Secular Trends and Introduction to the Baroque

If music be the food of love, play on...
—William Shakespeare

secular trends leading to the baroque

C.E. c.1550-1610

the counter-reformation left composers little opportunity to experiment and exercise their creative urges, and so turned to the secular madrigal and secular drama, leading directly to the invention of opera.

Topics covered:

secular trends
a new style of madrigal
introduction t the baroque
baroque opera

Composers:

Weelkes
Monteverdi

Objectives:

familiarization with:
text painting in the madrigal
arioso
ritornello

Assignments:

watch lecture 9 (in multiple parts for quicker download)
review previous chapters, as necessary
read textbook, Chapter 11-12
regarding developing listening skills: you should be in the habit of developing your listening skills early in the game - the assignments will get more complex through the semester and you may find yourself unable to keep up. As simple as these early assignments may seem to some of you, they will help to keep you on the right track, and help you develop the skills required for a greater appreciation in listening to music, including the music that you listen to for your own enjoyment. Of course, those objectives are in total sync with the success you hope to have in this class. Remember that your ability to recognize the music on your CDs will be tested and will, of course, impact your grade.

Audio / Video lecture

click lecture segments below in sequence
presented in several segments to reduce download time
total lecture time: approx. one hour 15 minutes (all segments included)
can be downloaded for portable media players by right clicking each segment link and choosing save option. (note: older Macs and Mac notebooks with single-button mice: control-click)

9.1 Secular trends in the Renaissance

Weelkes

As Vesta was from Latmos Hill descending

9.2 A new style for the madrigal

Monteverdi's Zefiro Torna

9.3 Introduction to the Baroque