an approach to text-music relations that addresses scholars of both literature and music.  Roseen Giles' book Monteverdi and the Marvellous: Poetry, Sound, and Representation (Cambridge UP, 2023) illuminates how experiments in language and perception at the turn of the seventeenth century were influenced and informed by the work of musicians of that era. Giles provides a new perspective on the music and poetry of Monteverdi's madrigals through the poetics of the marvellous. In his madrigals, Monteverdi created a reciprocity between poetry and music which encouraged audiences to contemplate their interactions, and, consequently, to listen differently. Kate Driscoll is Assistant Professor of Italian and Romance Studies at Duke University. She is a specialist of early modern Italian and European literary and cultural history, with interests in women's and gender studies, performance history, and the cultures of diplomacy and reception. Email: kate.driscoll@duke.edu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

The marvellous, a key concept in literary debates at the turn of the seventeenth century, involved sensory and perspectival transformation, a rhetoric built on the unexpected, contradictory, and thought-provoking. The composer Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) created a new practice in which the expressive materials of music and poetry were placed in concert. This innovative new study of Monteverdi's literary personality integrates musical and poetic analysis to create an approach to text-music relations that addresses scholars of both literature and music.  Roseen Giles' book Monteverdi and the Marvellous: Poetry, Sound, and Representation (Cambridge UP, 2023) illuminates how experiments in language and perception at the turn of the seventeenth century were influenced and informed by the work of musicians of that era. Giles provides a new perspective on the music and poetry of Monteverdi's madrigals through the poetics of the marvellous. In his madrigals, Monteverdi created a reciprocity between poetry and music which encouraged audiences to contemplate their interactions, and, consequently, to listen differently. Kate Driscoll is Assistant Professor of Italian and Romance Studies at Duke University. She is a specialist of early modern Italian and European literary and cultural history, with interests in women's and gender studies, performance history, and the cultures of diplomacy and reception. Email: kate.driscoll@duke.edu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

The marvellous, a key concept in literary debates at the turn of the seventeenth century, involved sensory and perspectival transformation, a rhetoric built on the unexpected, contradictory, and thought-provoking. The composer Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) created a new practice in which the expressive materials of music and poetry were placed in concert. This innovative new study of Monteverdi's literary personality integrates musical and poetic analysis to create an approach to text-music relations that addresses scholars of both literature and music.  Roseen Giles' book Monteverdi and the Marvellous: Poetry, Sound, and Representation (Cambridge UP, 2023) illuminates how experiments in language and perception at the turn of the seventeenth century were influenced and informed by the work of musicians of that era. Giles provides a new perspective on the music and poetry of Monteverdi's madrigals through the poetics of the marvellous. In his madrigals, Monteverdi created a reciprocity between poetry and music which encouraged audiences to contemplate their interactions, and, consequently, to listen differently. Kate Driscoll is Assistant Professor of Italian and Romance Studies at Duke University. She is a specialist of early modern Italian and European literary and cultural history, with interests in women's and gender studies, performance history, and the cultures of diplomacy and reception. Email: kate.driscoll@duke.edu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The marvellous, a key concept in literary debates at the turn of the seventeenth century, involved sensory and perspectival transformation, a rhetoric built on the unexpected, contradictory, and thought-provoking. The composer Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) created a new practice in which the expressive materials of music and poetry were placed in concert. This innovative new study of Monteverdi's literary personality integrates musical and poetic analysis to create an approach to text-music relations that addresses scholars of both literature and music.  Roseen Giles' book Monteverdi and the Marvellous: Poetry, Sound, and Representation (Cambridge UP, 2023) illuminates how experiments in language and perception at the turn of the seventeenth century were influenced and informed by the work of musicians of that era. Giles provides a new perspective on the music and poetry of Monteverdi's madrigals through the poetics of the marvellous. In his madrigals, Monteverdi created a reciprocity between poetry and music which encouraged audiences to contemplate their interactions, and, consequently, to listen differently. Kate Driscoll is Assistant Professor of Italian and Romance Studies at Duke University. She is a specialist of early modern Italian and European literary and cultural history, with interests in women's and gender studies, performance history, and the cultures of diplomacy and reception. Email: kate.driscoll@duke.edu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/music

