Listening Assignment, MU111: #6, Part 1
Renaissance Sensuality and Seduction: The Madrigal

Prof. Saunders

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A precursor of the Italian madrigal was the so-called frottola. Listen first to a frottola attributed to Josquin that shows the composer working in a lighter vein, the famous "El grillo" (The Cricket).

Can you hear the technical features that the composer used to create this imitation of the cricket? Quick repeated notes? Large skips in the melody? Obvious repetition schemes? The alternation between homophonic sections (most of the time) and some light imitation? The translation runs:

El grillo é buon cantore Che tiene longo verso. Dale, beve, grillo, canta, Ma non fa come gil altri uccelli, Come li han canto un poco, Van' de fatto in alto loco, Sempre el grillo sta pur saldo. Quando la maggior el caldo Alhor canto sol per amore.

The cricket is [a] good singer Who holds a long note. Go ahead, drink and sing, cricket But don't be like the other birds, Who after having sung a little Take off for someplace else, The cricket always stands firm When it is hottest, He sings alone for love.

As you listened, you probably noticed that the composer did not set the poetry "as is"; instead, he treated the text very freely, repeating, lines, sections--even individual words--to create symmetries of musical form. Listen again, thinking about the ways in which Josquin rearranged the poetry for musical purposes. Note also the following features:

• the ABA form into which Josquin recasts the text (and therefore, the music)
• the predominantly homophonic texture
• the syllabic declamation (one note is sung for each syllable)

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