UV • UFS
BLOEMFONTEIN
.,:z:1ti:w ==== ......~..n. 1:.~~·:o;-g::u::·m:;'"J."''I;U:'t~'-~~....:;:~:~·~~~~
HIERDIE EI{SEMPLAAR Mf~G ONDEH.
GEEN OMSTANDIGHEDE UiT DIE University Free State
NIE 111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111. BIBLIOTEEK VERvVYDEH WORD 34300004555052 .
~~'~~~J;;1UlQQ' n'e:A!!'::!f\'A::si1".iQ~f~ ., ..~ . Universiteit Vrystaat i
THE INFLUENCE OF THE
MADRIGALI MODERNI
ON JOHANN JACOB FROBERGER'S
KEYBOARD MUSIC
( ,
i !
LINDA FRANCES VINKE
A thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree
of Doctor Philosophiae (Musicae), in the Faculty of the Humanities,
Department of Music, at the University of the Free State, South Africa.
- : November 2011
,
','
Promoter: Mr John Reid Coulter
Co-promoter: Prof. Martina Viljoen
I"l!U,!n'ii'~V,1rSyf,tsetfatavtan*~I, ~!.OEf,,%'t:'O(!':"1iE.~~ I:('I;' '~ B ',JUN :ZnU3 1IN SASOI..IIl:li!lU01l"_
;,1
Dedication
To my husband, Adri, the love of my life.
For all the years of support and friendship.
.• I., ..~
Statement of Originality
I declare that the thesis "The Influence of the Madrigali Moderni on Johann Jacob Froberger's
Keyboard Music", hereby handed in for the qualification Doctor of Philosophy at the
University of the Free State, is my own independent work and that I have not previously
submitted the same work for a qualification at another University.
Copyright Cession
I cede copyright of the thesis "The Influence of the Madrigali Moderni on Johann Jacob
Froberger's Keyboard Music" to the University of the Free State.
Linda Frances Vinke
Signed at Paulshof, South Africa
Date
Signature
Abstract
English Abstract
The research is based upon the hypothesis that the keyboard music of Johann Jacob Froberger
(1616-1667) was significantly influenced by the music of the Italian secular madrigals of the late
16th and early 17th centuries.
In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, madrigal composers were at the forefront of musical
development and it is plausible that their innovations should have had a significant influence on
Froberger, contributing to the development of his expressive keyboard style. The madrigal
composers used various new compositional techniques, many of them aimed at expressing
emotions. Characteristics of the style of the madrigali moderni (a term used by Frescobaldi in the
1637 preface to Toccate e Partite, Libro Primo) include the variation of tempo for expressive
purposes, word painting, new types of ornamentation, adventurous harmony, chromaticism and
dissonance and quickly changing rhythmic and textural features. The aim of this thesis is to show
how Froberger adapted these techniques for use in his keyboard style.
In order to test the hypothesis, I researched the musical characteristics of the Italian secular
madrigals of the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Some Italian vocal music other than secular
madrigals was analyzed and some madrigals and other 'vocal music from a little earlier or a little
later were also consulted. However, the vast majority of the examples that I have used to illustrate
my findings come from Italian secular madrigals composed (or at least published) in the late 16th
and early 17th century when the composition of madrigals was at its peak in both volume and
brilliance: A detailed style-critical study of the entire keyboard oeuvre of Froberger was undertaken
to determine if the various characteristics of this vocal music could be found in his music. Some of
Froberger's (Italian) predecessors on the keyboard, such as de Macque, Mayone, Trabaci,
Frescobaldi and Michelangelo Rossi seem also to have been influenced by the Italian madrigalists
and where appropriate, I have included examples from the works of these composers.
II
Before the main body of the research, I have included a chapter on Froberger's life and travels; a
comprehensive collection of the information that is currently known. In recent years, some
fascinating research has been undertaken that has thrown light on Froberger's life and travels, but
all the information has not previously been presented in a chronological format.
The main body of the research is divided into four sections, each of which discusses a particular
musical aspect of the madrigals and shows similar usage in Froberger's works. The first of these
sections discusses the use of "madrigalisms" for expressive ends. This chapter analyses some of the
more commonly used word painting devices and shows their use in madrigals and in Froberger's
music. The second of these sections discusses sprezzatura in the wider meaning given to it by
Caccini in his Nuove Musiche (1601/2), where it encompasses not only rhapsodic tempo fluctuations
but also the use of dissonance for expressive purposes. The third section discusses the use of
ornaments in the madrigals and shows how Froberger used a variety of specifically Italian vocal
ornaments in his music, as well as the more standard range of ornaments used by keyboard
composers. The fourth section describes the continuous invention and diversity present in the
madrigals and in Froberger's music. This invention manifests itself in, amongst other things, the use
of a wide variety of rhythms and textures to portray the agitation of the passions and a delight in
complexity.
Within these sections, the theories of the time are discussed, examples are given from the madrigals
and parallel examples are drawn from Froberger's music. At the end of the thesis four case studies
are presented to show how the hypothesis fits entire works by Froberger. Froberger's oeuvre can
arguably be divided into laments (and similar forms), partitas, contrapuntal works and toccatas.
The case studies are intended to represent one of each of these forms. In each of the studies, certain
aspects of the music are compared to the madrigals and parallels are drawn to extra-musical events
or phenomena in order to place the particular composition in its historical and social context.
III
Afrikaans Abstract
Hierdie navorsing is gebaseer op die hipotese dat die klawerbordmusiek van Johann Jacob
Froberger (1616-1667) beduidend deur die musiek van die sekulêre madrigale van die laat
sestiende en vroeë sewentiende eeu in Italië beïnvloed is.
In die laat sestiende en vroeë sewentiende eeu was madrigaalkomponiste aan die voorpunt van
musikale ontwikkeling, en daar kan aanvaar word dat hulle vernuwings 'n beduidende invloed op
Froberger moes gehad het, wat bygedra het tot die ontwikkeling van sy ekspressiewe
klawerbordstyl. Die madrigaalkomponiste het verskeie nuwe komposisietegnieke gebruik, waarvan
baie gepoog het om emosies uit te druk. Eienskappe van die madrigali maderni-styl en term wat
Frescobaldi gebruik het in die voorwoord tot sy Toccate e Partite, Libra Primo van 1637) sluit
tempowisseling vir ekspressiewe doeleindes in, woordskildering, nuwe soorte ornamentering,
avontuurlike harmonisering, chromatiek en dissonansie, asook vinnig veranderende ritmiese en
teksturele eienskappe. Die doel van hierdie proefskrif is om aan te toon hoe Froberger hierdie
tegnieke aangepas het vir gebruik in sy klawerbordstyl.
Om die gestelde hipotese te kan toets, het ek die musikale eienskappe van die Italiaanse sekulêre
madrigale van die Iaat sestiende en vroeë sewentiende eeu ondersoek. Behalwe die sekulêre
madrigale is ook ander Italiaanse vokale musiek ontleed, en sommige madrigale en ander vokale
musiek van effens vroeër of later is ook geraadpleeg. Die grootste gros van die voorbeelde wat ek
gebruik het om my bevindinge te illustreer kom egter uit die Italiaanse sekulêre madrigale wat in
die laat sestiende en vroeë sewentiende eeu gekomponeer (of ten minste toe publiseer) is, toe die
komponeer van madrigale 'n toppunt in volume en glans bereik het. 'n Gedetailleerde stylkritiese
studie van die hele klawerbord-oeuvre van Froberger is gedoen om te bepaal of die verskillende
eienskappe van hierdie vokale musiek in sy werke gevind kan word. Party van Froberger se
(Italiaanse) voorgangers op die klawerbord, soos de Macque, Mayone, Trabaci, Frescobaldi en
Michelangelo Rossi blyk ook deur die Italiaanse madrigaliste beïnvloed te wees, en waar toepaslik,
het ek voorbeelde van hierdie komponiste se werke ingesluit.
IV
Voorafgaande aan die hoofdeel van hierdie navorsing het ek 'n hoofstuk oor Froberger se lewe en
reise ingesluit; 'n omvattende byeenbring van die inligting wat tans bekend is. In meer onlangse
jare is boeiende navorsing gedoen wat die lig gewerp het op Froberger se lewe en reise, maar
hierdie inligting is nog nie vantevore in chronologiese formaat op skrif gestel nie.
Die hoofdeel van die navorsing is in vier afdelings ingedeel wat elkeen 'n spesifieke musikale aspek
van die madrigale bespreek, en ooreenstemmende gebruik in Froberger se werke aantoon. Die
eerste van hierdie afdelings bespreek die gebruik van "madrigalismes" vir ekspressiewe doeleindes.
Hierdie hoofstuk ontleed sommige van die meer gebruiklike woordskilderingstegnieke en toon
hulle gebruik in madrigale en in Froberger se musiek aan. Die tweede afdeling bespreek
sprezzatura in die wyer betekenis wat Caccini daaraan gegee het in sy Nuove Musiche (1601/2),
waar dit nie net om rapsodiese tempowisselinge gaan nie, maar ook om die gebruik van dissonansie
vir ekspressiewe doeleindes. Die derde afdeling bespreek die gebruik van ornamentering in die
madrigale en toon aan hoe Froberger 'n verskeidenheid spesifiek Italiaanse vokale versierings in sy
musiek gebruik het, asook die meer standaard reeks versierings wat deur klawerbordkomponiste
gebruik is. Die vierde afdeling beskryf die voortdurende uitvindings en verskeidenheid wat in die
madrigale en in Froberger se werk teenwoordig is. Hierdie uitvindings word gemanifesteer in
onder andere die gebruik van 'n wye verskeidenheid ritmes en teksture om die agitasie van die
passies en 'n behae in kompleksiteit uit te beeld.
In hierdie afdelings word teorieë uit die tyd bespreek, en voorbeelde word gegee uit die madrigale
met parallelle voorbeelde uit Froberger se musiek. Aan die einde van die proefskrif word vier
gevallestudies aangebied om aan te toon hoe die hipotese op hele werke van Froberger van
toepassing is. Froberger se oeuvre kan moontlik verdeel word in klaagliedere (en soortgelyke
vorme), partitas, kontrapuntale werke en toccatas. Die gevallestudies poog om een van elk van
hierdie vorme voor te stel. In elk van hierdie studies word sekere aspekte van die musiek met die
madrigale vergelyk, en parallelle word getrek na buite-musikale gebeure of verskynsels om die
betrokke komposisie binne 'n historiese of sosiale konteks te plaas.
V
Acknowledgements
Firstly, I would like to thank johann jacob Froberger. His wonderful music has filled me with awe
and admiration for many years.
Iam profoundly grateful to Professor Martina Viljoen from the University of the Free State, who has
guided me through the minefields of academic research and generously provided both
encouragement and advice. Her considerable expertise in the design and structure of academic
research has opened up my personal horizons and her visionary insights have inspired me.
I owe a debt of gratitude to [ohn Reid Coulter which can probably never be repaid. He was my
harpsichord teacher for many years and introduced me to the music of Froberger, amongst many
other remarkable composers. Under his expert guidance, Ilearned to love Early Music.
My grateful thanks go also to Or Naomi Barker of Open University for sharing her vast knowledge
about early keyboard music and to [ohn Lucas who spent days proof-reading, patiently correcting
any spelling and grammatical blunders. It goes without saying that any mistakes still in this
document are all mine.
The painstaking research published by many brilliant scholars has provided the springboard for
1 this thesis. In particular, I would like to mention Siegbert Rampe, whose edition of Proberger's
works has been my constant companion for the duration of my research. Also, Bob van Asperen,
David Schulenberg, Simon Maguire, Willi Apel, Maria Maniates, Claude Palisca, Rudolf Rasch, Peter
Wollny and Alexander Silbiger. There are several web sites without which this thesis would not
have been possible and the most important of these are Grove Music online, IMSLP and Choralwiki.
Details of the publications and the websites that Ihave consulted are contained in the bibliography
at the end of this thesis.
b\
VI
Table of Contents
Statement of Originality 1
Copyright Cession 1
Abstract. II
Acknowledgements VI
Table of Contents VII
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTIONTO THIS RESEARCH -1-
1. 1 The Aim of this Research - 1 -
1. 2 The Structure of the Thesis - 7 -
1.3 The Methodology - 10 -
1.4 The Sources of Froberger's Works - 12 -
1. 5 Editions and Examples used in this Thesis - 24 -
1.6 Discussion ofTerms - 28 -
1.6.1 Seconda Pratica - 28 -
1.6.2 The Madrigali Moderni - 30 -
1.6.3 Mannerism - 33 -
1.6.4 Italian - 36 -
1.6.5 Secular - 36 -
'I 1.7 Conventions and Abbreviations - 37 -
I
CHAPTER TWO: FROBERGER'S LIFEAND TRAVELS - 39-
~
CHAPTER THREE: WORD PAINTING - 72 -
3. 1 Introduction - 72 -
3.2 Proberger's Descriptive Works - 74-
3. 3 The Theorists - 80 -
3.4 The Word Painting Devices - 85 -
3.4.1 The Descending Line - 85 -
3.4.2 The Falling Semitone, Representing a Sigh - 89 -
VII
3.4.3 The Descending Diminished Fourth - 92 -
3.4.4 Unexpected Melodic Leaps - 97 -
3.4.5 The Tirata to Express Anguish - 99 -
3.4.6 Onomatopoeia - 107 -
3.4.7 Eye Music -111 -
3.4.8 Chains of Suspensions and Dissonances - 116-
3.4.9 The Tritone - 123 -
3. 5 Summary - 129 -
CHAPTER FOUR: SPREZZATURA - 131 -
4. 1 Sprezzatura: the Theorists and the Writings of Composers - 131 -
4.2 Adagio - 143 -
4.3 Frescobaldi's Comments on Tempo - 146 -
4.4 The Use ofSprezzatura by other Keyboard Composers -153-
4.5 Froberger's use of Tempo Fluctuations - 156 -
4.5.1 Tempo Fluctuations in the Toccatas - 158 -
4.5.2 Tempo Fluctuations in the Polyphonic Works - 161 -
4.5.3 Tempo Fluctuations in the Laments and Related Forms - 163 -
4.5.4 Tempo Fluctuations in the Partitas - 165 -
4.6 Changes in Time Signatures - 170 -
4.6.1 Tactus -170-
'\
4.6.2 Time Signatures and Proportional Notation - 171 -
4.6.3 Time Signature changes in the Madrigals, indicating tempo changes - 174-
4.6.4 Froberger's use of time signatures - 176 -
4.6.5 Coloratio - 180-
4. 7 Improvisation - 188 -
4. 8 Summary , - 192 -
CHAPTER FIVE: VOCALORNAMENTS - 195 -
VIII
5. 1 Introduction - 195 -
5.2 Unreliability of Terminology - 200 -
5.3 Improvised Ornamentation - 203 -
5.4 Written-out Ornamentation - 211-
5.4.1 Cadenza - 211-
5.4.2 Gruppo - 220 -
5.4.3 Trillo - 226 -
5.4.4 Intonazione - 230 -
5.4.5 Passaggi - 233 -
5.4.6 Cascata - 241 -
5.4.7 Ribattuta di Golo - 246-
5.4.8 Accento : - 249 -
5.4.9 Esclamazione ó •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• - 252 -
5.4.10 Crescere e Seernare deIIa Voce - 255 -
5. 5 Summary - 257-
CHAPTER SIX: MERAVIGLIA - 260-
6. 1 Introduction - 260 -
6. 2 Structural Complexity - 264 -
6.3 Rhythmic Animation and Variation - 269 -
6.3.1 The Use of Rhythmic Extremes - 276-
6.3.2 Syncopations - 280 -
6.3.3 Dotted notes - 285 -
6.3.4 Notes Inégales - 290 -
6.4 Shift between Modal and Tonal systems - 296 -
6.4.1 Shifting Thirds - 298 -
6.4.2 The Twisting Chromatic Line - the "Figura Serpentinata" - 301 -
6. 5 Dissonance - 307-
IX
6. 6 Summary - 322 -
CHAPTER SEVEN: CASESTUDIES - 324-
7.1 Tombeau sur la Mort de M. Blancheroche. FbWV 632 - 324 -
7.1.1 The Background to the Tombeau - 324-
7.1.2 Tombeaux - 327 -
7.1.3 Lamenti - 327 -
7.1.4 Word Painting - 328 -
7.1.5 Sprezzatura " - 331 -
7.1.6 Dissonance - 332 -
7.1.7 Ornaments - 333 -
7.1.8 A Comparison with Louis Couperin's Tombeau for Blancrocher - 335 -
7.2 Meditation and Gigue FbWV 620 - 338 -
7.2.1 The Sources of the Partita - 338 -
7.2.2 The Meditation - 338-
7.2.3 The Gigue - 343 -
7.3 Capriccio FbWV 517 - 346 -
7.3.1 The Background to the Capriccio - 346-
7.3.2 Tempo - 347-
7.3.3 Expressive Devices - 349 -
7.3.4 Ornamentation - 350-
7.3.5 Modal/Tonal Shifts - 351 -
7.4 Toccata FbWV 102 - 352 -
7.4.1 The Background to the Toccata - 352 -
7.4.2 Tem po - 352 -
7.4.3 Expressive Devices - 354 -
7.4.4 Restlessness and Diversity - 357 -
7.4.5 Crome Bianche - 360-
x
CHAPTER EIGHT: CONCLUSIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR FURTHER RESEARCH - 361-
BIBLIOGRAPHY - 365 -
LIST OF KEY WORDS - 382-
XI
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION TO THIS RESEARCH
1. 1 The Aim of this Research
The aim of this thesis is to demonstrate that the keyboard music of Johann Jacob Froberger (1616-
1667) was significantly influenced by the Italian secular madrigals of the late 16th and early 17th
centuries. I madrigali moderni (the modern madrigals) was a term used by Girolamo Frescobaidi
(1583-1643) to describe these madrigals in the revised edition of his Toccate e Partite, Libro Primo
(1637).
Primieramente, che non dee questo modo di sonare stare soggetto a battuta, come
veggiamo usarsi ne i madrigali moderni, i quali quantunque difficiIi si ageuolano
per mezzo della battuta portandola hor Ianquida, hor veloce, é sostenendola
etiandio in aria secondo i loroafetti, 0 senso delle parole (Frescobaldi: 1637).
Firstly, this style of playing must not be held to a strict beat, but rather as with
the modern style of madrigals, where the difficulties are reduced by taking the
beat slowly at some times and fast at others, and even pausing sometimes as
suggested by the emotions (afetti) or the meaning of the words.
Although Frescobaldi's exact meaning is open to debate, it seems clear that he was referring to
madrigals in which the meaning of the text was paramount and deviations from hitherto accepted
practice (such as tempo fluctuations) were acceptable, and required, in order to enhance the
meaning of the words. He was referring to the madrigals of the seconda pratica. The terms
madrigali moderni and seconda protica-ere discussed further in section 1.6.
Although Northern Italy is generally associated with the rise of the seconda pratica, the style was
adopted in other Italian centres and spread rapidly to other courts in Europe. One of these was
-1-
Vienna, where Froberger lived and worked for several years. Another was Rome, where Froberger
studied with Frescobaldi from 1637-1641. The Habsburg dynasty in Vienna had strong family ties
with Mantua, one of the main centres of madrigal composition, and, in the early part of the 17th
century, Rome became increasingly important in the history of the madrigal because of the
multitude of wealthy patrons, which included the Pope, cardinals, local nobility and influential
foreigners such as ambassadors (Mabbett 1989:116). In the late 16th and early 17th centuries,
madrigal composers were at the forefront of musical development and it is plausible that their
innovations should have had a significant influence on Froberger, contributing to the development
of his expressive keyboard style. The madrigal composers used various new compositional
techniques, many of them aimed at expressing emotions. As will be shown in the research,
characteristics of the style of the madrigali moderni include the variation of tempo for expressive
purposes, word painting, new types of ornamentation, adventurous chromaticism and dissonance
and quickly changing rhythmic and textural features. The aim of this thesis is to show how
Froberger adapted these techniques for use in his keyboard style. Throughout, the emphasis is on
the use of these various musical means for expressive purposes. Where appropriate, I have also
drawn links between Froberger and his Italian keyboard predecessors, in particular Frescobaldi
and the composers of the Early Neapolitan Keyboard School, many of whom also wrote madrigals.
In addition to being influenced by the more famous madrigalists, these earlier keyboard composers
may well have had a reciprocal influence on vocal music. Certainly there are some interesting links
between Naples and various hotspots of madrigal composition, notably Ferrara.
It may be argued that Froberger, as an influential and modern composer of his times, was merely
using the common musical language of his peers. Whereas this comment is partly true, Froberger
adapted the musical language of the madrigalists to the keyboard in ways that went far beyond the
musical language used by his keyboard predecessors and contemporaries. It might also be argued
that there is no direct link between Froberger and the madrigals and that Froberger assimilated
madrigalist influences via Frescobaldi. It is undoubtedly true that Froberger's music owes a great
deal to his famous teacher, but his use of word painting, vocal ornaments and rhapsodic playing is
much more extreme than Frescobaldi's, as will be shown in the following chapters. Frescobaldi's
"madrigalisms" are to be found mainly in his toccatas, whereas Froberger's "madrigalisms" are
present in his toccatas, canzons, fantasias, capriccios, partitas, tombeaux and lamentations.
Froberger's many programmatic pieces provide a direct link with the spoken word via a description
- 2 -
of the events or feelings that he intended to portray; this makes it easier to identify word painting
devices in his music. Frescobaldi did not write overtly programmatic pieces or provide such
descriptions.
In adapting the language of the madrigalists to the keyboard, Froberger was provided with
constraints that are not present in vocal music and opportunities to expand the musical offering to
levels that are not achievable by the voice. His wide travels within Europe exposed him to a variety
of other musical styles that he added to the mix and his own inventive genius provided the final
touch. The result was that he brought the language of the keyboard to new heights of expression
and in doing so became justly famous for his ability to portray emotions and to tell entire stories at
the keyboard.
It may also be argued that, by the time Froberger was compositionally active (Iate1630s? until his
death in 1667), the polyphonic madrigal was largely a thing of the past. It had been replaced by the
concerted madrigal and even this form was in its last flowering. However, it would be a mistake to
think that the madrigal, in any of its forms, was no longer influential. In her doctoral thesis,
Margaret Mabbett effectively debunked the myth that the madrigal was only a late Renaissance and
early Baroque phenomenon.
While the madrigal suffered a severe blow in the 1650s when Magni and Vincenti,
its two major publishers, ceased their madrigal production, it soon recovered
sufficiently to find its way into a host of different social situations and musical
contexts. References to the death or decline of the madrigal are therefore out of
place: it may have withdrawn from the limelight, but it remained a useful forum
for the development of ideas and techniques and continued to make its influence
felt for many decades to come (Mabbett 1989:268).