The marvellous, a key concept in literary debates at the turn of the seventeenth century, involved sensory and perspectival transformation, a rhetoric built on the unexpected, contradictory, and thought-provoking. The composer Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) created a new practice in which the expressive materials of music and poetry were placed in concert. This innovative new study of Monteverdi's literary personality integrates musical and poetic analysis to create an approach to text-music relations that addresses scholars of both literature and music.  Roseen Giles' book Monteverdi and the Marvellous: Poetry, Sound, and Representation (Cambridge UP, 2023) illuminates how experiments in language and perception at the turn of the seventeenth century were influenced and informed by the work of musicians of that era. Giles provides a new perspective on the music and poetry of Monteverdi's madrigals through the poetics of the marvellous. In his madrigals, Monteverdi created a reciprocity between poetry and music which encouraged audiences to contemplate their interactions, and, consequently, to listen differently. Kate Driscoll is Assistant Professor of Italian and Romance Studies at Duke University. She is a specialist of early modern Italian and European literary and cultural history, with interests in women's and gender studies, performance history, and the cultures of diplomacy and reception. Email: kate.driscoll@duke.edu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/art

The marvellous, a key concept in literary debates at the turn of the seventeenth century, involved sensory and perspectival transformation, a rhetoric built on the unexpected, contradictory, and thought-provoking. The composer Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) created a new practice in which the expressive materials of music and poetry were placed in concert. This innovative new study of Monteverdi's literary personality integrates musical and poetic analysis to create an approach to text-music relations that addresses scholars of both literature and music.  Roseen Giles' book Monteverdi and the Marvellous: Poetry, Sound, and Representation (Cambridge UP, 2023) illuminates how experiments in language and perception at the turn of the seventeenth century were influenced and informed by the work of musicians of that era. Giles provides a new perspective on the music and poetry of Monteverdi's madrigals through the poetics of the marvellous. In his madrigals, Monteverdi created a reciprocity between poetry and music which encouraged audiences to contemplate their interactions, and, consequently, to listen differently. Kate Driscoll is Assistant Professor of Italian and Romance Studies at Duke University. She is a specialist of early modern Italian and European literary and cultural history, with interests in women's and gender studies, performance history, and the cultures of diplomacy and reception. Email: kate.driscoll@duke.edu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/european-studies

The marvellous, a key concept in literary debates at the turn of the seventeenth century, involved sensory and perspectival transformation, a rhetoric built on the unexpected, contradictory, and thought-provoking. The composer Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) created a new practice in which the expressive materials of music and poetry were placed in concert. This innovative new study of Monteverdi's literary personality integrates musical and poetic analysis to create an approach to text-music relations that addresses scholars of both literature and music.  Roseen Giles' book Monteverdi and the Marvellous: Poetry, Sound, and Representation (Cambridge UP, 2023) illuminates how experiments in language and perception at the turn of the seventeenth century were influenced and informed by the work of musicians of that era. Giles provides a new perspective on the music and poetry of Monteverdi's madrigals through the poetics of the marvellous. In his madrigals, Monteverdi created a reciprocity between poetry and music which encouraged audiences to contemplate their interactions, and, consequently, to listen differently. Kate Driscoll is Assistant Professor of Italian and Romance Studies at Duke University. She is a specialist of early modern Italian and European literary and cultural history, with interests in women's and gender studies, performance history, and the cultures of diplomacy and reception. Email: kate.driscoll@duke.edu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/italian-studies

The marvellous, a key concept in literary debates at the turn of the seventeenth century, involved sensory and perspectival transformation, a rhetoric built on the unexpected, contradictory, and thought-provoking. The composer Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) created a new practice in which the expressive materials of music and poetry were placed in concert. This innovative new study of Monteverdi's literary personality integrates musical and poetic analysis to create an approach to text-music relations that addresses scholars of both literature and music.  Roseen Giles' book Monteverdi and the Marvellous: Poetry, Sound, and Representation (Cambridge UP, 2023) illuminates how experiments in language and perception at the turn of the seventeenth century were influenced and informed by the work of musicians of that era. Giles provides a new perspective on the music and poetry of Monteverdi's madrigals through the poetics of the marvellous. In his madrigals, Monteverdi created a reciprocity between poetry and music which encouraged audiences to contemplate their interactions, and, consequently, to listen differently. Kate Driscoll is Assistant Professor of Italian and Romance Studies at Duke University. She is a specialist of early modern Italian and European literary and cultural history, with interests in women's and gender studies, performance history, and the cultures of diplomacy and reception. Email: kate.driscoll@duke.edu.

Nata a Napoli sulla fine del sec. XV a Villanella è una forma di poesia musicale popolare e semi-popolare, fu propriamente la canzone napoletana fino ai primi del sec. XVII. Si ricollega per le sue origini a poesie popolari napoletane più antiche, di cui riproduce il metro. La lingua caratteristica della Villanella era il dialetto napoletano, ma se ne composero anche nella lingua letteraria e in un linguaggio ibrido misto di letterario e dialettale, quale si vede in altre composizioni del tempo. Naturalmente cantava soprattutto l'amore in tutti i suoi aspetti e nei suoi vari motivi, ed era accompagnata da melodie composte da musicisti, di cui non di rado ci sono arrivati i nomi. Per merito della musica le Villanelle ebbero una gran diffusione fuori di Napoli per tutta Italia, varcarono pure le Alpi e furono musicate anche da stranieri.I musicisti che maggiormente si segnalarono nella produzione di questo genere furono, tra gli altri, Baldassarre Donati, Giovanni Gastoldi, Filippo Azzaiolo. Fuori d'Italia la Villanella fu coltivata e diffusa da Orlando di Lasso.Verso la fine del sec. XVI la villanella si trasformò nella canzonetta, modellandosi sul tipo strumentale di un'aria di danza: saggi perfetti ne diedero Orazio Vecchi e Claudio Monteverdi. A tal genere si riallacciano pure i Balletti del già citato Giovanni Gastoldi, largamente imitati in tutta Europa.

