Intermedia for la pellegrina

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Work data
Title: La pellegrina
The Doric harmony

The Doric harmony

Shape: Six intermediates
Original language: Italian
Music: Cristofano Malvezzi , Antonio Archilei (?), Luca Marenzio , Giulio Caccini , Giovanni de 'Bardi , Jacopo Peri and Emilio de' Cavalieri
Libretto : Ottavio Rinuccini
Literary source: Giovanni de 'Bardi
Premiere: May 2, 1589
Place of premiere: Florence, Uefficient Theater
Playing time: approx. 1 ¼ hours
Place and time of the action: Mythical time
people
  • Armonia / Harmonie ( soprano )
  • Maga / sorceress (soprano)
  • Aphrodite [Pelagia] or Amphitrite (soprano)
  • Giove / Jupiter (soprano)
  • Arione / Arion ( tenor )
  • Harmonies, sirens , Parzen , planets, heroes, forest nymphs, muses, Pierids, Delphians, sailors, gods, earthly couples

On the occasion of the wedding of Ferdinando I de 'Medici to Christine of Lorraine was born on May 2, 1589 in Uffizientheater the comedy in Florence La pellegrina the poet Girolamo Bargagli listed. Between the acts, a total of six sumptuously furnished musical intermedia ( interludes ) by some of the most important composers of the time were played: Cristofano Malvezzi , Antonio Archilei (?), Luca Marenzio , Giulio Caccini , Giovanni de 'Bardi , Jacopo Peri and Emilio de' Cavalieri . They are considered an important precursor of the opera genre .

Structure and content

In terms of content, the intermedia deal with the power of music and its influence on people.

Intermedio I: “L'armonia delle sfere” - The harmony of the spheres

The goddess of necessity with the world spindle, the Fates, planets and heroes
  1. Cristofano Malvezzi : Sinfonia, a 6
  2. Antonio Archilei or Emilio de 'Cavalieri : Dalle più old sfere
  3. Cristofano Malvezzi: Noi, che cantando, a 8
  4. Cristofano Malvezzi: Sinfonia, a 6
  5. Cristofano Malvezzi: Dolcissime Siren, a 6
  6. Cristofano Malvezzi: A voi reali amanti, a 15
  7. Cristofano Malvezzi: Coppia gentil, a 6

The motif of the harmony of the spheres in the first intermediate comes from the end of Plato's Politeia . It refers to the ancient Musica mundana and Musica humana . The Doric harmony descends in a cloud from heaven. Around them sit the harmonies of the Phrygian , Lydian , Mixolydian , Hypodoric , Hypophrygic and Hypolydian keys. After the introductory Sinfonia the Doric harmony singing with grace notes provided Monodie Dalle più old sfere . Then the harmonies withdraw and the sirens , the keepers of the harmony of the spheres, appear to perform the eight-part madrigal Noi, che cantando together . The sky opens and the goddess of necessity with the world spindle becomes visible, the three Fates at her feet . In addition, the seven planets appear together with Astraea and twelve heroes, who symbolize the virtues of justice, piety, compassion, conjugal love, generosity and courage in male and female form. Heaven and earth pay homage to the princely bride and groom in the following chants, designed for maximum sonic splendor.

Intermedio II: "La gara fra Muse e Pieridi" - The competition song of the muses and pierids

Competition song of the muses and pierids
  2. Luca Marenzio : Sinfonia, a 5
  3. Luca Marenzio: Belle ne fe 'natura, a 3
  4. Luca Marenzio: Chi dal delfino, a 6
  5. Luca Marenzio: Se nelle voci nostre, a 12
  6. Luca Marenzio: O figlie di Piero, a 18

The second intermedium shows a musical competition between the muses and the challenging Pierids, the daughters of King Pieros. It is based on the fifth chapter of the fifth book of Ovid's Metamorphoses . The first madrigal, Belle ne fe 'natura, introduces the referees, a group of forest nymphs. The Pieriden's contribution is the six-part madrigal Chi dal delfino. But the muses outdo them with the twelve-part Se nelle voci nostre. After the dispute is resolved in favor of the Muses, the Pierids are turned into magpies for their folly.

