Table of Contents

Preface; Chronology; 1. Approaching Monteverdi: his cultures and ours Anthony Pryer; 2. Musical sources Tim Carter; 3. A model musical education: Monteverdi's early works Geoffrey Chew; Intermedio I: 'Ecco mormorar l'onde' (1590) Geoffrey Chew; 4. Monteverdi at Mantua 1590–1612 Roger Bowers; 5. Spaces for music in late Renaissance Mantua Paola Besutti; 6. The Mantuan madrigals and Scherzi musicali Massimo Ossi; Intermedio II: 'Ahi come a un vago sol cortese giro' (1605) Massimo Ossi; 7. Orfeo (1607) Joachim Steinheuer; 8. The Mantuan sacred music Jeffrey Kurtzman; Intermedio III: 'Laetatus sum' (1610) Jeffrey Kurtzman; 9. Music in Monteverdi's Venice Iain Fenlon; 10. The Venetian secular music Tim Carter; Intermedio IV: Lamento della Ninfa (1638) Tim Carter; 11. The Venetian sacred music John Whenham; Intermedio V: Magnificat SV281 (1641) John Whenham; 12. Monteverdi's late operas Ellen Rosand; Intermedio VI: Il ritorno d'Ulisse (1640), Act V, scene 10 Ellen Rosand; 13. Monteverdi studies and 'new' musicologies Suzanne Cusick; 14. Monteverdi in performance Richard Wistreich; Bibliography; Selected discography Richard Wistreich; The works of Monteverdi: catalogue and index John Whenham; Index of titles and first lines.

Promotional Information

A contributory volume, first published in 2007, providing extensive treatment of Monteverdi, his music and his life.

About the Author

John Whenham is Professor of Music History and Head of the Department of Music, University of Birmingham. Richard Wistreich is Senior Lecturer and Head of Performance at the International Centre for Music Studies, Newcastle University.

Reviews

'The book is not only informative but genuinely illuminating, particularly since it elegantly tackles details and complexities in the historical evidence …' Nicholas Anderson, BBC Music magazine

'One can hardly imagine a more satisfactory book dealing with the life, works, and cultural environment of Montverdi … In contrast to stitched-together collections of essays written in ghastly prose full of unreadable jargon, this is the real thing. The contributors are the right ones, experts all … the topics are well chosen; and the essays are rich in detail – the whole is the very model of how to present the best contemporary scholarship to a wide audience. … All will delight in chapters that illuminate late Renaissance/early Baroque musical life and cultures … Summing up: highly recommended. All readers, all levels.' Choice