La Villanella è una forma di poesia musicale popolare e semipopolare, nata a Napoli sulla fine del sec. XV e fu propriamente la canzone popolare napoletana fino ai primi del sec. XVII. Si ricollega per le sue origini a poesie popolari napoletane più antiche, di cui riproduce il metro. La lingua caratteristica della Villanella era il dialetto napoletano, ma se ne composero anche nella lingua letteraria e in un linguaggio ibrido misto di letterario e dialettale, quale si vede in altre composizioni del tempo. Naturalmente cantava soprattutto l'amore in tutti i suoi aspetti e nei suoi vari motivi, ed era accompagnata da melodie composte da musicisti, di cui non di rado ci sono arrivati i nomi. Per merito della musica le Villanelle ebbero una gran diffusione fuori di Napoli per tutta Italia, varcarono pure le Alpi e furono musicate anche da stranieri. I musicisti che maggiormente si segnalarono nella produzione di questo genere furono, tra gli altri, Baldassarre Donati, Giovanni Gastoldi, Filippo Azzaiolo. Fuori d'Italia la Villanella fu coltivata e diffusa da Orlando di Lasso.Verso la fine del sec. XVI la villanella si trasformò nella canzonetta, modellandosi sul tipo strumentale di un'aria di danza: saggi perfetti ne diedero Orazio Vecchi e Claudio Monteverdi. A tal genere si riallacciano pure i Balletti del già citato Giovanni Gastoldi, largamente imitati in tutta Europa.

durée : 00:25:01 - Claudio Monteverdi, Lamento della Ninfa - par : Anne-Charlotte Rémond - Le 1er septembre 1638, le maître de chapelle de la Sérénissime République de Venise Claudio Monteverdi, signe la préface de son Huitième Livre de Madrigaux, sous le titre "Madrigaux guerriers et amoureux"... - réalisé par : Claire Lagarde

En el programa de hoy tendremos música de maestros fallecidos hace 380 años. Es decir, en el año 1643. Un año en el que desaparecieron dos de los más grandes compositores de los tiempos antiguos: Claudio Monteverdi y Girólamo Frescobaldi. Pero, además de Monteverdi y de Frescobaldi hoy también recordaremos a otros tres músicos que murieron ese mismo año de 1643: Juan Bautista Comes, Christophorus Demantius y Antoine Boësset. Escuchar audio

A year ago, I posted an episode entitled “The Haunted Opera House” that featured a wide range of spooky, witchy, Halloween-appropriate 20th century operas from Prokofiev to Penderecki. This year I focus in on one of the works from that episode, Ottorino Respighi's 1934 masterpiece La Fiamma, based on a 1908 play on witch hunts and witchcraft in 16th century Norway by the novelist and playwright Hans Wiers-Jenssen entitled Anna Pedersdotter, the Witch. This work also formed the basis for the Carl Dreyer film Day of Wrath. Respighi and his librettist Claudio Guastalla transferred the action to seventh-century Ravenna in the early days of Christianity. Musically the work combines Respighi's interest with Gregorian chant, modal scales and harmonies, and the work of Claudio Monteverdi with his penchant for stunning orchestrations. The dramatically potent result was his most famous operatic work, but after an initial succès d'estime, it has only retained the slightest hold on the operatic fringes. Nevertheless, the heroine Silvana in particular is a role that great sopranos have made their own over the years, including Claudia Muzio, Gina Cigna, Giuseppina Cobelli, and Rosa Raisa (none of whom sadly recorded any excerpts) through Montserrat Caballé, Nelly Miricioiu, Ilona Tokody, Stefka Evstatieva, and Mara Coleva. I tell the story of the opera while offering substantial excerpts, which, in addition to the sopranos mentioned above, also include such operatic heavyweights as James McCracken, Carlo Tagliabue, Deborah Voigt, Giacinto Prandelli, Delcina Stevenson, Felicity Palmer, Juan Pons, Anna Moffo, and Mignon Dunn, among others. Just the thing to scare you out of your skin this Halloween! Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel's lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody's core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody's Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford. Bonus episodes available exclusively to Patreon supporters are currently available and further bonus content including interviews and livestreams is planned for the upcoming season.