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643), for instance, published his eighth book of madrigals in 1638,
when Froberger was 22 years old and his ninth was published, posthumously, in 1651 (Froberger
- 3 -
was 35). It is worth noting that Monteverdi, like Froberger, had significant links with the Habsburg
Court, via the Emperor's strong family ties with the Gonzagas of Mantua who continued to give
Monteverdi commissions long after he officially left their employment. When Eleonora Gonzaga
married Ferdinand II in 1622, Monteverdi supplied the intermedi for the wedding (Carter and
Chew: 2012). Later, Monteverdi dedicated his eighth book of madrigals to Ferdinand Ill. Thus, in
Proberger's lifetime, the madrigal was still a force to be reckoned with. In discussing the
polyphonic madrigal in particular, Newcomb (Fischer et al: 2011) elaborates on this as follows:
The polyphonic madrigal without independent instrumental bass was by no
means ignored by composers after 1600, however. A particularly vigorous school
centering on Naples continued well into the century (Larson, 1985), producing
dozens of published madrigal books, some following the style of Gesualdo's last
books (1611 and 16261), some in less extreme styles. Important and productive
schools of polyphonic madrigal composition in the early 17th century also
existed in Rome (including Felice Anerio, Cifra, Frescobaldi, Mazzocchi and G.B.
Nanino), in Tuscany (Bati, Marco da Gagliano, Del Turco, Fontanelli and Pecci), in
the Este and Gonzaga domains (Monteverdi in books 4 through 6, Pallavicino,
Salamone Rossi and Orazio Vecchi) and in Venice (especially among the cisalpine
students of Giovanni Gabrieli such as Schutz, Pederson and Grabbe) (Kuster,
1995). The published output of especially the first two groups still awaits careful
study. One of the most outstanding composers of the late polyphonic madrigal,
Sigismondo D'India, seems to have worked and resided in all of these places
(with the possible exception of Venice) at some time in his career, though his
longest permanence (1611-23) was in the Savoy court in Turin. Some important
examples of the late polyphonic madrigal survive only in manuscript, such as
those by Michelangelo Rossi, Alessandro Scarlatti and Lotti. The last two also
testify to the survival of the genre late into the century.
1The 1626 edition was a posthumous publication of his madrigals for 6 voices. Gesualdo died in 1613.
-4-
Froberger had ample opportunity to listen to both polyphonic and concerted madrigals in his
formative years. Until he went to Vienna at the age of eighteen, Froberger lived in Wurttemberg,
(Stuttgart) where his father, Basilius, was Kapellmeister. According to Rampe (Froberger:
1995:XXI) the Stuttgart Court Chapel had access to (fan amazing number of international
musicians". In his youth, Froberger would also have had access to a substantial library of music. In
1639, copies of 103 volumes in Basilius's music library were sold to the Court by his sons Isaac and
Johann Georg, who kept the originals (Siedentopf. 1977:26ft). Amongst these volumes were several
books of madrigals by Italian composers. Once Froberger went to the spectacular Viennese court at
the age of eighteen (1634), his musical horizons would have been opened even further. He studied
with Frescobaldi in Rome for three and a half years (1637-41), and during that time it is probable
that he would have been further exposed to the work of Italian madrigal composers (of whom
Frescobaldi himself was one).
In describing what this study encompasses, it is perhaps suitable to state what it does not
encompass. It is not my intention to trace any links between Froberger and his Northern European
predecessors such as Sweelinck, Scheidt, Schein or Scheidemann. There is no doubt that Froberger
was influenced by the French lutenists and c1avecinists. In return he seems to have had a significant
influence on the French as well. However, it is not the purpose of this study to delve into this aspect
of his music in any depth, although I could not entirely avoid the subject, particularly as some of
Froberger's music was composed in Paris and commemorates events that took place whilst he was
there. His influence on the young Louis Couperin (1626-1661) was pronounced and several
examples of this influence are given in the thesis where they are relevant to the Italian madrigals.
It has been argued that the format of many compositions of the era follow the format of classical
rhetoric, using inventio, dispositio and elocutio for example (Carter and Butt 2005:848; Wilson 2010;'
Buelow 2010). Although we have very little information about Proberger's early years, his easy
acceptance by various members of the nobility and his undoubted command of several languages
seems to indicate that he was well-educated. The education of the times would have involved a
thorough grounding in the art of rhetoric and it is reasonable to suppose that Froberger would have
had such an education. However, it is not the purpose of this study to determine whether or not
- 5 -
Froberger used the principles of classical rhetoric as a logical framework for some of his
compositions.
The style of the Italian madrigalists was widely admired and it spread not only throughout Italy but
into other centres in Europe as well. It is not the purpose of this study to determine if non-Italian
composers of vocal music might have had an influence on Froberger. The French composers of the
Airs de Cour would be a case in point and would provide an interesting topic for further research.
In addition to the numerous keyboard works, I know of three other works by Froberger: two motets
and an instrumental ensemble. Volume VII of the new edition of Froberger's works edited by Rampe
(not yet published) contains "vocal and instrumental works" so there may be other non-keyboard
works by Froberger of which I am unaware. As the thesis is about Froberger's keyboard music,
these other works do not feature in the research at all.
In summary, this research intends to demonstrate the influence that the Italian madrigals had on
Froberger's keyboard style. The links between Froberger and the madrigalists will probably come
as no great surprise to many Early Music enthusiasts and several experts on Early Music have
alluded to such connections in various articles. The inspiration for the subject of this thesis actually
came from a comment made by David Schulenberg:
Much of Froberger's keyboard music, like that of his teacher Frescobaldi, was
vocally inspired, and therefore it is not surprising to encounter, especially in his
toccatas and laments, the elements of vocal performance that were presumably
used in what Frescobaldi called madrigali moderni (Schulenberg 2008).
However, an in-depth study of the effect of the madrigalists on Froberger has not previously been
undertaken and, in doing the research, I must confess to having been surprised at the extent of the
influence on Froberger and delighted by the wealth of proof.
- 6 -
1. 2 The Structure of the Thesis
After the Introduction, the thesis begins with a chapter on Froberger's life and travels; a
comprehensive collection of the information that is currently known together with some new
interpretations. In undertaking the research needed for this thesis, I was continuously frustrated at
the piecemeal nature of the information about Froberger's life. In recent years, some fascinating
studies have thrown light on Froberger's life and travels, but the entire body of information has not
previously been presented in a chronological format. Thereafter, the research is divided into four
main chapters, each of which discusses a particular aspect of the madrigals and the influence on
Froberger in depth.
These four chapters are:
Word Painting: The use of "Madrigalisms" for expressive ends. Madrigal composers of the late 16th
and early 17th centuries strove to move the affetti (emotions or passions) in their music by
expressing emotions related to the text, such as despair, love, anger and jealousy, via word painting
devices. Although not all "madrigalisms" portray melancholy words, most do, and the introspection
and anguish that characterises most of the madrigals is a feature of many of Froberger's works.
This chapter analyses some of the more commonly used word painting devices and shows their use
in madrigals and in Froberger's keyboard music.
Sprezzatura: Sprezzatura was a word coined by Baldassare Castiglione (1478-1529) to mean an
aristocratic demeanour whereby whatever is said or done seems effortless (Castiglioni 1528:35).
The word was appropriated by Giulio Caccini (1551-1618) and applied to music to mean an
aristocratic nonchalance with regard to tempo. (Caccini. Preface to Euridice: 1601). At the beginning
of the 17th century, composers of vocal music expected performers to change the tempo of the
music to fit the meaning of the words. To depict the emotions, slow passages alternated with fast
passages and individual words or phrases were sung without necessarily adhering strictly to the
beat. Froberger's use of the words avec (or iI la) discretion (with discretion) seem to indicate a
-7-
flexible approach to tempo. In Le Nuove Musiche (1601/2)2 and Le Nuove Musictie e Nuova Maniera
di Scriverle (1614) Caccini broadened the meaning of Sprezzatura to include not only a rhapsodic
approach, but also the introduction of unorthodox dissonances for expressive purposes.
Vocal Ornaments: The use of ornamentation by the composer for expressive purposes was one of
the fundamental elements of the late 16th century and early-to-mid 17th century style. New
technically demanding ornaments were introduced (Kreitner et al 2010) and performers were
expected to be able to add ornaments where appropriate. This inevitably led to the insertion of
numerous, often lengthy, ornaments at inappropriate places (Caccini 1614: preface) and composers
started to write the ornaments into the music to limit this practice. The research will show how
Froberger used a variety of specifically vocal ornaments in his music, as well as the more standard
range of ornaments used by keyboard composers.
Meraviglia: Late 16th century and early 17th century madrigals are characterised by their
continuous invention and diversity. Composers used a wide variety of rhythms and textures to
portray the volatility of the passions, resulting in music characterised by an unremitting
restlessness: an agitation which is yet further intensified by the uneasy fusion of the modal and the
tonal systems. Contrast seems to be an essential element and a continuous stream of invention was
called for to provide musical interest and evoke a sense of meraviglia (amazement) in the
audiences. A related aspect is the delight in complexity: the emphasis was on virtuoso display and,
with few exceptions, the music is only playable or singable by performers with a high degree of
technical skill. Deliberate flaunting of the traditional rules of dissonance added to the bold, modern
style. Froberger's keyboard music adapts these elements to the keyboard, providing an endless
stream of invention and a delight in complexity.
On many occasions a particular aspect of Froberger's music could fit comfortably into more than
one of these four chapters. In a sense, the three later chapters are all sub-sections of the chapter on
word painting. Tempo fluctuations, ornamentation, rhythmic changes and dissonance were all used
2 The front page of Le Nuove Musiche is dated 1601, the back page, 1602. Caccini's publication was delayed
because of the death of his publisher Giorgio Marescotti. (Carter 1984:208.)
- 8-
for musical word painting and the depiction of emotions. However, in order to break the research
down into manageable sections, I have introduced some artificial boundaries and partitioned the
information into chapters. In reality, as in music and indeed as in life, the boundaries are fluid. One
part influences the next and each is a subsection of the other. For example, the tirata, which is an
ornament, has been included in the section on Word Painting because it was so commonly used to
illustrate extreme distress. Similarly, the use of dissonance could be included under Sprezzatura,
but I decided to include it in the chapter on Meraviglia, because it illustrates the daring, almost
iconoclastic, style of the madrigalists.
Within these chapters, the theories of the time are discussed, examples given from the madrigals
and equivalent examples shown in Froberger's oeuvre. Most of the examples are from the most
famous of the madrigalists, such as Monteverdi, Caccini, Luca Marenzio (c.1553-1599) and Carlo
Gesualdo (1566-1613) although examples from lesser-known composers have been used as well.
Where relevant, examples of keyboard music from Froberger's Italian predecessors are also given.
Throughout, parallels are drawn to examples of authenticated works by Froberger that are either
present in one of the four existing autographs or that have been convincingly identified, by Rampe,
Adler, Silbiger, Schulenberg, Wollny, Schott, Rasch, Dirksen and others, as being part of his oeuvre.
After these four main sections, four case-studies are presented to show how Froberger used the
various techniques of the madrigalists in entire compositions. Froberger's oeuvre can arguably be
divided into laments (and similar forms), partitas (dance suites), contrapuntal works and toccatas.
The case studies are intended to represent one of each of these forms. In each of the studies, certain
aspects of the music are compared to the madrigals and parallels are drawn to extra-musical events
or phenomena in order to place the particular composition in its historical and social context. These
case studies examine:
• the famous Tombeau for Froberger's lutenist friend, Blancrocher,
• the Meditation on his own death (an allemande) and the gigue from the same partita,
• Capriccio FbWV 517 from his Libro Quarto and
• Toccata FbWV 102 from his Libro Secondo.
Following the case studies are the Conclusions and the Bibliography.
-9-
1. 3 The Methodology
In order to test the hypothesis, I researched the musical characteristics of the Italian secular
madrigals of the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Some Italian vocal music other than secular
madrigals was analysed and some madrigals and other vocal music from a little earlier or a little
later were also consulted. However, the vast majority of the examples that I have used to illustrate
my findings come from Italian secular madrigals composed (or at least published) in the late 16th
and early 17th centuries when the composition of madrigals was at its peak in both volume and
brilliance. Many significant composers published books of madrigals, often set to poems by well-
respected poets. Monteverdi published nine such books, Gesualdo published seven and Marenzio
published eighteen books of secular madrigals. In addition to these three, composers such as
Claudio Saracini (1586-1630), Giaches de Wert (1535-1596), Giacomo Carissimi (1605-1674),
Luzzasco Luzzaschi (c.1545-1607), Sigismondo D'lndia (c.1582-c.1629), Achille Faleone (c.1570/5-
1600), Marco da Gagliano (1582-1643), Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677), Orazio Vecchi (1550-1605),
Cipriano de Rore (1515/16-1565), Piero Benedetti (c.1585-c.1649), Giulio Caccini (1551-1618),
[acopo Peri (1561-1633) and Giovanni Rovetta (1595/7-1668) were studied, amongst others.
A detailed style-critical study of the entire keyboard oeuvre of Froberger was undertaken to
determine if the various characteristics of this vocal music could be found in his music. Some of
Froberger's (Italian) predecessors on the keyboard, such as Giovanni de Macque (c.1548/50-1614),
Asconio Mayone (c.1565-1627), Giovanni Maria Trabaci (c.1575-1647), Girolamo Frescobaldi
(1583-1643) and Michelangelo Rossi (c. 1602-1656), produced keyboard works that seem also to
have been influenced by the secular madrigals, and, where appropriate, I have included examples
from the works of these composers (who, incidentally, were also all madrigal composers). I
apologise for the inferior quality of some of the examples from ancient manuscripts that I have used
in the thesis. I thought it better to include examples of the original works where they were both
available and legible, even if they were not perfect.
In addition, wherever they were available to me, I consulted facsimiles of 16th century and 17th
century documents on musical philosophy and treatises on ornamentation and other aspects of
music. Theorists of the time such as Giovanni Maria Artusi (c.1540-1613), Francesco Rognoni (fl.
-10 -
early 17th century), Nicoio Vicentino (1511-1575), Girolamo Diruta (c.1554-after 25 March 1610)
and Vincenzo Galilei (late 1520s-1591) were referenced. Prefaces to contemporary works were
studied, such as Frescobaldi's prefaces on how to play his music and Caccini's introduction to Le
Nuove Musiche. I read the original correspondence concerning Froberger by Constantijn Huygens
(1596-1687) and the original entries concerning Froberger in Musurgia Universalis by Athenasius
Kircher (1601-1680) in addition to various other old books, dictionaries and treatises.
My secondary research included the consultation of a great variety of scholarly publications and
books, articles published on the Internet (duly filtered) and articles published by Grove Music
Online. Modern investigations of the epoch, its key musical, political, artistic and literary figures and
their works were studied in order to be able to place the music of the times in perspective and to
determine the effect of significant non-musical events on the compositions. In addition, specific
events in the life of Froberger were studied for the same reason. A full bibliography is available at
the end of the thesis.
- 11-
1. 4 The Sourcesof Froberger's Works
The sources of Froberger's keyboard compositions can be divided into two groups: those based on
autographs and those based on contemporary copies. The copies can be divided into handwritten
manuscripts and printed editions. Two of the printed editions that have survived, those of 1650 and
1660 (each of which includes only one work by Froberger), were probably prepared with
Proberger's permission. The other printed editions of 1693, 1696 and 1698 were printed after his
death (which occurred in 1667). At the time, it was very unusual for a printed edition of a
composer's works to be issued after the composer's death and these posthumous editions are
significant marks of the esteem in which Froberger was held and the enduring legacy of his music.
The autograph volumes consist of:
G Libra Secondo 1649. This Iibro consists of six toccatas, six fantasias, six
canzons and six partitas. Ósterreichische Nationalbibliothek Vienna, Mus.
Hs 18706. (Froberger 1993:89.)
• Libra Quarto 1656. This consists of six toccatas, six ricercars, six capriccios
and six partitas. Osterreichische Nationalbibliothek Vienna, Mus. Hs 18707.
(Froberger 1995:116.)
• Libra di Capricci e Ricercati c. 1658. This consists of six capriccios and six
ricercars. Osterreichische Nationalbibliothek Vienna, Mus. Hs 16560.
(Froberger 1995:116.)
A newly discovered autograph dating from Froberger's later years,
auctioned by Setheby's in 2006 for GBP 310400 (henceforth referred to as
the Setheby's autograph). It is thought to have been written in Héricourt
and to date from c. 1665-1667. (Maguire. 2006:3.) The current owner is
unknown, and unfortunately the autograph is not available for inspection.
It contains six fantasies, six caprices, five partitas, two meditations and two
tombeaux. Eighteen of the thirty-five pieces were previously unknown. The
first twelve pieces (the fantasies and the caprices) are new as well as one
partita, a meditation and a tombeau. Also new are the titles attached to
some of the previously known pieces and descriptions that shed further
light on Froberger's last years. (Maguire 2006:10ff.) The autograph carries
a misleading title in a different hand Livre premiere. Des Fantasies, Caprices,
- 12 -
Allemandes, Gigues, Courantes, Sarabandes, Meditation. Composées par jean
jacques Froberger. Organist de la chamber de la Majeste Imperiale. (First
book. Fantasies, Caprices, Allemandes, Gigues, Courantes, Sarabandes,
Meditation. Composed by Jean [acques Froberger. Organist of the chamber
of his Imperial Majesty.) This title was presumably added later: it is not
Froberger's missing Libra Prima, which must have been written before
1649, as it contains works that refer to events that date from much later;
and at the time Froberger was not the Emperor's organist.
As implied, these works are all in Proberger's own hand. Libri Secondo and Quarto, are dedicated to
Emperor Ferdinand III (1608-1657) of the Habsburg Empire: Froberger's employer, admirer and
benefactor. Unfortunately, Libra Prima and Libra Terzo, and possibly others, have not yet come to
light but the two libri that have survived are exquisitely crafted and beautifully illustrated volumes
in excellent condition.
The title page to Froberqer's Libra Quarto, dedicated to Ferdinand lil, illustrated by Sautter.
(Froberger: 1995.)
-13 -
Froberger dedicated the Libro di Capricci e Ricercati, also in excellent condition but a little less
beautiful, to Ferdinand's successor, Leopold I, who fired him. The newly discovered autograph from
Froberger's later years was probably preserved by Duchess Sibylla of Wi.irttemberg and
Montbéliard (1620-1707), Froberger's benefactress at the end of his life. All the surviving
autograph books were carefully notated presentation copies rather than working manuscripts,
hence their pristine condition and lack of errors .
. ,
..;.:.i'f~k;~,f~i
The title page to Froberger's Libro di Capricci e Ricercati, written by Froberger. (Froberger: 1995.)
The presentation of Froberger's autographs is interesting in that the composer used different
notational styles for different types of music. His toccatas are in the Italian style, with six lines in the
upper system and seven in the lower. This system of notation, unlike the other notations used by
Froberger, show the exact distribution of the notes between the hands. His polyphonic works
(fantasias, canzons, ricerears and capriccios) are on four systems of five lines each (partitura), each
system representing one "voice". The partitas are in French notation, two systems of five lines each,
like modern keyboard practice. The composer's musical notation is quite beautiful. It is easy to read,
- 14 -
precise and artistic, completely free of any corrections and with page turns at appropriate
moments. Although these autographs were presentation copies, the fact that they were written so
beautifully by Froberger himself gives an insight into his character, of which we know very little. If
character traits may be read from handwriting then his autographs must surely give us an
indication that he had a meticulous and exact nature and an artistic flair.
Froberger's handwriting. Allemandafrom Partita FbWV 602 in French notation.
Libro Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
Froberqer's handwriting. Extractfrom the Sotheby's autograph (afantasia?) on four systems offive
lines each. (Maguire: 2006.)
Froberger's handwriting. Toccata FbWV 102 in Italian style. Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
- 15 -
Below is a list of the non-autograph sources of Froberger's keyboard works in alphabetical order,
plus a short description of each. These sources are mostly from the 17th century, with a few from the
early years of the 18th century. I am indebted to Siegbert Rampe's painstaking research in the Neue
Ausgabe samtlicher Clavier-und Orgelwerke, Barenreiter 1993-2011, for much of this information.
Babell1702 Clavier book of William Babell (c1690-1723) written by his father
British Library, London. Charles Babell (d. before 1720). One of the largest collections of
Mss 39569. French and English keyboard music. Contains Gigue FbWV 607c and
(Froberger. 2005:56.) an ornamented version ofFbWV 607a (Froberger. 2005: Vol III.1:LII).
Bauyn MSc 1676 By an anonymous scribe. Probably Paris. It contains 23 works by
Bibliotheque Nationale, Froberger in the third volume. Moroney discusses the likelihood that
Paris, Rés. Vm 674-675. the scribe was Louis Couperin's brother, Francois (c.1631-c.1710, the
(Tilney.1991:10.) uncle of Francois Couperin "le Grand") and that the works were
copied from autographs belonging to Louis Couperin (Couperin.
1985:6ff). The Bauyn MSwas written on paper that has been dated to
1676 (Fuller 2011, article on Chambonnieres). This finding dates the
MS to earlier than the date of 1690, which was previously accepted.
Bulyowsky 167S Clavier book written by Michael Bulyowsky de Dulic (c1650-1712),
Sáchsische probably from Strasbourg. It contains 13 of Froberger's partitas and
Landesbibliothek, Dresden one anonymous partita, now attributed to Froberger. The book claims
Mus.I-T-595 to have copied FbWV 619 and 615a Ex autograpo. FbWV 615a is
(Froberger.2005:56.) ornamented. There are several programmatic annotations that
survive only in this source (Froberger. 2005: Vol III.1:LII). In some
sources this is referred to as the "Dresden MS".
Chigi Q.IV.2S. This MS belonged to Fabio Chigi (1599-1667) who became Pope
Biblioteca Apostolica Alexander VII in 1655. It contains works by Frescobaldi and three
Vaticana. toccatas attributed to Froberger. The three scribes of the MS have
(Froberger. 2010:XIII.) been identified by Claudio Annibaldi as Nicoio Borbone, the engraver
of Frescobaldi's books of toccatas, Frescobaldi's son, Domenico and
Frescobaldi himself. (Froberger 2011:XIII.)
- 16 -
Duben MS. 1641 This MS belonged to Gustav Di.iben (c.1628-1690). Stockholm. Written
Upsala University Library. by Caspar Zengel (1620-?) and three other scribes. The MS contains
Instr.mus.hs 408. Dutch, German and English keyboard music, two Italian madrigal
(Froberger. 2011: XIII.) intabulations and two works by Froberger: Toccata FbWV 114 and a
"Ricercare", actually Fantasia FbWV 207. (Froberger. 2011: XIII.)
E 1650 Kircher's Musurgia Universalis. It contains the Hexachord Fantasia,
Niedersachsische FbWV 201, on Ut Re Me Fa Sol La, which Kircher used as a "perfect"
Landesbibliothek Hanover. example of the stylus phantasticus (Froberger. 1993:XXVIII). "E" in
K-A 7025. this and subsequent entries refers to a printed edition.
(Froberger. 1993:89.)
E 1660 Fugues, et Caprices, a Quatre Parties Mises en Partition pour l'Orgue. A
Bibliothêque Sainte- publication by Francois Roberday in Paris which includes a "Fugue"
Genevieve. Paris. Vm 127. by Froberger; in effect a version of his Ricercar FbWV 407 (Froberger.
(Froberger. 1995:116.) 1995: Vol II:XXVIII).
E 1693 (reprinted 1695 The first printed anthology of Froberger's works. It contains eight
and 1699) toccatas, two fantasias, a ricercar and two capriccios, prepared from
Library of King's College, an autograph model, plus a toccata by Kerll. Printed by the Mainz
Cambridge. (Froberger. publisher Bourgeat in 1693 and reprinted in 1695 and 1699.
