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Monteverdi Marches On Into March!

News 26.02.2018 07:35

I've finally managed to more-or-less complete book 7 of my marathon setting of Monteverdi's Madrigals. As I carry on, I keep marvelling at the diversity of this music as it progresses from simple collections of songs towards full operatic status. By the time I get all of book 7 published we will be well into March.

It often seems that people in the Renaissance were obsessed with sex and romantic affairs, but out of this obsession come some of the most beautiful and spiritual expressions of love.

I have sung many of these madrigals, and have often thought how well they would translate to brass instruments - as indeed they do - and that is why I have worked on these transcriptions. Without the words, many songs have little intrinsic meaning or internal beauty. The transfer of these songs into instrumental pieces, however, shows just how great a craftsman Monteverdi was. his music moves us even without the text. The fine balancing of consonance and dissonance makes these songs sometimes startlingly beautiful. if you want examples, listen to Amor or Lasciatemi Morire or Cruda Amarylli.

Monteverdi's ability to tell a story in music is also obvious. Especially in the later books where more and more songs are joined together by a common theme or by characters from Greek legend: Phyllis and Amyntas, Amaryllis, Apollo, Cupid and all the rest are there.

Enjoy!

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