DESCENDING INTO THE SHORT DAYS OF THE DARK SEASON, once again we seek music that portrays human emotions at their most vulnerable: music of pathos, loss and remembrance. These are some of our most powerful and deeply affecting feelings, and they require music that touches the depths of our souls. On this transmission of Hearts of Space, a special program of sacred choral, vocal and instrumental music for the dark season, from longtime guest producer ELLEN HOLMES called LAMENTO 2. A lament is a cathartic song or poem expressing grief or mourning: a recognition of the ultimate sadness of mortality. Many of the oldest and most enduring poems in human history have been laments; they're found in the Iliad and the Odyssey, the Hindu Vedas, and in ancient Near Eastern religious texts, including the Old Testament. We'll feature selections extending across 500 years of western classical music, by JOSQUIN DES PREZ, CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI, CARLO GESUALDO, DIETRICH BUXTEHUDE, ANTONIO VIVALDI, GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL, JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH, LILY BOULANGER, RALPH LAURIDSEN, LISA GERRARD, STELLAMARA, LES NOUVELLES POLYPHONIES CORSES, and MAX RICHTER. Threnodies for the dark season : LAMENTO 2...on this transmission... of Hearts of Space. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]

Giaches de Wert, il celebre maestro di cappella del ducato dei Gonzaga, fu il primo a mettere in musica alcune ottave della Gerusalemme liberata di Torquato Tasso. I risultati musicali raggiunti da Wert dovettero sorprendere non poco lo stesso poeta quando nel 1586 vide il musicista pubblicare l'Ottavo Libro a 5 voci dove sono presenti ben sei madrigali che mettono in musica dodici stanze della Gerusalemme. Nel 1590 si unisce alla cappella musicale dei Gonzaga un promettente compositore e suonatore di viola poco più che ventenne: Claudio Monteverdi che nel Terzo Libro del 1592 fa comparire accenti intensamente drammatici in particolare proprio nelle due terzine della Gerusalemme: Vivrò fra i miei tormenti (canto di disperazione di Tancredi per la morte di Clorinda) e Vattene pur crudel (l'ira di Armida respinta).Anche Luca Marenzio, all'epoca unanimemente riconosciuto come il miglior compositore di madrigali, dedicò alla Gerusalemme il brano di esordio del Quarto Libro a 5 voci del 1584. Furono dunque certamente i madrigali di Wert, Marenzio e Monteverdi che portarono nel 1594 Tasso a dire «possono i poemi eroici esser con quella sorte di musica ch'è perfettissima».

SynopsisAugust 1613 proved to be an especially eventful month in the life and career of Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi. The previous summer his old employer, Duke Vincenzo of Mantua, had died, and Monteverdi was looking for a job.  Fortunately, the position of Master of Music for the Republic of Venice opened up, and, on today's date Monteverdi was probably rehearsing musicians for a trial concert of his music at St. Mark's Cathedral. The concert was a success. Monteverdi got the job, a generous salary, and even a cash advance to cover the move from his home.So much for the good news—on his trip back home, Monteverdi was robbed by highwaymen armed with muskets. In a surviving letter, Monteverdi described the incident in some detail, noting that the muskets were very long and of the flint-wheel variety, and that he lost more than a hundred Venetian ducats.Despite the trauma—and the humiliation of being strip-searched for valuables by one of the robbers—Monteverdi recovered his fortunes in Venice. In addition to his church duties at St. Mark's, he became famous writing a newfangled sort of commercial entertainment called opera, and lived to the ripe old age of 77.Music Played in Today's ProgramClaudio Monteverdi (1567 – 1643) Che dar piu vi poss'io, fr 5th Book of Madrigals Consort of Musicke; Anthony Rooley, conductor. L'oiseau Lyre 410 291

8 Minute History MEDLEY เอพิโสดนี้ พาย้อนฟังประวัติศาสตร์ดนตรีตะวันตก ตั้งแต่การจดโน้ตลงบนบรรทัดห้าเส้น กำเนิดละครร้องโอเปรา ดนตรีสมัยบาโรก จนถึงยุคดนตรีคลาสสิกรุ่งเรือง โดยเริ่มจากจุดกำเนิดละครร้องโอเปราตั้งแต่ต้นศตวรรษที่ 17 การเบ่งบานของดนตรียุคบาโรก ควบคู่กับผลงานของอุปรากรแห่งยุคสมัยอย่าง Claudio Monteverdi และ George Frideric Handel ตามมาด้วยยุคคลาสสิก พร้อมเกร็ดชีวิตคีตกวีคนสำคัญของโลกในช่วงศตวรรษที่ 18 ได้แก่ Mozart, Beethoven และบรมครูผู้ให้กำเนิดซิมโฟนีอย่าง Franz Joseph Haydn และปิดท้ายซีรีส์ประวัติศาสตร์ดนตรีคลาสสิกตะวันตกด้วยเรื่องราวของโอเปรายุคโรแมนติก การใช้ดนตรีเป็นสื่อกลางในการรวมชาติอิตาลี จนถึงร่องรอยของดนตรีคลาสสิกที่ปรากฏอยู่ในบทเพลงร่วมสมัย พัฒนาการทางดนตรีจากบรรทัดห้าเส้นในวันนั้น มีอิทธิพลต่อโลกดนตรีในปัจจุบันอย่างไร ติดตามได้เอพิโสดนี้รวดเดียวจบ