1993:89.) (Froberger. 1993: XXIX).
E 1696 A later anthology by Bourgeat. It contains five additional works, two
British Library, London. canzons and three capriccios, of which two are complete versions of
(Froberger. 1993:89.) the previously shortened versions in E 1693 (Froberger. 1993: XXIX).
EAmsterdam c.1698 10 partitas found also in E Roger and E Mortier. See E Roger and E
Bibliothêque Nationale, Mortier for more details (Froberger. 1995: Vol I1:XXIX).
Paris.
(Froberger. 1995:116.)
EMortier. 1709/10 105uittes de Clavessin composées par Monsieur Giacomo Frobergue.
Bibliothêque Nationale, Amsterdam 1709/10. A pirated edition of E Roger, issued by Pierre
Paris. Rés. 443. Mortier. This is an inferior source as it is full of editorial changes
(Froberger.2005:57.) (Froberger. 2005: Vol I11.2:XX).
- 17 -
ERoger (.1698 10 Suittes de Clavessin composées par Mon« Giacomo Frobergue.
British Library, London. Amsterdam 1698, issued by Estienne Roger (Froberger. 2005: Vol
(Froberger.2005:57.) III.2:XVIII).
E(kelt. 1692 Tablature book once belonging to the organist Johann Valentin Eckelt
Biblioteka [agiello Ska, (1673-1732) of Thuringia. Written by Eckelt and his teacher, Johann
Kraków. Pachelbel (1653-1706) in Erfurt. The MS contains works by mainly
(Froberger 2011:XIV.) Pachelbel and Froberger as well as some works by other composers.
Edgeworth. After 1697 Clavier book belonging to Elizabeth Edgeworth (?-1719) dated 1719
Bibliotheek Koninklijk most likely written by her and her father, the composer John Blow
Conservatorium, Brussels, (1649-1708). London after 1697. It contains one partita, two
Ms. 15.418. fantasias, one ricercar, two capriccios and seven toccatas by
(Froberger. 2003:50.) Froberger. All were previously published in E 1693, the Mainz first
edition of Froberger's works (Froberger. 2003: VoIIV.l:XXIV).
Egerton (.1700 Clavier book, allegedly in the hand of the composer William Croft
British Library, London. (1678-1727). Probably London c. 1700. It contains one partita by
Ms. Egerton 2959. Froberger (Froberger. 2003: VoIIV.l:XXV).
(Froberger. 2003:50.)
Grimm 1698/99 Tablature book written by C Grimm, from the greater area of Hanover.
Osterreichische It contains eleven partitas attributed to Froberger and six which may
Nationalbibliothek Vienna, be by Froberger. These six works reveal experimental traits and may
Mus. Hs. 16.798 be works that Froberger had not set aside for dissemination
(Froberger.2005:57.) (Froberger. 2005: Vol III.1:L1V).
Hamburg 3209. 1738. Clavier book written by Johann Anton Graf (1711-1791). Dated 1738.
Carl von Ossietzky State Mattsee/Salzburg, (Froberger 2011: XIV.)
and University Library,
Hamburg. NO VI 3209.
(Froberger 2011: XIV.)
-18 -
Hintze MSc.1653? A collection of essays on the French style with clavier pieces by
Yale Music School, various composers. The main scribe was Matthias Weckmann
Connecticut. Ma.21. H59. (c.1616-1674). Dresden. It contains copies of two autograph pieces by
(Froberger.1995:116.) Froberger: Meditation sur ma morte future and the courante from
Partita FbWV 611 (Froberger. 2005: Vol 111.2:XXI).Rampe dates the
MS to c.1653. The inclusion of the Meditation, which bears the date of
1660 in the Sing-Akademie MS,makes 1653 open to question.
Ihre 1679 Tablature book of Thomas Nilsson Ihre (1659-1720), written by Ihre
Universitetsbiblioteket, himself and C Smit, probably from NE Germany. It contains six
Uppsala. Ms Ihre 285. partitas by Froberger and a fragment of one partita (Froberger. 2005:
(Froberger.2005:57.) Vol III.1:LVII).
Innsbruck. After 1702. Organ book written by "Essack" possibly Elias da Silva (c.1665-1732),
Private collection, a pupil of Johann Jacob Walther (c. 1658-1706), the keyboard
Innsbruck. composer and organist at Brixen Cathedral (not to be confused with
the violin composer of the same name).
Kloeckhoff 1695 & An amateur collection by two scribes. Two manuscripts contain the
1695/6 theme of FbWV 606 (Auf! die Mayerin) and one previously unknown
Archive of the Bosch van partita, FbWV 652, which is not included in Rampe's edition, possibly
Rosenthal family in the because, at the time of Rampe's publication, it was also being
Gelders Archief, Arnhem. prepared for publication by D Lijmes (De Kloekhoff-handschriften).
0724: 956 and 960 The error-free copy of FbWV 606 suggests that the works were
(Froberger. 2003:XIV.) transcribed from autographs. (Froberger. 2003: Vol IV.2:XIV).
Leipzig 1681 A tablature book by two anonymous scribes (possibly Anna and Georg
Stadtische Bibliotheken Caspar Wecker). Probably Nuremberg. It contains two partitas of
Leipzig, Ms. 11.6.19. uncertain authorship. (Froberger. 2005: Vol III.2:XXI).
(Froberger. 2005:118.)
Leipzig 11.2.51.c. 1695 The third part of a four-part manuscript volume in tablature by five
Stádtische Bibliotheken anonymous scribes, probably central Germany, end 17th century. It
Leipzig. Ms. 11.2.51. contains five works by Froberger (Froberger. 2005: Vol III.1:LVIII).
(Froberger.2005:57.)
- 19 -
LuRB KN 149. c.1667-70s. A clavier book, written by two or three anonymous scribes. Perhaps
Rátsbiicherei Luneburg. central Germany, second half 17th century. It contains an allemande
Mus.ant.pract.KN 149 plus double and a courante plus double (Froberger. 2005: Vol
(Froberger.2005:118.) 1I1.2:XXIII).
MH (Moller MS). 1703-8. A clavier book belonging to Johann Christoph Bach (1671-1721)
Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin. written by JC Bach, JS Bach and two unknown scribes. Ohrdruf
Mus . Ms. 40644. (Thuringia). It is one of the principal sources for the early music of JS
(Froberger: 2003:51.) Bach. It contains FbWV 631 (by one of the unknown scribes) probably
copied from an autograph. (Froberger. 2003: VolIV.l:XXVl).
Muffat. A clavier book written by Gottlieb Muffat (1690-1770), Imperial Court
Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin. Organist in Vienna 1717 -c.1763. It contains 11 toccatas and 12
Mus. Ms. 6712. contrapuntal works by Froberger. Muffat probably had access to
(Froberger: 2010:XVI.) autographs, perhaps even the lost Libri Primo and Terzo.
Munchen 1503. c. 1660. A clavier book, by an anonymous French scribe. France or Germany
Munchen:Bayerische c.1660. It contains one allemande by Froberger (Froberger. 2003: Vol
Staatsbibliothek. Ms. 15031• IV.l:XXIV).
(Froberger: 2003:VI.)
Neresheim 1661-82 A clavier book by three anonymous scribes. Neresheim Monastery,
Bayerische dated 1661-82. It contains one "cique" by Froberger. The MS is a
Staatsbibliothek, Munchen, principle source for Kerll's works (Froberger. 2005: VolII1.2:XXIIl).
Mus.Mss.5368.
(Froberger.2005:118.)
OB 1695 The clavier book of Father Honorat Reich (1677-1732), probably
Benediktinerabtei written by him in Ottobeuren Monastery. It contains five partitas, one
Ottobeuren, Ms MO 1037. courante and one gigue by Froberger (Froberger. 2005: VolIII.1:LXI).
(Froberger.2005:57.)
Parville A clavier book by nine anonymous scribes and Monsieur de la Barre,
University of California, organist. Paris, probably end 17th century. It contains one work by
Berkeley. Music Library MS Froberger: Gigue FbWV 607a (Froberger. 2005: Vol IIl.l:LX).
778 (Tilney 1991:10).
- 20-
Sainte Genevieve A clavier book by five anonymous scribes. Probably Paris, end 17th
Blbliotheque Sainte- century. It contains a sarabande and double by Froberger in addition
Geneviêve, Paris. Ms. 2356. to works by Chambonnieres, L Couperin, Lully, Pinel and Richard
(Froberger.2005:118.) (Froberger. 2005: Vol III.2:XXIV).
Sandberger A clavier book, now lost. It probably contained one partita by
.: Denkmaler der Tonkunst in Froberger which was included in Seifert's edition of Pachelbel's music
Bayern 11/1. in 1901 (Froberger. 2003: Vol IV.1:XXVIII).
(Froberger: 2003:51.)
Schwertn. 1680s-90s A clavier book by an anonymous scribe. Probably NE Germany, end
Landesbibliothek, 17th century. It contains four partitas by Froberger plus another of
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern doubtful authenticity (Froberger. 2005: Vol III.1:LXII).
Schwerin. Mus.Hs. 617.
(Froberger.2005:57.)
Sing Akademie: SA4450 A manuscript of great importance by an anonymous scribe; after
Sing Akademie Archive, 1660. It was re-discovered in 1999 in Kiev, where it had been taken
Berlin. SA 4450. during WWII for safekeeping. It was returned to Berlin in 2001. It
(Froberger.2006:VIII.) contains 6 toccatas, 13 partitas, a tombeau and a lamentation. Wollny
suggests (Froberger 2006: XVIII) that it might be a copy of the (now
missing) autograph that Mattheson owned (Froberger. 2006:XVII). An
argument in favour of this theory is that the ornamentation of the
gigue from Partita FbWV 609 is ve.ry similar to the ornamentation of
the courante from Partita FbWV 611 in the Hintze MS. However, I
agree with Rampe that SA4450 is unlikely to be a copy of Mattheson's
autograph (Froberger 2010:XV), as Matthesen's MS seems to be in a
similar format to the other autographs that have survived. He
mentions capriccios and fugues (probably ricercars), which the Sing-
Akademie MS does not contain. Also, the courant from Partita FbWV
611 which is ornamented in the Hintze MS, is not ornamented in the
same way in SA 4450. The Sing-Akademie MS seems to be compiled
from various autograph sources of which Mattheson's MS might have
been one. This MS is called the "Berlin MS" by some authors.
- 21 -
Sing Akademie: SA4442, These manuscripts are written by Johann Peter Lehmann (?-1772),
4443,4444 and 4445. organist at the Nikolaikirche in Berlin. They contain Partitas FbWV
Sing Akademie Archive, 653, 654, 655 and 656 each preceded by a prelude, attributed to
Berlin. Froberger by Lehmann. Wollny (Froberger 2006:XVII) states that
(Froberger. 2010:XVI.) these pieces are of "doubtful authenticity" and he has not included
them in his edition of the Sing-Akademie MS. Whereas Rampe agrees
that the preludes are not by Froberger, he feels that the partitas
exhibit stylistic features that are typically Frobergerian; he states that
the works are probably early compositions. I find that the works are
unlikely to be by Froberger: they are tonal and the style is much
simpler than Froberger's. The lack of rhythmic variety, together with
the untypical cadential formulae, modern key signatures and the lack
of dissonance, suggest a later Germanic composer. Schulenberg
(2008) likens the style to Kuhnau and dates the compositions to
around 1700, a date that I find quite plausible. I find it unlikely that
these works are by Froberger and I have therefore not included them
in this research.
Sing Akademie: SA4447 These manuscripts are in an unknown hand and contain a variant of
and 4448. FbWV 616 (Froberger. 2010: XVI).
Sing Akademie Archive,
Berlin.
(Froberger. 2010:XVI.)
Stoos c.1670s-80s. A manuscript with clavier, vocal and instrumental music, by Johann
Bibliotheque Nationale, Jacob Stoos and two anonymous scribes. Dusselderf end 17th century.
Paris. Rés. Vm71818. It contains six partitas by Froberger and an allemande (Froberger.
(Froberger.2005:57.) 2005: VolIII.l:LXIII).
Tappert c 1660-70 Tablature book by 3 anonymous scribes, probably Nuremberg c.
Bibliotheka Jagiellonska 1660-70. It contains 18 partita movements from the Froberger canon
Krakau. and one attributed partita, FbWV 635. The music may have been
(Froberger.2005:57.) brought to Nuremberg by Froberger in 1653 or by his Nuremberg
pupil, the organist Johann Drechsel (Froberger. 2005: VolIII.l:LXV).
- 22-
Van Eyl1671 The clavier book of Anna Maria van Eyl (1656-?) written by Gisbert
Toonkunst-Biblioteek, Steenwiek (?-1679), the local organist. Arnhem. It contains an
Amsterdam. allemande with 'var'[iatio] and a sarabande. The MS stops abruptly
(Froberger.2005:118.) and it is possible that this could have been caused by the siege of
Arnhem in 1672 or by Steenwiek's appointment as organist in
Kampen in 1675. The Froberger music is of excellent quality and may
have derived from Froberger's journey to the Netherlands in 1650 or
from the court circles in Brussels (Froberger. 2005: Vol 1I1.2:XXIV).
WMin 725 Clavier book of Father Vincentius Hoggrnayr (1684-1740)and Father
Minoritenkonvent, Vienna. Alexander Giessel (1694-1766). It was written by two anonymous
Ms. XIV725. scribes. Vienna, probably mid 17th century. It contains one capriccio,
(Froberger.2005:118.) the ending of another, "Fuga" (Canzon) FbWV 309, abridged versions
of two toccatas and a gigue. The scribes probably made use of master
copies from Viennese court circles, possibly handed down by the
court organist, Ebner (Froberger. 2005: Vol 111.2:XXV).
W Min 731 Clavier book of Father Venantius St~nteysky (1671-1729) written by
Minoritenkonvent, Vienna. an anonymous scribe. Vienna, beginning 18th century. It contains one
Ms. XIV 731. gigue, the Aria FbWV 636 and most of Partita FbWV 620. Probably the
(Froberger. 2005:57.) scribe had access to master copies from Viennese court circles
(Froberger. 2005: Vol 1I1.2:XXV).
W Min 743. 1708-9 A clavier book by three anonymous scribes. It contains nine partitas,
Minoritenkonvent, Vienna. various partita movements, parts of Capriccio FbWV 509 and Toccata
Ms. XIV 743. FbWV 102. It also contains two worksof uncertain authorship. There
(Froberger.2005:57.) are unique Latin annotations to FbWV 630, 632 and 633. The scribes
probably had access to master copies from Viennese court circles
(Froberger. 2005: Vol 1I!.1:LXVII).
Wagener. 1690s Three parts 'of a four part volume, in tablature, by four anonymous
Bibliotheek Koninklijk scribes. Greater area of Hanover jBrunswick, end 17th century. It
Conservatorium, Brussels, contains four partitas and a sarabande by Froberger plus one partita
Ms. 26.374. and a fragmentary partita of doubtful authenticity (Froberger. 2005:
(Froberger.2005:57.) VollIl.1:LXVI).
- 23 -
1. 5 Editions and Examples used in this Thesis
Wherever possible, I have used facsimile copies of manuscripts and old printed editions. Modern
transcriptions have been used where I did not have access to old editions/manuscripts or in order
to provide a more readable and more easily understandable version of the old documents. By far
the majority of the modern transcriptions that I have used are by well-respected musicologists
such as (but not limited to) Rampe on Froberger, Moroney on Couperin and Pidoux on Frescobaldi.
Where the examples are from less well-known sources, wherever possible, I have checked each of
them against an original edition or manuscript.
Throughout this study I have used, as the modern edition of the works of Froberger, the Barenreiter
edition by Siegbert Rampe and, in some instances, the modern edition of the Sing-Akademie MS by
Peter Wollny. Only three "complete" editions of Froberger's works have ever been attempted. The
first was by Adler in 1897. Although this is a remarkably accurate edition, modern research has
turned up additional works by Froberger and mistakes in Adler's edition have been pointed out as
well as the inclusion by Adler of works that are not by Froberger. The second atternptto provide a
complete edition was by Howard Schott in 1979. However, Schott omitted several important
authenticated copied works, which Adler had included. Rampe's edition is much more
comprehensive, although another volume of contrapuntal keyboard works is still awaited. The
Setheby's autograph is, unfortunately, still not available, either as a modern edition or as a facsimile.
The Rampe edition has been severely criticised because it presents several versions of the same
works in an essentially uninterpreted format and because it contains numerous alternative
renderings of certain passages which clutter the score and, in some cases, make the reading of the
music difficult. However, whereas Rampe's approach would not suit many, it provides an ideal
resource for the serious scholar. The inclusion of several versions of the same piece is particularly
relevant, as it is likely that Froberger revised his own works on occasion and, in other instances,
wrote down prior-composed works from memory. This means that in some cases there are several
authentic versions of the same piece (Froberger. 200S:Vol Hl.1: LXIX). Rampe has also provided a
systematic catalogue of Proberger's works using the prefix FbWV. This cataloguing system is not
based on a chronological ordering, because most of Froberger's works cannot be accurately dated,
- 24-
but upon works of the same compositional type. Thus, the toccatas begin with the numbering FbWV
101 and the fantasias, FbWV 201 etc. The references to Froberger's works in this thesis use this
cataloguing system, except where I have referred to works that I have soureed from the Wollny
edition of the Sing-Akademie MS or the brochure published by Sotheby's. Of particular note, are
Toccatas Xlii, XIV, XV and XVlII from the Sing Akademie MS and the previously unknown pieces from
the Sotheby's autograph. Unfortunately, Rampe has included not only authenticated works, but also
some dubious works in the FbWV numbering system, including the works attributed to Froberger
(wrongly in my opinion) from the minor Sing-Akademie manuscripts SA 4442-5. However, despite
the flaws, I find that the Rampe edition is by far the best on the market and one would go far to beat
the diligent research that Rampe and his colleagues have undertaken.
Several of the examples of Froberger's works in this thesis are taken from the facsimile of the Sing-
Akademie MS, SA 4445 (Froberger: 2006, Wollny edition). This MS is a particularly good source of
Froberger's music as a comparison of the works in this MS that are also to be found in autograph
originals show very few discrepancies. In addition it contains a large number of Froberger's works.
The Sing-Akademie MS seems to be a copy of original Froberger autographs, even to the extent of
copying the idiosyncratic eye-shaped fermatas that were a hallmark of Froberger's handwriting and
his diagonal ending flourish. In Froberger's autographs the flourish leads to the word pria (from the
Latin manu propria fecit meaning made or done by his own hand) followed by the signs + f +.
Presumably the f stands for Froberger.
Froberqer's eye-shaped fermata and endinq flourish in his own handwriting. Late Autograph
(Sothebys). (Maguire: 2006.)
- 25 -
The copyist of the Sing-Akademie MShas, quite properly, omitted pria +f + but copied the squiggly
flourish and the eye-shaped fermatas:
The eye-shaped fermata and ending flourish from the Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger 2006.)
Old printed editions. I have tried to use copies of first editions for the madrigals. Failing this, I
have tried to use later prints, published in the composer's lifetime and therefore probably (or in
many cases definitely) authorized by the composer. There are some exceptions to this, notably the
Molinaro edition of Gesualdo's six books of five-part madrigals published in the same year as
Gesualdo's death. Because I have used the Molinaro edition extensively, I feel that some further
justification is necessary.
The Molinaro edition is in score format (not in part books) and is very likely based upon a copy in
score format that Gesualdo was known to have carried around with him. The fact that Gesualdo
had such a copy is attested to in a letter dated 18 February 1594 to Duke Alfonso of Ferrara by
Count Alfonso Fontanelli (1557-1622), a madrigal composer in his own right, who travelled part of
the way with Gesualdo in 1594 when Gesualdo was en route to Ferrara for his second marriage.
Watkins speculates that Molinaro might have had access to Gesualdo's personal copy of his
madrigals in score format. (Watkins. 1991:45.) Molinaro's edition is dated 1613, but we do not
know if it was published before or after Gesualdo's death. Watkins (1991:169) thinks that it is
unlikely that Gesualdo authorised this publication of his madrigals by Molinaro, but in my opinion it
is quite possible. To gain access to the relevant works after Gesualdo's death in Avellino (near
Naples) on 8 September 1613, prepare them for engraving, check them and have them printed in
Genoa before 31 December 1613 would be quite an extraordinary achievement, especially as,
according to Watkins (1991 :87) it took more than two years to clear up Gesualdo's estate. I think
- 26-
that it is more likely that Gesualdo authorised the publication of his five-part madrigals and gave
Molinaro both the score and the permission to print them when Molinaro visited Naples from
November 1609 to April 1610. (Dates from Watkins and Fabris: 2011).
The choice of composers. Most of the vocal examples that I have chosen are from the most famous
and most influential madrigal composers of the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Composers such
as Monteverdi, Marenzio and Gesualdo have been quoted frequently because they were widely
copied by other composers and because they had a significant impact upon the music of the time. If
•
Froberger knew the music of madrigalists, then he probably knew the music of the most famous of
them. If, as I hope this thesis proves, Froberger was influenced by the madrigals, then it is likely that
he would have assimilated various "rnadrigalisms" into his music either directly, from listening to
or studying these madrigals, or indirectly, though exposure to the music of other composers who
were influenced by them. Less well-known madrigalists have been quoted as well, in order to show
that identified characteristics were not limited to the particular style of a particular composer.
The keyboard examples that I have quoted are, for the most part, Italian and, in most cases, written
specifically for the harpsichord as opposed to being written for the organ. Composers of the Early
Neapolitan School are particularly relevant to the study as they not only pre-dated Froberger and
wrote almost exclusively for the harpsichord, but were also clearly influenced by the madrigalists
(as the research will show). In fact, several of them wrote madrigals themselves. Frescobaldi is
quoted on many occasions because he had such a formative influence on Froberger's style and
because Frescobaldi's style also owes much to the influence of the Madrigali Moderni.
\
- 27-
1. 6 Discussionof Terms.
This thesis is about Froberger's assimilation of characteristics of the Italian secular madrigals
written (or published) in the late 16th and early 17th century: the madrigali moderni of Frescobaldi.
Several terms need further discussion in order to provide clarity on the scope of this thesis:
madrigali moderni; the seconda pratica, Italian and secular. The time period encompasses what is
variously referred to as the late Renaissance and the early Baroque, or alternatively, the Mannerist
period and the early Baroque. As Mannerism is such a hotly debated term when it comes to music, it
is also discussed further in this section.
1.6.1 Seconda Pratica
This was a term used in the debate between Monteverdi and Artusi about the new style of
madrigals and in particular, the treatment of dissonance. The practice of rising after a flattened note
and descending after a sharpened one, as well as the free introduction of dissonances, mixing
modes, the "incorrect" use of time signatures and other compositional irregularities was criticised
by Artusi in L'Artusi, overo della imperfettioni della modern a musica (1600)and again in his Seconda
parte dell'Artusi (1603) in which publication the term Seconda Pratica first appears in writing
(Palisca 2010 article on Prima Pratica). In using the term, Artusi was referring to the contents of a
letter signed L'Ottuso Academica (the obtuse academic) ,which was probably written about 1601. In
his condemnation of the "modern" practices, Artusi criticised the licences taken by an unnamed
composer (identifiable as Monteverdi). To illustrate his points, Artusi cited seven examples from
Cruda Amaril/i, che col nome ancora (later published in Quinto Libro 1605), and one each from
Anima mia, perdona and Che se tu se'il cor mio, (both later published in Quarto Libro 1603). He also
mentioned 0 Mirtil/o anima mia (later published in Quinto Libro). Although none of these madrigals
had been published at the time of Artusi's complaints, they had been performed in Ferrara on 16
November 1998 at the private house of the musician Antonio Goretti (Fabbri 1994:34) where
"Luca" one of the protagonists of Artusi's publications had heard them performed.
