Chapter VI: Part 6

=The Renaissance=.—The Opera, in its inception, was literary rather than musical in nature. It was a result of what is known as the Renaissance, so-called because its most prominent manifestation in Italy was a revival of the learning of the ancients. This phase of the movement was initiated by =Petrarch= (1304-1370), who devoted his life to the study of the classical past of Italy. The Latin classics had never been entirely lost, but those of the Greeks had become practically extinct during the dark ages which followed the conquest of the Roman Empire by the barbarians of the North, in the 5th century. The arts had been kept alive only through the fostering care of the Church, and all had taken on a conventionally ecclesiastical character. Education had declined; it was practically confined to churchmen—even kings and rulers could barely sign their names, while the people at large were sunk in gross ignorance. The revival of Latin literature through the influence of Petrarch led to an interest in the Greek classics which soon became the engrossing study of the learned. Diligent search was made for lost and forgotten manuscripts; academies of learning were founded; lectures were given on Greek philosophy. In the enthusiasm thus created it was even thought that not only the arts and literature of the ancient world might be restored, but its governmental, social and political structure as well.

=Scope of the Renaissance=.—The Renaissance, however, was not merely literary in nature. It was in reality the awakening of man from the spiritual and intellectual slumber which had bound him for nearly a thousand years. Long before it was defined it had been perceptible in many ways. First, materially, in a spirit of exploration, of adventure and enterprise. Traders and travelers startled Europe with glowing accounts of the far East; missionaries took long and dangerous voyages in the hope of converting its heathen inhabitants. An eager desire for increased commercial facilities with these favored countries by means of a westward passage brought about the discovery of America, with which modern history may be said to have opened.

With this extension of the world’s boundaries, the mind of man began to expand as well. As he looked forward with eager anticipation to the future, he studied the past with an eye newly alive to the treasures of its buried culture. Instead of his former acquiescence in being one of a dull, inert mass, serving without question those in authority over him, he began to feel and to assert his own individuality, to resist the crushing weight of feudalism which had hitherto oppressed him. Freedom of intellect, of conscience, of science, of art, was in the air.

The effect of this transition from medievalism toward modern liberty of thought and action varied with different nationalities. In northern nations it took the direction of rebellion against prevailing religious and political conditions, for example, in Germany and England. Italy, however, remained steadfast in religion and government; the revolt was against traditions in matters of art and literature. Roman law and Greek philosophy were exhumed; the classics were zealously studied for standards of taste and culture.

=Music of the Ancients=.—Notwithstanding this research, no trace was found of the music actually in use among the ancients. From the evanescent nature of the art and the total lack of examples, the elaborate descriptions of its complicated system of scales and modes given by Greek philosophers failed to yield a trustworthy clue to its real character.

It was known, however, that the _drama_, owing to the enormous proportions of the amphitheatre in which it was performed, was _musically declaimed_, and that the voices of the actors and chorus were sustained by lyres and flutes. Thus, in the Greek tragedy we find the principal features of the modern opera—scenery, dramatic action, solo and choral singing, the orchestra. It was also known that in the music of the Greeks the _word_ was the _governing principle_; that there was no independent instrumental music—nor was there elsewhere for many centuries afterward. The tone was regarded only as a means of heightening the effect of the poetry; the succession of long and short syllables dictated both rhythm and melody. Of harmony in the modern sense of the term, there was none; instruments and voices alike were in unison.

=Music Chiefly Choral=.—In the 16th century, Florence was the centre of the enthusiasm for Greek culture. She and her sister-cities in the north of Italy were the arbiters in matters of taste, of learning and erudition. There, toward the end of the century, a small group of scholars and musicians, known as the _Camerata_ (Chamber), meeting at the house of Count Bardi, discussed the possibility of reproducing the musical declamation of Greek tragedy. The time was ripe for such an experiment. The polyphonic school had reached its climax in the intricate works of =di Lasso= (1520-1594) and =Palestrina= (1514-1594). Though admirably suited to the Church, the contrapuntal style of these great composers was manifestly unfit for dramatic purposes; it could voice the aspirations of a body of worshipers swayed by a common belief, but could not express individual feeling. No voice was more important than another, all progressed according to canonic law, their complex intertwining practically destroying the essentially secular elements of accent and rhythm. It was, in short, the embodiment in music of the medievalism which had so long controlled Church and State.

Thus far the spirit of emancipation which had produced such great results in the other arts and in politics elsewhere had touched music but lightly. Attempts had been made to break the restraints of contrapuntalism, but there was a total ignorance as to what steps would prove most effective in reaching that end, and nothing definite had been accomplished. Aside from the Folk-song, which was ignored by musicians save only as it served as Cantus Firmus for their counterpoint, there was no music for the solo voice; it was conceived solely from a choral standpoint.

=The Recitative=.—Their dissatisfaction with the school of music then in vogue and the impossibility of adapting it to their purpose led to various experiments by this band of enthusiasts to discover the principles upon which the Greeks had founded the musical declamation employed in their tragedies. They argued that it must have followed as closely as possible the _inflections of the voice_ in speaking; therefore they made this their study. Thus originated the Recitative, the distinguishing feature of the lyric drama, which, though using the definite pitches of the musical scale, reproduces in its progressions and cadences the characteristic but intensified effect of an oratorical delivery of the text. It was the exact contrary of the music of the age in which the word counted for almost nothing, the art of combining independent voices and of playing them off one against the other for everything.