Intermedio III: “Il combattimento pitico d'Apollo” - Apollo's fight with the dragon Python

The fight of Apollo with the dragon Python
  2. Luca Marenzio: Qui di carne si sfama, a 12
  3. Luca Marenzio: O valoroso Dio, a 4
  4. Luca Marenzio: O mille volte, a 8

The third intermedium also has a story by Ovid on the subject: Apollo's battle with the dragon Python from the ninth chapter of the first book of Metamorphoses. It begins with the lament Qui di carne si sfama by the inhabitants of Delphi about the devastation of their land by the dragon. With its strict declamation it is reminiscent of Andrea Gabrieli's tragedy choirs , but also contains elements of madrigal style. Apollo appears and defeats the monster in a duel (the music of which has not been preserved). Songs of joy follow with a final dance.

Intermedio IV: “La regione de 'demoni” - The realm of demons

The realm of demons
  2. Giulio Caccini : Io che dal ciel cader
  3. Cristofano Malvezzi: Sinfonia, a 6
  4. Cristofano Malvezzi: Or che le due grand'alme, a 6
  5. Giovanni de 'Bardi : Miseri habitator, a 5

The fourth intermedium, like the first and the sixth, is based on a Platonic allegory . It refers to the evocation of the fire demons. There are also allusions to Dante's Inferno from the Divine Comedy . A sorceress floats in on a flying chariot and calls on the heavenly heroes to proclaim the Golden Age (Io che dal ciel cade). After the marriage of the two “great souls”, all suffering on earth will come to an end (Or che le due grand'alme) and hell will remain closed (Miseri habitator).

Intermedio V: "Il canto d'Arione" - The song of Arion

Aphrodite
  2. Luca Marenzio: Io che l'onde raffreno, a 5
  3. Cristofano Malvezzi: E noi con questa bella diva, a 5
  4. Cristofano Malvezzi: Sinfonia, a 6
  5. Jacopo Peri : Dunque fra torbid'onde
  6. Cristofano Malvezzi: Lieti solcando il mare, a 7

The story of the rescue of the Corinthian poet- singer Arion by a dolphin is passed down in the Histories of Herodotus (I, 23 f) and in Plutarch's Moralia . On a trip from Sicily to Corinth, Arion's wealth arouses the envy of the sailors who want to kill him. However, you allow his last wish to sing a song again. Its song calls out a dolphin, which brings it safely to land after its fall into the sea.

At the beginning Aphrodite , the "Queen of the Sea", pays homage to the bride and groom (Io che l'onde raffreno). Other voices join her (E noi con questa bella diva). Arion's monodie dunque fra torbid'onde is accompanied by a chordal chitarrone and contains a double echo effect. The music for the actual dolphin scene has not been preserved. The conclusion is formed by a joyful choir of seafarers who, unaware of Arion's rescue, distribute the booty (Lieti solcando il mare).

Intermedio VI: “La discesa d'Apollo e Bacco col Ritmo e l'Armonia” - The descent of Apollo and Bacchus with rhythm and harmony

The descent of Apollo and Bacchus with rhythm and harmony
  2. Cristofano Malvezzi: Dal vago e bel sereno, a 6
  3. Cristofano Malvezzi: O qual risplende nube, a 6
  4. Emilio de 'Cavalieri: Godi turba mortal
  5. Cristofano Malvezzi: O fortunato giorno, a 30
  6. Emilio de 'Cavalieri: O che nuovo miracolo, a 5 / a 3

The action of the last intermediate is based on Plato's laws . At the bottom of the stage there are twenty earthly couples in two rows, which are sprinkled with golden drops. Above it sit the muses or graces on five moving clouds. At the very top, the gods are enthroned in a semicircle under a central sun.