Although there appears to have been some private correspondence on the matter, Monteverdi (who
might have been the mysterious L'Ottuso Academica) only replied once publically. In an appendix to
- 28-
Quinto Libro (1605) he announced his intention of publishing a treatise to be called Seconda Pratico.
~ overo Perfettione della modern a musica (Second practice or the perfection of the modern music). His
short response in the Quinto Libro mentions that he did not want the term Seconda Pratica to be
appropriated by others. This seems to imply that he had coined the phrase himself, or if he did not,
that he was seizing it for the style that his music represented.
In fact, twenty eight years later in 1633 (Fabbri 1994:48) the promised treatise had still not
materialised. A letter (according to Fabbri probably to Giovan Battista Doni), dated 12 October
1633 mentions that he was writing a book called Melodia overo seconda pratica musicale. In this
letter Monteverdi states that he intends dividing the book into three parts: word setting, harmony
and rhythm (Fabbri 1994:49). He died without publishing the book, so unfortunately the
comments made by his brother Giulio Cesare Monteverdi in his defence in Scherzi Musicali (1607)
constitute the only other (presumably authorised) response to Artusi.
Guilio Cesare states that the Prima Pratica turns on the perfection of the harmony as described by
Zarlino. He lists "Occhegem, losquin de Pres, Pietra della Rue, lovan Motten, Crequillon, C1emens
non Papa, Gombert and Master Adriano [Willaert]" as worthy exponents of this first practice
(Fabbrio 1994:50). According to Guilio Cesare. proponents of the Seconda Pratica included de Rare,
lngegneri, Marenzio, Wert, Luzzasco, Peri, Caccini, Gesualdo, de Cavagliere, Fontanelli, Branchiforte,
del Turco and Peeei. (Fabbri 1994:51.) To this list Monteverdi must of course be added. Guilio
Cesare says that in the music of the secondapratica, the words are the mistress (as opposed to the
servant) of the harmony (Fabbri 1994:50). He stated that if the text demands certain crudities of
harmony and melody or irregularities of rhythm, these departures from the prima pratica are
justified for the sake of expressing the meaning of the words. (Palisea 2010, article on Prima
Pratica.) Artusi replied to these counter-attacks in 1608 in Discorso secondo musicale di Antonio
Braccino da Todi per la dichiaratione della lettera posta ne' Scherzi musicali del sig. Claudio
. Monteverdi. Palisca states that his most interesting retort is that it is not the text that should be
mistress of the harmony and rhythm, but that rhythm ought to be the master of the other two
(Palisea 2010, article on Artusi). It is also interesting to note that in his defence of his brother's
music, Guilio Cesare credits Cipriano de Rare with reviving the ancient Greek practice of using
music to express the meaning of the text, without undue regard for the niceties of traditional Prima
- 29-
Pratica conventions. Cipriano de Rare, who wrote polyphonic madrigals for mainly five voices, died
in 1565, long before Girolama Mei (1519-1594) or Galilei were expounding their theories.
Vicentino, who advocated jettisoning the traditional rules of composition where necessary in order
to express the meaning of the words was a contemporary of de Rare at the Ferarese court and his
major treatise dates from 1555: L 'antica musica ridotta alia moderna pratica. This indicates that the
seconda pratica was alive long before the turn of the century and certainly relates to polyphonic
madrigals.
1.6.2 The Madrigali Moderui
The madrigal form of poetry is an irregular poem of up to 14 lines of 7 or 11 syllables with no fixed
scheme of metre or rhyme. This is a poor definition, but the form itself is elusive, as it has been the
subject of so many variations. However, the music that is termed "madrigal" is even less easy to
define. Often it is a madrigal poem set to music, but sometimes it is music set to poetry of a different
form. The common denominators are that the musical madrigals are through-composed, short
forms, written to poetry, rather than to text (as parts of operas were), and that the composer called
them by the name "madrigal" - even if this was technically not correct. In addition, they are, almost
to the point of boredom, about unrequited love and a great many include references to the sexual
act. However, there are plenty of exceptions. Some "madrigals" include repetition, some are not
short, some are not even called madrigals and a few are not about love. Some books of "madrigals"
include music that even the composer called something else, such as lamento or lettera amorosa.
Most of the vocal examples that I have used in this thesis are from works that the composer has
included in a book of madrigals. It seems that the composers themselves interpreted the word to
mean "art song" and I therefore feel justified in including a few examples of other vocal music
where appropriate.
In the debate about the merits/demerits of the seconda pratica, both Monteverdi and Artusi used
the word "modern" in referring to both the music of the madrigalists around the turn of the century
and to the madrigal composers themselves. The debate was famous and I would imagine that
Frescobaldi was well aware of it. It is possible that he used the term madrigali moderni knowing
- 30-
It
that his readers would associate it with the debate and thus know exactly what he meant. In
addition, Vicentino's famous treatise L 'antica musica ridotta alia moderna pratica (1555) compares
old music to the "modern pratice" of composing (madrigals in particular).
Artusi. Extract from L' Artusi overo delle imperfettione della moderna musica showing the
author's use of the words "Moderni Musici" and "Moderni" (Modern Musicians and the
Moderns). (Artusi 1600:20b.)
Frescobaldi's comment about imadrigali moderni dates from 1637, in the preface to the revised
edition of his Libra Prima. He might have been referring to only the more recent madrigals that
were written for solo voice and accompaniment. Alternatively he might have meant any madrigals,
whether polyphonic or accompanied and for various combinations of voices, that were written in
the modern style of the seconda pratica. The music that he was trying to explain (and which he
attempted to explain in the first edition as well, although less thoroughly) was first published in
1615. It seems likely that Frescobaldi was referring to madrigals that were "modern" in 1615 rather
than in 1637 (or, possibly, "modern" at both dates). In 1615, this would certainly have included
polyphonic madrigals as well as accompanied madrigals: Monteverdi only published his first book
- 31 -
of accompanied madrigals four years later (Settimo Libro of 1619). For the first two decades of the
~ 17th century, monodies were written by composers largely associated with Florence (for example,
Caccini, Peri, da Gagliano, D'lndia and Saracini). Although he must have been aware of
developments elsewhere, Frescobaldi lived, worked, and published his libro primo, in Rome. It
could also be argued that because Frescobaldi specifically mentions tempo changes, he was only
referring to monodic madrigals for a solo voice plus accompaniment. However, as will be
demonstrated, these tempo changes, although easier to accomplish if only one voice is singing, were
used in polyphonic madrigals as well. Such singers would have to abide by what Wistreich refers to
as "ensemble etiquette" (Wistreich 2007: 146).
Silbiger (1996:405) writes:
Today the seconda prattica is associated with those aspects of 17th-century
composition that proved most significant from our own historical vantage point:
• the new concerted style and monody, freer dissonance treatment and heightened
chromaticism and the replacement of modal polyphony by chordal
harmony ...Monteverdi takes pains to show that...the seconda prattica was
practiced by a long line of distinguished predecessors ...Evidently Monteverdi saw
the embodiment of the second practice as much in the polyphonic madrigals by
these composers as in the new monodies; in fact, we do not know whether
Monteverdi had written any monodies when he published the historic Lettera in
his fifth book of madrigals (1605).
He certainly had not published any, as his first book of accompanied madrigals, Settimo Libra, was
published in 1619. It seems that the term seconda pratica, as intended by Monteverdi, referred
initially mainly to polyphonic madrigals written around the turn of the century. As Monteverdi was
still writing his treatise about the seconda pratica in 1633 when concerted madrigals were more
common, his use of the term could arguably be expanded to include the later madrigals as well.
Therefore, in this thesis, the term madriga!i moderni refers to either concerted or polyphonic,
Italian, secular madrigals written (or at least published) in the late 16th and early 17th century,
although a few examples are taken from earlier or later than this.
- 32 -
1.6.3 Mannerism
The label "Mannerism" was first popularized by art historians and was used to describe a particular
style of art, particularly painting, in Italy in the mid 16th century.
Angelo Bronzino: Allegoria del trionfo di Venere, 1540-1545.
(Bronzino. Wikimedia Commons 2008.)
One of the mostfamous of the Mannerist paintings. National Gallery, London.
- 33 -
The styles of painters such as Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola, from Parma, known by the
~ nickname Parmigianino (1503-1540) and the Florentine, Agnolo di Cosimo (1503-1572), known as
Bronzino, are typical of Mannerism: elongated forms, theatrical lighting, aloof expressions,
distortions and exaggerated twisting limbs. Works such as these were a reaction against the
harmonious, rational classicism of the Renaissance; they stressed intellectuality, showing the
artists' command of form, colour and perspective in a style that was deliberately and cleverly
unnatural (Maniates. 1979: iorn.
Whereas the term "Mannerism" has had wide acceptance in describing art, it has been applied, with
much controversy, to other disciplines, such as the metaphysical poetry of the mid to late 16th
century and to music, especially to the Italian madrigals written towards the end of the century. In
Italian poetry, Mannerism manifested itself in unusual similes, extravagant puns, intellectual word
play and affected "conceits" (complicated metaphors), often of a sexual nature.
Mannerism is particularly associated with the madrigals of Gesualdo, probably because "many of
the currents normally associated with that movement are so clearly recognizable in his writing"
(Watkins 1991:106). He is famous not only for his music, but also for having committed what are
probably the most notorious murders in musical history. In 1590, having discovered his wife and
her lover in flagrante delicto, he murdered them and left their mutilated bodies outside his palace
for all to see. In 1594, he went to Ferrara, where he studied with Luzzaschi and where he married
his (brave) second wife, Eleonora, the sister of Duke Alfonso's heir, Cesare d'Este. His tortured
music expresses his own troubled personality and he indulged in extreme chromaticism, extreme
melancholy and extreme dissonance. However, his six volumes of five-voice madrigals were
published between 1594 and 1611, and his madrigals for six voices were published posthumously
in 1626, considerably later than the most famous of the Mannerist paintings, Parmigianino's
Madonna dal Colla Lungo (1534-40). This time lapse has led some historians to doubt the relevance
of the term Mannerism to music. However, if one is going to use the traditional pigeon-holes for
music, such as Renaissance, Baroque etc, it is worth noting that the music that these terms describe
always seems to date from a significantly later period than the paintings.
- 34-
Another problem in applying the term "Mannerist" to the madrigals is that many of the
~ characteristics that define Mannerism are also present in the madrigals of the first half of the 17th
century; madrigals that are usually labelled "Baroque". The later madrigals were just as
extravagantly ornamented as their Mannerist predecessors were and equally full of word painting
devices. Sprezzatura (referring to tempo fluctuations in music) was used long before Caccini first
gave it a name in Euridice (1601) and long afterwards. "Baroque" madrigals were just as
introspective and melancholy as "Mannerist" ones. These issues are discussed in more detail in the
following chapters.
The style of the madrigals of the late 16th and early 17th centuries may be regarded as Mannerist;
alternatively it may be regarded as an early manifestation of the Baroque or a late manifestation of
the Renaissance. However controversial the term, the Italian art, poetry and music of the time have
certain elements in common. Maniates (1979:4) says of Mannerism:
Mannerist artworks flaunt formal complexities and through them exhibit
deliberate intellectualism ...each creator strives for his own solution, a strictly
I personal utterance.
The style, whether one calls it Mannerist or not, is deliberately intellectual, self-conscious, extreme,
elegant, inventive and individual. It is also particularly Italian. Although the style spread to other
parts of Europe - the Fontainebleau school of painting in France; the English metaphysical poets;
and composers who wrote Italian style madrigals, such as Orlando de Lassus (c. 1532-1594) in
Munich, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (c.1562-1621) in Amsterdam, Philippe de Monte (1521-1603) in
Vienna and Thomas Morley (c.1557/8-1602) in London - most of the works created in this style in
the rest of Europe were either strongly influenced by, or copies of, Italian models.
On occasion, I have therefore found it relevant to refer to certain madrigals as "Late Renaissance"
"Mannerist" or "Baroque" in this thesis. However, in general I have preferred not only to avoid the
controversy but also to avoid pigeonholing, by describing the examples that I use by their dates of
publication (or composition).
- 35 -
1.6.4 Italian
It may seem strange to talk about Italy and Italian in the late 16th and early 17th centuries when the
country was only unified in the 19th century. In the period under discussion, it was composed of
numerous principalities and dukedoms, the Papal States, the Republic of Venice and the kingdoms
of Naples, Sardinia and Sicily, which, it could be argued, were Spanish and not Italian at all. There
appears to have been little sense of a common nationality in those days, despite the fact that the
common language was already Italian (except in Sardinia where it was Spanish). In referring to the
vocal music of "Italy" of the 17th century, I am therefore applying the established convention of
using the modern day geographical boundaries. Today we think of Monteverdi and Gesualdo as
being "Italian". I doubt that they would have thought of themselves this way. Similarly, we think of
Froberger as being "German" because he was born in Stuttgart, which is part of modern-day
Germany. West Germany was only unified in the late 19th century, being, like Italy, a
~. conglomeration of numerous principalities in earlier centuries. (Of course the whole of modern
Germany, East and West, was only unified in the late 20th century.)
How Froberger thought of himself is anyone's guess. Apparently, the Stuttgart baptismal record
reads "[oannes Jacob" (van Asperen 2008:19) but in later life he was known as Giovanni Giacomo
(on the title pages of his autograph works presented to members of the Habsburg dynasty and in
the Bauyn MS) as Jean Jacque (in the recently discovered autograph auctioned in 2006 by
Sotheby's) and as Hang Jacob Froberger in the only three autograph signatures that have survived.
1.6.5 Secular
I have used this word to distinguish the vocal music that I have investigated from the "sacred" vocal
music of the time. The secular vocal music of the times was less restricted by established musical
conventions and less bound by the perceptions of what was appropriate for religious occasions. As
a result, the composers of the secular madrigals were able to be more adventurous in their
composing methods and they were in the vanguard of musical development.
- 36-
1. 7 Conventions and Abbreviations
• I have used the Helmholtz system of pitch notation.
• In keeping with the practice of the late 16th and early-to-mid 17th centuries, accidentals
apply only to the note immediately following, with the exception of repeated notes. This
• notational system applies to the facsimile examples of all compositions, to all examples from
the modern Rampe edition of Froberger's works and to the Pidoux edition of Frescobaldi's
works. Modern notation, where the accidentals are valid for an entire bar, applies to other
modern transcriptions of music, including Wollny's edition of the Sing-Akademie MS.
• Key dates of composers (and other important people) are given in brackets the first time
that the individual is mentioned.
• As per the University's requirements, the modern Harvard referencing system has been
used throughout. This has given problems in the short in-text citations for certain web-sites,
such as Grove Music Online, where the web-site usually does not indicate the date that an
article was written. In such cases, the citations within the text of this document refer to the
author and to the year that I accessed the information, rather than to the year that the
article was written.
• The spelling of types of pieces (eg toccata, allemande) in the period under consideration is
inconsistent. Thus one finds, within Froberger's own autographs, Allemand, Allemanda and
Allemande. Similarly, one finds both Ricercari and Ricercati as plurals of Ricerear. Other
composers spelled the same pieces in yet other ways. Where a specific work or collection is
mentioned, I have kept the original spelling, even if it was not the usual spelling or even if it
was incorrect, such as Trabaci's Toccate di Durezze e Legature (ligature). In referring to non-
specific instances, I have, in most cases, used the commonly accepted Anglicised versions of
the spellings. Thus: capriccio/capricetos rather than capriccio/capricci; but Libro di Capricci
e Ricercati. Similarly, toccata/toccatas (not toccate); partita/portitas (not partite);
fantasia/fantasias (not fantasie, where this spelling of the plural can be confused with the
French spelling of the singular) and allemande/allemandes (not allemand/allemande or
allemanda/allemandeï. There are two exceptions to this. I chose the spelling
ricercar/ricercars and canzon/canzons for Froberger's works rather than the more widely
accepted ricercare/ricercares and canzona/canzones because Froberger (consistently!)
spelled the singulars ricercar and canzon.
- 37 -
• Throughout I have spelled "pratica" (as in prima pratica and seconda pratica) with one t, as
this is the correct modern Italian spelling. It was also the spelling used by Monteverdi in his
proposed treatise Seconda Pratica, overo Perfeitione della modern a musica mentioned in the
preface to Quinto Libro and in the proposed . treatise Melodia overo seconda pratica musicale
that he wrote about to Doni in 1633 (please see section 1.6 for more information on this). I
have kept the spelling with two t's, prattica, where the word forms part of a quote or part of
a title of a work. In the early part of the seventeenth century both spellings were used and I
notice that several modern authors spell the word with two t's as well. Where I have quoted
these authors, I have kept their spelling.
• I have chosen to use the word partita to describe Froberger's dance suites rather than the
word suite. Froberger did not use either word to describe his collections of Allemande-
Gigue-Courante-Sarabande. The title page of his Libro Secondo reads Libro Secondo di
Toccate, Fantasie, Canzone, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Gigue, et altre Partite. His use of
the word partite in this context probably refers to the set bf variations Auff die Mayerin,
which consists of six variations (each of which he called a partita) plus a courant sopra
Mayrin, a double and a sarabande sopra Mayrin.
• I have translated texts and titles where an understanding of the words is essential. Thus, I
have translated the titles of Froberger's works, any substantial texts and selected individual
words of madrigals. In most cases, I have not translated the titles of madrigals because these
"titles" are invariably the first few words of the first line, and translated into English these
few words are usually meaningless. Unless otherwise indicated, all translations are mine.
• MS = Manuscript; E = printed edition; FbWV = the cataloguing system given to Froberger's
works by Siegbert Rampe.
- 38-
l
CHAPTER TWO: FROBERGER'S LIFEAND TRAVELS
Introduction
Johann Jacob Froberger stands at a pivotal point in Western music history. His highly individual
style was a product of the many musical influences in his life; influences that he was exposed to as a
result of his extensive travels within Western Europe. The cosmopolitan character of his life is
reflected in his music, which is a synthesis of various developments in Europe, particularly
Germany, Italy and France. He chronicled important parts of his life via his music, dedicating certain
works to his benefactors, writing lamentations and tombeaux to cOll}memorate the deaths of people
who meant a great deal to him, and composing allemandes, meditations and plaintes to describe
events. Froberger's journeys brought him into contact with many celebrated musical figures of the
age, including Frescobaldi with whom he certainly studied and Carissimi, with whom he may have
studied. In addition, he knew Johann Caspar Kerll (1627-1693), Mathias Weckmann, Louis
Couperin, the Gaultier family of lutenists, and (probably) [acques Champion de Chambonnieres
(c.1601/2-1672) amongst many others. He met, and later corresponded with, the famous polymath
Athanasius Kircher and the poet, musician and statesman, Constantijn Huygens. He performed
concerts for (probably) four Holy Roman Emperors (Ferdinand II, Ferdinand III, Ferdinand IV and
Leopold I), the Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, various Italian and south German Princes and,
possibly, the English King, Charles II. His music records great historical moments, including the
election, coronation and death of Emperors, the coronation of an Empress, the birth of a Princess
and the return of the remarkable politician, Cardinal Mazarin, to Paris.
Many composers were influenced by his cosmopolitan style. Copies of his music were made by
Mathias Weckmann, Gottlieb Muffat (1690- 1770), John Blow, William Croft, Johann Christoph Bach,
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) and JP Kirnberger (1721-1783). In a letter to ForkeI, JS Bach's
first biographer, CPE Bach recorded that his father, JS Bach, "loved and studied" Froberger's works
and Mozart started an arrangement for string quartet of his Hexachord Fantasia (Maguire 2006:13).
It is possible that the Bauyn MS, which, amongst other pieces, contains 23 works by Froberger, was
prepared from copies owned by Louis Couperin. Moroney (Couperin. 1985:6ff) mentions the
likelihood that the scribe of the Bauyn MS was Louis Couperin's brother, Francois (the uncle of
Francois Couperin "le Grand") and that the works in the Bauyn MS were copied directly from
- 39-
autographs belonging to Louis Couperin. This possibility is borne out by the account of the older
li Francois by Titon de Tillet (le Parnasse Francois, 1732) who described him as an excellent teacher:
thus he might have copied out the works for teaching purposes (Fuller et al: 2011, article on
Couperin).
The influence of Proberger's style of playing is plain to see in the works of some of his
contemporaries, notably Louis Couperin. Bob van Asperen aptly describes Froberger as "the first
expressive keyboard virtuoso/composer, directly influencing the suite and toccata styles of
composers such as Bohm, Reinken, Weckmann, Buxtehude, Pachelbel and JS Bach" (van Asperen
2008: 1.1).
He was recognised as a remarkable keyboard player and composer in his own lifetime and was
• fortunate to have a patron, the Habsburg Emperor Ferdinand Ill, who was not only wealthy but who
also encouraged, and paid for, Froberger's studies and his itinerant life-style. Ferdinand, in turn,
was rewarded with (probably) four autograph volumes of keyboard music. Fortunately, two of
these have survived, together with another that was presented to Leopold I and a late autograph
that was probably kept by Duchess Sibylla of Wiirttemberg and Montbéliard (henceforth "Sibylla"),
Froberger's benefactress at the end of his life.
Unfortunately, there is a dismal lack of information about Proberger's life and to some extent this
impacts upon our knowledge of his music. Facts about his early life are particularly scarce and his
early musical education can only be guessed at. In the following description of his life and travels,
reliable dates are shown in bold type at the beginnings of paragraphs. Possible dates are also given
in bold with the words (possible date/s) inserted thereafter.
May 18 1616. Johann Jacob Froberger was born in Stuttgart on May 18, 1616 and christened one
day later (Froberger. 1995:XXI). He was the youngest son of eleven children, six boys and five girls,
born to Basilius (c.1575-1637) and Anna (1577-1637, née Schmid) Froberger. There are a few
records of Basilius and five of his sons, all of whom earned their living as musicians. Basilius started
- 40-
~..
•
his musical career as a tenor in the Wiirttemberg ducal chapel in 1599; he was named Inspector of
• the Pages in 1608 and promoted to Kapellmeister of the Court at Wiirttemberg in 1621 (Froberger.
1995:XXI). Basilius Froberger directed the Hotkapelle through the many reversals of the terrible
Thirty Years War (1618-1648) until his death (Stiefel: 2010). In 1637, when Johann Jacob was
twenty-one and the war was still raging, Basilius, Anna and one daughter died of the plague
(Schott:2010).
At least four of Johann [acob's older brothers were employed by the Stuttgart Court of Musicians.
Isaac Froberger (1605-1655) was a bass singer and lutenist; Johann Georg Froberger (1606-1640)
was an instrumentalist, becoming vice-Kapellmeister in 1633 and Kapellmeister (replacing his
father) in 1639. Johann Christoph (1608-1648) and August Melchior (1614-?) were both tenors
(Froberger.1995:XI).
