1. PRELUDE

2. Prelude Opera spread throughout Italy and to other countries. – Venice was the principal center. – Germany imported Venetian opera. – France developed its own operatic idiom. – England did not develop opera on a grand scale.

3. Prelude Vocal music for chamber and church – Opera influenced other vocal genres. Italian chamber cantata French, English, and German song Concerted church music – National styles also influenced these genres.

4. ITALY

5. Opera Public opera houses in Venice remained famous throughout Europe. Opera flourished in Naples and Florence and was growing in Milan and other cities. Opera houses competed for public attention. Alessandro Scarlatti (1660–1725) was a leading opera composer in Rome and Naples.

6. Opera Singers and arias attracted the public. – By the 1760s, sixty arias in an opera was the norm. – Forms included strophic, ground bass rondo, and ABA (da capo). – The da capo aria became the favorite.

7. Opera Scarlatti, In voler ció che tu brami (In wanting that which you desire) from La Griselda (1720–21) – A section shows two sides of the protagonist’s character: love and obedience – B section provides contrast – The repetition of A provides the opportunity for vocal display.

8. Chamber cantata Leading form of vocal chamber music in Italy Rome was the center of cantata composition. Cantatas were composed for special occasions and presented to small audiences. Works tended to exhibit elegance, refinement, and wit.

9. Chamber cantata After 1650, the cantata alternated arias and recitatives, normally two or three of each. Scoring was usually for one voice with continuo. The texts were usually love poems.

10. Scarlatti, Clori vezzosa, e bella (Charming and pretty Clori) Scarlatti composed over 600 cantatas. This cantata consists of two recitative-aria pairs. The second recitative features a wide harmonic range, chromaticism, and diminished-seventh chords.

11. Scarlatti, Clori vezzosa, e bella (Charming and pretty Clori) Both arias are da capo arias. – Most common form of aria in Scarlatti’s operas and cantatas – Name taken from words “Da capo” (“from the head”) placed at the end of the B section; directs performers to repeat the first section, creating an ABA form. – The A section typically has two parts, each with the same text and an instrumental ritornello introduction.

12. Scarlatti, Clori vezzosa, e bella (Charming and pretty Clori) Second aria – Sprightly gigue rhythm contrasts with lover’s request for more torments – Opening ritornello motives are developed later by the voice. – The first vocal statement closes in the subdominant, and the ritornello begins in that key. – The voice reenters with the second setting of the text. – The B sections contrasts in key and melody.

13. Plan of Si, si ben mio

14. Opening of aria Si, si ben mio

15. FRANCE

16. Differences from Italy Strong tradition of dance and spoken theater Slow to adopt Italian vocal styles Dance – Seen as a model of discipline and order – Aristocrats were required to participate in social dancing and ballet.

17. Differences from Italy Opera – Italian opera was opposed on political and artistic grounds. – Louis XIV (r. 1643–1715) established a national opera. – Colorful ballet played a prominent role. – Insisted that poetry and drama be given priority on stage

18. Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632–1687) Born in Italy, he spent most of his life in France. Louis XIV appointed him court composer of instrumental music and director of one of his string orchestras in 1653.

19. Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632–1687) Lully’s music for theater – He composed music for ballets. – He wrote for Moliere’s comédie-ballets. – In 1672, he was granted the exclusive right to produce sung drama in France, and he established the Académie Royale de Musique.

20. Molière’s comedy La Malade imaginaire

21. Lully’s orchestras The discipline and sound of his ensembles became models for orchestras throughout France and Germany. Lully’s predecessor had established the Vingtquatre Violons du Roi (Twenty-four Violins of the King). – Five-part string texture – Six soprano violins (tuned like modern violins) – Twelve alto and tenor violins (like violas) divided into three inner parts – Six bass violins tuned a whole tone lower than the modern cello on the bass line

22. Lully’s orchestras Lully established the Petits Violons (small violins) in 1648 – Eighteen strings in the ensemble – Created for the personal use of Louis XIV: ballets, suppers, balls – The term orchestra was used for these ensembles in the 1670s, after the area in front of the stage where musicians played for opera and entertainments. Louis XIV kept a stable of wind, brass, and timpani players that could be added to the orchestra.

