1. The Florentine Camerata and the Birth of the Baroque Era
History of Opera
The Florentine Camerata and the Birth of the Baroque Era

2. Academies Academy: formal gatherings of gentlemen amateurs
Met to discuss topics that interested them
Wide range of subjects (or just one concentration)
Patron: provide money, meeting place, and snacks
Composers
Theorists
Poets
Florence, Italy: Birthplace of the Baroque
As many as 20 academies at one time

3. Florentine Camerata 1570-1590; 1590-1600 Patron: Giovanni Bardi
Composers: Caccini, Peri, Cavalieri
Theorist: Vincenzo Galilei
Poets: Rinuccini, Striggio, Strozzi
Studied classical Greek music

4. Moving the Emotions What were the Greeks doing?
Read about Greek music
Moved the emotions more than modern music (remember the Palestrina?)
Monophony: single, simple vocal line
Modern composers were writing polyphonic music
Polyphony: combining two or more simultaneous, yet mostly independent musical lines.
Do theses complex lines take away from the emotional power of the music?

5. Pastoral Dramas
Pastoral Drama: a play in verse with music and songs interspersed
Based on the idea of how Greek and Roman plays were performed
Idyllic love in rural settings
Poets, patrons, and composers loved these simple, mythical subjects
Poliziano’s Favola d’Orfeo
Florence, 1471

6. Reviving Greek Plays 16th Century saw a revival of Ancient Greek plays
5 acts
Added musical interludes between acts called intermedio
Unrelated to the play
Each interlude is called a tableau
Combined tableau make up an intermedio
Medici family started requesting intermedio for all occasions
Became its own genre/art form—no longer needed to accompany a Greek tragedy

7. La Pellegrina “The Pilgrim Woman,” 1589
Medici family wedding—requested an intermedio
Camerata wrote the intermedio
Theme: the power of ancient music
6 tableau: each depicted the power of ancient music in different ways with different characters
Madrigals, instrumental pieces, divided choir pieces, solo songs

8. Post-Pellegrina
Camerata: “Was this piece successful? Did it move the emotions?”

9. Post-Pellegrina Why not?
Too much virtuosity: showing off a performer or composer’s technical talent and skill
Remember all those composers and poets in the Camerata? They each wanted to contribute to the intermedio.
Too many different ideas and too much competition
Virtuosity was not the way to move the emotions

10. Monody Strong polyphonic tradition
No going back to monophony
Camerata (Galilei) developed the concept of monody
Monody: solo song with simple accompaniment
Different from monophony: solo vocal line without accompaniment
Accompaniment at the time
Basso Continuo: one player accompanying the vocalist on the harpsichord, lute, or organ

11. Monody, Aria, Solo Madrigal
This style of singing was not a “new” idea
Sing epics/strophic poems with light instrumental accompaniment
Solo parts of madrigals
Caccini published songs for voice and continuo; set poetry to music
Le nuove musiche (1602)
Arias: strophic solo songs
Madrigals: through composed solo songs
Caccini’s compositions were well-received by the Camerata
Finally, something that would move the emotions!
Ornaments to enhance meaning of the text, not just to show off a singer’s abilities
Vedrò ‘l mio sol
Explain strophic

12. The Earliest Operas Peri’s Dafne Peri’s L’Euridice
Florence, 1598—only fragments remain
Peri’s L’Euridice
1600, Florence
Full score remains
Four attempts before this
Cavalieri
Text by Rinuccini

13. Next Time Peri’s L’Euridice New conventions
Florence, 1600
New conventions
Aria
Recitative
Arioso
Sinfonia
Ritornello
Claudio Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo
Florence, 1607