We have no evidence of Johann [acob's early musical training, but it is probably a safe bet that he
was educated musically by his father and his three oldest brothers, who were eleven, ten and eight
years older than Johann Jacob. The Stuttgart Court Chapel attracted many musicians. The leading
Italian violin virtuoso and Kapellmeister of the House of Wittelsbach, Biagio Marini, visited the
court at Stuttgart in 1625 as did the notable composer (and pupil of Sweelinck) Samuel Scheidt
(1587-1654) in 1627 (Froberger. 2005:XLVI). At the time, Scheidt was Kapellmeister at Halle
although he was not being paid for the job because of financial constraints caused by the Thirty
Years War (Snyder et al: 2011). Johann Ulrich Steigleder (1593-1635), an excellent organist, was
employed at the Stiftskirche in Stuttgart from 1619 and was engaged as court organist from 1627
(Sharp et al: 2011). It is possible that Johann Jacob studied under Steigleder. Some of Johann
[acob's ricerears contain thematic and tonal references to Steigleder's ricerears published in 1624
(Froberger. 1993:XXIII). As Walker points out, the diversity of Stuttgart's musical life rivalled any of
the most prestigious German courts (Capricornus 1997:viii). Large scale theatrical and musical
productions were mounted in its "Pleasure Palace" (Lusthaus) built in the 1580s and a separate
body of chamber musicians was added to the Ducal Hotkapelle by the end of the 16th century.
Between 1609 and 1628 it included an Engel/andische compagnia (Stiefel: 2010) which had the
cornettist John Price (fl, c.1605 d.1641) and the lutenists George Vichet, David and John Morrel!,
-41-
John Dixon and Andrew Borell amongst its members. The latter was employed to give lessons to
It one of Basilius's sons (Schott: 2010), probably Isaac Froberger.
From research conducted by Siedentopf (1977:25ff) we know that the inventory of the music sold
by Basilius's sons to the Court in 1639 totalled over one hundred volumes, including almost all the
works published by that time by Johann Staden (1581-1634), Heinrich Schutz (1585-1672), Johann
Hermann Schein (1586-1630) and Samuel Scheidt (1587-1654). Forty nine of these volumes were
by Italian composers, several of whom were madrigal composers: Adriano Banchieri (1568-1634),
Dario Castello (fl. first half of 17th century), Andrea Falconieri (1585/6-1656), Carlo Farina (c.1604-
1639), Biagio Marini (1594-1663), Alessandro Grandi (1586-1630), Francesco Turini (c. 1589-
1656), Giovanni Valentini (1582/3-1649) and Lodovico Viadana (c.1560-1627). The inventory also
included works by [osquin des Prez (c.1450/55-1521), Hieronymus Praetorius (1560-1629),
Michael Praetorius (1571-1621), Michael Altenburg (1584-1640) and two collections of
instrumental works by Thomas Simpson (1582-before 1628). In addition, there was one treatise: Il
Transilvano, the famous pedagogical work by Girolamo Diruta (Siedentopf. 1977:25ff). This is a
vast amount of music and presumably the young Johann Jacob had access to it for studying and
must have heard much of it played by the Court musicians.
1634. According to Johann Mattheson (1681-1764) in his Grundlage einer Ehren-Pforte
(1740:87), Johann Jacob (henceforth "Froberger") travelled to Vienna around 1634 together with
the entourage of a Swedish diplomat. Sadie (1998:251) states that his musical talent came to the
attention of the Swedish Ambassador to Vienna, who took him there from Stuttgart. Rampe
speculates (Froberger. 1995:XXVI) that Froberger, together with Johann Friedrich Sautter (who
later provided the decorative calligraphy for Froberger's Libra Secondo and Libro Quarto), received
a scholarship from the Church or from the Court of Wtirttemberg. Sautter certainly received a
subsidium from the Stuttgarter Kirchkasten (Froberger. 1995:XXVI). In any event, according to
Walker (Capricornus. 1997:viii) the Wtirttemberg Court's ability to maintain any sort of musical
establishment was seriously curtailed after the Battle of Nërdlingen in 1634. After this battle,
during which the Catholic army of the Holy Roman Empire defeated the Protestant armies of
Sweden and their German allies, Wtirttemberg was subject to a massive invasion of foreign troops
and the court was forced to flee to Stuttgart. It is therefore not unlikely that Froberger was obliged
- 42 -
to find work elsewhere. However, the story is strange. It would have taken place during the Thirty
lj Years War when Vienna, as part of the Holy Roman Empire, and Wi.irttemberg were on opposite
sides and Sweden was allied to Lutheran Wi.irttemberg against the Catholic forces of the Emperor
(Schott: 2010). However, if the story is true, then, as these were violent days, it can be assumed that
Froberger and Sautter travelled together with the Swedish diplomat for reasons of safety. In 1634,
Froberger would have been eighteen years old.
1 January 1637. We have no record of the years between 1634 and 1 January 1637, when
Froberger's name first appears in the court account books in Vienna, as an organist in the Imperial
Chapel. His monthly salary of 24 gulden was considerably below the 60 gulden paid to the organist
Wolfgang Ebner (1612-1665) so it is probable that he was in a junior position (Froberger. 2005:
XLVI). Siedentopf (1977:14) has speculated that he was offered a position at the Viennese court
upon the recommendation of his father. Despite the financial restrictions which occurred as a
It result of the Thirty Years War, Ferdinand II, who was the reigning Holy Roman Emperor, increased
the number of musicians in his employ. The membership of his Chapel increased from 53 to 68
musicians during his reign, which ended with his death in February 1637 (Seifert. 2005:45).
Ferdinand III succeeded his father, taking over almost all his father's staff, including Giovanni
Valentini as Maestro di Cappella (Seifert. 2005:45) and the young Froberger.
30 October 1637. Froberger's name appears in the court account books until 30 October 1637,
thus only 10 months in total (Schott: 2010). After one failed petition, the Habsburg Emperor,
Ferdinand Ill, granted Froberger a stipend of 200 gulden and sent him off to study with Girolamo
Frescobaldi in Rome (Froberger. 2005:XLVI). Ferdinand himself was a keen composer in the Italian
style and his generosity may have been partly inspired by his own love of Italian music. His
surviving works include a four-voice madrigal, Chi vo/ge nelia mente. A document held in the Vienna
State Archives is a report by the Obersthofmeister (Head Steward) of Ferdinand Ill, dated 22 June
1637 (Annibaldi. 1998:42). It describes Froberger's desire to study with Frescobaldi in Rome and
the Obersthofmeister's request to Johannes Gans, (Ferdinand's Jesuit confessor), to solicit the
conversion of Froberger to Catholicism. It also documents his (the steward's) questions to Due
Federico SaveIIi (who replaced Prince Gonzaga as the Imperial (Viennese) ambassador to the Papal
Court) on the practical problems of how Frescobaldi would be compensated and where Froberger
- 43 -
..
would stay in Rome. Claudio Annibaldi (1998:43) remarks that presumably Froberger was
IJ motivated to put some concentrated effort into his conversion, as it must have been complete
before the autumn of 1637 when he finally received his scholarship to go to Rome. In Rome, he
lived on the Piazza Navona in the Palace of Scipion Gonzaga (1595-1670), Prince of Bozzolo, the
previous Imperial ambassador to Pope Urban VIII, Barbarini (Annibaldi 1998:42). Unfortunately
nothing is known about Froberger's actual training with Frescobaldi, although it is possible that
Toccatas FbWV 127,128 and 129 from the Chigi MS date from this time and were composed under
Frescobaldi's tutorship (Froberger 2011:XVII).
1April 1641. Rampe mentions (Froberger. 2005:XLVI) that Froberger's name appears once more
in the Court records at Vienna between 1 April 1641 and 31 October 1645 as "third chamber
organist to his Roman-Imperial Majesty". The first and second organists were Ebner and Carlo
Ferdinando Simonelli (active 1617-1653). During these years, Froberger probably composed his
Libra Prima, which has since been lost.
1645. In 1645 Ferdinand III dismissed or retired at least eleven musicians because of financial
constraints caused by the ongoing war (Siefert 2005:45). Whether or not Froberger was one of
these casualties is not clear. In any event, in 1645 Froberger re-visited Rome. Frescobaldi had died
in 1643, so obviously it was not for further study with his old teacher. During this second visit, or
perhaps even during his first visit to Rome in 1637, Froberger must have met the remarkable
polymath Athenasius Kircher, a professor at the Collegio Romano, with whom he later
corresponded. Two of Froberger's letters to Kircher have survived, and in one of them, dated 18
September 1649, Froberger mentions that he had composed a psalm for three voices, and asked
Kircher to submit it to the "maestro" in the hope that it would be performed at Sant'Apollinare. This
"maestro" must have been Giacomo Carissimi, and from this reference, it has long been assumed
that Froberger studied with Carissimi whilst he was in Rome (Gorman. 2003). Carissimi was
engaged as Maestro di Capella at Sant'Apollinare which belonged to the Collegium Germanicum, the
school of the German Jesuits in Rome. Part of Froberger's letter to Kircher states that he
(Froberger) has taken care not to write the psalm in his normal handwriting because otherwise one
would know that it had been written by him. It asks Kircher to say that he (Kircher) had written it.
From this comment one might deduce that Froberger had studied with Carissimi. Annibaldi
- 44-
(1998:50) however feels that this hypothesis can be discounted, and that Froberger's comment can
iii be explained by his trying out Kircher's method of canonic writing and wanting Kircher's opinion
on how successfully it had turned out. According to Annibaldi, Froberger's request to have the
music performed at the Church of Sant'Apollinare was because this church was close to the
Collegium Germanicum, where Kircher worked. From this letter, Annibaldi deduces that Froberger
probably studied contrapuntal works in the style of the Prima Pratica with Kircher, (Annibaldi
1998:47) and at the same time learned how to operate Kircher's composing machines, the area
musurgiea and the area musarithmiea.
During this time in Rome, Froberger gave Kircher a copy of his Hexaehord Fantasia FbWV 201,
which Kircher used as a "perfect" example of the sty/us phantastieus in his learned work, Musurgia
Universa/is, published in Rome in 1650 in two thick tomes. The first print run of this work was 1500
and it found its way across Europe, being much admired in the process. A letter from Father
Johannes Gans to Kircher dated February 1649 confirms that Froberger must have been in Rome at
. this time. In this letter, Gans asks Kircher to send his composing machine to the Emperor, via the
intermediation of Froberger (Kircher correspondence PUG 561 f133v).
1648 (possible date). Rampe (Froberger. 1995:XXII) speculates that Froberger spent some time,
possibly as early as 1648, travelling in the entourage of the Archduke Leopold Wilhelm (the
youngest brother of Ferdinand III and by this time the only surviving brother). If this is correct,
then Froberger might have been in the company of the younger composer Johann Caspar Kerll, who
was also in the entourage of the Archduke, employed as his organist. Alternatively, perhaps
Froberger temporarily replaced Kerll who was sent to Rome to study with Carissimi in the late
1640s and early 1650s (Harris and Giebler: 2011).
After the peace of West ph alia (1648), which ended the Thirty Years War in Germany and the Eighty
Years War between the Netherlands and Spain, Ferdinand III started to increase his chapel
considerably, initially with instrumentalists and later with Italian singers for the increasingly
popular Opera (Seifert. 2005:45). Perhaps this had something to do with Proberger's return to
Vienna.
- 45 -
•
1649. From his letter to Kircher, dated 18 September 1649 (Annibaldi. 1998:48), we know that
• Froberger returned to Vienna in the summer of 1649, having stopped en route in Florence and
Mantua, where Emperor Ferdinand had close family ties. His letter to Kircher describes the
hospitality he received in Florence from Cardinal Grand Duke Leopoldo de' Medici and in Mantua
from Duke Carlo II Gonzaga (Rasch 2003:20). Froberger also mentions how pleased Emperor
Ferdinand and the young Empress Maria Leopoldine were with the composing machine, the area
musurgiea, a more complex machine than the area musarithmiea that Kircher had described in his
Musurgia Universalis. The area musurgiea had been presented to the royal couple on Kircher's
behalf by Father Johannes Gans and they sent for Froberger to have the machine explained. The
Emperor had composed something which was tried out by him and Froberger in a session lasting
two hours. Froberger was asked to come back the next day, but by then the Empress had died in
childbirth (Rasch. 2003:20). This dates Froberger's session with the Emperor to 6 August 1649.
Another letter from Gans to Kircher survives, dated 7 August 1649, which confirms that Froberger
had a long audience with the Emperor on 6 August during which he demonstrated Kircher's
machine (Annibaldi. 1998:47).
The seventeen year old Empress, Maria Leopoldine, who had married Ferdinand the previous year
on 2 July 1648, died giving birth to her first son on 7 August 1649. During the subsequent mourning
period, Froberger met William Swann, an English officer in the Dutch army, who was off-duty
because of the recently signed Peace of Westphalia (1648). Swann was on a diplomatic mission for
the exiled King of England, Charles II (Rasch. 2003:19). He promised to send Froberger works by
[acques Champion de Chambonnieres, the famous French clavecinist, and sent works by Froberger
to his personal secretary, Constantijn Huygens in the Netherlands. This contact was pivotal in
Froberger's development. It introduced Froberger to a great French composer and started
introducing Froberger's music to rest of Europe. Swann, who wrote in French to Huygens on 15
September 1649, praised Froberger as un homme tres-rare sur les espinettes - an exceptional
harpsichordist (Huygens: 2010). Huygens was a composer, lutenist and harpsichordist in his own
right and had established contact with musicians such as Chambonnieres and the Gaultier family
(lutenists in Paris), as well as with theoreticians such as Marin Mersenne and René Descartes
(Rasch: 2011). This was the beginning of a life-long friendship between Huygens and Froberger,
although they only seem to have actually met in person once: at Mainz in 1665 (Schott: 2010).
- 46-
•
Despite the official state of mourning, Froberger played for Emperor Ferdinand in September 1649
It and his Libro Secondo, dedicated to his Imperial Majesty, is dated 29 September 1649. However,
Froberger did not spend long in Vienna. After these few months had passed he travelled to the
Electoral Court of Dresden in the autumn or early winter of 1649 (Froberger. 1995:XXIII) and,
according to Mattheson (1740:88) he presented the Elector, Johann Georg II, with a letter of
recommendation from the Emperor. At this time, the Elector was Johann Georg I, so Mattheson
must have meant either the reigning Elector, or his son who only became Johann Georg II after the
death of his father in late 1656 (Clayton and Russeil. 2001:227). At this court he met Matthias
Weckmann and probably Heinrich Schutz and Christoph Bernhard (1628-1692) and, according to
Mattheson, engaged in a friendly competition with Weckmann at the request of the Saxony
It Electorate. He was rewarded with a gold chain (Schott: 2010). This competition, once again
according to Mattheson, led to regular correspondence between Weckmann and Froberger and an
exchange of works. At Dresden, Mattheson (1740: 88) says that Froberger performed a variety of
pieces ("6 Toccaten, 8 Caprici, 2 Ricereaten und 2 Suiten") which he had copied very neatly into a
• beautifully bound book. He presented the book to the Electorate as a gift. Unfortunately this book
has been lost.
Upon leaving Dresden, according to Mattheson (Mattheson. 1740:396) in the company of Kerll,
Froberger travelled to Brussels. Rampe states that, in Brussels, Froberger went to the (belated)
celebrations of the royal wedding of the Spanish King, Philip IV to Maria Anna (known as Mariana)
of Habsburg, a daughter of Ferdinand and his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain (Froberger. 2005:LVII).
The wedding took place by proxy in Vienna on 8 November 1648 when the young Mariana was only
thirteen (Gasman 2003:284) and the actual wedding occurred a year later on 18 November 1649 in
Novalearnero in Spain. Both Froberger and Kerll played at a musical event that was central to the
festivities (Froberger. 1995:XXIII). During this musical event an opera, Ulisse by Gioseffo Zamponi
(before 1610-1662) was performed on 24 February 1650 (Lederer:2011).
11 March 1650. Froberger is mentioned on 11 March 1650 in the personal accounts of Archduke
Leopold Wilhelm (Ferdinand's brother), who had been Governor of the Spanish Netherlands and
resident in Brussels since 1647. According to Rasch (2003:22 and 32) the entry (in the accounts of
Leopold Wilhelm of Austria 1647-1653. MS 1374, fol. 126r, National Archives Brussels) says that he
- 47-
ordered his treasurer to pay 100 pataeons to his Maestro de la Musica, Guiseppe Zamponi, so that
the latter could give the money to "joan [acobo Organista Extr." (Johann jacob, Organist
Extraordinary). The text continues:
Leopoldo Guillermo &c: julian Del/ano Velasco, mi Thesorero y Maestro de la
Camera &c. A jusepe Zamponi Maestro de la Musica de mi Camera eien patacones
de a 48 placas (que hazen dozientos y quaranta j7orenos de a xx places) para que
por humano se entreguen a jua jacobo, Organista de la Magestad Cesarea del
Emperor mi hermano, y se le dan gratis para proseguir su viage. Y tomareis carta
de pago de le ho jusepe Zamponi onque declare las monedas y preeios quelos reeive,
que con el/ay esta siendo tomada la razon por Pedro Martinez de Paz mi Greffier se
os pasaran en cuenta los diehos eien patacones del dicho valor sin otra formalidad
nun requisito aIguno. Dato en Brusselas a onze de Marzo de mil y seiseentos y
cinquenta anos. Leopoldo Guillermo - Tomo la razon Pedro Martinez de Paz
[followed by Martinez's paraph). (Rasch. 2003:22 and 32)
Leopold Wilhelm ete: julian Oellano Velasco, my Treasurer and Master of the
Chamber etc. To Guiseppe Zamponi, Master of the Music of the Chamber, one
hundred pataeons of 48 stivers each (which make 240 guiders of 20 stivers) so
that they be handed in person to johann jacob [Froberger], Organist of his
Imperial Majesty the Emperor, my brother, and be given to him for nothing so
that he may continue his journey. And you must receive a receipt from him or
from Guiseppe Zamponi in which he declares the money and the values which he
receives, so that with that [receipt] and after the invoice has been accepted by
Pedro Martinez de Paz, my Registrar, the aforesaid one hundred pataeons of the
aforesaid value will be given to you on your account, without further formalities
or any requirement. Given in Brussels 11 March 1650. LeopoId Wilhelm - I
accept the invoice Pedro Martinez de Paz (followed by Martinez's paraph).
(Raseh: 2003:22 and 32)
- 48-
In the Bauyn MS (Froberger. 1993:XXI), Toccata FbWV 102 carries the annotation fatto a Bruxellis
anno 1650 (composed at Brussels in the year 1650), which is a further indication that Froberger
was in Brussels at this time. However, the toccata appears in the 1649 Libra Secondo, which
indicates either that the Bauyn copyist was incorrect as to the date, or that Froberger wrote down
another copy of the toccata whilst he was in Brussels.
Froberger then travelled extensively throughout Western Europe. It is thought that he may have
travelled in a diplomatic capacity, possibly clandestinely, in the service of the Archduke who had
been Governor of the Spanish Netherlands since 1647 (Maguire. 2006:15). If this assumption is
~ correct, it would explain Froberger's presence in certain countries during times of political unrest.
For example, his trip to Paris during the Fronde uprisings and his sojourn in London (see below for
details) at the height of the Protestant Commonwealth when music was at an all-time low in
England and many musicians were unemployed. As a Catholic, he took a chance going to London,
• where he seems to have arrived without any obvious musical reason. Maguire states:
In this respect he may be compared to Rubens, who also acted as a diplomat for
the Habsburgs (Maguire 2006:15).
A letter dated 15 February 1655 written by Balthasar Erben (1626-1686), mentions that Froberger
had advised Erben about 1653 to visit Nuremberg, Wurzburg, Heidelberg, Frankfurt, Bonn, Cologne,
Dusselderf the United Netherlands and the Spanish Netherlands, including Zeeland, Brabant,
Antwerp and Brussels and from there to go to England, France and finally Italy (Froberger. 2005:
XLVII). This gives us a good idea of the places that Froberger visited himself in his own years of
travel between 1649 and 1653. Rampe speculates that he travelled with the Archduke for part of
the time, visiting the lands that made up the Spanish Netherlands (today Belgium, Luxembourg and
the southern part of Holland), which were governed by the Habsburgs (Froberger. 1995:XXIII).
19 May 1650. According to Rasch (2003:24 and 34), Froberger was in Utrecht on 19 May 1650
when Er. Hans Jacob Froberger organist bij Keijserl. Majesteijt (Mr Hans Jacob Froberger, organist to
- 49-
His Imperial Majesty) witnessed a legal document that authorised a notary to collect rents. The
reason for his presence in the United Provinces can only be guessed at, but Leopold Wilhelm, as
Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, was in the process of negotiating treaties with both the
United Netherlands and France, so it is likely that Froberger accompanied him as part of his retinue
to the court of Will em II of Orange.
The allemande from Partita FbWV 614 may have been written around this time." It has the text
Lamentation sur ce, que ray êté volé. Et se joue cl la discretion, et encore mieux que les soldats m'ont
traicté (Lamentation on my being robbed. To be played with discretion and much better than the
way the soldiers treated me). A Latin postscript in the. source WMin 743 states that it was
composed after an incident that occurred between Brussels and Leuven during the Fronde
uprisings+ The postscript reads:
Cum D[ominus] Froberger Bruxellis Lovanium iter faciens a militibus Lotharingis,
tunc grassantibus verberibus male tractatus fuisset, imo quamvis ceteroquin
Patentes caesareas respexissent spoliatus saucius tandem dimissus: hane
Lamentationem pro animi afflicti solatio composuit.
While Monsieur Froberger was travelling from Brussels to Leuven he was beaten
by soldiers from Lorraine who belaboured him with whips even though they had
inspected his imperial travel documents, they even robbed him and left him
behind in a wounded condition. He composed this Lamentation in order to
comfort his humiliated spirit.
He travelled through Zeeland, Brabant, the northern part of Belgium, Antwerp and arrived in Paris
by the autumn of 1650 (Froberger. 2005:XLVII).
3 Froberger is known to have been in Brussels in 1650, but he was also paid an amount of money in December
1652 by the Brussels treasury. The lamentation may thus have been written in 1652 rather than in 1650.
+The Fronde (1648-1653) was a civil war in France that occurred directly after the Thirty Years War and
which started out as a protest by the nobility against taxes imposed by Mazarin. Under the command of
aristocratic leaders, armed bands of ex-soldiers, hardened by continuous war in Germany, terrorised parts of
France and surrounding lands.
- 50 -
Autumn 1650. In Paris he met the lutenists Denis Gaultier (1597 or 1603-1672), other members of
the Gaultier family, Francois Dufaut (before 1604 - before 1672) and Charles Fleury, Sieur de
Blancrocher (c.1605-1652). He also met Francois Roberday (1624-1680) who later published a
"fugue" FbWV 407a (actually a ricercar) by Froberger in 1660. He probably met Chambonnieres
and definitely knew Louis Couperin who had recently come to Paris to study with Charnbonnlëres.
Rampe speculates that he was a guest performer at the private concerts organised by
Chambonnieres (Froberger. 2005:XLVII), called the Assemblée des Honestes Curieux (Assembly of
Enquiring Gentlemen).
