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Monteverdi: Ohimè, se tanto amate (p.353) Context The Italian composer Monteverdi (1567-1643) was a contemporary of John Dowland and, of course, Shakespeare. Transitional composer with a foot in the late Renaissance, but also a key figure in the early Baroque Wrote music in many genres: for the church, for the princely courts of Northern Italy, and for the newly built opera houses Style Ohimè is a madrigal, that is, an unaccompanied piece of secular vocal music in several parts (5 voices here) from Monteverdi’s Libro IV de madrigali, published in 1603 Monteverdi has set a short poem by Guarini, a sophisticated bit of lightly erotic writing in which the lover’s many sighs (ohimè - use your imagination) are contrasted with the one final moan he will let out if he expires because of his lady’s coldness Music reflects the aesthetics of the seconda pratica, a new approach to vocal and dramatic music which came into fashion around 1600. The composer aimed to express the meaning of the words as directly and intensely as possible Intended for the highly trained professional singers of the court, rather than home performance by amateurs: it is quite tricky in terms of pitch and ensemble Rhythm and word-setting Largely syllabic and quite declamatory in places (unlike the flowing lines of Renaissance vocal music) Follows the natural spoken rhythm of the words; through-composed Important words are highlighted, either by longer notes, stress or repetition Ohimè is given a particularly realistic setting, with its drooping thirds, which invites the singers to dramatise their performance Melodic lines and textures Rather fragmented at times, and always controlled by the meaning and spoken rhythms of the words Range from brief motives, such as the falling thirds (ohimè), through speech-like repeated quavers and crotchets (bs.5, 7, 8, 47 onwards) to short but expressive melodic lines which rise and fall, generally by step (bs.36 - 8, top parts) Varies texture throughout, merging one type into another: o Contrapuntal textures, involving imitation between voices (deh perchè fate b.10ff; doloroso b.33ff) o Antiphony, such as the opening exchange of ohimès between alto/tenor and canto/quinto from b.1 o Homophonic passages, when all voices move together (bs.5, 21-3, 28-32, etc.) o Note that bass line sometimes moves more slowly, underpinning the upper voices Harmony & tonality G minor: note the single flat in the key signature. Not until the C18 did minor keys acquire the same signature as their relative major Perfect cadences mark the end of sections (on D in b.19, G in b.38, for example) Final cadence onto G major chord (tierce de Picardie) Individual chords are generally root or first inversion triads, with dissonances created by suspensions and passing notes Some striking and unusual harmonic progressions, used to make an expressive point about the lover’s anguished state: o 3: odd sound of E natural in canto above Bb in bass - effectively a 3rd inversion 7th chord o 16-7: F major, plus dissonant G in bass (which jumps down a 7th) – A major plus dissonant B in tenor, with notes a/b/c sharp/d all sounded together on the second beat of b.17 o 47-52: insistent Bb chords flow into sequence of falling third ohimès harmonised to give false relations (e.g. F-F sharp, Eb-E) o 62-7: bass on pedal D (the dominant). D min chords (note false relation end of b.62) give way to sequence of passing dissonances and an odd final cadence, not V - I (D – G), but iiib – I (Bm – G) Questions 1. Give three examples of words which are emphasised by the music for expressive effect (apart from ohimè) 2. How does Monteverdi use harmonic devices to dramatic effect in Ohimè? 3. Compare the two settings of the words e doloroso ohimè sentire in bars 24-9 and 33-38; comment on vocal writing, textures and harmony