Listening Assignment, MU111: CD#9, Part 3
Monteverdi, Monody, and the Birth of Opera

Prof. Saunders

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mu111 CD9, pt. 1

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mu111 CD9, pt. 3

 		   Before listening to the works on these pages, read the assignment, Wright, Listening to Music,
   Streaming Audio Requires QuickTime: Click here to download versions for Mac or Windows)
III. Claudio Monteverdi, "Orfeo" (excerpts)

The next listening examples come from Monteverdi's first opera, Orfeo (1607). These are discussed in Wright, Listening to Music,

    A. Monteverdi, "Toccata" from Orfeo

First you will hear the instrumental toccata, which serves as an overture or curtain-raiser to the opera. Even in this composition for several instrumental parts, you can still hear the clear bipolar texture that Baroque composers were so fond of. There is a prominent melody on top, and a sturdy bass supporting the melody from below; in this case, the bass is simply a drone on a single note. What is the form of the overture? How does Monteverdi use different groups of instruments to make the form clear?

Listen to Monteverdi, "Toccata" from Orfeo"   


    B. Monteverdi, "At the bitter news" and "Thou art dead"

Next listen to two more excerpts from Monteverdi's Orfeo. The first is Orfeo's response to the death of Euridice, the recitative "A l'amara novella" (At the bitter news) and aria "Tu se' morta" (Thou art dead).

In addition to the features mentioned by Wright, note:

  • the use of vocal range to set off certain words
  • rising for respiro, "I still breathe
  • low register for profundi abissi, "the deep abyss"
  • high register at stelle, "the stars"
Pay special attention to one of the other expressive divices: a note where the singer jumps to a dissonant note, and then the basso continuo accompaniment seems to "catch up" and supply a new supporting harmony that is consonant with the singer's note. [This happens, for example, both times Orpheo sings "Tu se'," at the beginning of the first two lines of the arioso.] This was considered scandalous at the time, and Monteverdi and other composers were much critized for violating the norms of the perfect style of Renaissance counterpoint. Monteverdi's expressive aims, of course, are much different than those of Counter-Reformation composers like Palestrina.

Listen to Monteverdi, "At the bitter news"/"Thou art Dead"   


    C. Monteverdi, "Powerful Spirit," from Orfeo

Listen to Orfeo's amazing aria "Possente spirto," where the singer uses the power of music (specifically all the devices of the new monody) to convince Charon to allow him to pass into the underworld.

The rapid repeated notes that the singer performs are called trillos, most of the fast ornaments in this piece would have been improvised by one of the vocal virtuosos of the 17th century. For this piece, though, Monteverdi left a written-out version.

Listen to Monteverdi, "Powerful Spirit"   


IV. Henry Purcell, "When I am Laid in Earth" from Dido and Aeneas

Listen to Dido's famous lament from Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, "When I am laid in Earth." Bear in mind that this opera was written more than 80 years after Monteverdi's Orfeo, after opera was well established.

This work is discussed in Wright; it is also included in the textbook CD sets, CD 1/Tracks 19-20. Follow Wright's listening guide as you study this piece.

Listen to Henry Purcell, "When I am Laid in Earth"   


*End of Listening WebCD 9*

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