=The Cantata=.—The first result of their efforts was the Cantata (from _cantare_, to sing), meaning a composition for the voice in contradistinction to the Sonata (from _sonare_, to sound), which was applied to one for instruments. The Cantata had but little in common with what is now understood by the term. It was a recitation on musical intervals for a single voice accompanied by but one instrument. Anything like a formal melody was carefully avoided, and the accompaniment, generally played on the lute, was of the most unpretending character. The first of these cantatas was composed by =Vincenzo Galilei=, the father of the celebrated astronomer, on the tragic fate of Count Ugolino, as related by Dante in the _Inferno_. This, therefore, was the _first art-song_ ever composed. Unfortunately, it has been lost; but contemporary accounts tell of the profound impression it created. Other cantatas were written and sung by =Giulio Caccini= (1550-1618), a skilled and an admirable lutist as well, and all awakened the utmost enthusiasm among the little company.

These works were known as _Nuove Musiche_ (new music) and such as have survived are, in general, painfully thin and crude to modern ears. When compared with the rich polyphony of the prevailing Church style they seem at the first blush to indicate retrogression. Progress, however, seldom advances in a direct line; it generally moves by spirals which at times apparently retreat only to mount the higher at the succeeding curve. These dull recitatives bore the _germ of emancipation_ from the scholastic laws which had heretofore prevented music from expressing individual emotion; they typify the spirit of the Renaissance and are the foundation of the art as we now know it.

=The First Opera=.—Another of the number, =Jacopo Peri= (1561-1633), also a musician, took the next step by composing music of the same style to a drama, the _Dafne_ (Daphne) of the poet Rinuccini, who was the life and soul of this attempt to revive the lost declamation of the Greeks. This was performed privately in 1595 at the Corsi Palace, and produced so strong an impression that it was repeated a number of times at the Carnival seasons of the succeeding years. In 1600, Peri was invited to compose a similar work for the marriage festivities of Henry IV of France and Maria di Medici. This was _Euridice_, also written by Rinuccini, which bears the distinction of being the _first opera_ to receive public performance, and thus introducing the new art-form to the world at large. The score of _Dafne_ has been lost, but that of _Euridice_ still exists.

It was then known as a music drama (_melo dramma_ or _dramma per la musica_); the term opera (abbreviation for _opera in musica_, that is, musical work) did not come into use until the middle of the century. The orchestra, which was played behind the scenes, consisted of a harpsichord, two lutes and a bass-viol. In addition, three lutes played a short _ritornello_ (interlude) in one scene. With this exception, the instruments were used merely to support the voice; the tonality was almost exclusively minor, and the harmony of the simplest. It is thought that Peri sang the part of Orpheus and that Francesca Caccini, daughter of the composer and one of the most gifted singers of the day, sang Euridice.

[Music: Radoppia e fiamm’e lumi al memorabil giorno, Febo ch’il carro d’or rivolgi intorno.

PART OF AN AIR BY CACCINI.]

Caccini claimed the new style as his invention, and it is certain that parts of _Euridice_ were composed by him, though Peri’s name alone appears on the title page of the published work. Emulating the success of his colleague, the former soon set the same drama to music.

=Characteristics of the Early Opera=.—The two settings are so similar that one might almost be taken for the other. Both display the same characteristics. Of dramatic feeling or characterization as understood at the present day there is no sign; development of musical thought, none whatever; a dreary waste of recitatives is but slightly relieved by the occasional flourishes (_giri e gruppi_, that is, runs and turns) allowed the singers by the taste of the times. The choruses, however, which are introduced freely, serve to vary the monotony somewhat. They exhibit a singular mingling of the old and new styles, natural under the circumstances. The voices sing either in a recitative-like unison, or begin in fugato, and later move in simple harmonic progression. Their distaste for the contrapuntal style led these reformers to reject it so far as they could. Its appearance at all is due to the fact that no other mode of writing for a number of voices had as yet been devised—a strictly harmonic treatment had not been thought of. Since, then, they were at a loss as to the management of choral masses, they were obliged to have recourse in part to old methods.

Another name associated with the Florentine school deserving mention is that of =Marco da Gagliano=, a priest who soon took the lead in the new movement. His first opera was _Dafne_ (1607), composed to Rinuccini’s drama which had already served Peri; it was a common practice in those days for composers to use the same text. As a scholar and musician, Gagliano was superior to his predecessors. He shows a greater warmth of feeling and a tendency toward melody which they considered as a lowering of their ideals.

=The Florentine School=.—One particular characteristic of the Florentine school was a sedulous _avoidance_ of anything like _extended melody_ or definite form. To the composers of this school, music was not an end in itself; it was subordinate to the distinct, _impassioned declamation_ of the poet’s verses. They held that any independent development of musical thought was a weakness; that it tended to distract the attention of the hearer from the drama, and to interfere with its logical continuity. The predominant influence was that of the scholar, not of the musician. This was to be expected from the character of the little coterie interested in the new art-form. The majority were wealthy amateurs, zealous students of the classics and aflame with the desire for the actual revival of the Greek tragedy. Peri and Caccini were the only musicians and they were strongly averse to the contrapuntal music of the day. Its persistently ecclesiastical effect debarred it from expressing the personal feeling which was the object of their research. In the effort to escape its ban, they unwittingly emancipated their art from the control of the Church, and made it accessible to mankind in general. This, therefore, is the great service of the Florentine reformers: the establishment of a purely secular school of music susceptible of indefinite development.

