68
uses plainsong (single line
unaccompanied Latin chants,
associated today with monks
and monasteries) as the basis of
the seven sections. The repeated
return to plainsong provides a
compositional thread that connects
the very different Renaissance and
early Baroque styles. It also helped
ensure that his work would not
alienate the Church.Sacred concertos
In addition to Monteverdi’s five
psalm settings, the Ave Maris Stella
setting, and the Magnificat, he set
four antiphons—short sentences
sung or recited before or after a
psalm or canticle. The first two
(non-liturgical—not part of the
service) antiphons come from the
Old Testament’s Song of Solomon.
They are Nigra Sum, sed Formosa
(I am Black but Comely) and Pulchra
Es (Thou Art Fair), sung by two
sopranos whose lines interweave
as if in a love duet.
In the third antiphon, Duo
Seraphim, two angels call across
the heavens, and in the fourth,
Audi Coelum (Hear, O Heaven),
the endings of the words sung by
one tenor are echoed by another,BIRTH OF THE BAROQUE
Monteverdi dedicated and presented
his Vespers to Pope Paul V, a member
of the powerful Borghese family,
possibly in the hope of commissions.creating an other-worldly effect. For
example, the first singer’s “gaudio”
(joy) is echoed as “audio” (I hear).
Devices such as repeated phrases
for emphasis might have appeared
in an opera.
The vesper settings are
completed by the Sonata sopra
Sancta Maria (“Sonata on [the
plainsong] Holy Mary, Pray for Us”).
Together, the four antiphons and
the Sonata were described by
Monteverdi as “sacred concertos.”
“Sonata” and “concerto” are terms
that date from the 18th century,when they had slightly different
meanings and usage from today.
Until around 1650, “sonata” was
used interchangeably with
“canzona,” an instrumental
composition employing repetition,
while “concerto” simply meant
an ensemble piece for voices
and instruments.Monteverdi’s intentions
It is not known whether Monteverdi
expected to hear the Vespers
sung as a complete work. There is
little evidence that any of the 1610
publication was actually performed
during his lifetime and it is not
known whether the vesper
movements were ever performed
together. Some scholars have
suggested that Vespers is simply
a collection of religious settings
honoring the Virgin Mary,
which were published together
for convenience. The publication
may have been intended by the
composer as two works—Vespers
and Mass—complete in their own
right, and also as a compendium
of sacred music from which to
draw movements for different
occasions when expert singers
and instrumentalists wereMusic in Venice
Few other cities in Europe have
a longer or more glorious musical
tradition than Venice. In the
Baroque age, it was a major center
of the arts and a powerful trading
hub, with a great tradition of
church and state ceremonies
requiring music. The fame of
Venetian composers, such as
Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli,
Monteverdi, and Vivaldi, rivals
that of the city’s artists—Bellini,
Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto, and
Tiepolo. Opera first found a mass
following in the city, with theopening of the world’s first
opera house, the Teatro di
San Cassiana, in 1637.
In the 19th century, Rossini
saw some of his greatest
triumphs in Venice, while
Wagner, a regular visitor who
later died in the city, composed
Tristan und Isolde here, and
Verdi premiered Rigoletto (1851)
and La traviata (1853) at Teatro
La Fenice, the chief opera house
from 1792. In the 20th century,
Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress
(1951) and Benjamin Britten’s
The Turn of the Screw (1953)
were also premiered here.The Family in Concert, c.1752,
by the Venetian artist Pietro Longhi,
who specialized in contemporary
domestic scenes.US_064-069_Monteverdi.indd 68 26/03/18 1:00 PM