23. Characteristics Lully and librettist Jean-Philippe Quinault established the basic characteristics of the genre. – Five acts – Serious plots drawn from mythology or chivalric tales – Divertissements (diversions) of dancing and choral singing – Prologues praised the king and reinforced the parallels between his reign and ancient Greece and Rome. – Librettos allowed for spectacle

24. French overture The first section is slow and stately, with a homophonic texture, and is characterized by dotted rhythms. The second section is faster, with some imitation. The second section sometimes closes with a return to the tempo and figuration of the first section. Example: Overture from Armide (1686)

25. Divertissements Unrelated material that appeared at the center or end of every act. These colorful and spectacular episodes provided opportunities for ballet and choruses. Dances from Lully’s ballets were arranged into independent instrumental suites that inspired others to compose suites in similar styles.

26. Recitative The French language did not lend itself to recitative as Italian did. Lully reportedly listened to French actors in order to imitate their style of declamation. Récitatif simple (Simple recitative): recitative that followed the contours of spoken French, shifting meter as necessary Récitatif mesuré (Measured recitative): songlike interruptions to simple recitative

27. Air Song with continuo accompaniment Rhyming text and regular phrasing Often more similar to dance than to Italian arias

28. Armide, Act II scene 5 Orchestral prelude: tense emotions with dotted rhythms Simple recitative – A sorceress tells of her desire to take revenge on the sleeping Renaud and her conflicting love for him. – Measures of four, three, and two beats are intermixed. – Rests are used dramatically.

29. Armide, Simple recitative

30. Armide, Act II scene 5 Measured recitative: she decides to use sorcery to make him love her.

31. Armide, Measured recitative

32. Armide, Act II scene 5 Air – Meter, rhythm, and character of a minuet – The minuet is associated with love. – The accompaniment is only by continuo, as in most Lully airs. – The orchestral introduction might have been choreographed.

33. FRENCH CHURCH MUSIC

34. Styles Renaissance styles dominate until 1650. The new Baroque genres of Italy were influential after 1650, but with a distinctively French character.

35. Motets on Latin texts Petit motet (small motet): sacred concerto for few voices with continuo Grand motet (large motet): multi-section work corresponding to the large-scale concertos of Gabrieli and Schütz Principal composers – Lully – Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1634–1704) – Michel-Richard de Lalande (1657–1726)

36. Motets on Latin texts Lully, Te Deum (1677) – Scored for soloists, large and small choruses, full string orchestra, trumpets and timpani – Performed by as many as 150 musicians

37. Latin oratorio Introduced to France by Charpentier Charpentier combined Italian and French styles. The chorus often played a prominent role. VI. England

38. ENGLAND

39. Masque A favorite court entertainment since the time of Henry VIII The long collaborative spectacles were similar to French court ballets. A typical masque contained music from more than one composer.

40. Masque Example: The Triumph of Peace (1634) by William Lawes and others – Began with a procession through the streets of London – Multiple changes of scenery were required. – Included several antimasques—scenes of low comedy

41. Costume designs, ca. 1610

42. Masque The masque appealed to all segments of society. Aristocrats and schools produced shorter masques.

43. The first operas Oliver Cromwell (1642–1649) prohibited stage plays but not concerts or private entertainments. As a result, the first English operas were created. – Mixture of elements from Italian opera, spoken drama, and the masque – Dances, songs, recitatives, and choruses were included.

44. The first operas The restoration of the English monarchy in 1660 also restored staged plays, including masques. French ballet became increasingly influential, but French opera failed. Only two sung dramas met success; both were composed for private audiences. – Venus and Adonis (ca. 1680) by John Blow – Dido and Aeneas (1689) by Henry Purcell

45. Dido and Aeneas Purcell (1659–1695) was England’s leading composer and a royal favorite.

46. Dido and Aeneas He composed Dido and Aeneas in 1689. – The first known performance was at a girl’s boarding school. – There are only four principal roles. – Although in three acts, it takes only about an hour to perform. – It combines elements of the English masque and French and Italian opera.

47. Dido and Aeneas French influences – French overture – Homophonic choruses in dance rhythms – Scene structure: solo singing and chorus lead to a dance Italian influences – The presence of arias – Three arias are built on ground basses, an important Italian aria type.

