by Duke Federico d’Este to court a lady by the name of Angelica, the airiness of the
with the extreme chromaticism and dissonances found in his later madrigals, here
Gesualdo is already pushing the limits of the standard madrigal form: unexpected
who doesn’t necessarily abide by the established rules of composition.
Bella Angioletta, da le vaghe piume Beautiful little angel, with your fair feathers
Prestane al grave pondo lend my heavily-burdened body
Tante ch’io esca fuor di questo fondo enough that I might rise from these depths,
O possa in qualche ramo and from some branch,
Di te cantando dire: “Io amo!” declare in song, “I love you!”
– Monteverdi
the traditions of voice-leading and polyphony established in the 16th century. Upon
closer inspection, these charming and surprisingly intricate works foreshadow
what is yet to come in the Baroque. , a text of Torquato Tasso,
comes from Monteverdi’s Secondo libro de madrigali, published in 1590, and sets a
pastoral scene with gentle susurration of the water and the trembling of the leaves
providing a harmonic anchor for the upper voices. The text was written by Tasso
for a young noblewoman, Laura Peperara; there is an obvious play between her
name and the Italian word for breeze: “l’aura.” The music serenely captures the
understated beauty and awe of watching the sun rise over the sea.
Ecco mormorar l'onde Here the waves are murmuring
e tremolar le fronde and the foliage and the young trees quivering
a l'aura mattutina e gli arbosrcelli, in the morning breeze,
e sovra i verdi rami i vaghi augelli and on the green boughs the pretty birds
cantar soavemente sing gently;
e rider l'Oriente. and the Orient laughs.
Ecco già l'alba appare Here the dawn appears
e si specchia nel mare
e rasserena il cielo The sky becomes light,
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