Making allowance for the vast difference in means due to the practical creation of independent instrumental music since the 17th century, their practice was precisely the same as that of the modern composer who writes a music drama and uses the same term to define his work. When _Dafne_ and _Euridice_ first saw the light, however, there was neither knowledge nor experience to point the way; it was found only after a slow and laborious process of experimentation, involving the acceptance of much that was rejected after having served its turn. Though Peri and Caccini with their confrères did not succeed in the end they had in view, they accomplished far more by originating the Opera, the point of departure for the whole modern art of music.

REFERENCES.

Symonds.—The Renaissance in Italy.

Apthorp.—Opera Past and Present.

Grove.—Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Articles on subjects mentioned in this and following lessons.

Streatfeild.—The Opera.

These general works serve for other lessons on the opera.

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS.

What was the Renaissance?

What was the effect of this idea on music?

What was the origin of Recitative?

What was understood by _Nuove Musiche_?

Who wrote the first opera? What term was applied to this kind of musical work?

Give a description of the early opera.

Give an account of the Florentine school and their fundamental ideas.

Since the beginning of the Opera is practically the beginning of a century, the 17th, it should not be a difficult matter to keep this date in mind. It therefore antedates the settlement at Jamestown, Va., by a few years, making the beginning of American history under English auspices and the Opera coincide.

LESSON XVIII.

THE ORATORIO. DEVELOPMENT OF THE OPERA.

=The First Oratorio=.—The novelty of the new style, which was called the _stilo rappresentativo_ (representative style), the vigor and freedom it gave to an impressive delivery of the text, aroused universal attention. Among the composers who essayed it was =Emilio del Cavaliere= (1550-1599). By applying it to a sacred subject, he originated the Oratorio. Roman by birth, he had passed part of his life in Florence, and though not a member of the _Camerata_, was familiar with its aims and practice.

The germ both of the Opera and Oratorio is to be found in the Miracle Plays or so-called Mysteries of the Middle Ages. These were dramatic representations of _Bible scenes_ or _religious allegories_ by means of which a populace unable to read was taught the great truths of sacred history. Cavaliere’s oratorio, _La Rappresentazione di Anima e di Corpo_ (The Representation of Soul and Body), was given in 1600 in Rome, at the Oratory of the Church of Santa Maria in Vallicella—hence its name.

[Music: PASSAGE FROM CAVALIERE’S ORATORIO.]

=Its Characteristics=.—Save for the _nature_ of the _subject_, there was no apparent difference between it and an opera. The allegorical characters taking part appeared in costume and in action. The score even gives directions by which it may be concluded with a dance if so desired. By this, however, dignified and stately movements are understood, in nowise resembling the rapid dance of modern times. The composer in his instructions for performance, which are unusually full and complete, lays great stress upon an expressive delivery of the text, and the swelling and diminishing of the tones by the singers. In vigor and characterization it far surpasses Peri’s and Caccini’s operas. Cavaliere’s death, which occurred ten months before the production of his work, and the great popularity of the Opera, put a stop to the immediate development of the Oratorio; that was reserved for Carissimi a generation later.

=Monteverde=.—The task of taking the opera from the experimental stage and of placing it on the artistic foundation which it now occupies was accomplished by =Claudio Monteverde= (1568-1643), a man of extraordinary genius and originality. A harmonist of surpassing force and boldness, he had always rebelled against the restraints of the contrapuntal school, though, unlike Peri and Caccini, he was skilled in its intricacies. He was viol player in the band of the Duke of Mantua, and had composed masses and madrigals, many of which were severely criticised by the pedants of the day. He joined definite issue with them in his _freedom of treating dissonances_, the distinguishing feature of modern harmony. Heretofore, sevenths, ninths, augmented fourths and the like had never been heard without preparation. Monteverde, however, introduced them without regard to this restriction, little heeding the anathemas heaped upon his head by those who considered his infractions of established rules unpardonable. His ardent, restless temperament, seeking novel modes of expression, often led to wild and extravagant combinations which even today appear harsh and forced. At that time they must have seemed wilful attempts at outraging the ear and the sense of harmonic propriety. These innovations, however, are the cornerstone of modern harmony; of this as well as of the opera, Monteverde is the real founder. What are defects in his church music are excellences in his operas. The discords which disturb the serenity of a religious atmosphere are admirably fitted to produce dramatic effects and powerful climaxes. Monteverde belonged to the stage as his great contemporary, Palestrina, belonged to the church.

=Position of Music in the 17th Century=.—The interest which the success of the Florentine composers would have for a man thus gifted can be readily imagined. Yet he was obliged to wait a number of years for an opportunity to emulate their achievements. Music then was the especial pastime of the great; it was part of the state with which they surrounded themselves. Almost all titled and wealthy families had their own bands of musicians and choirs of singers. These assisted in their private chapels and lent additional eclat to seasons of festivity. Concerts and operas were given only at court or in the palaces of noblemen; public halls for any kind of musical occasion were unknown. A musician or composer could make his way only by attaching himself to a noble house or by securing a patron in court circles. _Dafne_ and _Euridice_ were made possible through the interest and protection of Count Bardi and Count Corsi. The opera was also attended with great expense. The taste of the times demanded an enormous outlay for mounting—costumes, scenery, decorations; only the extremely wealthy could afford it, and they reserved it for occasions of especial importance.

[Music: ARIADNE’S LAMENT.]

