Write a 2-page essay (1.5 spaced, 12-point font, 1-inch margin on all sides). The goals of this assignment are
(1) for you to hone your skills in using musical terminology correctly and fluently to advance a written argument; and
(2) for you to engage with the musical expressive techniques of late-Renaissance vocal music.
Choose any two madrigals from the list below:
1. Candido e verde fiore (Flower of purest white), Carlo Gesualdo
2. Ohime, se tanto amate (Alas, if you so love), Claudio Monteverdi
3. Ardo per te, mio bene (I am ablaze for you, beloved) Carlo Gesualdo
4. T’amo, mia vita! (I love you, my life!), Claudio Monteverdi
5. O primavera, gioventù dell’anno (Oh springtime, youth of the year), Claudio Monteverdi
6. Dolcissima mia vita (Sweetest life of mine), Carlo Gesualdo
7. Si, ch’io vorrei morire (Yes, I wish to die), Claudio Monteverdi
8. Moro, lasso (I die, alas), Carlo Gesualdo
Attach the scores of the chosen madrigals to your paper for reference.
Your assignment is to argue which of the two madrigals succeeds better at expressing its text in music (text painting). Use the mechanisms of musical rhetoric (see Renaissance notes) as a starting point for your analysis. The key to your argument will be the correct use of such terminology. To prove your point, call your reader’s attention to both broad features of the
music, as well as specific moments. For the latter, cite measure numbers in the score you are using as reference so I can check your claims.
I recommend that you begin by listening to all the madrigals on the list, following along with their texts (all recordings and texts uploaded to the OL). Then, pick two that you think might be fruitful for a comparison because of the similarities or differences in their text or musical setting.
Keep in mind, finally, that your paper must have a clear thesis elaborating on why exactly your favored piece is more successful at expressing its text, or why the other one is less successful.
Note:
This paper is NOT about:
– Which piece you prefer.
– Your opinions (therefore your text should contain no first-person statements)
This paper IS about:
– Which piece makes the best use of musical rhetoric techniques.
– What you can analyze or prove.
Your essay needs to include an introduction, a development and a conclusion. Your paper needs to be submitted in PDF format, on the OL link, by the deadline. Consult the syllabus for more details about the submission.
History of Music in the European Tradition Geneviève Leclair
To get you started on your analysis, consider the following questions. Answering them is not a requirement for the paper; they are simply meant to stimulate your thinking and help
guide you toward a thesis:
1) What is the overall message of the poem? What are the poem’s main themes? Does the music give them rhetorical emphasis, or not? Who is speaking in the poem, a third-person
narrator or a first-person narrator? Does the music represent the text in any way? Is there dialogue?
2) What is the overall affect, or emotional content, of the music (sad, upbeat, languorous, frenetic, etc.)? Which musical elements are contributing to this atmosphere?
3) When are different textures used, and why? (The main possibilities are imitative polyphony, homorhythmic polyphony, and occasionally monophony.)
1. If homorhythmic polyphony, does it sound like everyone is singing, or just a few people? Do groups trade off in a kind of call-and-response antiphony?
2. If imitative polyphony, is there relatively clarity of text expression or is the effect to blur the text?
4) Which lines of text recur in the music, and why? Which lines do not recur? Are multiple lines of text presented simultaneously? (This technique most often occurs in
sections using imitative polyphony, where multiple melodies, each assigned to a different line of text, will be imitated simultaneously.) If so, what could it represent, if anything?
5) What role does musical contrast play in expressing the poetry? Do contrasting sections of music coincide with contrasting ideas in the poem? Are there long sections that are
basically homogenous? Are these sections effective vehicles for expression or not? Do certain sections of music recur, but with small changes?
6) Your chosen poem uses a striking image or conceit. Does the music evoke it in a literal way (word painting) or in a more abstract way (e.g., with a dissonant harmony)? Or both?
Is the imagery in the poem itself literal, or used as a metaphor? How does this affect the musical setting?
7) How would you characterize the rhythmic flow, the tempo, the meter? Dance-like and easy-going? Belabored and slow? Do any of these features change during the madrigal?
8) Think about melodic contour. Is a melody sitting on one note for a while, or running up and down a scale, or making dramatic leaps? What effect does it have on your
interpretation of the poem?
9) Syllabic vs. melismatic text setting. Which is used, when, and why?
10) When are there cadences in the music? Silences? Do they have poetic significance?