The Amati Brothers were working and living in a time of musical innovation and discovery. Join me as I discover what influences Monteverdi, music and even fashion had on the instruments the brothers were making. intertwines the stories of the illustrious Amati brothers, renowned violin makers, with the musical genius of Claudio Monteverdi, one of the greatest composers of the Baroque era. Join us on a captivating journey as we explore the parallel worlds of instrument craftsmanship and musical composition during this remarkable period. Musicians and Luthiers of the renaissance such as the Amati Brothers had to continue their craft amidst famine, plague and war making these instruments musicians play today objects even more remarkable than we could have previously imagined. We continue to look at the life of Girolamo Amati the father of the very talented Luthier Nicolo Amati who would in turn change the course of violin making in Italy for ever. In this episode I speak to Dr Emily Brayshaw fashion historian and Benjamin Hebbert Oxford based Violin expert.

The sons of Andrea , "The Amati Brothers" took violas, violins and cellos to new heights with their incredible skill and innovation. Meet Antonio and Girolamo before things get complicated in this first episode. This is the story of the Amati brothers, Antonio, and Girolamo. Join me as we explore the remarkable craftsmanship, profound influence, and indelible mark left by these legendary violin makers.  Discover the distinctive characteristics of their creations, renowned for their elegance, exquisite sound, and unparalleled craftsmanship.  Delve into the secrets of the Amati brothers' workshop, uncovering their innovative techniques, meticulous attention to detail, and the artistry that made their instruments treasures coveted by musicians and collectors worldwide. In this episode I speak to Cellist James Beck and Violin maker and Expert Carlo Chiesa.    Transcript of Episode  Welcome back to Cremona, a city where you can find almost anything your everyday Renaissance citizen could desire.  Located on a bend of the impressively long Po River, bursting with artisans and commerce, we find ourselves in the mid-1500s, and more precisely in the home of Girolamo Amati and Antonio Amati, otherwise known as the Amati brothers or the brothers Amati. In these episodes, I'll be talking about Andrea Amati's two sons, Antonio Amati and Girolamo Amati. Sometimes Girolamo Amati is also referred to as Hieronymus, the Latin version of his name.  Because I'm doing these podcasts chronologically, we heard about the early childhood of the brothers, in the Andrea Amati episodes. As we heard in the previous episode, Antonio Amati, the elder brother, by quite some years, perhaps even 14 years older than Girolamo Amati, inherited his father's workshop with his little bro when their father died.  They grew up in Cremona during the mid-1500s, in a time that was relatively more peaceful than their father's childhood and would have attended the local school. The local school was attended mainly by children of merchants and nobles. They would learn, in addition to the traditional subjects of geometry, arithmetic, and even astrology, subjects such as geography, architecture, algebra, and mechanics, both theoretical and applied. This created quite a well-educated middle class that the brothers would have been part of. Like their father, they would go on to be quite successful in their business, adapting their products to the demands of the time. The brothers were growing up in post Reformation Cremona, and the instrumental music was bounding forward. Renaissance composers were fitting words and music together in an increasingly dramatic fashion. Humanists were studying the ancient Greek treaties on music and the relationships between music and poetry and how it could.  This was displayed in Madrigals and later in opera and all the while the Amati workshop along with other instrument makers of course were toiling away making instruments so that all this could happen. Now the eldest brother Antonio Amati never appears to marry or have a family but the younger brother Girolamo Amati apparently a ladies man, does and as you would have heard in the previous episodes, when he was 23, he married Lucrencia Cronetti, a local girl, and she comes to live in the Amati house, handing over her dowry to her new husband (Girolamo Amati) and father in law (Andrea Amati). A few years later, Girolamo Amati's father saved up enough money to buy the family home so that when he passes away in 1576. Girolamo Amati is in his mid-twenties and his older brother (Antonio Amati) is probably around his late thirties. They inherited a wealthy business, a house, and a workshop.  So here we find the Amati brothers living and working together in the house and workshop in San Faustino (Cremona). Antonio Amati, the head of the household and Girolamo Amati with his young bride. Business is looking good, and life looks promising. Antonio and Girolamo may have been some of the only violin makers in Cremona, but they were by far not lone artisans in the city. They were surrounded by merchants and tradespeople busy in industry. There were belt makers, embroiderers, blacksmiths, carpenters, boat builders, masons, terracotta artisans, weavers, textile merchants, and printers, just to name a few of the 400 trades listed in the city at this period. Business was going well for our violin makers. There was a boom in the city. Many noble houses were being built amongst which the grand residences of merchants stood out, sanctioning their social ascent.  