Lecture 17 Outline: Tutor England/ The Elizabethan Madrigal

21M.220 Fall 2010 Class 17 ELIZABETHAN LONDON AND ENGLAND 1 1. From Dunstaple to Queen Mary: Early Tudor England a. English Influence not being returned b. The Low point, Tinctoris ca. 1470: The French contrive music in the newest manner for the new times, while the English continue to use one and the same style of composition, which shows a wretched poverty of invention. c. 2. Eton Choirbook, ca. 1500: lurching rhythms of the 14th century, frenzied lines, but in a heavy, 8-voice style. It has its beauties, but few on the continent would consider it a way forward. Strong dissonances abound (particularly, B♭ against F#). d. Henry VIII’s Songbook, ca. 1520. Many pieces by King Henry himself—or at least reworkings of earlier pieces. i. “Pastyme with Good Companye” e. More significant composers: Cornysh, Fayrfax, and Taverner. Created some of the first English Reformation Masses. Italian Predecessors to the English Madrigal a. From Frottola to Madrigal in Italy i. Originally, a shift in poetry from baser to more refined types, corresponding with a renewed interest in classical and late Medieval poetry. [Petrarch, etc.] ii. More refined uses of form, texture, etc., borrowed from motet and other sacred genres. iii. Expression of particular words as seen in the frottola (e.g., long verses in Josquin’s El Grillo) becomes more prevalent. These moments come to be called “madrigalisms” or “word painting;” iv. (another term which comes to be used in conjunction with these events is musica reservata, which also refers to uses of extreme chromaticism (more on that in four classes), knowledge of unwritten ornamentation, and performance for select groups of connoisseurs. However, no one really knows what musica reservata exactly means, so we’ll leave it at that) v. Later in the sixteenth-century, a shift back from refined poetry to poesia per musica — poetry specifically created to have musical effects. This is a direct contradiction of point (i.) above. When the writing is particularly light, and involves nonsense refrains, they are called Balletti (ballets in English) vi. English Madrigals tend to pick up at this point. b. Arcadelt and the Early Italian Madrigal i. “Il bianco e dolce cigno”—7 and 11 syllable lines—typical Italian. (ca. 1538) ii. How to count syllables in Italian poetry (carries over to English in this period) iii. Emphasis on syntactic meaning rather than length of lines. Note: Poetry Il bianco e dolce cigno Music Il bianco e dolce cigno cantando more cantando more, et io Et io piangendo giung’ al fin del viver mio. piangendo giung’ al fin del viver mio. iv. Flat seventh on “piangendo” (mixolydian) v. “Affective half-steps” (Atlas, p. 431) on more, sconsolato, and morire (dies, disconsolate, dying) vi. Repeat many times the number “mille” vii. “Di mille mort’ il dì sarei contento” (“I would be content to die a thousand times a day”). Why does the swan die disconsolate but I die happy? Why should dying fill him or her with joy and desire? Hidden meanings, what Wright deigns not tell. c. Middle Period of the Italian Madrigal: Rore, Willaert, Wert, d. Comparison with the later Orazio Vecchi setting of the same text. (1589) i. Word painting abounds e. Late 1500s, early 1600s: Extreme Chromaticism. (Little influence on English music of the same period) Fades into the Baroque (later lectures) 3. Early History of the English Madrigal (taken from notes from Lewis Lockwood) a. Rises from increased literary developments c. 1550 which follow the Italian tradition b. Sonnet writers: Spenser, Sidney, Marlowe, Drayton, Shakespeare c. Rise of arts patronage, rise in national pride, esp. after the defeat of the Spanish Armada (1588) d. Combination with rise of English Music printing in the 1570s (Byrd and Thomas Tallis) gave good soil for development e. Publication of Italian Madrigals in English i. N. Yonge, ed., Musica transalpina 1588; vol. 2 in 1597 ii. T. Watson, First Set of Italian Madrigals Englished 1590. Mostly Marenzio madrigals. (with two madrigals by Byrd) f. The English Response: i. 1588 Byrd, Psalms, Sonets, and Songs, etc. ii. 1593 Morley Canzonets iii. 1594 Morley, Madrigals. Mundy Madrigals iv. 1595 Morley, Balletts (“Now is the month of Maying” — 7 syllable lines) v. 1597 Weelkes, Wilbye, Madrigals; Morley, Plaine and Easie Introduction vi. 1599 Bennett / Farmer vii. 1600 Weelkes x 2 viii. 1601 The Triumphs of Oriana, 23 composers. Includes “As Vesta”. Based on Italian collection I Trionfi di Dori 1592. ix. Continue to 1624 but become more and more mixed with other genres. Later goes out of fashion with the rise of theater and the masque. g. Weelkes, “As Vesta was from Latmos hill descending” Next Class: Chapel Royal Catholicism and Anglicanism in England (William Byrd) Music Education, Instruction, and Theory (Thomas Morley) .