=Monteverde’s First Opera=.—In 1607, the marriage of Margaret of Savoy to Francesco Gonzaga, son of the Duke of Mantua, opened the way for Monteverde’s first opera, _Arianna_ (Ariadne), which was received with the utmost enthusiasm. Unfortunately, but a fragment of it remains, Ariadne’s lament after her desertion by Theseus, the most celebrated opera air ever written. In its unprepared discords of the harshest nature, in the poignant expression of grief and despair so at variance with the placid art of the day, this shows how, by a single stroke, Monteverde cut loose from all the traditions of the past. In its less than a score of measures it also anticipates principles of artistic structure which were not formulated for nearly a century later and which hold good to the present day. It is said that it brought tears to every eye.

[Music: RITORNELLO BY MONTEVERDE.]

=His Second Opera=.—The following year he produced his second opera, _Orfeo_ (Orpheus), so called to distinguish it from Peri’s _Euridice_ on the same subject. Though most of Monteverde’s works have been lost, the score of _Orfeo_ has been preserved. It shows a surprising advance over the simplicity of the Florentine operas. First of all, in the great _expansion of the orchestra_. This numbers thirty-seven instruments which throughout are _combined in groups_ and as a whole with an art prefiguring certain effects of orchestration supposed to be purely modern. Like harmony, instrumentation dates from Monteverde. Instead of the customary vocal prologue, it begins with a _Toccata_ (instrumental prelude). The composer’s keen dramatic instinct is shown by the masterly way in which he avoids the monotony of his predecessors; the recitatives are varied by the introduction of _ritornelli_, and each act ends with a chorus and a stately passage for the orchestra. Five years later, the most famous composer of the day, he left Mantua for Venice, where until his death he was director of music at St. Mark’s.

=Monteverde’s Characteristics=.—Monteverde’s greatest service to the opera lay in enlarging the sphere of the orchestra, and in the initiation of a thoroughly instrumental style adapted to the character of each instrument. He increased the number of players and released the orchestra from the subordinate position of being a mere support for the voice by employing it to heighten the dramatic situation. He originated many previously unknown effects, among them the _pizzicato_ and the _tremolo_ of the violins in precisely the same form as used at present. The latter so astounded the players that at first they refused to attempt it, saying that it was impossible. He endowed the Recitative with far greater freedom and depth of expression; under his hand it lost much of the dryness of the Florentine school. His manner of _writing_ for the voice was _declamatory_ rather than melodious; what traces of definite melody occur in his works are generally confined to the instruments, in which he curiously anticipates the practice of latter-day dramatic composers.

=Popularization of the Opera=.—Until 1637 the opera was restricted to royalty and the nobility. In that year the first public opera house was opened in Venice, and such was the popularity of the new amusement that before the end of the century there were no fewer than eleven in that city alone, then with a population of about 140,000. It spread through Italy with almost like rapidity, bearing in its wake an unparalleled development of the art of song.

=Change of Character=.—With its introduction to the people, it was manifestly impossible for the opera to retain its original character. So long as it was confined to the cultivated, the classical ideals of its founders met with intelligent appreciation, but when confronted with audiences drawn from the masses desirous only of being amused, a change was inevitable. Mythological and classical subjects were gradually discarded in favor of those involving intrigue and disguise; comic personages were introduced to enliven the scene. As the dramatic action was thus brought nearer the comprehension of the unlearned, so the music departed from the oratorical standards of the early school, and showed a frank _tendency toward melody_ and _regularity of form_. What was lost in elevation of theme, however, was made up by the human interest imparted to the play and the consequent endeavor of the composer to express, by his music, the varying vicissitudes of life. Thus it gained in warmth of feeling and flexibility in means of expression, while the evolution of rhythmic melody and definite musical structure laid the foundation of the art as we now have it.

=The Venetian School=.—Venice naturally became the centre of an important development of the opera. Of the numerous composers forming the Venetian school, =Francesco Cavalli= (1600-1676) and =Marco Cesti= (1620-1669) are second only in importance to Monteverde. The first was Monteverde’s pupil, and had much of his broad dramatic style modified by the influences of which we have just spoken. Cesti came to Venice from Rome, where he had been the pupil of Carissimi, and brought with him the smoothness and melodic flow of his master, albeit lacking in essential power. Other names of a later date are =Giovanni Legrenzi= (1625-1690), especially noted for spirit and vivacity, and =Antonio Lotti= (1667-1740), his pupil, known by one or two charming airs which still survive.

=Carissimi and the Oratorio=.—=Giovanni Carissimi= (1604-1674), though he never wrote for the stage, was the strongest musical influence of his day. He was an ardent admirer of the new school, and adapted it in the form of oratorios and cantatas to the Church. In such works the necessity for form as regards definite tonality, distinct rhythm and melodic sequence is naturally much greater than in the Opera where music is used to illustrate the dramatic situation, and is furthermore elucidated by the action of the play. When the ear alone is obliged to pass judgment there must be evidence of design in these particulars, else the effect is confused and bewildering. Carissimi’s musical instinct grasped this truth. His oratorios and cantatas show a logical arrangement of choruses and ensembles, recitatives and arias combined with a unity of effect and a clearness of characterization heretofore unknown. The choruses in particular are strongly rhythmic and far more dramatic than those which were commonly heard on the stage.

[Music: FROM “JEPHTHA” BY CARISSIMI.]