Charitable houses, monasteries and convents were popping up like mushrooms around town.  Ever since the Counter Reformation, the local impetus to help the poor and unfortunate had flourished. Wondering what the Counter Reformation is? Then go back and listen to episode two of the Andrea Amati series. Where we talk about what the Reformation was, what the Counter Reformation was, and what its effects were on artisans in Cremona.  But nowhere said organized religion like the Cathedral. And entering the vast, echoey structure was something to behold, with its mysterious, awe-inspiring grandeur, the towering heights of the ceilings inspiring a sense of reverence and humility. The vaulted arches and frescoed domes drawing the eye upwards, the kaleidoscope of colors entering the windows, and the glittering of precious metals illuminated by flickering candles, ornate furnishings, intricate artworks, sculptures, and base reliefs with depictions of saints, biblical stories, and the scenes from the life of Christ covering the walls, all created an otherworldly feeling and a sense of the divine.  And what would the Cathedral be without music? The glittering of gold, the fragrant smell of incense, and the heavenly sounds of music were an all-in-one package for the regular church attender in the Amati Brothers Day. The Chapel House School of the Cathedral produced many talented composers, yet the church would only sponsor and permit sacred music. And even then, this music had to be in full compliance with the Council of Trent. This meant following a whole bunch of rules in composition. Wing clipping of aspiring young composers led to many of them moving away to other courts and cities who were looking for fresh, raw talent. This may or may not have been the case for a musician and composer called Claudio Monteverdi. But what we do know is that he left Cremona to join the employ of the Mantuan court at the age of 23.  I spoke to cellist James Beck about Monteverdi, who was a Cremonese composer who left the city to work at the Gonzaga court during the Amati brother's lifetime. And so Monteverdi, for example, to take him as an example, he was employed in the court, in the Manchurian court, and he was just one of many musicians and  composers. And also I'm wondering about just, the everyday life, would they also,  were musicians expected to, to wear certain.  Clothes, like they were just told, look, this is what you're wearing. James Beck Livery is the term for the, the uniform of the house. And we know about that kind of stuff from, you know, Downton Abbey and all that kind of stuff so musicians were very much part of the servant class, a very intellectual servant class and a very trusted servant class, but Monteverdi arrived at that Gonzaga court in Mantua as a string instrument player of some kind. We don't really know if it was a gamba, you know, between the legs or brachio held like a violin. He was at the court for about, I think, 10 or 15 years as a string player before he became The Maestro de Capelle and of course that was a very trusted employee because he accompanied his employer, the Duke, on various war campaigns or social outings to other countries, as a musician and maybe as some kind of trusted part of the entourage. So, Monteverdi was picking up lots of ideas about things that could go on in music because he was witnessing different practices, he was in Flanders. He was in Hungary. He was in other parts of Italy seeing how they did music over there on the other side of the fence and I think that is what can never be underestimated, that communication was haphazard and accidental in previous times and there was no such thing as uniformity. So, to go to another country and to go to another court and to see musicians who had different training or had come into different spheres of influence to yourself would have been hugely, hugely exciting and influential and we think that Monteverdi picked up some of the ideas of what might be opera from these kind of trips. Linda Lespets It makes me think of when I was a student and I would do work experience in different workshops and they would, I had been taught in French school, it was a very specific way of doing things and I'd go to another workshop and I'd just be like, wow, it's like, what are you, what are you doing? How could this possibly work? And it does. And you're like, oh, and now I feel like I, the way I work, it's a mixture of all these different techniques. What works best for me. And it must've been magnified so much, to such a greater level for in that period for music and competition. Because of the, because of the social isolation and the geographic isolation of previous times. James Beck And I mean, just if we just talk about pitch, whole idea of what is An A was different in each town, and it might have sounded better on some instruments than not so good on others, and those instruments would have been, you know, crafted to sound good at those different pitches. And now we all play the same pitch, and we want every instrument to be the same. What were some of the, if you could generalize, what were some of the differences for you? In the different Lutherie schools. Linda Lespets  So, in the French method, you basically hold everything in your hands or it's like wedged between you and the workbench and you don't use really, uh, vices. And I have quite small hands and  I did one work experience and the guy was like, just put it in a vice. And I was like,  Ohhh, and I was getting a lot of RSI  and sore wrists and it kind of just, it was sort of practical as well. James Beck Wow. And is that for crafting? Individual elements or is that for working on complete instruments?  