(ca. 1567-1643)
One of the key figures of the era, when the change in musical style of the Renaissance came a new style of baroque. Born in a family famous doctor Baldassare
Monteverdi. The exact date of birth is not installed, but documented that
Claudio Giovanni Antonio was baptized May 15, 1567 in Cremona.
Claudio, apparently, some time he studied at the MA Indzheneri, regent Cremona Cathedral. The first five collections of essays, . emerged from the pen of a young composer (Spiritual tunes, . Cantiunculae Sacrae, . 1582; Spiritual madrigals, . Madrigali Spirituali, . 1583; a three-canzonet, . 1584; pyatigolosnye madrigals in two volumes: The first collection, . 1587 and the second collection, . 1590), . clearly indicate that he had received skills of,
. The period of apprenticeship ended in approximately 1590:
Monteverdi then applied for places violinist at the court orchestra of Duke Vincenzo I Gonzaga in Mantua and was accepted.
Mantua period. Service in Mantua musician brought a lot of disappointments. Only in 1594
Monteverdi was a cantor, and only 6 May 1601, after leaving B. Pallavicino, was promoted to maestro della musica (master of music), the Duke of Mantua. During this period (in 1595) he was married to singer Claudia Cattaneo, who bore him two sons - Francesco and Massimiliano; Claudia died early (1607), and
Monteverdi remained a widower until his death. In the first decade in the yard Mantua
Monteverdi accompanied rounds in his travels to Hungary (1595) and Flanders (1599). These years have brought a rich harvest pyatigolosnyh madrigals (Third Collection, 1592; fourth collection, 1603; fifth collection, 1605). Many of madrigals became popular long before the printing. However, these works have caused conniption at Dzh.M.Artuzi, canon of Bologna, who criticized composers
Monteverdi techniques in general stream of poisonous articles and books (1602-1612). The composer responded to the attacks in the preface to the collection of the Fifth madrigals and more extensively - through his brother Giulio Cesare in Dichiarazione (clarification), . this essay was published as an appendix to the collection of songs by
Monteverdi Music jokes (Scherzi musicali, . 1607),
. During the controversy with the composer's critics have coined the concept of 'first practice' and 'second practice', designating the old polyphonic style and new styles monodichesky.
Creative evolution of
Monteverdi in the genre of opera began later, in February 1607, when it was finished The Legend of Orpheus (La Favola d'Orfeo) to the text of A. Stridzho Younger. In this work the composer remains true to the past and anticipates the future: Orpheus - half the Renaissance intermezzo, . half - monodicheskaya opera; monodichesky style had already been developed in the Florentine Camerata (a group of musicians under the direction Dzh.Bardi and Dzh.Korsi, . who worked together in Florence in 1600),
. Sheet music of Orpheus was published twice (1609 and 1615). The next works of
Monteverdi in this genre have Ariadna (L'Arianna, 1608) and opera-ballet Ballet ungrateful (Il Ballo dell'ingrate, 1608) - both works on texts O. Rinuchchini. In the same period,
Monteverdi made his first appearance on the field of church music and published the consistency of the old-style Mass In illo tempore (it is based motet Gomberta), in 1610 he added to it the Psalms of Vespers. In 1612 Duke Vincenzo died, and his successor immediately dismissed
Monteverdi and Giulio Cesare (31 July 1612). At the time of the composer and his sons returned to Cremona, and exactly one year later (19 August 1613) was head of the chapel site (maestro di cappella) in the Venetian Cathedral of St.. Mark.
Venetian period.
Critical appraisal.