=Secularization of Church Music=.—This introduction of the new style into the Church marked the passing of the old school and strongly affected methods of dramatic composition. The public had never been in sympathy with the austere standards of the Florentine school and welcomed the appearance of _intelligible melody_ and the _spirited rhythms_ to which Carissimi gave the first direct impulse. Not only this; he fixed the form that the music of the Church was to bear for a century to come. This secularization of church music had its good and bad sides; good by reason of the greater freedom and variety of expression thus gained; bad because of the bold and mechanical imitation of Carissimi’s purely formal details by his successors, which in the end led to a tiresome monotony of style.

=Characteristics of the Venetian School=.—Thus was taken the first step toward the complete reversal of the conditions under which the early Opera had arisen. Instead of the music’s being subordinate to the drama, the drama was soon to serve merely as an excuse for the music; the opera was destined to sink to the level of a concert sung in costume; the dramatic action reduced to a minimum. The Venetian school marks the turning-point in this direction. The high ideals of Monteverde and his predecessors were gradually thrust into the background; the singer began to assume precedence over the actor; truth of _expression yielded_ to the fascinations of _time_ and _tune_, which even the musically uncultivated could enjoy without bothering their heads as to real dramatic fitness. Closely connected with these tendencies was the establishment of a school of singing which, if we may believe contemporary accounts, surpassed in technical facility and brilliancy any vocal art heard either before or since that time. The result was that singers finally regarded the opera only as a field for the display of their dazzling accomplishments and in this they were willingly supported by a public eager to be entertained and amused.

REFERENCES.

Apthorp.—The Opera, Past and Present.

Elson.—The History of Opera.

Grove.—Dictionary of Music and Musicians, article on Opera.

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS.

Who wrote the first oratorio? In what respects did an opera and an oratorio differ?

Give an account of Monteverde and his innovations in Opera.

What was the state of music in the 17th century?

Describe Monteverde’s first opera.

Describe Monteverde’s second opera.

What was understood by the terms Toccata, Ritornello?

What were Monteverde’s contributions to the Opera?

What change took place in the character of the Opera in the latter half of the 17th century?

Who were the prominent members of the Venetian school?

Give an account of Carissimi and his work.

Give a characterization of the Venetian school.

A short account of the Mysteries or Miracle Plays of the Middle Ages may be assigned to a pupil as special work. The Passion Play, still given today at Oberammergau, Germany, is a relic of the old-time religious plays.

LESSON XIX.

ALESSANDRO SCARLATTI AND THE NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL.

=The Neapolitan School=.—What in the Venetian school had been a _reaction_ in favor of _form_ and _melody_ became the established practice of the Neapolitan school. Political disturbances had hindered the spread of the Opera in southern Italy, particularly in Naples, but at the end of the 17th century it assumed the position formerly occupied by Florence and Venice. Before this, however, a strong influence had been exerted by certain composers in Rome, of whom Carissimi was first in importance. Had it not been for the disapproval of the Church, a definite Roman school might have arisen. Such a school would doubtless have been advantageous to the artistic growth of the Opera, since the public taste at Rome in matters of art was more serious in nature than at Naples. In 1697, public performances of opera were forbidden by the ecclesiastical authorities, and thus the seat of further development was transferred to Naples through the removal thither from Rome of =Alessandro Scarlatti= (1659-1725), the founder of the Neapolitan school. As a lad, he had been a pupil of Carissimi and also probably of Legrenzi, whose influence is clearly seen in his early works.

=Alessandro Scarlatti=.—Scarlatti invested his operas with a melodic charm and a symmetrical form which thus far had appeared only sporadically. Fascinated by the freedom of the new style, the early composers had neglected the severe study which had been indispensable to mastery in the Contrapuntal School, and had in the main relied on natural gifts. Following the ideal of Peri and his associates, their operas were largely a succession of recitatives which in the end grew monotonous and wearisome; of form, of structure, of purely musical effect they bore but slight traces. Scarlatti saw that the time had come for a change in style—one that should combine the musical interest of the old with the dramatic spirit of the new. The foremost musician of his time, he perceived the weakness of the exclusively declamatory opera—its lack of variety and want of appeal to the public in general.

=His Characteristics=.—He was not a reformer. He lacked the strong and rugged dramatic fibre of his predecessor, Monteverde. Scholarship; an inexhaustible fund of melody, pure, polished, refined; a gift of characterization—general, not particular, and always subordinate to a keen sense of beauty—are his distinguishing characteristics. He fell in with the taste of the day and devoted his gifts to the production of works which should satisfy the musician and please the public. The solidity of his early schooling had made him a master of counterpoint, and this he applied in the construction of logically worked-out accompaniments, fuller, richer and more expressive than had been attempted by his less learned contemporaries. In nobility of conception and skill in solving contrapuntal problems he often shows that he is not unworthy the name of the “Italian Bach,” as he is sometimes called. Like Bach, also, he was one of the most prolific composers of all times. He left one hundred and fifteen operas, sixty-six of which are still extant, more than two hundred masses, besides many miscellaneous works for church and concert, both vocal and instrumental.

