The Close of the Sixteenth Century

1. The Close of the Sixteenth Century

2. Developments in the Italian madrigal • Scoring — increase in number of voices (five to six common) • Rhythm — subtle treatment of diction • Melody — wider ranges for more expert singers • Harmony — more chromaticism for expressive effects • Form — follows text • Text treatment • more elaborate in word painting — melodic, rhythmic, textural devices • expression of feeling — harmony

3. Genres in Italian vocal music • Canzonetta — light mood, simple style • Balletto — dance-based • familiar style — simple and rhythmic • strophic with “fa-la” refrain • Villanella — comic • employs compositional simplicity and crudity to suggest rustic classes • Madrigal dialogue — madrigal with dialogue text, using subdivided ensemble to represent change of speaker • Madrigal comedy — a cycle of madrigals (more likely villanelle) featuring contrasting ensembles and constituting a story

4. Vocal music in England at the end of the sixteenth century • Affected by Italy after period of isolation and conservatism — Nicholas Yonge, Musica transalpina (1588), acquainted English musicians with the latest Italian styles • Growth of English poetry — period of Shakespeare • Modeled on Italian genres • madrigal — style of best Italian madrigalists • Canzonet • Ballett • Songs for voice and instruments • lute song • consort song

5. French mannerism — focused on diction rather than expression • Pléiade poets (named for Greek poets of third century BCE) — most famous was Pierre de Ronsard (1524?–1585) • promoted French over Latin for literary art • humanist interest in imitation of ancient literature • Jean-Antoine Baïf (1532–1589) founded Académie de poésie et de musique in 1570 • applied strict interpretation of Classic long and short syllables to poetry to produce vers mesurée • Musique mesurée — musical rhythm follows long and short syllables exactly, not necessarily regulated by equal measure lengths

6. French songs for voice and lute • Vaudeville (fromvoix de ville, “city voice”) — more popular • Air de cour (court song) — courtly setting and sentiment

7. A “Venetian” scoring • Cori spezzati (spaced-out choirs) — polychoral scoring • remember antiphonal liturgical singing? • popular in northern Italy in general from fifteenth century — for special occasions • Associated with St. Mark’s basilica in Venice • Adrian Willaert (ca. 1490–1562) — Netherlander, maestro di cappella • Andrea Gabrieli (ca. 1510–1586) organist; polychoral works published by nephew Giovanni in 1587 as concerti • Giovanni Gabrieli (ca. 1553–1612)—nephew of Andrea; organist

8. Questions for discussion • How did nonmusical events in history contribute to the new stylistic trends of the late sixteenth century? What purely musical forces shaped the development of these styles? • What aspects of the national character of Italy and France are embodied in the particular musical styles developed in each of those countries in the late sixteenth century? • Why is the termmanneristsometimes applied to the music of this period?