Monteverde, Claudio

1567-1643

Originator of instrumentation in opera, and pioneer in the use of certain musical forms contrary to ancient ideas of counterpoint; was born in Cremona, Italy. While very young he played the viola in the orchestra of the Duke of Mantua, and studied counterpoint under Marc Antonio Ingegneri, ducal maestro di cappella, although he probably derived more knowledge from the writings of the Florentine musical reformers, Cascini and Peri, than from the instruction of this master. In 1584 his Canzonettes for three voices was published in Venice and three years later his First Book of Madrigals appeared followed by five others in 1593, 1594, 1597, 1599 and 1614. About this time Canon Artusi of St. Savior at Bologna published Imperfections of Modern Music, an attack on the modern schools as exemplified in Cruda Amarilli, the best known of Monteverde's Madrigals. The composer answered this attack in a letter, Agli studiosi lettori, which he inserted in a following book of Madrigals, and finally went to Rome to justify his position by presenting some of his compositions to Pope Clement VIII. for examination. In 1602 he succeeded Ingegneri as maestro to the Duke. In 1607 he brought out his first opera, Orfeo, in honor of the marriage of the Duke's son, Francesco di Gonzaga, to the Infanta of Savoy. This was followed in 1608 by Arianna. Another composition of this kind was II ballo delle ingrate, produced at the same time as Orfeo. He also wrote Scherzi musicali a tre voci, some vespers and motets. In 1613 he was appointed successor to Martinengo as maestro di cappella of St. Mark's in Venice. The salary of that office was increased a hundred ducats, and an additional fifty ducats was given him to cover the expense of moving from Mantua. For several years he wrote only churchmusic, but in 1621 he composed a Grand Requiem in honor of Duke Cosmos II., which was more appropriate to the stage than to the church. In 1624 he wrote II Combattimento di Tancredi and Clorinda, in which his use of the instrumental tremolo was an innovation. By this time he was generally considered the   foremost musician of Italy and had impressed his musical ideas and principles on all his contemporaries. He composed Licori, la finta pazza, in 1627; the cantata, II Rosajo fioritu in 1629; and the grand opera, Proserpina rapita in 1630, and a Grand Thanksgiving mass having trombone accompaniment to the Gloria and Credo

In 1633 he entered the priesthood. In 1637 the first opera house in the world was opened in Venice and in 1639 Monteverde wrote L'Adone, to be performed there; in 1641 Arianna was revived at the new St. Mark's Theatre, and during that year he wrote two new operas, II Ritorno d'Ulissi in Patria and Le Nozze di Enea, also the ballet Vittoria d'Amore for a carnival at Piacenza. In 1642 he wrote his last opera, L'Incoronazione di Poppea. In 1643 he died and was buried in a chapel of the Chiesa dei Frari.

Most of Monteverde's works were lost and we have only printed copies of three volumes of church-music, the complete score of Orfeo, eight books of Madrigals the Canzonettes published in 1584 and a volume of musical scherzos. Besides the compositions we have mentioned he wrote much church-music, masses, psalms, Magnificats Salves and motets. Our debt to Monteverde is not for his compositions but for the freedom he brought, for the many new elements he introduced into the writing of harmony and for the great advance he made in musical drama. He may be called the first great modern musician. In the instrumentation to his opera, Orfeo, he seems almost to have forestalled Wagner in using certain instruments to accompany certain characters.