=His Services to the Opera=.—To the simple recitative (recitativo secco), invented by Peri, he added the important form known as the _recitativo stromentato_ (accompanied recitative). This was not strictly original with Scarlatti, since it had been introduced by Purcell in his _Dido and Eneas_ ten years before the Italian had first used it in his opera _Rosaura_ (1690). There is no probability, however, that Scarlatti was acquainted with the Englishman’s works; it is a not uncommon matter for two minds to arrive independently at the same result. In the accompanied recitative, the voice, instead of being supported by detached (_secco_) chords on the harpsichord, sometimes with the addition of a single stringed instrument, as in the simple recitative, was accompanied by the entire orchestra, which had grown to proportions undreamed-of in Peri’s day. Vastly developed by the growth of orchestral resources, it is the distinguishing feature of the modern music drama. As a rule, however, it was but little used in Scarlatti’s operas or in those of his contemporaries. Interest in the drama, as such, was fast sinking to a negligible quantity; audiences assembled to hear their favorite singers, not to follow the course of a more or less involved dramatic action. The simple recitative was, therefore, more frequently employed in order to hurry through the necessary details of the play and reach the moment when the singer could delight by his art in the aria.

[Music: AIR FROM SCARLATTI’S OPERA “TURNO ARICINO”.]

=The Aria=.—Scarlatti was not the inventor of the aria or air for the single voice in the meaning of the term as applied to a certain fixed form. Other composers had used it before him in its essential principles, but he was the _first_ to _formulate_ it into a persistent _type_, which it retained for nearly a century, despite its undramatic character. The Scarlatti aria consisted of three parts: two contrasting sections, concluding with a Da Capo or repetition of the first, expressed by the formula A B A. The principle of Repetition as an element of form is now a commonplace, but at the time it was a novelty, and the emphasis given to it by the aria fascinated the public and made it the principal feature of the opera. More than anything else, it led to its degeneration. Singers found in the aria a means of displaying their technical skill; it became the canvas on which they embroidered the most astonishing _tours de force_. The art of acting almost disappeared from the operatic stage; the poise of body and voice required for such vocal efforts banished all but a few conventional gestures.

=The Overture=.—Scarlatti’s powers were by no means confined to writing for the voice; the instrumental portions of his works give evidence of equal mastery, though the popular taste for singing allowed him but little scope for extension in this direction. His overtures in particular show a great advance over the simple preludes of the early Italian operas. He perfected what is known as the Italian Overture in contradistinction to the earlier form invented by Lully, and called the French Overture. It consisted of three movements, the first and last quick, the middle movement slow. In its arrangement, this was the direct precursor of the modern symphony. At first the two terms were interchangeable; an overture when played before an opera was called a _Sinfonia_, and curiously enough, when played independently as a concert number it was frequently called an overture. Some of the early symphonies were even printed with one title outside and the other inside.

=The Typical Italian Opera=.—Thus at the beginning of the 18th century we find the Opera on an overwhelmingly musical basis instead of the oratorical foundation which it had in its inception. Scarlatti fixed its form for a century. He left it consisting principally of recitatives and arias, each opera containing from fifty to sixty of the latter. Aside from these there was but little formal music—only an occasional march or dance besides the overture. The simple recitative was used for ordinary dialogue; hence it was peculiarly applicable to the _Opera Buffa_ (comic opera). The accompanied recitative was reserved for situations of dramatic importance, and the aria served to express individual emotion. The chorus was employed but sparingly, generally appearing only at the end of the act to give greater eclat to the finale. The dance, which in the early Opera had played a part of some importance, was finally banished entirely from the scene, though not from the stage. It was given between the acts as an intermezzo (interlude), and thus developed into the formal ballet. Spectacular features, too, assumed great prominence.

=The Intermezzo=.—The Intermezzo has a close connection with the opera. It arose from the custom of introducing something _between the acts_ of a play or opera to entertain the audience during the necessary period of waiting. At first, songs or madrigals were sung, then by degrees the entertainment took on a dramatic form, until at last a drama was given totally independent of the principal play. Singularly enough, the acts of the two plays were performed alternately, neither having any connection with the other. The Intermezzo was always of a gayer, lighter character; thus when the incongruity of the practice became apparent, it naturally evolved into the _Opera Buffa_. This was brought about by the success of the most celebrated comic opera ever written, _La Serva Padrona_ (The Maid as Mistress), by =Giovanni Pergolesi= (1710-1736). This was originally produced (1734) as an Intermezzo between the acts of another play, and afterward made a triumphant progress through all the opera houses in Europe as an independent work.

=The Opera Buffa=.—Though for the sake of contrast, comic characters had been introduced into the opera during the early Venetian period, the _Opera Buffa_ did not reach its full development until the following century. Owing to the absence of certain conventions which had grown around the _Opera Seria_ (serious opera) it became a more characteristic mode of expression than the latter. Its melodies were fresher, its dramatic action was less restrained and truer to life, while it performed a valuable service by doing away with the strange mingling of comic and serious styles which had previously disfigured many otherwise impressive works. To it we owe the concerted Finale which is such a feature of modern grand opera. It is attributed to =Niccolo Logroscino= (1700-1763), who instead of the customary conclusion of an act by a simple duet, trio, or quartet, brought all the _Dramatis Personæ_ on the stage to take part in a characteristic ensemble. Greatly developed by later composers, such finales were for a long time confined to _Opera Buffa_, until Paisiello finally introduced them into serious opera.

=Prominent Composers of the Neapolitan School=.—It is hardly possible to mention more than a few of the numerous composers belonging to the Neapolitan school. Besides Pergolesi, the most important works of this school were composed by =Niccolo Porpora= (1685-1767), =Niccolo Jommelli= (1714-1774), =Niccolo Piccini= (1728-1800), =Giovanni Paisiello= (1741-1816) and =Domenico Cimarosa= (1749-1801). Most of these were equally at home in the _Opera Seria_ and the _Opera Buffa_, but their works in the latter style have proved the more enduring.

