The Madrigals of Michelangelo Rossi
9780226503387
The Madrigals of Michelangelo Rossi
Michelangelo Rossi’s two books of five-voice polyphonic madrigals are among the most expressive works of their kind ever composed. Showing the influence of Gesualdo, the madrigals were probably written in Rome between 1624 and 1629, when Rossi was in the service of Cardinal Maurizio of Savoy. They were apparently never published, and there is only one complete manuscript source, which once belonged to Queen Christina of Sweden and now forms the principal source for Brian Mann’s critical edition.
In his extensive introduction, Mann considers in detail the biographical, cultural, and stylistic milieu in which the madrigals were written. The scholarly edition of the music, based on a thorough examination of all the known sources, includes a complete critical commentary.
Mann’s work on Rossi’s madrigals has already helped revive interest in them. In 1998 a CD recording of Book I appeared on the Virgin label, performed by Il Complesso Barocco under the direction of Alan Curtis, and based on this critical edition.
In his extensive introduction, Mann considers in detail the biographical, cultural, and stylistic milieu in which the madrigals were written. The scholarly edition of the music, based on a thorough examination of all the known sources, includes a complete critical commentary.
Mann’s work on Rossi’s madrigals has already helped revive interest in them. In 1998 a CD recording of Book I appeared on the Virgin label, performed by Il Complesso Barocco under the direction of Alan Curtis, and based on this critical edition.
240 pages | 6 halftones, 7 musical examples, 1 table | 9 x 12 | © 2002
Monuments of Renaissance Music
Music: Music Editions
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Illustrations
Part One: Introduction
I. Michelangelo Rossi: A Biography
Genoa and Rome (1601/2-30)
Rome and Ferrara (1630-56)
Last Years and Reputation
II. The Madrigals
The Polyphonic Madrigal in the Early Seventeenth Century
Rossi’s Poetic Choices
The Music
III. The Sources
The Berkeley Score
The Montreal Partbooks
Four Peripheral Sources
IV. Bibliography
Part Two: Critical Commentary
V. Commentaries on the Individual Compositions
Part Three: The Edition
Editorial Principles
The Transcriptions
Book I
1. Che pensi, cor di tigre?
2. E così pur languendo
3. Per non mi dir ch’io moia
4. O prodighi di fiamme
5. Come sian dolorose
6. Straziami pur, Amor
7. Era l’anima mia
8. Occhi, un tempo mia vita
9. Langue al vostro languir
10. O miseria d’amante
11. Or che la notte
12. Ciechi desir
13. Credetel voi
14. Cor mio, deh non languire
15. Pallida gelosia
Book II
1. Ah dolente partita
2. Ohimè, se tanto amate
3. Cura gelata e ria
4. "Sì" mi dicesti
5. Amor, io parto
6. Voi volete ch’io mora
7. Morto mi vede la mia donna in sogno
8. Tu parti a pena gionto
9. Con che soavità
10. Alma afflitta, che fai?
11. Moribondo mio pianto
12. Io d’altrui?
13. Una farfalla cupida e vagante
14. Che dura legge hai nel tuo regno, Amore
15. Quanto per voi sofferse
16. Mentre d’ampia voragine tonante
17. O donna troppo cruda e troppo bella
Index of Compositions
Illustrations
Part One: Introduction
I. Michelangelo Rossi: A Biography
Genoa and Rome (1601/2-30)
Rome and Ferrara (1630-56)
Last Years and Reputation
II. The Madrigals
The Polyphonic Madrigal in the Early Seventeenth Century
Rossi’s Poetic Choices
The Music
III. The Sources
The Berkeley Score
The Montreal Partbooks
Four Peripheral Sources
IV. Bibliography
Part Two: Critical Commentary
V. Commentaries on the Individual Compositions
Part Three: The Edition
Editorial Principles
The Transcriptions
Book I
1. Che pensi, cor di tigre?
2. E così pur languendo
3. Per non mi dir ch’io moia
4. O prodighi di fiamme
5. Come sian dolorose
6. Straziami pur, Amor
7. Era l’anima mia
8. Occhi, un tempo mia vita
9. Langue al vostro languir
10. O miseria d’amante
11. Or che la notte
12. Ciechi desir
13. Credetel voi
14. Cor mio, deh non languire
15. Pallida gelosia
Book II
1. Ah dolente partita
2. Ohimè, se tanto amate
3. Cura gelata e ria
4. "Sì" mi dicesti
5. Amor, io parto
6. Voi volete ch’io mora
7. Morto mi vede la mia donna in sogno
8. Tu parti a pena gionto
9. Con che soavità
10. Alma afflitta, che fai?
11. Moribondo mio pianto
12. Io d’altrui?
13. Una farfalla cupida e vagante
14. Che dura legge hai nel tuo regno, Amore
15. Quanto per voi sofferse
16. Mentre d’ampia voragine tonante
17. O donna troppo cruda e troppo bella
Index of Compositions