Day 295
Marenzio: Madrigals for 5 voices - book 6
La venexiana
My old music professor started his book on Marenzio with the words ‘Marenzio is the Schubert of the madrigal - both were master of settings words to music. That quote has remained with me for 50 years but I can’t recall ever listening to any of his music.
I was intending to listen only to a selection of this madrigal book but I was so captivated by the music that I ended up listening to the whole book. I can see exactly what Dennis Arnold meant by that phrase. There is a real lyrical gift in this music - and although I don’t speak Italian I could sense that there was a real sensitivity to the Italian language. It is impossible to imagine these madrigals being sung in English.
The harmonic language is generally consonant but there are plenty of moments of chromatic tension - a sign that the late renaissance era was gradually making way for the Baroque. What a fascinating time in musical history.
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