The Madrigal at Ferrara 1579–1597

Princeton University Press

1980

2 vol.

Princeton studies in music ; 7

Vol. 1. Text ; Vol. 2. Musical examples

Focusing on the court at Ferrara, in particular on its cultivation of secular vocal music and on the establishment there of a new group of performers in 1580, the author augments our understanding of one of the most brilliant cultural centers of the Renaissance, home of Ariosto, Tasso, and Guarini. On the basis of extensive research in previously unexplored documentary material in Italian libraries and archives, the author presents a substantially revised picture of musical culture in late Renaissance Italy. His text includes detailed analyses of over 25 complete madrigals that have been unavailable in modern editions and are contained here in an appendix. In his concern with the interaction of composer, performer, and patron in the evolution of musical style, the author discusses the position of music in the daily life at court, the circumstances under which the music was performed, and the pressures placed upon the artists by their patrons. He contends that the replacement within the court of the usual group of amateur madrigal singers by a professional group including several women was of crucial importance for the later development of secular vocal music in Italy. The exceptional ability of the singers, as well as the enthusiasm with the new group was received by sophisticated court audiences, stimulated composers to explore new stylistic possibilities.

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