Linda Lespets Like in general, like you just, you can make a violin without using a vice and they, they won't use sandpaper or it's all done with, scrapers. So it's good. I know all the different techniques and I can, when there is a blackout or an electricity failure, we can just keep on going. Like, we can keep rolling, it doesn't stop us.  There was a thing with Monteverdi that, that you seem to know about how madrigals. James Beck I know about madrigals. I hope I do. Linda Lespets  In Mantua and the, this kind of trapezoidal room. James Beck  There's a very special room in the ducal court.  Ducal castle or Ducal palace in Mantua, and they call it the wedding room and it's a room that was, had existed for some time. I mean, it's a huge, huge palace, I think it's the sixth largest palace in Europe. So, it's 34, 000 square meters, 500 rooms.  And this is not, I mean, Mantua was not a big state.  You never know when you need 500 rooms.  It wasn't a big state, but it was a very aspirational state. And they really wanted to kind of prove themselves amongst these, the cultural elite of Northern Italy, because there were extraordinary things going on in Florence and Venice. So, you know, they were really, the Gonzaga's were really trying to hold their own. So, they had one of these 500 rooms slightly remodelled. So it was of cube proportions.  Right. So, you walk into a cube. You walk into a cube and then, they commissioned, a very, uh, distinguished painter to cover, everything within that room in very realistic, uh, lifelike portraits of, of the Gonzaga's going about their life. And this was the highest status room in the palace, and it was used for various purposes to impress. So, it could be used for ceremonies, or it could be used for, as a bedchamber for the Duke if he wanted to receive a guest of high status, and show that guest that he slept in this incredible room. Linda Lespets Slightly creepy.  All these people looking at you. James Beck  I know, and they're really, there's a lot of eyeballing in those portraits.  So it's like, you're outnumbered. Like when you go in there, like you're surrounded by people. You're surrounded by the Gonzaga's. We're here. That was not a very, uh, fertile or, healthy line. So, they were dying out fast, but there were lots of them painted on the walls. Linda Lespets Wasn't there one with mirrors? James Beck There was a hidden room, that they discovered in, I think 1998. ., which had mirrors. Linda Lespets  and I was wondering what the,  maybe it was polished metal, the mirrors. James Beck I'm not sure where they would, where they would sing madrigals. Well, they think it was specifically for, for performances of Monteverde, but I don't know. . Why a hidden room is needed. Yes. And how, how do you hide a room for 500, or, sorry, for 200 years, maybe it was walled up. Linda Lespets Well, I mean, if you're in a palace with 500 rooms, you might miss one, you know, if it's walled up. James Beck  And also there was a big, there were quite a lot of, traumatic experiences in the Mantuan court. Not long after Monteverde left there, there was a siege and a war and then a lot of plague. So you can see how knowledge could dissipate and everyone could die that knew about it , exactly absolutely.  When the Gonzagas were running out of heirs, their neighbours and, and particularly the Hapsburgs, were like, Hmm, we might take that little gem of a dutchie. So they, they laid siege to it for two summers. War was a summer sport at those days. 'cause you know, no one wanted to do it in winter 'cause it was just too much. And Mantua is at that stage was completely surrounded by water. It was very cleverly conceived and beautifully conceived too because the water reflects the beautiful buildings. And so they, the Mantuan's stockpiled food and drew up the bridges. And, and for two years they were, no one came in or out of the city whilst the Habsburgs laid siege. And actually the Habsburgs didn't really get through those defences, but at the, in the second summer, in the second siege, a cannonball did get through and then the whole, the cannonball made some rats got through and those dirty soldiers who'd been on campaign for two summers were riddled with plague and the plague got into the town and that was actually undoing of the Gonzaga dynasty. Linda Lespets A rat brought them down. James Beck A rat brought them down. And so, the plague weakened the city. The city fell. And then that plague was taken by those refugees from Antwerp down into Venice. And Venice was absolutely devastated by plague for something like 10 years. And the city's population plummeted to its lowest in 150 years. Linda Lespets Wow. . And it's true that war was like a summer sport. And I'm wondering if nowadays, we, you know... That's, we play sport instead. Well, I hope, I think that's why we do play organized sport. I think that's, you know, it's... Take the World Cup or something.  Well although that's, not... To get that aggression, to get all that aggression out of our system in a nicely controlled manner. James Beck It is like countries like against each other. Totally is. Linda Lespets The Cremona City Municipality had at its disposal a group of wind players, mostly made up of brass instruments, trombones, bombards, bagpipes, and sometimes a cornet. This ensemble was particularly suited for outdoor performances.  Or at least I hope it was. I don't know if you've ever heard a bombard being played inside. I have.  Anyway, the viola da braccia players and viola or violin players were also employed by the town hall and given a uniform made of red and white cloth.  