The gods gathered in heaven are happy about a gift from Jupiter to humanity. Her madrigal Dal vago e bel sereno is first performed purely instrumentally, then with vocals. The gift is harmony and rhythm. The answer is a six-part madrigal (O qual risplende nube) of the twenty couples on stage. This is followed by a monody (Godi turba mortal) accompanied by the chitarrone , before the climax of the intermedia cycle is reached with the thirty-part O fortunato giorno . All those involved in the performance are involved in this piece. It is divided into seven choirs and actually has six voices, "in order to avoid the difficulties of big jumps, to make memory easier and to achieve better harmony" (Malvezzi).

The conclusion is formed by a ballet, in which rhythm (dance) and harmony (music) are combined. Like the music, the choreography was also by Emilio de 'Cavalieri. It consists of alternating three-part and five-part sections that were performed by different ensembles.

Work history

Intermedia as a representative element at princely weddings

The wedding of Ferdinando I to Christine von Lothringen

The "Intermedium", "Intermezzo", "Intramento" or other musical interludes have been played between the usually five acts of these plays since the rediscovery of the ancient form of drama towards the end of the 15th century. During the 16th century they became more and more popular with audiences, surpassing that of dramas. Especially at the royal courts, where greater financial resources were available than at ordinary theaters, the intermedia were used to emphasize the importance of the respective rulers through their splendor or to stylize them allegorically as successors to the ancient heroes. Florence as the center of power of the Medici developed into a center of this culture. The performances there were documented in detail. The intermedia of the years 1539, 1565 and 1589 are considered to be particularly splendid. With increasing splendor, the importance of the intermedia in the context of theatrical performance also increased. At the latest when they were played at the beginning and the end of the piece, they no longer seemed like an accessory, but like the main piece itself, as Giovanni Battista Strozzi the Younger discovered.

The intermedia of 1539 were performed on the occasion of the wedding of Cosimo I de 'Medici with Eleonora of Toledo as part of the comedy Il commodo by Antonio Landi. The text was by Giovanbattista Strozzi the Elder, the music by Francesco Corteccia .

The intermedia of 1565 took place at the wedding of Francesco I de 'Medici with Johanna von Österreich . They were integrated into the comedy La cofanaria by Francesco d'Ambra. The text was written by Giovanbattista Cini, the music by Alessandro Striggio the Elder and Francesco Corteccia.

The most elaborate intermedia production in history took place in 1589. These six intermediates (discussed here) to the comedy La pellegrina by Girolamo Bargagli were given on May 2, 1589 on the occasion of the wedding of Ferdinando I de 'Medici with Christine of Lorraine . They were the highlight of the two-week festivities, which more than 800 people were involved in preparing for half a year. In addition to the theatrical performances, there were banquets, triumphs, tournaments, a simulated naval battle in the courtyard of the Palazzo Pitti and other events.

Production of the intermedia from 1589

Title page of the comedy
La Pellegrina

For the performance of Pellegrina , Bernardo Buontalenti rebuilt the inefficient theater . It surrounded the hall on all sides with six steps to form a theater. It received the limelight, a sloping ground floor, a theater curtain and stage machinery for flying scene changes - in the sixth intermedium there were 82 stage movements and 90 costumes. The orange and lemon trees in the second intermediate were sensually highlighted with scented water.

The organization of production of the six clearing agents for Pellegrina had Emilio de 'Cavalieri . The theme came from Giovanni de 'Bardi , one of the composers involved. Buontalenti was responsible for the stage and costumes. Ottavio Rinuccini composed most of the verses. Bardi, Giovanni Battista Strozzi and Laura Lucchesini de 'Guidiccioni contributed further parts of the poetry. The composers were Cristofano Malvezzi , Luca Marenzio , Giulio Caccini , Giovanni de 'Bardi, Jacopo Peri , Emilio de' Cavalieri and possibly Antonio Archilei . The intermedia were carried out by members of the Accademia degl'Intronati of Siena, of which Bargagli was a member.

