May 13, 2013.Claudio Monteverdi was born on May 15, 1567 in Cremona, a town famous as a musical center and even more so for its luthiers: by the time Monteverdi was born, the Amati family was already producing fine violins for two generations, the Guarneris were to come shortly thereafter, then followed by Antonio Stradivari.Young Claudio took musical lessons from the maestro di capella of the Cremona Cathedral.He wrote his first motets and madrigals at the age of 15.Shortly after he moved to Mantua to serve at the court of Vincenzo Gonzaga.The duke was a major patron of arts, befriending the poet Torquato Tasso and employing the painter Peter Paul Rubens (two and a half centuries later Giuseppe Verdi would stage one of his most famous operas, Rigoletto, at the ducal palace).Monteverdi stayed in Mantua for more than 20 years; he married there and had children.His official position was that of the court conductor.In 1613 he moved to Venice to assume the same position in the basilica of San Marco, were Andrea and then Giovanni Gabrieli served as organists before him.In 1632 he became a priest.He lived in Venice for the rest of his life, and died there in 1643.He’s buried in the great basilica of dei Frari.
Monteverdi’s music spans two styles, that of the late Renaissance and the nascent Baroque.He wrote nine books of madrigals, church music and operas.You can listen to Parlo, miser'o taccio?, a madrigal from Book VII, here(Cettina Cadelo and Cristina Miatello, sopranos, Giovanni Faverio, bass) and to Dolcissimo uscignolo, from Book VIII, here (Anthony Rooley conducts his Consort of Musicke).Monteverdi’s truly revolutionary achievements were in opera.He wrote eighteen of them, but only L'Orfeo, which he wrote while in Mantua in 1607, Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria(The Return of Ulysses to his Homeland), written in Venice around 1639, and L'incoronazione di Poppea (The Coronation of Poppaea), 1643, survive in complete form.L'incoronazione was revived at the end of the 20th century, and there are several recording of the opera.Here is the aria Disprezzata Regina from L'incoronazione.It’s sung by Frederica von Stade with Raymond Leppard conducting the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.
Maria Theresia von Paradis was born on May 15, 1759.She lost her sight at anearly age, but continued to study music (one of her teachers was Antonio Salieri) and became a concretizing pianist and singer.She also wrote several cantatas and some instrumental pieces.She’s famous for three things: for being treated by Franz Anton Mesmer, the inventor of mesmerism, with no lasting effects; for being a probable dedicatee of Mozart’s Piano Concerto no. 18; and for writing a beautiful piece called Sicilienne, even though these days many musicologists doubt the attribution.Here it is, played by Jacqueline du Pré, with Gerald Moore on the piano.
Monteverdi 2013
May 13, 2013. Claudio Monteverdi was born on May 15, 1567 in Cremona, a town famous as a musical center and even more so for its luthiers: by the time Monteverdi was born, the Amati family was already producing fine violins for two generations, the Guarneris were to come shortly thereafter, then followed by Antonio Stradivari. Young Claudio took musical
lessons from the maestro di capella of the Cremona Cathedral. He wrote his first motets and madrigals at the age of 15. Shortly after he moved to Mantua to serve at the court of Vincenzo Gonzaga. The duke was a major patron of arts, befriending the poet Torquato Tasso and employing the painter Peter Paul Rubens (two and a half centuries later Giuseppe Verdi would stage one of his most famous operas, Rigoletto, at the ducal palace). Monteverdi stayed in Mantua for more than 20 years; he married there and had children. His official position was that of the court conductor. In 1613 he moved to Venice to assume the same position in the basilica of San Marco, were Andrea and then Giovanni Gabrieli served as organists before him. In 1632 he became a priest. He lived in Venice for the rest of his life, and died there in 1643. He’s buried in the great basilica of dei Frari.
Monteverdi’s music spans two styles, that of the late Renaissance and the nascent Baroque. He wrote nine books of madrigals, church music and operas. You can listen to Parlo, miser'o taccio?, a madrigal from Book VII, here (Cettina Cadelo and Cristina Miatello, sopranos, Giovanni Faverio, bass) and to Dolcissimo uscignolo, from Book VIII, here (Anthony Rooley conducts his Consort of Musicke). Monteverdi’s truly revolutionary achievements were in opera. He wrote eighteen of them, but only L'Orfeo, which he wrote while in Mantua in 1607, Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria(The Return of Ulysses to his Homeland), written in Venice around 1639, and L'incoronazione di Poppea (The Coronation of Poppaea), 1643, survive in complete form. L'incoronazione was revived at the end of the 20th century, and there are several recording of the opera. Here is the aria Disprezzata Regina from L'incoronazione. It’s sung by Frederica von Stade with Raymond Leppard conducting the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.
Maria Theresia von Paradis was born on May 15, 1759. She lost her sight at anearly age, but continued to study music (one of her teachers was Antonio Salieri) and became a concretizing pianist and singer. She also wrote several cantatas and some instrumental pieces. She’s famous for three things: for being treated by Franz Anton Mesmer, the inventor of mesmerism, with no lasting effects; for being a probable dedicatee of Mozart’s Piano Concerto no. 18; and for writing a beautiful piece called Sicilienne, even though these days many musicologists doubt the attribution. Here it is, played by Jacqueline du Pré, with Gerald Moore on the piano.