Porpora is more noteworthy for the singers he formed than for his forty-six operas, all of which have sunk into oblivion. He was the greatest of the many masters of singing who through their pupils made the Opera of the 18th century the field of display for the most remarkable singers the world has ever heard. Jommelli was one of the most gifted composers of his day. He spent fifteen years in Germany as capellmeister to the Duke of Wurtemburg, but the influence of this long residence in a country where musical ideals were of a more austere type than in Italy, though it added dignity and solidity to his art, was fatal to his popularity when he returned to his native land; his countrymen found his operas heavy in style and deficient in melody. Piccini was the composer of the most popular _Opera Buffa_ of the century, _Cecchina_, but is now remembered principally by the bitter feud which arose in Paris in 1787 between his admirers and those of Gluck. Paisiello’s most celebrated work was _Il Barbiere di Siviglia_ (The Barber of Seville), which held the stage for thirty years until the success of Rossini’s masterpiece on the same subject forced it into retirement. Cimarosa’s _Il Matrimonio Segreto_ (The Secret Marriage) was an equal favorite; one of its numbers, the trio for women’s voices, _Ti Faccio un Inchino_ (I make thee a reverence), sometimes appears on modern programs.

=Influence of the Neapolitan School=.—Notwithstanding the formalism of the Neapolitan school, which led to a regrettable neglect of the dramatic signification of the Opera by an over-emphasis of its musical element, it was of no small importance in the development of music in general. By fixing the principles of form and melody at a time when both were vague and undetermined, Scarlatti laid the foundation of the great classical period, beginning with Haydn and Mozart and ending with Beethoven. This was his contribution to absolute music, which cannot exist without form, though its influence was disastrous to purity of form in the branch of the art which he particularly cultivated.

REFERENCES.

Dent.—Alessandro Scarlatti: His Life and Works.

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS.

Which Italian city now became the centre of operatic development?

Who was the founder of this new school?

Tell about his style and training.

What did he contribute to the development of the Opera?

Describe the Aria.

Describe the Overture.

Describe a typical Italian Opera.

Describe the Intermezzo.

Describe the Opera Buffa.

Who were the prominent composers of the Neapolitan school?

What was the influence of this school?

The period of Scarlatti’s work extends approximately from the English Revolution of 1688, which drove James II from the throne, to the end of the reign of George I. In American Colonial history this period is one of gathering strength in the various provinces on the Atlantic Coast.

LESSON XX.

SINGING AND SINGERS.

=Early Methods of Singing=.—As has been noted by the reader, music, up to this time, developed principally along vocal lines. We have no details as to the character of the training of singers among the Chaldeans, Egyptians and Greeks except such as indicate that their idea of singing was a sort of musical declamation. Such seems also to have been the idea of the nations in the north of Europe.

We have seen that the Welsh bards were required to undergo a very thorough and exacting course of study, but the practical side of singing and the rules laid down for the training of the young minstrels is not a part of our knowledge. The songs of the early Church, sung by masses of worshipers, were of necessity simple in every way, requiring no art. It was not until the use of Discant became popular, and the Polyphonic school began to use florid writing that we can infer that there must have been some methods of training vocalists for artistic work. Although we have little or no details as to the course of training which the early singers received, we are justified in assuming that they must have possessed skill in execution of no mean order. It must not be forgotten that practically all the composers of the early Polyphonic school were singers, able to execute their own works. Hence, studies in singing must have gone hand in hand with composition. The voice parts of the masses, motets and madrigals of the composers of the 13th to the 16th centuries have absolute independence of progression, syncopations, embellishments, etc., to such an extent that it taxes the musicianship of the chorus singer of the present day to sing them; they are not only exacting in intonation, rhythm and other musical matters but also in mechanical points, such as flexibility and freedom of voice and thorough breath control.

=Influence of the Opera on Singing=.—When the Opera was established, after the declamatory style offered by the first composers had proven unsuccessful in holding the public, the florid style of the old discanters was revived and modified, which, as the Opera developed, gave a great impetus to a systematic and thorough study of singing. The new style of melody introduced by the opera composers of the 17th century demanded purity of voice, wide range, flexibility, expressive shading and a marvelous breath control, as well as great physical endurance. Singers were expected to execute the most intricate passages, abounding in diatonic and chromatic scales, arpeggios, turns, gruppettos, trills, etc., of the most elaborate nature, passages such as are considered purely instrumental today. =Alessandro Scarlatti=, the composer, and himself a singer, is credited with having had much to do with the great development in the art of singing. He trained a number of singers and pupils, and thus founded the “old Italian” school of singing. It was natural that the art side of singing should thus develop in Italy for several reasons, notably, because Italy had a great number of highly-trained composers, the character of the language is such as to lend itself to the requirements of artistic singing, broad full vowels, soft consonants, absence of final consonants, etc., and the enthusiastic, essentially lyric temperament of the race.