48. Dido and Aeneas English influences – Dramatic action in dances – Solos and choruses influenced by the English air – Recitative is molded to the accents, pace, and emotions of the English text.

49. Dido and Aeneas Thy hand, Belinda portrays the dying Dido through a slow, chromatic descent. When I am laid in earth – Traditional Italian lament over a descending tetrachord – Purcell creates tension by rearticulating suspended notes on strong beats

50. Dido’s lament

52. Dido and Aeneas With drooping wings – Conveys deep, profound sorrow – Descending figures portray “drooping wings.”

53. Other theater music There are no successors to Dido and Aeneas; the English preferred spoken drama. Purcell composed incidental music for almost fifty plays. Dramatic opera or semi-opera – A mixed genre with spoken dialogue, overture, and four or more masques or substantial musical episodes – Purcell wrote music for five such works, including The Fairy Queen (1692), which is based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

54. Ceremonial music The royal family commissioned large works for holidays and state occasions. Purcell’s Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day (1692) is an ancestor of Handel’s English oratorio.

55. Music for amateur and home performance Vocal solos, duets, and trios were written for home performances. Catch – A round or canon with a humorous, often ribald text – Sung at all-male gatherings

56. Anglican church music Anthems and services were the principal genres. Verse anthems for soloists with chorus were popular. Coronation ceremonies inspired elaborate works. Purcell set nonliturgical sacred texts for one or more voices with continuo, probably for private devotion.

57. Public concerts England pioneered public concerts after 1670. Public concerts were a culmination of several trends. – Middle class desire to listen to music – Presence of many excellent musicians in the service of the royal court and theaters – Poor wages for royal service necessitated musicians to supplement their income.

58. Public concerts Impresarios rented rooms, charged an entrance fee, and paid performers from the proceeds. Soon commercial concert halls were built, marking the beginning of modern concert life. Public concerts gradually spread to the Continent. – Paris in 1725 – German cities by the 1740s

59. GERMANY

60. Opera Courts hired Italian composers to write operas, and German composers began writing Italian operas as well. Opera in German – The first public opera house in Germany opened in Hamburg in 1678. – Local poets translated Italian librettos and wrote new ones in the same style. – Recitatives were in the Italian style. – Arias could be in Italian, French, or German styles. – The most prolific composer was Reinhard Keiser (1674– 1739).

61. Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767) Telemann directed the Hamburg Opera between 1722 and 1738, and wrote numerous works for it. He was regarded as one of the best composers of his era. His prolific output includes over three thousand vocal and instrumental works. His ability to draw upon various traditions gave his music broad appeal. He turned down an important position in Leipzig that was later given to J. S. Bach.

62. Lutheran vocal music Two conflicting viewpoints – Orthodox Lutherans felt that all available choral and instrumental resources should be used. – Pietists preferred simple music for personal devotion. New chorales and hymns were composed for use at home.

63. Lutheran vocal music Praxis pietatis melica (Practice of Piety in Song, 1647) by Johann Crüger – Over forty editions were printed during the next fifty years. – Crüger set melodies over figured bass lines. Sacred concertos – Often included arias in the Italian style set to nonbiblical texts – Chorales for concertos could be in concertato medium or in simple harmonies – These concertos are usually called “cantatas” today.

64. Johann Pachelbel (1653–1706) The most famous composer working near Nuremberg He frequently wrote for double choruses, a technique favored in Venice.

65. Dieterich Buxtehude (ca. 1637–1707) He held his post in Lübeck for almost forty years, and influenced other organists, such as J. S. Bach Famed for his public concerts of sacred vocal music (Abendmusiken) His works include sacred vocal music, organ music, harpsichord music, and ensemble sonatas. Wachet auf, a sacred concerto, features a series of variations on the chorale.

66. Additional Art from Chapter 12

67. Figure 12.1b

68. Figure 12.2

69. Figure 12.6

70. Figure 12.7

71. Figure 12.10

72. This concludes the presentation slides for For more, visit our online StudySpace at: http://www.wwnorton.com/college/music/concise-history-western-music4/ Chapter 12: Opera and Vocal Music in the Late Seventeenth Century