The instrumentation is handed down in the form of a list of the contributors. This is unusual for music of the 16th century, since the line-up at that time was usually only vaguely specified as per ogni sorte d'istrumenti ("for any kind of instrument").

The lute virtuoso Giovanni Battista Jacomelli took part, as did Alessandro Striggio the Younger . The latter played the viola in the sinfonia of the first intermediate. Giulio Caccini played the harp in the Sinfonia of the fourth intermediate, in which his wife Lucia sang the opening piece Io che dal ciel cader . Vittoria Archilei , the wife of Antonio Archileis, sang Armonia in the first intermediate and Aphrodite in Io che l'onde raffreno at the beginning of the fifth intermediate in which Jacopo Peri played Arion. The three-part parts of the final Ballo sang and played Vittoria Archilei (Spanish guitar), Lucia Caccini (Neapolitan guitar) and Margarita Caccini ( tambourine ) Luca Marenzio also took on a vocal role.

For the final ballet of the sixth intermediate, the text O che nuovo miracolo was only written afterwards for the existing music - an indication of the high status of music and choreography.

  • Costume pictures

  • Jacopo Peri as Arione

  • Sea nymph

  • Siren of the Sphere of Mars

layout

Intermedia were usually composed as a series of madrigals in which all voices performed all the texts in a polyphonic manner. The Intermedien of 1589 also contain a total of six solo monodies , a modern type of composition at the time ( Nuova maniera ), which a little later would become typical of early opera.

Strozzi named the terms greatness, admiration, clarity, enjoyment, appropriateness to the play, context and occasion-relatedness as essential main properties of the intermedia. The intermedia of 1589 were also linked by a common theme (the power of music). Only the hell scene of the fourth intermediate interrupted this unit. However, this scene was absolutely necessary to herald the dawn of the golden age with the princely wedding. A continuous dramatic plot as in the later opera was not yet necessary with the intermedia, and the intermedia of 1589 do not have any either.

The musical style of the individual pieces is extremely varied. There are solo pieces (monodies) accompanied by the chitarrone and large-scale multi-choir madrigals. At the beginning of every intermediate and when the scene changes, there are instrumental symphonias. The at least 24 instruments included new types such as the cister , the mandora , the guitar and the psaltery . Malvezzi also mentions three chamber organs, a harpsichord and a shelf .

reception

La pellegrina was probably played a second time on May 15, 1589. There were also two other performances by the Intermedien as part of other comedies by the Compagnia dei Comici Gelosi .

Malvezzi published the music documents of the Intermedien in 1591. There is also a detailed description of the performance by Bastiano de 'Rossi in his work Descrizione dellapparato, e degl'intermedi: fatti per la commedia rappresentata in Firenze nelle nozze de' Serenissimi Don Ferdinando Medici, e Madama Cristina di Loreno, gran duchi di Toscana handed down. The two documents contradict each other on a number of points. You can see from them that the music was subject to changes from the start and could be played in different ways. Other preserved sources are watercolors, drawings and prints of stage designs and costumes. There is also a report by the German traveler Barthold von Gadenstedt.

“The comedy is said to have cost over 80,000 crowns, which is easy to believe who was watching it. The comedy was called 'La pellegrina', in itself very bad, but the intermedia between the actibus were absolutely wonderful. Before the comedy began, the red blanket was swiftly pulled away, and a blue silk blanket remained, in which a woman sat in a wonderful gilded chair in the middle, artfully clad in silk like a goddess, surrounded by a white cloud. What a woman began to sing so sweetly, at the same time playing on the lute that everyone said that it was impossible that a man's voice could be so sweet. Has the mind of all spectators so moved with their singing not to write about it. "