This was the instrumental group in the church, and it doubled up for civic occasions as well.  I speak to Carlo Chiesa, violin maker and expert in Milan. Carlo Chiesa And the other way by which Cremonese makers got their success is musicians, because in the 16th century, there are a few important Cremonese musicians moving from Cremona and going to northern cities to play for the emperor, for the king, or to Venice. I think the most important supplier of instruments at some point out of Cremona was the Monteverdi Circle.   Linda Lespets This orchestra employed by the city of Cremona played both for the council and in the church on all public holidays and in processions.  One of their members, a cornet player called Ariodante Radiani,  who was paid the considerable sum of 100 lira. When the maestro di cappella was paid 124 lira, ended up having to be let go. It turned out he was a little bit laissez faire with his responsibilities as a musician, and a lawsuit was brought against him for neglecting his duties as a musician. To add to this, he was also found guilty of murder.  So, in the end, their homicidal cornet player was replaced.  Linda Lespets  You know, you've got the scientists and human thought and philosophy and looking back to Greek and Roman antiquity. So, I feel like that's, that's like the idea in art, in literature. And what do you, how do you see that happening?  in music. James Beck We as musicians had really practical roles to fulfill as well and sometimes that was expressing the will of the church through music and of course you know that's kind of self-explanatory and then we've got this really practical role to entertain and how we go about doing that with the materials we have. So the renaissance as an idealistic expression, I think, you know, as a practical musician, we were always doing others bidding out unless we were church musicians, we were there to entertain and to, excite and to distract and act as an instrument of sometimes of state policy or, or, you know, kind of  showing off the power or opulence of a state.  Maybe it was through, opera. Where are you?  You're getting like human emotion. Yes, absolutely, absolutely. But also, the subject of all those early operas is usually, ancient material from ancient Greece or Rome, so, you know, clearly Renaissance in its ideals of looking back. Othello.  Of course. Poppea, Ulysses. I mean, the operas were definitely, drawing into ancient literature and myth, which was bypassing Christianity in many ways.  Linda Lespets  It's strange because it was an era where it didn't really contradict the other. People were cool with it. Like they were very devoted churchgoers and at the same time they were very into all this Greek and Roman mythology. It was interesting. And then all this humanist thinking and invention I mean, Monteverde was a priest as well, right? James Beck  Towards the end of his life. Linda Lespets Instruments are starting to play a bigger role in the music, in the church in Cremona. In 1573, the Maestro de Capella, the Chapel Master at the cathedral, wrote a piece of music for five voices, consorted with all sorts of musical instruments.  The words and text are completely clear in accordance with the Council of Trent, he points out. The Amati brothers' father, Andrea Amati, would have witnessed this musical tradition in his lifetime as he attended church, where the music sung would have gone from something that had been unrecognizable in, or in any case very difficult to understand, to music that had identifiable text that could possibly be understood and sung with. They were not hymns like the Lutherans were singing in a congregational style, but there was a marked change in the music being played in the churches. And these were the effects of the counter reformation trickling into everyday life of the people.  The workshop continued to be a success. Both the brothers Amati were able to earn a living and to provide a generous dowry for their sister, who had just recently married a man from Casal Maggiore. In town, the cathedral looked like it was finally going to have the interior finished. This had been going on ever since their father was a little boy. And now it looked like all the frescoes and paintings were to be completed. And most amazing of all was an enormous astronomical clock that was being mounted on the terrazzo, the giant bell tower next to the cathedral. Sadly, Girolamo Amati's pregnant wife would never see the clock that would amaze the citizens of Cremona, as shortly after giving birth to their daughter, Elizabeth, Lucrenzia ( Girolamo Amati's wife) died. The fragility of life and uncertainty that Girolamo Amati had to deal with is quite removed from our lives today, and a man in his situation would certainly be looking to marry again, if for nothing else than to have a mother for his young daughter. And as he was contemplating remarrying, finding a new wife and mother for his child, over in Paris, one of the biggest celebrity weddings of the decade was taking place. And the music for the closing spectacle was being played in part on the instruments his father (Andrea Amati) and brother (Antonio Amati) had made for the Valois royal family all those years ago.

Claudio Monteverdi - Lamento d'Arianna Anna Caterina Antonacci, soprano San Petronio Cappella Musicale Soloists Sergio Vartolo, conductor More info about today's track: Naxos 8.553320 Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc. Subscribe You can subscribe to this podcast in Apple Podcasts, or by using the Daily Download podcast RSS feed. Purchase this recording Amazon