MONTEVERDI, CLAUDIO. - Musician, b. at Cremona on 15 May 1567, d. at Venice on 29 Nov. 1643. Early testimonies were the Sacrae cantincula for three voices (1582) and the Madrigali spirituali for four voices (1583, of which only the bass part has come down to us); there followed the Canzonette a tre voci (1584) and the first book of Madrigali (1587) for five voices.
In 1590, having entered the service of Vincenzo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, he continued the publication of the books of Madrigali for five voices: II (1590), III (1592), IV (1603) and V (1605), which in a short time brought M.'s name to European renown. In 1607 the Orfeo was performed at Mantua with great success, in five acts on a libretto by A. Striggio; in 1608 the Arianna on a libretto by O. Rinuccini, of which unfortunately only the Lamento di Arianna and the Ballo delle ingrate remain, the latter recalling the type of the French ballet. On the death of Duke Vincenzo (1612) M. moved in Aug. 1613 to Venice with the title of maestro di cappella at St. Mark's. With this appointment came the official recognition of the high prestige of Monteverdi's personality, to which the attention of the whole musical Europe was by then turned. M. resumed madrigalian composition with the VI book (1614), the Concerto settimo libro de madrigali (1619), the Scherzi musicali (1632), the VIII book, Madrigali guerrieri et amorosi (1638), which contains the celebrated Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda on the stanzas of Tasso's Gerusalemme liberata; many works, between 1608 and 1641, such as the prologue to the Idropica of Guarini and Chiabrera, the Maddalena of G. B. Andreini, La Favola di Peleo e di Tetide, the Andromeda of E. Marigliani, La Buta pazza Licori of G. B. Strozzi, Mercurio e Marte of C. Achillini, Proserpina rapita, La Delia e l'Ulisse, the Adone of P. Vendramini, Le nozze di Enea con Lavinia of G. Badoaro, were lost; the last two remain: Il giorno di Ulisse in patria by Badoaro (1641) and L'incoronazione di Poppea (1642) by F. Busenello.
The religious output has been preserved in its entirety. Besides the Sacre cantincula and the Madrigali spirituali, M. published in 1610 the Sanctissimae Virgini Missa senis vocibus... ac Vespere pluribus decantandae. After his move to St. Mark's, the religious production assumed a regular rhythm: the Selva morale e spirituale (1641) may be considered an anthological collection of the religious works of the Venetian period, containing 29 compositions, besides the Pianto della Madonna, which is a spiritual reworking of the Lamento di Arianna, a complete mass and a Gloria. After M.'s death the publisher Vincenti published another collection, Messa a quattro voci et salmi, of 14 compositions and another complete mass. To these are to be added some twenty compositions that appeared in various anthologies of the time.
The most characteristic trait of M.'s religious output is the evident stylistic difference, to which its entire development adheres. In some works M. is substantially faithful to the traditional polyphonic style, in which the "a cappella" disposition of the purely vocal composition confers a so to speak archaizing character. In others, on the other hand, there is the free and ingenious affirmation of a more modern style, that is, of the "concertante" style which on the one hand welcomes the ample collaboration of instruments and on the other accentuates the expressive value of the monodic vocal conception. If the use of melodic elements drawn from Gregorian chant still persists, albeit freely adapted to the requirements of the new style, the artistic result now attains a different significance that would exercise notable influence on the subsequent development of the religious music of the 17th century. In analogy with the penetrating suggestion derived in secular dramatic creation from the interpretation of verbal values, even in the spiritual compositions the musical intensity is in close relation to the sense of the words. The result is a great inventive versatility, at times marked by a clear stylistic originality; so that the Master's religious output, once considered as secondary, is today increasingly recognized as an expression no less significant of Monteverdi's genius.
Bibliography10 works
Luigi Ronga