Arguably the crest-jewel in the cultural crown of the Renaissance and Early Baroque periods, the Italian madrigal set out to thrill all of the senses. The madrigal’s printed notes delighted the eye, its poetry the mind and sentiments, its sublime music the ear and the heart. The course seeks a balance between theory and practice.
Theory (1 hour per week)
Studies drawn from a variety of disciplines (history, musicology, poetry, literature, art) come together to deepen awareness of the context in which Madrigals arose. Attention will also be paid to the trends in sacred music that paralleled the evolution of the madrigal. Special light will be thrown on Siena’s role as a cultural crossroads.
Practicum: Musical Laboratory (2 hours per week)
A group of motivated singer-participants will prepare and perform madrigals, rediscovering along the way the many pleasures to be found within this incomparable art form.
We will listen to, learn, and rehearse pieces for anything from two to six male and female vocal parts, depending upon the number of participants.
Though the course will focus primarily on Italian pieces, we will also investigate works by English composers to give participants a more immediate feel for the intimate connection between words and music.
The pieces we study will be drawn from the works of such great madrigal-composers as Monteverdi, Marenzio, Arcadelt, Verdelot, Di Lasso, Gesualdo, Vecchi, Banchieri, Morley, Bennet, and Wilbye, as well as less famous but equally gifted composers from Siena itself.