According to David Ledbetter, gigues appear in lute sources only after 1650 (Ledbetter 1987:49).
The French lutenist Jean [acques Gaultier, who for 30 years worked as court lutenist in London, is
credited with having introduced some form of the jig into his native country when he returned
there (Little 2010). As he was listed in the English Court records up until 1649, he probably went to
France around 1650. The dates correspond nicely. Like Froberger, Jean [acques Gaultier was also a
correspondent of Constantijn Huygens (Rollin 2010). This provides yet another link between
Froberger and the Parisian lutenists. It seems probable that Froberger, through introductions
provided by Huygens, found himself in the hub of musical creativity when he arrived in Paris in the
autumn of 1650. It is difficult to know who influenced whom the most but in any event, round about
this time, Froberger started to introduce the gigue into his partitas as a standard dance, as did the
French lutenists. Only one of Froberger's previous partitas (in the 1649 Libra Secondo) contains a
gigue. The other partitas in this volume consist of only three dances: allemande-courante-
sarabande.
24 December 1651. A further indication that Froberger was in Paris around this time is the
descriptive title given to the allemande of Partita FbWV 613 and especially to the gigue of this
partita. The allemande, according to the Sing-Akademie MS, was written for the Marquis de Termes
to thank him for the "favours and good deeds received in Paris" (faite pour remereier Monsieur le
Marquis de Termes des favours et bien faits de luy receus a Paris). This was the same Monsieur de
Termes to whom the dying 8lancrocher later entrusted his son (see below, November 1652). César
Auguste de Pardaillan de Gondrin, Marquis de Termes, was first gentleman of the chamber of
Monsieur (Gaston, due d'Orléans), the uncle of the (thirteen year old) Louis XIV. One cannot help
UV • UFS
-51- BLOEMFONTeIN
BIBLIOTEEK. LIBRARY
l
wondering what kind of company Froberger kept in Paris. The Marquis de Termes was apparently
"...engaged in the intrigues of the Fronde. He was handsome, well-made, a man of wit, very lively,
very mischievous and of a very bad character" (Sévigné 1677:18). Elsewhere (Bussy-Rabutin
1754:370) he is described as tres malin et non moins débauché (very malicious and just as
debauched). Catherine Massip relates a complaint by a M. Charles Richard, the son of the organist
Pierre Richard, about the Marquis in 1649, that the Marquis owed him money for harpsichord
lessons (Massip 1998:71). Schulenberg concludes that in Paris "Froberger was in the company of a
colourful, free-spending crowd" (Schulenberg 2008:42).
However, it is the gigue of this same Partita FbWV 613, which allows us to date Proberger's sojourn
in Paris. In various sources (the Minoriten MS, the Sing-Akademie MS and the Bulyowsky MS) the
gigue is entitled nommée la rusée Mazarinique (called Mazarin's trick). The Bulyowsky MS provides
a further description: lament et a discretion, comme la retour de Mons. Le Cardinal Mazarin a Paris
(lament [probably meaning 'slowly' from the French word lentement] and with discretion, like the
return of Cardinal Mazarin to Paris). The Sing-Akadamie MS confirms this with a similar description
lentement et avec discretion comme le reteur de Mr le Cardinal Mazarin a Paris. During the Fronde
wars, Mazarin was in self-imposed exile, returning to Paris twice - the first time with a small army
on Christmas Eve 1651, at the end of what historians term his first exile (Schulenberg 2008:17) and
the second time on 3 February 1653. His return was long awaited by the Parisians who had
expected him back quite some time before he actually arrived. The title of the piece shows that
Froberger, of whose character we know so little, must have had a sense of humour.
David Schulenberg concludes that the title of the gigue refers to Cardinal Mazarin's surreptitious
return to France on Christmas Eve 1651 (Schulenberg 2008:17), whereas Peter Wollny states that
the piece must have been composed in the latter half of 1652 (Froberger 2006:XX), Siegbert Rampe
finds that the piece was not finished before February 1653 (Froberger. 2005:LXIII) and van
Asperen dates it to the summer of 1654 (van Asperen 2008:16). Whichever date is correct, the real
significance of the discussion is that the title of the gigue allows us to date the time that Froberger
started to change the order of his partitas from allemande-courante-sarabande-gigue, to allemande-
gigue-courante-sarabande. The latter order was used in the partita containing the Gigue nommée la
ruse Mazarinique. In changing the order of the dances, he was probably influenced by the French
- 52 -
lutenists that he associated with. According to Rampe (Froberger 1993:XXXII), partitas following
~.. this order are known by the lutenists Francois Dufaut and Denis Gaultier, both of whom moved in
the same circle as Blancrocher (Rollin 2010), whose death (in 1652) was commemorated by both
Dufaut and Gaultier in tombeaux for the lute (Dugot and Ledbetter: 2010) and by Froberger and
Louis Couperin in tombeaux for the harpsichord.
My own opinion is that Schulenberg is probably correct and that Froberger wrote the piece to
commemorate Mazarin's first return to Paris on Christmas Eve 1651 rather than on any of the later
dates. My reasons for this are as follows:
•
• Froberger was not in Paris in 1653 when Mazarin returned for the second time. Shortly
after Blancrocher's death in November 1652, he left to go to Brussels and thereafter
• travelled through various towns to Regensburg. See below for more information on this
part of his life. It is possible that he wrote the piece retrospectively, but I find this a less
likely scenario.
• The Bauyn MS contains the same partita (FbWV 613) and the allemande from the partita
bears the inscription fait a Paris (composed in Paris). This indicates that the title of the
gigue must refer to the earlier return of Mazarin when Froberger was actually in Paris.
• The title and the added descriptions in the Bulyowsky and the Sing-Akademie manuscripts
imply a certain surreptitiousness in Mazarin's return. This would accord with his first,
almost half-hearted, attempt to return rather than with his second successful attempt.
• In the Sing-Akademie MS the gigue is part of a partita which contains the Allemande faite
pour remereier M le Marquis de Termes des faveurs et bien faits de luy recus a Paris
(composed for the Marquis de Termes for favours and good deeds received from him in
Paris). It seems logical that Froberger would have presented the partita (or at least the
allemande) to the Marquis before he left Paris - which he certainly did long before
Mazarin's second return.
The comment in the Hintze MS confirms the new order of the dances:
- 53 -
Hierauff Auch die Gigue hernach Covrant Undt Sarab[and} ...Zu letzt gespielt. Und so Setzt er
[Froberger} Nun fast Alle seine Sachen in Soleher Ordnung
At this point comes the Gigue, followed by the Courante and Sarabande played last.
[Froberger] now puts almost all his pieces in this order.
As mentioned above, in the 1649 autograph (Libro Secondo), with the exception of one partita,
.FbWV 602, which contains a gigue in last position, Froberger's partitas have only three dances:
allemande-courante-sarabande. Sometime after this, probably during his first trip to Paris in 1650,
~. he started adding the gigue as the last dance and we now know that he changed the order of the
four dances probably around late 1651jearly 1652. Partitas in his autograph of 1656 (Libra Quarto)
follows the (by-then) established Frobergerian order of allemande-gigue-courante-sarabande.
Rampe mentions that "the possibility cannot be discounted that some of the ... works were only put
into the new order at a later date by the composer, i.e. they originally ended with the gigue and may
therefore be performed in that order!" (Froberger.2005:LXXIV).
Early 1652. (Possible date). Researchers are divided on whether Froberger left Paris to go to
England after this first trip to Paris or whether he went after his second trip to Paris (he was in
Paris late 1652 - see below). In any event, he stayed in London where he wrote his lament entitled
Plainte faite cl Londres pour passer la Mélancholie (Lament composed in London to drive away
melancholy). In Froberger's letter to Kircher of 9 February 1654 (Annibaldi 1998:55) Froberger
mentions that he had been asked about the Musurgia Universalis whilst he was in England and it is
this statement that confirms that he went to England and must have been there prior to 1 April
1653 (when his name is mentioned again in the Emperor's account books as "organist"). If either of
these dates are correct, Froberger would have been in England during the Commonwealth years
when there was a depressing dearth of musical activity.
A Latin postscript to the Plainte in WMin 743 (Froberger 2003:15) describes the incidents that
befell Froberger at the hands of highwaymen and pirates between Paris and Calais and between
Calais and England.
- 54-
D[ominus] Froberger volens Parisiis in Anglicam abire, intra Parisios et Cales et
Douer in mari adeo spoliatus e[st], ut in caverna piscatoria sine nuomo Anglicam
I
appulit; ac Lotidinum venit. Ubi cum interesset Societati, et musicam audire vellet;
monitus e[st] levare folies: id quod fecit. Sed ex melancholia oblitus semellevare, ab
organoedo pede per portam extrusus fuit. Super quo casu hane Lamentationem
.. [com]posit.
As Mr Froberger was travelling from Paris to England, he was robbed at sea
between Paris and Calais and Dover, landing in England in a fishing boat without
a penny to his name. Having arrived, he then set out for London. When he joined
a group of people to listen to music, he was asked to operate the bellows [of the
organ], which he did as asked. But, in his melancholy, he forgot to operate them,
and he was kicked out of the door by the organist. He composed this Lamentation
about this incident.
•
Mattheson (1740:89) confirms this story, and the Sing-Akademie MS adds some further
elaborations to it, such as Froberger arriving in London in cast-off seaman's clothing, thrown to him
out of pity by the sailors who robbed him. This source also makes it clear that poor Froberger was
robbed not once but twice on the same trip: once between Paris and Calais and the other time at sea
between Calais and England (Froberger 2006:XXI).
However, Mattheson dates the episode later, stating that the Lamentation was composed in 1662
(Mattheson 1740: 89), after Charles II was re-instated - a date that is disputed by most modern
scholars as being too late. According to Mattheson. Froberger played before Charles II. During a
break in the music making, Froberger resolved a dissonant chord in an ingenious way, and was
recognized by a foreign lady who had studied with him. Charles II was informed of his presence and
Froberger was asked to play, duly astonishing the listeners.
26 September 1652. From London, he seems to have returned to Paris, where a concert was held
in his honour at the Eglise des jacobins in Paris on Thursday 26 September 1652. This is testified to
by Jean Loret in his weekly gazette of Sunday 29 September 1652, La Muze Historique. which
- 55 -
describes a vast ensemble of singers and musicians who performed un concert angelique the
previous Thursday (Loret 1857: 291ft). To Loret's amazement, it was not performed for the Gods,
not even for Kings or Queens, but in honour of a certain pifre d'Alemand (extremely fat person from
Germany), tres-mediocre personage (a very insignificant person). The word pifre does not seem to
be in current French usage, but I have found one 17th century translation of the word "piffre",
spelled with two Fs. The author of the French/English Dictionary The Royal Dictionary (1699), Abel
Boyer, translates it as Ita fat guts, a slouch". The cross sign before the word is defined at the
beginning of the dictionary as signalling a term which is vulgar.
Boyer: The Royal Dictionary, 1699.
Froberger was not identified by name but described as Organist to the Emperor and what is more, a
paid employee of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm, whom he had served for some time (Loret 1857:
291ft). Loret's rather snobbish comments indicate the thinking of the times: a paid employee was in
the lower ranks of society, whether or not he was a brilliant musician. A few extracts from his
newsletter (which is all in rhyming couplets) are worth quoting:
Je trouvois un peu ridicule Ifound it a little ridiculous
Que ces accords mélodieux That these melodious harmonies
Ne se fissent point pour les dieux...... Were not indeed for the gods ...
Mais pour regales seulement But for the sole delight
Un certain pifre d'Alemand Of a certain fat pig from Germany
Tres-mediocre personnage...... A very insignificant person ...
...Organiste de I'Empereur ...Organist to the Emperor
Et, pour le plus, homme de solde And, what is more, a paid employee
Du sieur archi-duc Léopolde Of Archduke Leopold
Que depuis quelque-temps il sert. Whom he has served for some time.
-56-
~:
November 1652. Another testimony to Froberger's presence in Paris in late 1652 is his Tombeau
fait á Paris sur la Mort de Monsieur Bloncheroche. Froberger's lutentist friend, Charles Fleury, Sieur
de Blancrocher, died after falling down a flight of steps in November that year. The incident took
place after a dinner held by Madame de St Thomas that they both attended. The Latin postscript in
the Viennese source WMin 743 provides an account of the circumstances (Froberger. 2003:23).
Madame de St Thomas was a singer (Sabatier 1998:315 and Delmasse 1859:151).
This account is described in detail in the first case-study of chapter 7.
19 December 1652. After Blancrocher's death, Froberger left Paris to go to Brussels. There is a
record of a payment of 144 gulden to Froberger by the Archduke Leopold Wilhelm on 19 December
1652 for having performed for the Archduke several times (Rasch 2003:34).
1April 1653. Froberger's name appears in the Imperial court account books from 1 April 1653 to
30 June 1657, once again as "third chamber organist" to the Emperor (Froberger. 2005: XLVI).
1653. In the spring of 1653 Froberger probably travelled to the Imperial Diet (the parliament of
the various estates of which the Holy Roman Empire was composed), which opened on 1 July 1653
at Regensburg and remained in session until 17 May 1654 (Whaley 2011:20). If Froberger was in
Brussels on 19 December 1652, then he was not part of the gigantic retinue that accompanied
Ferdinand III to Regensburg, arriving in Regensburg on 12 December 1652. Ferdinand made a
triumphant entrance with a company of three thousand, including some fifty princes and counts,
sixty musicians, three court jesters and three dwarfs (Whaley 2001:19). Rasch (2003:29) suggests
that another descriptive composition, the Allemande faite en passant le Rhin, dons un barque, en
grand peril (Allemande composed in crossing the Rhine, in a barge, in great danger) may have been
composed around the middle of 1653, although Wollny (Froberger. 2006:XI) dates it one year later
to June 1654. Rampe, like Rasch, dates it to 1653, and suggests that it was written after Froberger's
return from France (Rampe 2010: Vol VI.1: XIX).
I disagree with both the dates of 1653 and 1654. According to the Sing-Akademie MS, the events
associated with the Allemande took place on 24 June at St Goar, although the year is, frustratingly,
- 57 -
not given. If Froberger experienced these events on the way to the Diet in 1653 then he would have
~ missed both the election of Ferdinand IV (Ferdinand Ill's eldest son and successor), which took
place in Augsburg on 31 May 1653 (Whaley 2011:20) and the coronation of Ferdinand IV which
took place on June 18 1653 in Regensburg (Whaley 2011:20). An inscription at the beginning of the
Allemande of Partita FbWV 611 in the Sing-Akademie MS commemorates both the election and the
coronation, implying that he attended both. The Diet was officially over on 17 May 1654 and it
seems that Froberger went back to Vienna: he seems to have been at court when Ferdinand IV died
of smallpox on 9 July 1654. He wrote the Lamento sopra la dolorosa perdita della Real M.sta
Ferdinando IV. Re de Romani & (Lamentation on the sad loss of his Royal Majesty, Ferdinand IV.
King of the Romans etc) to mourn his death. It seems unlikely that the events at St Gaar happened
shortly after the Diet was over, especially as the Sing-Akademie MS states that they occurred en
route from Cologne to Mainz, thus travelling south from Cologne. Thus, in my opinion, the rather
slapstick events associated with the Allemande faite en passant le Rhin must have taken place at
some other time in Froberger's life. The debacle is described in detail in Chapter 3.2 .
•
31 May 1653. Ferdinand Ill's eldest son was elected his successor in Augsburg on 31 May 1653
(Whaley 2011:20). The Allemande from Partita FbWV 611 in the Sing-Akademie MS reads: faite sur
l'Election et Couronnement de sa Majesté Ferdinant [sic] le Ouatriéme (composed on the election and
crowning of his majesty Ferdinand IV). It seems likely that Froberger, together with other
musicians from Ferdinand's retinue, performed at both of the ceremonies and the celebrations
thereafter.
18 June 1653 Ferdinand Ill's eldest son was crowned Ferdinand IV, King of the Romans (Emperor
of the Holy Roman Empire) on June 18 1653 in Regensburg (Whaley 2011:20). This made
Ferdinand IV the successor to Ferdinand III in the event of the latter's death. The Diet was only
officially opened on 1 July 1653 due to various political delays and because of Ferdinand's desire to
have his son elected and crowned before the opening (Whaley 2011:20ff). The Di.iben MS contains
versions of Toccata FbWV 114 and Fantasia FbWV 207 together with the date 1653 (Froberger
2011:XIII). As the Di.iben MS hails from Stockholm, it is possible that Froberger gave these
compositions to one of the Swedish delegation to the Diet. (Sweden was part of the Reichstag.)
I
- 58-
4- August 1653. Empress Eleonora was crowned at Regensburg (Whaley 2011:23). Eleonora
~. Gonzaga of Mantua (1630-1686) was Ferdinand's third wife, the great-niece of her namesake, the
second wife of Ferdinand II and step mother to Ferdinand Ill. Froberger commemorated the event
in the Sarabande from Partita FbWV 611: feite sur le couronnement de sa Majesté Imperiale
l'lmperatice Eleonore.
9 February 1654. Froberger's second surviving letter to Kircher is dated February 9 1654, from
Regensburg. He might have completed his Libro Terzo in Regensburg, but unfortunately, this book
is still missing. Whilst he was in Regensburg he met Balthasar Erben (Clausing 2011), and probably
taught him. Erben later became Kapelmeister in Danzig (Gdansk).
17 May 1654. The Imperial Diet had remained in session until this time. When it was over,
" Froberger most likely returned to Vienna with the rest of the Emperor's retinue.
9 July 1654. Ferdinand IV died of smallpox (Ingrao 2000:54 and Vehse 1865:468). Froberger's
Lamentation FbWV 612 was written round about this time. The inscription reads: Lamento sopra la
dolorosa perdita della Real M.sta Ferdinando IV Re de Romani &. (Lamentation on the sad loss of his
Royal Majesty, Ferdinand IV. King of the Romans etc). In WMin743, the title is in French and the
piece has been dated. Lamentation faite sur la tres douloreuse mort de sa majesté Ferdinand le
quatrieme Roy de Romanis; et se joue lentement avec discretion. An 1654. (Lamentation written on
the very sad death of his majesty, Ferdinand the fourth, King of the Romans; to be played slowly
1\.
with discretion. 1654.)
1656. During these years in Vienna Froberger completed his Libro Quarto, which contains various
keyboard works dedicated to Ferdinand Ill, dated 1656. The volume contains both the Lamentation
and Partita FbWV 611 mentioned above. The Partita has been decorated (see overleaf) with various
emblems that seem to relate to the Habsburg royalty (the Imperial crown, orb, sword and sceptre).
As mentioned above, the Sing-Akademie MS contains the same partita with annotations to each of
the dances except the gigue. In the Sing-Akademie MS, the allemande from this partita is associated
- 59-
with the election of Ferdinand IV as King of the Romans (Emperor Elect), faite sur l'Election et
Couronnement de sa Majesté Ferdinant [sic] le Ouatriême (composed on the election and crowning of
his majesty Ferdinand IV). The courante of the same partita was faite au jour de naissance de la
[eune Princesse Imperiale, (composed on the day of the birth of the young imperial princess),
probably Eleonora Maria Josefa (1653-1697) whose birthday was 13 May and who later became
Queen of Poland. The sarabande was composed on the crowning of the Empress, faite sur le
couronnement de sa Majesté Imperiale /'lmperatice Eleonore, (mother of the above mentioned
princess).
Froberger: openings of each of the dances from Partita FbWV 611, showing the emblems relating to
the Habsburgs. Libro Quarto 1656. (Schulenberg 2006.)
- 60-
l
I
The princess was born on 13 May 1653; Ferdinand IVwas elected on 31 May 1653 and crowned on
18 June 1653; Eleonora was crowned on 4 August 1653. The Lamento refers to the death of
Ferdinand IV on 9 July 1654. This seems to indicate that Libra Quarto (1656) was compiled from
pieces written over several years, at least 1653-1656. Froberger mentions in his dedication of the
Libro Quarto to Ferdinand III that the pieces in the fourth part of the book (the partitas):
...secondate per il piu dall'humore, che ha cagionato in me la Varieta deg/'accidenti
del tempo ...
...derive from emotions that the vicissitudes of time have occasioned in me ...
(translation: Schulenberg 2006: 4).
The decorative wording in the courtly Italian of the time is difficult to understand, but it seems to
imply that the pieces were written at various times or possibly even inspired by events in the past.
2 April 1657. Ferdinand III died suddenly at the age of 48, according to Vehse (1865:468) from the
effects of a bad fright. A fire had broken out in the Emperor's apartments and a halberdier of the
guard tried to save the Emperor's youngest son, an infant of only a few months. He dropped the
cradle, which broke without injuring the child, but the Emperor, already in ill-health, died three
hours later. (The child, Ferdinand Josef Alois, died a year later on 16 June 1658.) Froberger's
Lamentation faite sur la mort tres douloureuse de sa majésté Imperiale Ferdinand le troisieme
(Lamentation composed upon the very sorrowful death of his majesty Emperor Ferdinand the
third) is dated 1657 in WMin 743, and was presumably written shortly after Perdmand's death. A
colleague of Froberger's, Johann Heinrich Schmelzer (c1620-23-1680) wrote a lament for
Ferdinand as well: the trio sonata entitled Lamento sopra la morte de Ferdinando III (Lamentation
on the death of Ferdinand III).After the death of his son, Ferdinand IV, in July 1654, Ferdinand III
had not been successful in having his second son, Archduke Leopold VI, elected Emperor before his
own death in April 1657. The main reason for this was that Leopold had not reached the age of 18,
the minimum age required to be elected as Emperor (Ingrao 2000:54). After Ferdinand Ill's death,
this created a power struggle between the young Archduke Leopold VI, his uncle Archduke Leopold
Wilhelm (Ferdinand Ill's brother) and various other contenders such as Ferdinand Maria, Elector of
Bavaria. The French King, Louis XIV,was outspoken in his desire to break the Habsburg succession
- 61 -
r
and his opposition to Ferdinand's son, Archduke Leopold VI, was supported by several of his allied
Rhenish princes, including the influential Elector-Archbishop of Mainz and the Jesuit order of
Catholic priests (Schott: 2010). Unfortunately for Froberger, his links with Kircher (part of the
Jesuit community) and with the court of Johann Philipp von Schënborn, the Elector-Archbishop of
Mainz, were noted. In addition, Froberger was Leopold Wilhelm's erstwhile employee and probably
seen to be his supporter. Archduke Leopold VI was ultimately successful and became Emperor
Leopold I.This had unfortunate consequences for Froberger.
30 June 1657. After the official period of mourning for Ferdinand, Froberger received his last
salary as Court Organist on 30 June 1657 (Schott 2010). It is not clear whether or not Froberger
was actually dismissed at this date, because according to Rampe, (Froberger 2005: XLVIII)
Froberger remained in office until July 1658 during the dispute over the succession. He applied,
unsuccessfully, for a position under Leopold I, using a collection of 6 capriccios and 6 ricercars, a
volume which has, fortunately, survived in excellent condition. Howard Schott speculates (Schott:
2010) that this volume may have been produced in haste, as, unlike the volumes dedicated to
Ferdinand Ill, it did not contain Sautter's painstaking decoration. It presents some interesting
problems in dating. It is dedicated to his Imperial Majesty, Leopold I.On the one hand, Leopold was
only officially elected Emperor in July 1658, more than a year after the death of Ferdinand Ill, but
Froberger seems to have been unpaid since the previous year in June 1657. Either Froberger was
waiting to see who would actually be elected in which case the date of the Libra would be after the
election was certain, or, alternatively, perhaps he presented the volume around the time he
received his last salary, sycophantically referring to Leopold by his forthcoming title before he was
elected. Leopold was acting-Emperor after his father's death, in the fifteen months prior to his
succession. In any event, Froberger was not successful in his ploy to retain or regain his position at
court.
