Música vocal italiana del segle XVI

The book we present here is the first part of a short anthology of vocal music written in Italy during the second half of the sixteenth century, a period which is essential to study to gain an understanding of the history of vocal as well as instrumental music. The presence of Franco-Flemish musicians in Italian courts allowed for an extraordinary meeting between an expressive language rich in colours and exquisite compositional techniques. This led to the apotheosis of the madrigal, a musical genre which, though short-lived, would have transcendental consequences in the world of music.

 

We have included both madrigals and villanelles in this book as any differences in their origins were more a question of style rather than expressiveness and they shared many musical aspects.

Preparing this selection of pieces we have made small changes to the original texts and the semitones, and, in some cases, we have modified the tessitura to make the pieces easier for modern groups to sing. That is to say, we have tried to make the pieces more accessible rather than focussing strictly on musicology rigour, although we have respected many ‘historical’ aspects which we believe are interesting for anyone studying the pieces.

 

We have chosen pieces from a diverse list of composers and ones which are relatively easy (regarding the number of voices, for example) so as to ensure these small works of wonder can be appreciated by as wide a range of vocal groups as possible.

Jordi Casas