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Please hear for yourself and enjoy my shortened program-notes, should you be struck by idleness.
The first two pieces on the program came from two different publications of Scherzi Musicali, Claudio Monteverdi's popular secular solo and multi-voiced madrigal collections. These "musical jokes" were written by Monteverdi as secular entertainment most likely meant to be enjoyed by amateur musicians looking for a way to have a fun time. Singing three-voiced madrigals would have been one of the many fun activities to be had. The 1607 Scherzi musicali were published during Monteverdi's Mantuan era, during which he worked for Vincenzo I who wanted to make Mantuan music competitive with that of Alfonso II d'Este's Ferrarese court - famously known for its singing ladies. The competition between different Italian courts encouraged the composition of secular music, often by composers who would have typically composed sacred music for sacred employers. But this cultural shift fueling Monteverdi's somewhat civil debate with Artusi based on the state of modern music. The "back in the day" arguments prevailed back in the day just as much as they do now. Artusi claimed that modern music, specifically including Monteverdi's, did not respect long-established rules of composition -- specifically dissonance usage. Monteverdi's argument in response claimed that composition rules were meant to be broken if it meant staying true to the meaning of the text. He coined the term Second Practice. Monteverdi prioritized tet over musical laws, directly contradicting Artusi's argument and the sacred music traditions dominating the majority of the musical output. Monteverdi's move to Venice led to the composition of many operas that Monteverdi wrote for the very first commercial opera theater in Venice, the Teatro Novissimo, where his theory was put into practice via his operas and not just secular madrigals and solo songs.
The first piece, Quel sguardo sdegnosetto (1632), comes from a Venetian re-publication of an existing collection that Monteverdi already put together earlier for the publisher. The song is an example of Monteverdi's adherence to the Second Practice. The song consists of three sections, separated by ritornelli -- instructions for which Monteverdi included in his original publication. The poem is written by Bartholomeo Magni, who was also the publisher of many Monteverdi's collections. Magni worked under the publisher Angelo Gardano, married Gardano's daughter, and then took over the business in 1611 after Gardano's death. One great thing about most Baroque music is that the scores are minimal -- in the case of the Scherzi Musicali, all you really have is the melody that is to be sung with the text and a single line for the bass. Everything else is implied, which means you could technically do whatever you want. In my "Boring" Baroque program, I chose to begin with a traditional realization of the song -- and so the piano realization that you hear is a standard harpsichord realization from an edition found on the internet (in public domain! don't come at me). Please enjoy my translation of the original Italian poetry.
Dolci i miei sospiri from Monteverdi's 1607 Scherzi Musicali is originally a 3-voiced madrigal with a ridiculous amount of strophes. For this arrangement, I decided to transcribe the other voices into the piano part and then created a piano realization that utilizes modern harmonies and emphasizes colors that are easily achieved on a piano. My decision to showcase the beauty and potential of a piano as opposed to sticking to traditional performance practice is rooted in the timeless human condition -- make do with what you've got. If there are no period instruments, why would you force another to pretend to be one? If you have concerns, complaints, or consternations regarding this, please direct all mail to my PO box listed nowhere because I jest.
Gabriello Chiabrera, the text's author, was a big fan of massive odes. His Wikipedia page says that Chiabrera was "a maker of odes in their elaborate pomp of strophe and antistrophe, a master of new, complex rhythms, a coiner of ambitious words and composite epithetes, an employer of audacious transpositions and inversions, and the inventor of a new system of poetic diction."
You can read more about the Monteverdi-Artusi controversy HERE.
Barbara Strozzi's Lagrime mie comes from her seventh opus, Diporte di Euterpe, published in 1659 and translated as The Pleasures of Euterpe. The opus tracks the emotional evolution of Euterpe, a Greek muse who preside over music. This is the first example of a cantata on the recital, the name given to solo vocal pieces comprised of several sections. Lagrime mie is different from Strozzi's other cantata -- she wrote quite a few -- due to its repetition of the opening refrain, My tears, why do you hold back? In this performance, you hear my realization of Lagrime mie, similarly designed for piano as opposed to harpsichord.
È pazzo il mio core is a strophic aria coming from Strozzi's eighth and last opus, published in 1664. It tells the story of the narrator's frustration with one's own heart for constantly falling for those who are disinterested. It might sound very cliché, and that's because it is. But so is anything else relatable, and Strozzi was definitely aiming for relatable with her poetry and music.
Che si può fare is the last cantata on this program, also published as part of opus 8 from 1664. This cantata has six sections that track the narrator's emotional journey through unrequited love and the insecurity that accompanies it. Each musical section reflects the affect represented by the text. This cantata is also somewhat of a monster, lasting over ten minutes and containing an entire story-arc within one musical unit. This arrangement, the last of my arrangements included on this program, was my favorite to realize and, not surprisingly, took the longest to realize.
Alessandro Stradella's (1645-1682) Pietà Signore, sometimes referred to as Aria di chiesa, has been attributed to Alessandro Stradella, although François-Joseph Fétis, Louis Niedermeyer and Giachino Rossini have all been suggested as more likely composers of the piece. Suggested to have been composed in 1874 (or 1660, if it truly was Stradella), this work centers around a plea for forgiveness through cathartic repentance.
Lord, have mercy on my sorrow!
Lord, have mercy, if my prayer reaches you
Don’t punish me with your harshness,
Less severe, always lenient,
Turn your gaze, look over me.
Don’t let hell damn him,
In the eternal flames of your rage.
Great God, never let hell damn him
In the eternal flames of your rage.
Have pity, Lord,
Lord, have pity on my sorrow,
If my prayer reaches you,
Less severe, always lenient,
Turn your gaze, look over me.
Lord, have mercy on my sorrow.
translation by Rubina Mazurka
Alessandro Scarlatti's (1660-1725) Le Violette, from his 1694 opera Pirro e Demetrio, is a lovely 24-Italian Art Songs classic that showcases a playfulness that all the previous pieces on my program have neglected to do. The opera it comes from was one of few Scarlatti operas that received international acclaim during his lifetime!
Dewy
Odorous
Pretty violets
You sit there
Shameful,
Half hidden Among the leaves.
And you scold me for my desires,
That are too ambitious.
Pretty violets
Half hidden among the leaves.
Adriano Morselli
translation by Rubina Mazurka
The last two arias both come from the genius of George Frideric Handel (1685-1759). V'adoro, pupille is sung by Cleopatra in Handel's 1724 opera Giulio Cesare. In the aria, Cleopatra is ensnaring Cesare with her alluring and seductive performance. If you so desire, HERE is the full plot.
I adore you, pupils, arrows of love,
Your sparks fly gladly to the bosom.
Pitifully my sad heart craves you,
It calls you every hour its beloved.
Nicola Francesco Haym
Translation by Rubina Mazurka
Lascia ch'io pianga is probably one of the most famous Baroque arias. And understandably so, as the melody is exceptionally catchy and pleasant, both to perceive and to sing. Handel must have though so too, as he first utilized it in his 1705 opera Almira, but then reworked it as Lascia la spina, cogli la rosa in his 1707 oratoria Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno. You can read more about Almira HERE.
Leave me that I may weep,
My cruel fate,
And that I may sigh for freedom.
The grief may break
These twisted chains,
Just out of pity for my suffering.
Giacomo Rossi
Translation by Rubina Mazurka
In the description of the video below, you can access timestamps that will take you to the specific numbers easily within the video.
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