Perhaps a deciding factor in Froberger's dismissal was the fact that Emperor Leopold I was less
interested in keyboard music, preferring dramatic sung music. He wrote a staggering thirteen
operas and nine oratorios himself, in addition to a vast amount of other sacred music (Froberger.
1995:XXVI). However, the most probable reason for Froberger's dismissal was his political
affiliation as discussed above. Johann Gottfried Walther (1684-1748) in his Musica/isches Lexicon
- 62 -
(Leipzig 1732:264) ascribes his dismissal to Kaiserl. Ungnade (royal disfavour). The political aspect
of his dismissal is supported by the fact that Ebner remained in office as Court Organist (Arnn and
Schróder.Zê l L].
1 August 1658. His dismissal did not prevent Froberger from writing an allemande for the
coronation of Leopold. The Sotheby's autograph contains an Allemande faicte sur le Couronnement
de Sa Majesté Imperiale a Franckfurt (Maguire 2006:11). The coronation of Leopold I took place in
Frankfurt, on 1 August 1658. However, the meaning of the title is not clear. Is Froberger saying that
he was actually at Frankfurt, or merely that the coronation took place at Frankfurt?
Froberger's destination after he left Vienna (or Frankfurt, if he went to the Coronation) remains
obscure. Rampe suggests (Froberger. 1993:XXV) that Froberger again entered the service of
Leopold Wilhelm, who was Archbishop of Strasbourg in addition to his other titles, and who now
resided in Saverne. Van Asperen (2008:10.1) speculates that Froberger may have gone to Paris
after leaving Vienna in 1658 to look up his former benefactor. During his first trip to Paris,
Froberger had been supported by the Marquis de Termes, as is evidenced by the dedication to the
Marquis in the Partita FbWV 613. The Marquis lived in the Hotel Saté, the magnificent palace owned
by Pierre Aubert de Fontenay, a rich salt-tax collector whom Andrew Trout (1996:102) describes as
"an obnoxious character". Salé is a multiple pun meaning salted, dirty and extravagant (Trout
1996:102). Once again it seems that Froberger was in exalted, but not particularly nice, company. It
is tempting to imagine him playing to the rich and famous in the salons of this remarkable building
which today houses the Picasso museum. It is thus quite possible, that after leaving Vienna, the
itinerant composer went to Frankfurt and from there to Paris, arriving there, at the latest, in the
autumn of 1659. In addition, van Asperen argues that Sibylla's brother Ulrich (who had been in the
service of Louis XIV since 1658) and her cousin George (both of whom Froberger presumably
knew) were both in Paris in 16595.
5 Van Asperen refers to the Recueil rriémorable de Hugues Bois de Chesne (Bikker, »Chronique 1443-1665«,
Mémoires de la Société d'Émulation de Montbéliard, 1856, Vol. 5, S, 85-91), »Chronique de [ean-Ceorges
Perdrix (conseilIer du comte Georges, Chronique 1659-1689«, Mémoires, 1857, Vol. 6, S. 115-127).
- 63-
Alternatively, he may have gone to Montbéliard. The presence of the Partita FbWV 618 in the Bauyn
,. MS (Paris) indicates that he may have established contact with Sibylla at her residence in
Montbéliard before May 1660, because he seems to have been in Paris on 1 May 1660 (see below),
at the latest. This particular partita contains an allemande, which, in the Sotheby's autograph, is
entitled Allemande faict iI Montbéliard iI /'honneur de son Altress Serenissime Madame Sybille
Duchesse de Wirtemberg, Princesse de Montbéliard (Allemande composed at Montbéliard in honour of
her Most Serene Highness, Madame Sibylla, Duchess of Wurtemberg) and a Gigue nommé la Philette
(Gigue called la Philette). In the Bulyowsky MS these pieces have similar titles, the gigue being
spelled Philotte. Rudolf Rasch and Pieter Dirksen have suggested that the word Philotte is a
diminutive of Sophia Louisa, after Sophia Louisa of Wi.irttemberg, a younger cousin of Sibylla .
• Sophia was an accomplished lutenist (Dirksen and Rasch. 2001:133ff). Rampe (Froberger 2005:
XXVII) finds this unlikely as Philotte is more appropriately a diminutive of Sop hi a Charlotte and, in
any event Sop hie Louisa lived in Stuttgart, not MontbéJiard .
• 1 May 1660. The Sing-Akademie MS contains an annotation to the Méditationfaist sur ma morte
~
future (Meditation composed on my future death), FbWV 620, which reads iI Paris 1May Anno 1660,
indicating that Froberger was in France at this time. It is possible that he was trying to get work in
Paris prior to Louis XIV's marriage to Maria Theresa of Spain which took place on June 9 1660 in St:
Jean de Luz near the Spanish/French border and which was followed by a series of magnificent
festivities in Paris. Froberger also probably gave Roberday a Ricerear, FbWV 407a, for inclusion in
his printed anthology Fugues et Caprices iI quatre partier miser en partition pour /'orgue which was
published in Paris on 14 August 1660.
1662 (possible date). As previously mentioned, Mattheson states that Froberger went to England
again in 1662. This has been discredited by Rampe (Froberger. 2003:XXXVlI) but van Asperen has
suggested that Mattheson may be correct after all (van Asperen April 2004: 27-30). In any event,
Mattheson's comments upon Froberger's visit to England are worth mentioning. If Mattheson was
correct (Mattheson 1740:88/89), then Froberger played before the newly re-instated King of
England, Charles II in 1662 and impressed the courtiers to such an extent that their eyes and
mouths were wide open, causing the King to apologise to Froberger for the behaviour of his
subjects. This colourful anecdote is regarded as spurious because no other source backs it up.
However, it is quite possible, in my opinion, that Proberger did make a second trip to England,
- 64-
especially in view of the fact that Mattheson was, in other respects, mostly accurate about
Proberger's life. Froberger was, after all, an inveterate traveller and his last four-year sojourn at the
Viennese court may well have left him with itchy feet. If Mattheson is to be believed, then
Proberger's Plainte faite a Londres pour passer la melaneholie (Plaint composed in London to drive
away melancholy) can possibly be dated to 1662, rather than the earlier date of 1651-2 that is now
more commonly accepted.
1662. Around this time, Froberger re-established contact with Sibylla, who, after the death of her
husband, Duke Leopold Friedrich ofWiirttemberg on 15 June 1662, retired to her estate, Héricourt,
in the Wiirttemberg enclave of Montbéliard (today Haute-Savorme in France) on 31 July 1663
(Ruggieri 1998:24). It is interesting to note that Sibylla was, like Froberger, born at Stuttgart and
they probably knew each other from this time (Ruggieri 1998:24). She was slightly younger than
Froberger, being born on 4 December 1620, which makes her 42 years old in 1662 - Froberger
would have been 46. Van Asperen states that her father, the Duke ofWiirttemberg was godfather to
one of Froberger's brothers (van Asperen April 2004:27-30). The Sotheby's autograph contains a
tombeau for Duke Leopold Friedrich, which implies that he must have had contact with Sibylla at
least as early as mid-1662, if not before. It also contains two allemandes dedicated to Sibylla, one of
which is titled Aj1igée, la quelle se joue lentement avec discretion.faict a Montbéliard pour Son Altesse
Serenissime Madame Sibylle .... The word "afliqée" (afj1igée in modern French) means "afflicted" and
seems to be used as a noun rather than as a past participle, with the same type of meaning as
lamentation, plainte or meditation. The title may thus be interpreted as meaning "Affliction, which is
to be played slowly with discretion, composed at Montbéliard for her Most Serene Highness
Madame Sibylla",
We can thus assume that Froberger was in the Wiirttemberg area at the latest in June 1662,
probably having arrived there from Paris, or possibly from England. If he came from Paris, he may
have left the city because his finances (from the Marquis de Termes) dried up. In September 1661,
Louis XIV had his Minister of Finance, Nicolas Fouquet, arrested on grounds of embezzlement and
many financiers went down with him. One of these was Pierre Aubert de Fontenay, who was fined
3.6 million Livres (Trout.1996:133) and in whose mansion the Marquis de Termes lived. This was a
vast amount of money, roughly equivalent to 12 million GBP (134.5 million ZAR) in today's money
- 65 -
(Hilton 2002:312), although the exact amount is difficult to pin down as the Livre fluctuated in
,. value considerably during Louis XIV's reign, as does modern currency. The fact that financiers such
as Aubert could actually pay up, indicates the scale of the embezzlement that was taking place by
Fouquet and his like. Perhaps a shortage of money encouraged Froberger to leave Paris and to seek
employment in Wiirttemberg.
20 September 1664. On 20 September 1664, Froberger was given an audience with Georg II
(Sibylla's brother-in-law) in Montbéliard. This fact can be ascertained from an entry in Geerg's
journal, discovered by Jean-Marc Debard (1991:341ff). The audience probably allowed Froberger
to settle on (Lutheran) Wiirttembergian territory despite his Catholic faith. He gave lessons to
Sibylla during the last years of his life and was given an apartment in the castle of Héricourt. There
appears to have been mutual respect and admiration between Sibylla and Froberger. She referred
to him as "my honest and diligent teacher who took so much trouble to teach me something of his
" art" in a letter to Huygens dated 25 June 1667 (Huygens: 2010) and mentioned that people loved
him for his good sense of humour and his modesty (Froberger. 2005:LVIII). She was a gifted
keyboard player and, according to Huygens, Froberger himself said that she played his
compositions as well as he did himself (Huygens: 2010. Letter from Huygens to Sibylla dated 29
August 1667, Instituut voor Nederlandse Geschiedenis). However, it seems that he was never
formally employed at Héricourt and he continued to travel on a regular basis.
Between 29 August and 7 September 1665. A letter from Huygens in English to Ultricia Ogle
It Swann of 29 December 1666 confirms that Huygens had heard Froberger perform at the Electoral-
Archiepiscopal court in Mainz the previous year. He commented:
nothing pleased me so much as to heare that excellent Frobergher his rare
improvements [improvisations?] and to see him take the patience to heare me
with some indifferent satisfaction (Huygens: 2010).
~I
- 66-
•
Van Asperen (2008:21) deduces that this meeting between Huygens and Froberger took place on
16 September 1665, but according to my calculations it must have been a little before that. Huygens
was in Besancon on 29 August (Huygens:2010. Letter to the Princess de Lislebonne 29 August
1665, Instituut voor Nederlandse Geschiedenis) and in Frankfurt on 7 September 1665, as part of his
travels along the Rhine (Huygens. Letter to Karl Ludwig, Elector Palatine 7-17 September 1665). He
would thus have been in Mainz sometime in between these two dates.
During his sojourn in Mainz, Froberger probably wrote a collection of his compositions for
presentation purposes (Froberger. 1995:XXX). Rampe speculates that this missing collection
formed the basis for the two printed anthologies of his music by the Mainz book merchant and
publisher Ludwig Bourgeat (d.1714), the first editions of which were published in 1693 and 1696.
April 1666 (possible date). The Sotheby's autograph also contains a work which is inscribed by
Froberger: Meditation, la quel/e se joue lentement avec discretion, faiet a Madrid sur la Mort future de
...Sibylle, Duchess de Wirtemberg, Princesse de Montbéliard .... (Meditation, which should be played
slowly with discretion, composed at Madrid on the future death of Sibyl/a, Duchess of Wiirttemberg,
Princess of Montbéliard). This means that Froberger was in Madrid towards the end of his life. It
also underscores the personal relationship that he had with Sibylla. Like the Meditation on his own
death, this one for Sibylla includes an inscription at the end NB Memento Mori Sibyl/a? (NB Are you
mindful of death, Sibylla?). The Meditation on his own death is inscribed NB Memento Mori
Froberger? This journey to Madrid, perhaps made together with Sibylla and her entourage, may
have occurred when Margarita Teresa of Spain was married by proxy to Leopold I in Madrid, April
1666 (Schulenberg 2008:8).
1 September 1666. By September 1666 at the latest, Froberger was back in Héricourt. A letter
from Froberger to Huygens dated 1 September 1666 seems to have mentioned that he had plans to
return to the court at Vienna - possibly alluding to the organist's position that had become vacant
following the death of Ebner on 11 or 12 February 1665. Proberger's letter is missing, but
Huygens's reply to this letter, dated 8 October, reads:
- 67-
Adesso che per I'ultima sua scritta in Héricourt il prima di Settembre veda che VS
sta per tornarsi in breve alla carte Cesarea ... (Huygens: 2010).
As far as the last, written on September 1, Héricourt, I see that you are shortly to
return to the Court of the Emperor...
The Sotheby's autograph might be a dedication copy of his works that he was preparing for the
Emperor. The binding of the autograph bears the arms of Leopold I on both covers, although the
volume is not dedicated to the Emperor. Froberger is given the title Organist de la chamber de la
Majeste Imperiale on the title page, but this was added by a different hand probably at a later date.
It might have been either ignorance on the part of the unknown scribe or, if the inscription was
authorised by Froberger (unlikely), just wishful thinking. He was still at Héricourt the following
year.
6 or 7 May 1667. Froberger died suddenly during a Vespers service at the castle in Héricourt on 6
or 7 May 1667. Sibylla's doctor, Dr Jean-Nicholas Binninger, recounted in his memoirs that he had
been summoned to attend Froberger, but had arrived after he had died (Ruggeri 1998:27). Sibylla's
letter to Huygens mentions that he died of Schlagj1us and Binninger, who issued the death
certificate, wrote that he died of Apoplecticum (Ruggieri 1998:36). This is probably translatable in
today's medical terminology as a stroke or a cerebral aneurism. At his own request Froberger was
buried in the Catholic church of Bavilliers between Héricourt and Belfort on 10 May 1667
(Huygens: 2010. Letter from Sibylla to Huygens 25 June 1667, Instituut voor Nederlandse
Geschiedenis), his eyes directed towards the crucifix on the altar.
Sibylla arranged for an impressive funeral and donated a tombstone (Huygens: 2010. Letters from
Sibylla to Huygens 25 June and 23 October 1667 Instituut vaar Nederlandse Geschiedenis), but
unfortunately neither the grave nor the tombstone has survived. Froberger had apparently sensed
that he was about to die and had given Sibylla a gold coin the day before to pay for a grave, alms for
the poor and gratuities for the servants at the castle.
- 68-
Sibylla inherited his music, which she stubbornly refused to part with. The letter from Sibylla to
• Huygens dated 23 October 1667 mentions that Froberger had organised his music into volumes,
probably into the various types of pieces that make up the volumes that have survived: toccatas,
ricercars, capriccios, fantasias, canzons, partitas. The recently discovered autograph that was
auctioned by Sotheby's is probably one of these volumes. In the same letter she explained her
reluctance to let Huygens have Proberger's music.
Seine edle Compositianes habe ich so lieb und wehrt, das ich sie so lang ich lebe nit
kan ader begehre aus handen zu lassen, dan ich s ihme auch so aft und viel auf sien
• begehren versprachen, niemanden nichts zu geben. (Huygens. Letter from Sibylla to
Huygens 23 October 1667. Instituut voor Nederlandse Geschiedenis 2010).
I love and cherish his noble compositions so much that I cannot and do not want
to let them out of my hands so long as I live. For I promised him so very often, as
was his stated wish, not to give any of them to anyone.
However, in the same letter, she did offer to have copies made of some compositions and send them
to Huygens, on the understanding that Huygens did not allow them to be published as Froberger
was so against this. She also offered to play the Meditation on Froberger's death for Huygens and
said that she was still very upset by his death and would dearly love to talk about him with
Huygens. This is a further indication that the Sotheby's autograph, which contains a copy of this
Meditation, might have been in her possession.
A letter dated 4 August 1668, again from Huygens to Sibylla, affirms that Huygens had managed to
collect a large quantity of Froberger's works (Rasch 2003:31):
Car pour des productions de eest excellent auteur, l'en suis si amplement pourveu
qui'il faudroit bien du papier pour marquer peu de measures de chasque piece que je
possêde.
- 69-
For as far as the compositions of this excellent composer (Froberger) are
concerned, I am provided with them so abundantly that it would need a lot of
paper simply to write down a few bars of every piece that I possess.
A letter from Huygens to Lady Ulticia Swann in English dated 29 December 1666 (thus before
Proberger's death) mentions that Froberger had sent him "a good deale" of compositions whilst
Huygens had been on a trip down the Rhine.
Lately I fell upon Froberghers compositions, of which he sent me a good deale
since last yeare, coming downe the Rhine. (Huygens: 2010).
Rampe (Froberger. 2005:XLVIlI) mentions that Froberger's pupils included Ferdinand Ill, Sibylla,
Balthasar Erben (Kapellmeister in Danzig), Franz Franken (an instrumentalist and later a singer at
the Danish Court), Caspar Grieffgens (organist at Cathedral of Cologne), and, possibly, Alessandro
Poglietti (early 17th century-1683, Imperial Chamber Organist in Vienna). Mattheson also lists
Johann Drechsel (71629-1705, teacher of Johann Philipp Krieger) and Ewaldt Hinsch (Organist at St.
Mary's in Danzig). It is more than likely that he also taught Louis Couperin and Kerll. It is possible
that Franken was the German virtuoso "Francesco" that Huygens referred to in his correspondence
with Sibylla, who served together with Froberger at the Emperor's court and who played
Froberger's music so beautifully (Huygens: 2010. Letter to Sibylla 4 August 1668, Instituut voor
Nederlandse Geschiedenis).
Closing remarks
Despite our lack of knowledge about Proberger's character, certain things can be surmised. Clearly
he was well educated and well versed in court etiquette. This can be deduced from his easy
acceptance into aristocratic circles in several countries, his ability to speak and write several
languages (at least French, Italian and German), his correspondence with Kircher and the high
regard in which he was held by other intellectuals and composers (Huygens and Louis Couperin for
example). In a letter to Sibylla Huygens writes:
- 70-
...le merité de son rare esprit et de ceste merveilleuse science, ti laquelle il n'en reste
plus guerre de comparable au monde ...
...the worthiness of his exceptional mind and of his marvellous ability, to which
no-one in the world can be compared ... (Huygens: 2010. 29 August 1667.
Instituut voor Nederlandse Geschiedenis).
He inspired affection in his employers: both Ferdinand and Sibylla seem to have been fond of him.
Sibylla mentions that people loved him for his good sense of humour and the gigue from FbWV 613,
with its amusing comments on the return of Mazarin to Paris, shows that he had a sense of fun.
His music reveals a mind that is both complex and inventive and a nature that is passionate and
emotional. However, despite the fact that he was an intellectual, associating with diplomats and
aristocrats, he did not lack the common touch. According to the account of his death by the
physician Jean-Nicholas Binninger in Observationum et Curationum (Montbéliard 1673), he enjoyed
playing cards with the servants at Montbéliard (Ruggeri 1998:27). He was certainly not averse to
carousing. It is probably a safe bet that B1ancrocher fell down the stairs after drinking too much at
dinner and it seems that Froberger was not averse to a bit of a wild party (see the drunken
shenanigans relating to the Wasserfall Allemande in Section 3.2).
By anyone's standards, he was well-travelled. He went to the great European capitals for study,
performances and, possibly, diplomatic missions. It has even been surmised that he was a sort of
spy for the Habsburg Empire. If he was, it would certainly explain his presence in some of the
European capitals in times of political unrest (Maguire: 2006:15). He was in Paris at the time of the
Frondes civil wars, just prior to the return of Mazarin and in London during Cromwell's regime.
Although we have no proof, the little we know about Froberger points to a complex, intelligent,
adventurous and probably very charming personality.
- 71-
•
CHAPTER THREE: WORD PAINTING.
3. 1 Introduction
Many of the madrigals of the late 16th and early 17th centuries are characterised by their
introverted, intense melancholy. Not only is this a feature of the music, but it seems to have been
representative of the Zeitgeist of the times. The dark colours, extremes of light and shade
(chiaroscuro), tortured shapes and despair, typical of painters like Caravaggio (1573-1610), are
.' mirrored in the depressed poetry of the time with its convoluted metaphors, extremes of emotion
and its emphasis on death.
Caravaggio: La Flaqellazione di Cristo, 1607, Musea di Capodimonte, Naples.
(Caravaggio. Wikimedia Commons 2010.)
- 72-
't' "
.', ", ~..
- ,\ ' . "'"
.•1 "','
The melancholy poetry of the time contained frequent references to death, which were often double
entendres alluding to the sexual act, such as the poem Tirsi morir volea by Giovanni Battista Guarini
(1538-1612). Guarini was employed at the Ferarese court and was the father of Anna Guarini
(1563-1598), one of the famous sopranos of the Concerto delle Donne at Ferrara. According to
Einstein (1929: vol II: 542), his poems were more often set to music than any other poet, even those
of Torquato Tasso (1544-1595), who came a close second. Tirsi morir volea was set by Gesualdo,
Marenzio, Andrea Gabrielli, Giaches de Wert, Camillo Zanotti (c.1545-1591), Pallavicino, Biagio
Tomasi (c.1585-1640), Lelio Bertani (1553/4-1612) and Giovani Croce (c.1557-1609) amongst
several others. Mareuzio's setting was also arranged as a set of variations for the virginal by Peter
Phillips (1560/1-1628) and forms part of the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book collection .
•
Tirsi morir volea, Tirsi wanted to die,
Gl'occhi mirando di colei eh 'adora, His eyes gazing on his beloved,
Quand'ella, che di lui non men ardea, When she, who burned no less than he,
Gii disse: "Oime, ben mio, Said to him, "Ah me, my love,
Deh, non morir ancora, Pray do not die yet,
Che teco bramo di morir anch 'io." For I too want to die with you"
Frena Tirsi il desio, Tirsi restrained his desire
C'hebbe di pur sua vita all'hor fin ire; To die then,
Ma sentia morte in non poter morire. But he felt death in not being able to die.
E mentre'l guardo pur fisso tenea And while he kept his gaze fixed
Ne' begl'occhi divini On her divine eyes
E'I nettare amoroso indi bevea, And drank therefrom amorous nectar,
La bella Ninfa sua, che gid vicini His lovely nymph, who felt
Sentia imessi d' Amore, Already near the messengers of Love,
Disse con occhi languidi e tremanti: Said, with languid and trembling eyes,
"Mori, cor mio, eh' io mora. " "Die, my love, for Iam dying."
Cui rispose il Pastore: To which the shepherd answered
"Et io, mia vita, mora." "And I, my life, am dying."
Cosi moriro ifortunati amanti Thus the fortunate lovers died
Di morte si soave e si gradita, A death so sweet and so pleasing
Che per anco morir tornaro in vita. That, in order to die again, they returned to life.
Guarini: Tirsi morir volea. (Luzzaschi 2007.)
