Madrigal

Question 1

Describe the development of the Madrigal

Answer 1

At first, Madrigal was a small genre of homophonic music that was only found in the music of amateur musicians in the aristocratic courts in some Italian cities, before spreading to the rest of Europe. Later, the Madrigal became through-composed (no repetition or refrain) and became a polyphonic genre for 3-6 voices. However, after this composers such as Carlo Gesualdo began to experiment with chromaticism to depict the extreme emotions used in the poems. Then, Claudio Monteverdi and Giulio Caccini created madrigals with basso continuo (a line of bass instrumental accompaniment) and a solo voice, which paved the way for the birth of opera and the baroque era (Renaissance)

Question 2

How did the Madrigal become popular in England?

Answer 2

With the publication of an English dubbed Musica Transalpina, a collection of 57 works by 18 composers, people in England were getting familiar with Madrigals. However, Queen Elizabeth played a very large part in patronage and sponsoring a few composers to compose Madrigals, including Thomas Morley. (Renaissance)

Question 3

What is chromaticism?

Answer 3

A technique where notes from beyond the tonal and modal range were used to emphasize certain parts and create certain dissonant effects (Renaissance)

Question 4

What is ballett?

Answer 4

An Italian and English strophic instead of through-composed madrigal type that was characterized by nonsense syllables used in the refrains (Renaissance)

Question 5

What were nonsense syllables?

Answer 5

Syllables that were nonsense, such as Fa-la-la-la-la, la la, la, la. (Renaissance)

Question 6

What were the differences between English and Italian Madrigal?

Answer 6

English Madrigal had less depth and polyphony but had a lighter mood, engaging rhythms, and very controlled use of chromaticism and dissonance (Renaissance)

Question 7

What is homophony?

Answer 7

A single line of melody supported by accompaniment (Renaissance)

Question 8

ALL CHARACTERISTICS OF MY BONNIE LASS SHE SMILETH

Answer 8

Genre: English madrigal (specifically, a ballett)
Composer: Thomas Morley
Publication date: 1595
Language: English
Performing forces: five voices, a cappella
Texture: homorhythmic and polyphonic on fa la la
Song form: strophic form
Stanza structure: AABB
Meter: Duple, then triple
Mood: Lively (Renaissance)
Key: G major

Question 9

ALL CHARACTERISTICS OF MORO LASSO AL MIO DUOLO

Answer 9

Genre: Madrigal
Composer: Carlo Gesualdo
Publication date: 1611
Texture: Polyphonic
Language: Italian
Performing forces: 5 voices (SATTB) a cappella
Musical techniques employed: Chromaticism, word painting
Amount of Polyphony: Quite a bit
Mood: Sad (Renaissance)