- Barthold von Gadenstedt : travel report

The concrete mythological content was apparently not directly accessible to the public, because Barthold von Gadenstedt recalled the Arion scene of the fifth intermediate as follows:

“The ship was moved from time to time by the army amid the amazement of those who were watching, on which ship the musicians were sitting and singing, after which they stopped, the shipman started singing on the mast boom alone, who knew a wonderful tenor was singing From the art of coloring at the right time, which was also fun to listen to, after that the stucco statements, compt from the mher a large dolphin or mower, which was listening to the musica, an imaginary shipman jumped on this mower, and immersed himself in it with the dolphin mheer. "

- Barthold von Gadenstedt : travel report

The symphony of the concluding Ballo by Emilio de 'Cavalieri achieved a high degree of recognition throughout Europe under the titles Ballo del Gran Duca , Aria di Fiorenza or Ballo di Palazzo . It was more processed than a hundred times, for example in versions for Lute by Johann Hieronymus Kapsberger and Jean-Baptiste Besard , for Guitar by Carlo Calvi (Bologna, 1646), for keyboard by Girolamo Frescobaldi and Sweelinck , for violas -Consort of Peter Philips or as Canzona by Lodovico Grossi da Viadana . There are several arrangements by Adriano Banchieri .

Even after the advent of opera , splendid intermedia continued to be performed at the great princely weddings, for example in 1608 in Mantua and Florence or in 1628 in Parma. But unlike that of many earlier operas, their music has not survived. Apart from most of the music from 1589, only parts of the Intermedien from 1539 have survived.

Meaning for the genre of opera

The first operas were written about ten years later around 1600, when the intermedia surpassed the framework for which they were written and the audience's interest in the connection between music and staging grew. Unlike the opera, the intermedia did not have any musical dialogues. They are especially considered to be trailblazers because the music itself became the subject and thus acquired an increased artistic demand. In addition, those involved in the production - the composers Giulio Caccini and Jacopo Peri and the librettist Ottavio Rinuccini - were the same as in the early operas.

The choice of material for the intermedia already refers to the theme of the early operas. The fight of Apollo with the dragon in the third intermedium, for example, became the starting point for Peri's opera La Dafne , whose libretto was also by Rinuccini. He even took over the first lines of the intermediate literally. Despite the ancient theme common to both genres and the splendid design, their objectives differ. While the intermedium wanted to provide quick pictorial surprises, for which the music was used as a support, in opera this is the integral element, even if initially still subordinate to the word.

Recordings

  • 1968: A Florentine Festival.
    Michael Morrow & John Beckett (conductor), Musica Reservata.
    Excerpts from the 2nd and 6th intermediate medium.
    Argo 602 (LP); Decca / London "Serenata" 414 325-IDS (LP).
  • 1973: La Pellegrina. Intermedii et Concerti for the wedding of Don Ferdinando Medici and Madama Christiana di Loreno.
    Hans-Martin Linde & Eric Ericson (conductor), Stockholm Chamber Choir, Linde Consort.
    EMI reflections 30 114/15 (2 LPs); EMI Classics / Warner Classics 5099960209 (CD).
  • 1986: Una Stravaganza dei Medici. Intermedi (1589) per "La Pellegrina".
    Andrew Parrott (conductor), Taverner Consort, Choir & Players.
    EMI Reflexe 47998, Virgin Classics 77877, HMV 5 73863 2.
    Also published as a video.
  • 1997: La Pellegrina. Music for the Wedding of Ferdinando de 'Medici and Christine de Lorraine, Princess of France (Florence 1589).
    Paul Van Nevel (conductor), Huelgas Ensemble.
    Sony Vivarte 63362 (2 CDs).
  • 2007: La Pellegrina - Intermedii, 1589.
    Skip Sempé (conductor), Capriccio Stravagante Renaissance Orchestra & Soloists, Collegium Vocale Gent .
    Paradizo 0004.