=The Training of a 17th Century Singer=.—We are given an idea of the course of training which singers of the 17th century were obliged to observe in a work _Historia Musica_, published by G. A. A. Buontempi, in 1695. This contains an account of the regulations of a school for singers in Rome, directed by Virgilio Mazzocchi, in which Buontempi was a pupil: The pupils were obliged to devote one hour each day to the singing of difficult passages with the idea of acquiring experience; one hour to the practice of the trill, one to passages in agility, one to literary studies, one to vocalises and to various other technical exercises under the direction of a teacher and before a mirror to acquire the certainty that the singer did not make a faulty movement of the face, the forehead, the eyes or the mouth. This was the morning’s work. In the afternoon, a half-hour was given to theory study, the same amount to writing counterpoint on plain-song melodies, then to learning and applying the rules of composition (writing on an erasable sheet); then followed a half-hour of study of a literary nature, and the rest of the day was given to practice on the clavichord, to the composition of a psalm, motet, canzonetta, or any other kind of piece according to the pupil’s choice. Such were the common exercises of those days when the pupils were kept on duty at the school. On other days, they would go outside the Angelica Gate to sing against the famous echo that was found there, listening to the response in order to criticise their work. Other duties were to sing in nearly all the musical solemnities of the various churches, to study attentively the style of the great singers of the day, to make a report of their observations to their master, who, the better to impress the result of their studies upon the minds of his pupils, added remarks and advice as he deemed necessary. Under such discipline it is not astonishing that the Italian singers attained a high degree of excellence, and became not only distinguished singers but skilful composers as well. That the reader may gather an idea of the character of passages executed by these singers an example is given on the previous page.

[Music: AIR for BASS

FROM A “MISERERE” BY DENTICE, END OF 16TH CENTURY.]

=Growth of the Florid Style=.—As the art of singing developed, the singers increased their capricious embellishments. With the idea of securing brilliancy as well as the hope of winning success for their works, composers yielded to the exactions of singers and the depraved taste of the dilettanti. This explains the seemingly endless vocalizing and those passages of pure agility which crowd the scores of the best Italian masters of the 17th and 18th centuries. Before giving some account of the famous singers of the old Italian school it will be interesting to have a few notes upon a work on vocal music which bears upon the matter of execution.

=A Work on Singing=.—In 1725, =Pier Francesco Tosi=, a renowned singer (born about 1650, died 1730), published a work, translated into English, and published in 1742 under the title “Observations on the Florid Song, or Sentiments of the Ancient and Modern Singers,” which contains some interesting and valuable statements for the student of the history of the art of singing. The most minute principles are set forth with much grace and spirit, in all cases showing enthusiasm on the part of the author for his art and a high sense of the dignity of the profession of singing. When the discussion is in regard to certain kinds of passages in which the singer was accustomed to improvise ornaments, Tosi demands the union of five qualities: intelligence, invention, meter (rhythm), mechanism (technic) and taste; and in addition, other qualities which he calls “secondary and auxiliary graces”: the appoggiatura, the trill, the portamento di voce, phrasing. This work by Tosi and one by Marcello entitled _Le Theatre à la Mode_ throw much light on the execution of the vocal music of the 18th century.

=Seventeenth Century Singers=.—=Baldassare Ferri= (1610-1680) was one of the most renowned of the male sopranos of the old school. His voice had the greatest agility and facility, perfect intonation, a brilliant shake or trill and his breath supply seemed to be inexhaustible. In regard to his intonation, it is said that he was able to ascend and descend in one breath a two-octave scale with a continuous trill without accompaniment with such perfection of intonation that when he finished he had not varied a shade from the pitch of his starting-note. He was in high favor in the courts of Poland, Germany, Sweden and England. A medal was struck in his honor. =Antonio Bernacchi= (1690-1756) was a pupil of =Pistocchi= (1659-1720), the most celebrated teacher in Italy at this time, whose principles are represented in Tosi’s book. He commenced his career early and appeared in opera in Italy, later in England and Germany. After some years of experience with the public taste he altered his style, making great use of the florid style, a veritable embroidery of roulades, an innovation that was so successful as to be immediately followed by other singers in spite of the protests of the older school of singers. It is related that when Pistocchi heard his former pupil, he said: “Ah! woe is me! I taught thee to sing and now thou wilt play!” He sang in Handel’s opera company in London, 1729-30. He then returned to Italy to take up the career of a teacher and brought out a number of fine singers. =Francesco Bernardi Senesino= (1680-1750) was a great favorite in England, where he sang in Handel’s operas. His voice was exceptionally fine in quality, clear, penetrating and flexible, his technic remarkable; his style was marked by purity, simplicity and expressiveness, and his delivery of recitative was famous over all Europe. The name of Niccolo Porpora was mentioned in connection with the opera as a celebrated singing master as well as composer. No singers before or since have sung like his pupils, notably Caffarelli and Farinelli.

=Gaetano Majorano Caffarelli= (1703-1783)—the reader will note that many of the old school of musicians lived to a ripe old age—was the son of a Neapolitan peasant, who tried to repress the boy’s evident musical inclinations. Cafaro, director of the Chapel Royal, at Naples, chanced to hear him sing and succeeded in getting charge of him and gave him his elementary instruction, which was followed by instruction from Porpora, who was then living in Naples. Porpora was a most exacting teacher, requiring implicit obedience and unceasing practice. The story is told that Porpora kept Caffarelli for five or six years to the unvaried study of a single page of exercises despite the pupil’s most strenuous objections. At the end of the time, when Caffarelli declared he would submit no longer, the old teacher said: “Go, my son. I have nothing more to teach you. You are the greatest singer in Europe.” When he first appeared in opera he sang female parts, for which his beautiful face was well-suited. Some years later he took men’s parts. He gained great popularity in the leading cities of Europe and amassed an enormous fortune. He excelled in slow and pathetic airs, yet he was most admirable in the bravura style, and his technic in the trill and chromatic scales was unapproached by any other singer of his time. He was fond of introducing chromatic passages in quick movements.