literature

  • DP Walker: Musique des intermèdes de La Pellegrina. Center national de la recherche scientifique, Paris 1963. Reprint: 1986, ISBN 2-222-00638-4 .
  • Alois Maria Nagler: Theater Festivals of the Medici 1539–1637. Yale University Press, New Haven & London 1964. Reprinted: Da Capo Press, New York 1976, ISBN 0-306-70779-9 .
  • James M. Saslow: The Medici Wedding of 1589. Yale University Press, New Haven & London 1996, ISBN 0-300-06447-0 .
  • Nina Treadwell: Music and Wonder at the Medici Court: The 1589 Interludes for La pellegrina. Indiana University Press, Bloomington / Indianapolis 2008, ISBN 978-0-253-35218-7 .

Web links

Commons : Intermedi from La pellegrina  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Skip Sempé: Skip Sempé on the history and impact of the intermedia of 1589. In: Supplement to CD Paradizo 0004, 2007.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Silke Leopold : The opera in the 17th century (= manual of musical genres. Volume 11). Laaber, 2004, ISBN 3-89007-134-1 , pp. 33-43.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g David Nutter:  Intermedio. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
  4. ↑ a b Wolfgang Lempfrid: The Florentine Intermedien from 1589 (SDR). Broadcast manuscript for Deutschlandfunk Köln (broadcast: Musikalische Akzente on April 15, 1986) on koelnklavier.de, accessed on September 11, 2017.
  5. ^ Howard Mayer Brown, Iain Fenlon:  Academy. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
  6. ↑ Marc Honegger, Günther Massenkeil (ed.): The great lexicon of music. Volume 4: Half a note - Kostelanetz. Updated special edition. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau a. a. 1987, ISBN 3-451-20948-9 , pp. 177-178.
  7. ↑ Pierre M. Tagmann, Iain Fenlon:  Jacomelli, Giovanni Battista. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
  8. ↑ Marenzio, Luca. In: Marc Honegger, Günther Massenkeil (ed.): The great lexicon of music. Volume 5: Köth - Mystical Chord. Updated special edition. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau a. a. 1987, ISBN 3-451-20948-9 , p. 220.
  9. ↑ James Middleton: Theatrical Productions. In: Stewart Carter, Jeffery Kite-Powell (Eds.): A Performer's Guide to Seventeenth-Century Music. 2nd edition. Indiana University Press, Bloomington / Indianapolis 2012, ISBN 978-0-253-35706-9 , p. 443.
  10. ^ Peter Brown, Suzana Ograjenšek: Ancient Drama in Music for the Modern Stage. Oxford University Press 2010, ISBN 978-0-19-955855-1 , pp. 3-4.
  11. ↑ James Tyler: A Guide to Playing the Baroque Guitar. Indiana University Press, Bloomington and Indianapolis 2011, ISBN 978-0-253-22289-3 , pp. 101-104.
  12. ^ Anna Amalie Abert : History of the Opera. Bärenreiter / Metzler, Kassel / Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-7618-1182-9 , pp. 13-14.
  13. ↑ A Florentine Festival. LP information at medieval.org, accessed September 11, 2017.
  14. ^ La Pellegrina - Eric Ericson, Linde Consort, Stockholm Chamber Choir. CD information from AllMusic, accessed September 11, 2017.
  15. ↑ La Pellegrina. LP information at medieval.org, accessed September 11, 2017.
  16. ↑ Una Stravaganza dei Medici. CD information at medieval.org, accessed September 11, 2017.
  17. ↑ Una stravaganza dei Medici: the Florentine intermedi of 1589. Video information from WorldCat , accessed on September 14, 2017.
  18. ^ La Pellegrina: Intermedii et Concerti (1589). CD information at medieval.org, accessed September 11, 2017.
  19. ^ La Pellegrina, Intermedii 1589 - Capriccio Stravagante, Skip Sempe. CD information from AllMusic, accessed September 11, 2017.