When such poetry was set to music, often immortalising the verse, composers used a variety of
musical techniques to capture the meaning of the words and the mood of the poetry, resulting in
highly expressive compositions that find their keyboard equivalent in Froberger's music, in
particular in the various lamentations, plaintes and meditations that he wrote.
- 73 -
•
3.2 Froberger's Descriptive Works
One of the most striking features of Froberger's music is the fact that quite a large part of it is
overtly descriptive: it attempts to represent extra-musical concepts, described in most cases only
by a short title. He used the keyboard to depict events that were important to him, to commemorate
the passing away of people that he loved, or to describe his moods. In the Oxford Companion to
Music "Programme Music" is defined as
Music that expresses an extra-musical idea, whether of mood, narrative, or
• pictorial image. Strictly speaking, programme music should be constructed with
reference to a textual plan, and the term 'programme' was defined by Liszt as
'any preface in intelligible language added to a piece of instrumental music, by
means of which the composer intends to guard the listener against a wrong
poetical interpretation, and to direct his attention to the poetical idea of the
whole or to a particular part of it'. (Tuckers and Chalmers 2011.)
Under such a definition, many of Froberger's works can be regarded as Programme Music, as many
of them contain such a preface which directs the performer jlistener to the "poetical idea" ..
However, the term was coined by Liszt in the nineteenth century, so it does seem anachronistic to
label Froberger's works "programme music".
Pieces with titles include:
• Four stand-alone works: the Tombeau (also called Afligée) for Blancrocher, the
Lamentation (also called Tombeau) for Ferdinand Ill, the Tombeau for Due Leopold
Friderich and the Meditation on Sibylla's future death.
• Thirteen pieces that form the beginning of partitas, variously called allemande, lamento,
lamentation, meditation, plaincte (sic), and afligée, one of which (Allemande BF) is of
uncertain authorship.
• Four other dances: two gigues, one courante and one sarabande.
• A set of variations, Auff die Mayerin, and the Partita Dolorosa, the latter of which is of
uncertain authorship.
• Two fantasias on themes and three toccatas da sonarsi alia leuatione.
- 74-
• There are also four partitas, FBWV653-656, from the Sing-Akademie manuscripts 4441-
~ 5 ascribed to Froberger, which carry descriptive titles in German for each of the entire
partitas (as opposed to titles for individual dances). However, as mentioned in section
1.4, I find that these pieces are probably not by Froberger.
This use of such programmatic (descriptive) elements is unusual in keyboard music of the times.
Keyboard composers who had an influence on Froberger, or who might have influenced him, did
not use programmatic elements in their keyboard music to the same extent. This is not to say that
other keyboard composers did not express feelings or emotions in their music. For example, there
are numerous toccatas written for the Elevation of the Host during the Catholic Mass that are full of
suspensions and dissonanees to express the pain and suffering of Christ and which are intended to
induce a contemplative frame of mind in the listener. The mercurial changes of tempo, texture and
harmony in Frescobaldi's keyboard music are intended to depict emotions. But even Frescobaldi,
whose influence is so clear to see in some aspects of Froberger's music, did not set out to "recount
entire stories at the keyboard" (Mattheson 1739:130, describing Froberger's music).
Although other keyboard composers did not attempt to portray events in their music, there are
some links in Froberger's music to the lute repertoire, which included tom beaux. This relationship
to Froberger's music is discussed in more detail in the first case study of Chapter Seven, the
Tombeau for M. Blancrocher. There are also some possible links to descriptive music written by
younger composers upon whom Froberger probably exerted an influence: notably Louis Couperin
and Alessandra Poglietti who was appointed Court Organist in Vienna after Froberger had left.
Many of Froberger's descriptive pieces seem to be intended to portray the feelings behind the
events rather than to be an exact musical representation of the events themselves. For example, the
~\ Plaincte ... pour passer la melancholi and the Afligée to comfort Sibylla are melancholy, reflective
pieces. Similarly, the Lamentation on Ferdinand Ill's death portrays Froberger's sadness and
distress at the passing away of his friend and benefactor. However, other pieces appear to recount a
story. The Tombeau for M. Blancrocher seems to portray the fall down the stairs and the actual
moment of his friend's death. Similarly, the Allemande faite en passant le Rhin dans une barque en
• grand peril, contains a lengthy written description of the events that took place.
- 75 -
This Allemande is unique in Froberger's oeuvre because it appears to give a "blow by blow" account
~ of the events that took place. .The Allemande faite en passant le Rhin is more closely linked to a text
than any another piece by Froberger and from that standpoint, the link to vocal music is very close
indeed. However, as Schulenberg points out (2010: 288) "when we read the latter [descriptions]
. carefully we find that they correspond with the music only sometimes ...". This may indicate that the' words were inserted by someone after the music was written, to try to explain the story .
In any event, the piece successfully re-creates the atmosphere surrounding the events via
numerous word painting devices, some of which are covered in the following sections. The music
• reflects the events in a mere 16 bars. Mattheson (1740:89) describes an allemande in his
possession as having the title Allemande faite en passant le Rhin, dans un barque, en grand peril
(Allemande composed in crossing the Rhine, in a barge, in great danger). With the discovery of the
Sing-Akademie MS this allemande has been positively identified as belonging to FbWV 627. The
• piece describes the near-drowning of one of Froberger's travelling companions after what appears
to have been a (drunken) night out on the town at St Goar on mid-summer's eve. In the
Vollkommene Capellmeister, (1739:130) Mattheson intriguingly states that the allemande contains
twenty-six Notenfatte. This remark puzzled historians for years and it was only when the Sing-
Akademie MS was discovered in 1999 that the Noterfálle contained in the music were found to
refer to the events (falle) that occurred on the journey, all of them expressed in music (noten). In
the Sing-Akademie MS, twenty-six numbers are placed above the bars of the allemande and then
described in detail in the comments below. Mattheson mentions, in addition to Froberger, the
I
presence of Count Thurn and his steward, two Messieurs Ahlfeldt and M. Bodeckh.
The allemande was entitled Wasserfall in the Bulyowsky source and when the Sing-Akademie MS
was discovered, it became clear that this referred to a fall into the water by one of Froberger's
~. companions, rather than to a waterfall, as had previously been supposed. The events took place
after a night out on the town on 24 June (the year is not specified), and drunkenness accounts for at
least part of the debacle. Count Thurn's stewart, Monsieur Mitternacht, fell into the water and
nearly drowned after he and his travelling companions returned to the ship after their revelries at
St Goar on the Rhine .
•
- 76-
The following is a translation (by J Bradford Robinson) of the original commentary in the Sing-
~ Akademie MS (Froberger 2006:XXft).
Being an account of how the Allemande is meant to be understood. Count von
Thurn wishing to travel on the Rhine, from Cologne to Mainz, along with several
other gentlemen, among whom were his major domo Monsieur Mitternacht, two
Mssrs. von Ahlfeldt, Monsieur Bodeckh, and Froberger, this little company made
merry at St. Goar, to such an extent, that it lasted until around three o'clock
toward daybreak on Midsummer Eve, the 24th of June; but when they returned to
the ship, completely worn out, at five o'clock, each sought out a place, where he
wished to sleep. Monsieur Mitternacht, being last, had to take a spot in the skiff,
the ship being already fairly full. Lest his dagger disturb his sleep, he sought to
hand it to the crewman, who was unable, however, to reach it from the big ship;
whereupon Monsieur Mitternacht, although holding fast with one hand to the big
ship, which was constantly moving about, leaned too far over the skiff, and, owing
to the weight of his body, fell unexpectedly into the water. Not only did this
occasion great confusion aboard the ship, so that the one ran this way, the other
that, creating a commotion hither and thither on board, but Monsieur Ahlfedlt the
Elder was the first, followed by Monsieur Bodeckh, and Monsieur Ahlfeldt the
Younger does not hesitate either. Now Count van Thurn, not wishing to be last,
runs about on the ship in great fury, and leaps down into the skiff to rescue him
himself. The crewmen arrive to reach him with the little skiff, but to no avail, so
that Monsieur Mitternacht begins to groan. Froberger too awakens at last, and
perceiving that there is no one lying beside him, concludes nothing less, than that
the ship is about to be wrecked. As there is nobody to help him, he resolves, upon
hearing the cries and howls of the others, to drown slowly and with good grace,
and begins to commend his spirit to God, that He might be merciful. Meanwhile
the crewman tries to prove his mettle, by pulling [Monsieur Mitternacht] out with
the long pole, on which is fashioned a hook; but in vain, merely succeeding in
tearing his modish French coat. Monsieur Mitternacht now begins to swim, but
with such difficulty, that he lands in a pretty pass, and is forced by exhaustion to
rest a little, as well as he might. Believing himself to be out of harm's way, he
lands in the whirlpool and begins to thrash with his feet. Escaping the whirlpool
with great effort, and forcing himself upward, he is again spotted by the
- 77-
crewman, who diligently returns with the long pole to rescue him, but gives him
such a vicious blow across the shoulder with the same, that it was heartrending
to behold. In great pain, [Monsieur Mitternacht] is forced to cry out in a loud
voice, yet most lamentably 0 Dia, 0 Dia mio, and resolves forthwith to swim
through the Rhine. But so swift is the current, that he is drawn under, making
.' him fairly lose heart, and he cam mends his soul to the Lord. As the current drawshim deeper and deeper into the depths, he heaves a few more sighs to God, that
. He might rescue him which sighs, finally the Lord graciously deigns to hear, so
that, contrary to all hopes, he is reached by the crewman, who was on the skiff,
and is thus heaved into the skiff, his life rescued, one might say, as booty. Vale .
•
Rasch (2003:29) suggests that Count Thurn may refer to Lamoral II Claudius Franciscus, Count of
Thurn and Taxis (1621-76). According to Wollny (2006:XXI) the most likely candidate is the young
Marcus Antonius Mamuca von Thurn who was barn in 1636 and who was in the service of Emperor
Ferdinand Ill. The two Messieurs Ahlfeldts might have been from the Danish noble family Ahlefeldt.
Wollny (2006:XXI) states that one of them was presumably Friedrich von Ahlefeldt, a magistrate in
Holstein-Gottorf. The other might have been Detlef von Ahlefeldt, magistrate of Flensburg. M.
Bodeckh might be Hans van Bodeck (1582-1658), a German diplomat and Chancellor of the
Hohenzollern Prince-Electors of Brandenburg-Prussia. If these surmises are correct, Froberger was
in exalted company.
As Mattheson wrote in Vollkommene Capellmeister (1739):
The famous Joh[ann] Jac[ob] Froberger, organist at the court of Emperor
Ferdinand IIIwas perfectly able to recount entire stories at the clavier, depicting
all the characters present and active in the events as well as the qualities of their
feelings (Froberger. 2003: Vol IV.1:XXXVIII).
The next page shows an illustration of the Allemande faite en passant le Rhin together with the
original numbering and notes.
- 78-
•
•
•
Froberger: Allemande faite en passant le Rhin. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
- 79-
•
•
3. 3 The Theorists
Madrigal composers of the late 16th and early 17th centuries strove to move the affetti, (emotions or
passions) by expressing emotions related to the text, such as despair, love, anger and jealousy, via
word painting devices. The practice of illustrating words with musical figures was hardly new.
George Buelow states:
That composers enjoyed the possibilities of illustrating textual ideas and
'. individual words with musical figures is extensively shown in both sacred and
secular music from at least the early 16th century and can even be seen as far
back as Gregorian chant (Buelow:2010) .
• However, in the madrigals of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, word painting was taken to
extremes and numerous devices were used throughout the music to depict individual words and
emotions. The madrigals of this period are often expressions of intense personal feelings.
McClary (2004:6 and 16) writes:
...the Italian madrigal serves as a site - indeed the first in European history - for the
explicit, self-conscious construction in music of subjectives .....This is not to suggest
that earlier music never engaged with such matters ... yet most earlier musicians
did not appear to have had representations of interiority as their primary goal.
Many of the devices that composers used to express these "subjectives" can be grouped together
under the description of "word painting", a concept which is so closely allied to the madrigals of the
late 16th and early 17th centuries, that the devices used to achieve this word painting have become
known as "madrigalisms" - madrigalismi in Italian. Techniques such as the falling semi-tone, to
represent a sigh, dissonant clashes to depict pain and the tirata to express anguish are three such
examples.
-80-
~'.
..
Several theorists and composers wrote about the use of word painting in order to invoke a
~ particular emotional state in the listener. In many of the writings, the practice was strongly
associated with rhetoric and with the ideals of the seconda pratica, which allowed compositional
irregularities (when compared with the prima pratica) to express individual words and emotions.
(Please see Section 1.6.1 for a discussion of the seconda pratica.) The seconda pratica has, unjustly,
become associated only with monody rather than with polyphony partly because the relative merits
of the new monodic style versus polyphony was so hotly debated, with certain theorists adamant
that the words could not be expressed adequately (or even understood properly) in polyphony.
However, as discussed in Chapter One, at the time that Artusi and Monteverdi crossed swords about
the merits of the first versus the second practice, they were talking about polyphonic madrigals and
• not about monody: Artusi's first polemic on the subject was dated 1600 and referred to polyphonic
madrigals composed by Monteverdi and performed in 1598 (they were only published later).
Relevant passages from contemporary theorists and composers concerning word painting are
quoted below .
•
Vicentino: Nicola Vicentino in L 'antica musica ridotta alia modern a pratica (1555:86) argued that
"music is written for words for no other purpose than to express the idea (concetto), the passions
(passioni) and the affections (effetti) of these words by means of harmony".
,pm~t l..mufted latl4pp"4. E''''Jle}IJII ~14ft'ptr dlt1J.{ê lID" pt' ~fi,imtyeilC""«It~,bit
,~!Tw.ub gii tJfr:,I" tlI1Utllt CDta farm" .. i4; b re Ic ,m!e ptrl~"1f1fD dimodtj1i:t I filII"
Vicentino: L 'antica musica, 1555:86
McKinney (1998: 517) states:
Vicentino assigned affects to each melodic interval from the minor second
through the perfect fifth, including several variants resulting from his microtonal
tuning. The direction of a melodic interval may contribute to its affect; for
example, the intervals larger than the fifth are lumped together and labeled
~'
"tense" (incitato) in ascent and "slack" (molle) in descent. Vicentino is less
- 81 -
•
specific about the harmonic intervals in general. He focuses on the imperfect
consonances: the major third is lively and cheerful (vivace et allegra); the minor
third is very weak and somewhat sad (molto debole et ha del mesto) and will
serve well for sad words because it is rather static; the minor sixth is "somewhat
sonorous and sad" (alquanta sonora, et ha del mesta); while the major sixth acts
.' more like a dissonance than a consonance, and when it moves to the perfect fifth,it is good for harshness (asprezza).
Vicentino remarked that the "diverse passions" of vernacular poetry might require that purity and
even beauty be sacrificed to modal mixture, chromaticism and "every bad step" and "bad
consonance". (Vicentino: L'antica musica, 1555:77.) Long before the more widely acclaimed
writings of Galilei, Mei and Caccini, Vicentino had therefore already summarised the ideological
basis of the Seconda Pratica.
Luzzaschi: Luzzaschi's sixth book of madrigals (1596) contains similar sentiments to those
expressed by Vicentino. Luzzaschi describes the closeness of poetry and music as being like twins
that are similar in manner and style. However, he stressed that poetry, born first, always takes
precedence and that music must follow (Strainchamps. 2009).
Caccirni: The preface (AI Lettore) to Le Nuove Musiche (Caccini 1601/2: page 2) mentions that the
musical goal of the singer is to move the affection of the soul (muovere I'affetto dell'animo).
Mei: Theorists of the time seem to agree that the object of music is to move the listener. However,
the method of achieving this goal was open to fierce debate. In his studies of the ancient Greek
tragedies, Girolamo Mei came to the conclusion that the entire texts of such plays were sung. His
treatise, De modis musicis antiquarum (written 1566 to 1573) described his findings. He held that
the ancient plays were so effective because the texts were clear, being sung one word at a time (in
contrast to polyphony). The music could move the listener by means of the natural expressiveness
- 82-
•
of vocal registers, rises and falls in pitch and changing rhythms and tempo (Grout and Palisca
• 2001:264).
Galilei: Vincenzo Galilei, in his Dia/ogo della Musica Antica et della Moderna (1581), used the ideas
of Mei, with whom he corresponded extensively, to attack the polyphonic madrigal. According to
Palisca (2011), he argued that only a single line of melody could express poetry. Several voices
simultaneously singing different melodies, rhythms, pitches and words would obscure the message.
Word painting such as sighing motifs etc, he dismissed as childish; he referred to them as the
ridico maniera.
However the reality was quite different to the theory. Early Baroque composers were just as
extreme in their use of word painting techniques as their predecessors, if not more so. Tim Carter
writes:
it is generally (if wrongly) assumed that the Seconda Pratico madrigal of
Monteverdi and his contemporaries avoided such literalism in favour of a more
holistic and oratorical approach to text-setting (Carter 2010).
In fact, not only did the later composers continue the trend of literal word painting, but it seems
that recitative was not entirely new either. (Nor was the use of sprezzatura, as the following
chapter will illustrate.) Nino Pirrotta (1982:201) writes: "I hold Caccini chiefly responsible for the
creation of the myth that monody and opera originated in the Florentine Camerata." He goes on to
quote a description of the success of the tragedy A/doro by Gabriele Bombasi which was performed
on 2 November 1568 in Reggio Emilia in the honour of Barbara of Austria, Duchess of Ferrara.
Selected extracts are given below:
...most excellent musicians ...imitating the words so felicitously that one would
sooner call them speeches than songs ...they moved at the pace of ordinary
speech, always avoiding any repetition ...the songs expressed the affections of the
soul as if, far from being fictitious, they came from real feelings ...only the treble
line which carried the words was sung by that one lady ....she altered the
- 83-
•
expression of her face and eyes and her gestures to accord with the changes in
the meaning of the words ... Pirrotta (1982:201).
The madrigals of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, were extremely expressive musical
.' miniatures, and one of the key ways that the composers achieved their objective of moving the
affetti was by word painting. Melancholy, introspection and anguish were in vogue, both in the
polyphonic madrigals and in the concerted madrigals. Composers found unique and special ways to
depict their misery and a comprehensive list of all the word painting devices that they used would
be almost impossible and certainly pointless. However, there were some standard formulae, such as
• the falling semitone that represents a sigh and the descending chromatic line of a lament, and these
more generally-used devices are also to be found liberally sprinkled in Froberger's music. WilIi Apel
(1972:716) refers to Froberger's "outbursts of despair", words that aptly describe his introverted
lamentations and plaintes. It could be argued that in using these "rnadrigalisms", Froberger was
merely using the musical stock-in-trade of his time. However, the extent to which he uses word
painting in his music and the obvious link to the written word (via titles and descriptions) seem to
indicate that his music has more than a superficial bond to the poetry of the time and to the
techniques that the modern madrigalists used to bring the poetry to musical life.
The following analyses will take the more standard devices and show their use in the vocal music of
the time and in the works of Froberger. Examples from the music of arch-"Mannerists" such as
Gesualdo and Marenzio are used together with examples by the most famous exponents of the early
Baroque, such as Caccini and Monteverdi and, thereafter, parallels are drawn to Froberger's music.
The devices that are discussed are not intended to form a comprehensive list, but to be indicative of
the type of word painting that was in vogue.
- 84-
3. 4 The Word Painting Devices
3.4.1 The Descending Line.
Slow descending notes, often a chromatic line, were often used to indicate sadness or a lament.
Lhese notes were often, but not always, part of a tetrachord: that is contained within the limits of a
perfect 4th• Frescobaldi uses this motif in his aria 0 mio cor from the Secondo Libra d'arie musicali .
. Florence, 1630 .
•
mie - I la·· men li. Prta cho pal' li.i__ mic la - mf:t\
)0
Seconda parte 20
G
Tu '- sal ~ pur. :dol - cr, '-. mlo __ he - n,). CI1'ho_ 1Ic1_ eo . re _ Tan >
Frescobaldi: 0 mio cor. (Frescobaldi: 1994.)
The sharp dissonance (d"/e~") that begins Monteverdi's Ohime dov'e il mio ben and the descending
lament-style motif express great sadness. The music is based upon the Romanesca harmonic-
melodic formula. The facsimile extracts below show the canto and quinto parts together with the
accompaniment.
- 85 -
•
•
•
•
•
Monteverdi: Ohime dov'e il mio ben. Settimo Libra. (Monteverdi: 1619.)
The effect is easier to see in a modern edition:
Prima parte
, Ohi -
soprano~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ r r r
Obi me dov'ë il mio ben dov'ë ilmio ben do - v'ë ilmio
Monteverdi: Oihme dov'e il mio ben. (Monteverdi. Creative Commons ShareAlike: 2009.)
Marenzio uses the descending tetrachord in all voices at the beginning of his madrigal Cruda
Amarilli (Jl Settimo Libro de Madrigali: 1595).
- 86-
•
Cru- (la 1\- nm- ril-
1--' ~-- --,
.!-Ó. :::d. :::ti:
Basso~i4'm~~;'J!;J~==_=;;;;_-;:===_r=:z~=.o Ë~-r-?", .: El
Cru- d.aA- ma- ril-
Marenzio: Cruda Amarilli, opening bars. (Marenzio: 2009.)
Froberger adopts this lament-style motif in several of his works. In Toccata FbWV 106, the
descending line appears several times and is particularly effective at the end of the piece in the top
voice. As this descending motif is found throughout this toccata, it cannot be dismissed as merely a
cadential formula.
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 106, ending. Libra Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
- 87 .
•
In his Meditation faist sur ma Mort future, la quelle se joue lentement avec discretion (Meditation on
.' my future death, which should be played slowly with discretion), the long notes in the bass part of
bars 13-15 form a slow descent within the space of a tetrachord. The following example is from the
autograph from his later years (Sotheby's autograph).
Froberger: Meditation, bars 12-16. Late Autograph (Sothebys). (Maguire: 2006.)
Another example is from Ricercar FbWV 401 from the Libro di Capricci e Ricercati, in which
Froberger uses four descending notes as a recurring motif throughout the piece, with many
rhythmic variations. In bar 8 these descending notes can be seen in the alto voice in crotchets. In
bar 10/ 11, once again in the alto voice, it is in tied minims and in the soprano in a combination of a
minim, 2 semibreves and a dotted minim. In bar 10 in the tenor voice it is once again in crotchets, in
bar 11 in crotchets in the soprano. This Ricercar is also to be found in the Bauyn MSwhere it carries
the title Fugue de MrFroberqer, fait a Paris. (Fugue by Mr Froberger, composed in Paris.)
- .. 1--=-1-1· - LJ -I- I I -t--I· -I- -1-h1--
I-~rrm-r= -r -0rf~-I' Jf1/ -1r "r--r -<t__...F '1 -' I
i-z,.,,-liJ JJ -J J_ ~o J J_ --- J J.~..J; v.rl ; 1 U. .JJ.rl J I.J~ J--
::::l: - t-:~- -r I I.
Froberger: Ricercar FbWV 401, bars 8ff Libro di Capricci e Ricercati, c. 1658. (Froberger: 1995.)
- 88-
•
3.4.2 The Falling Semitone, Representing a Sigh
• The falling semitone, representing a sigh was one of the most commonly used rhetorical devices. It
appears regularly in the melancholy love songs of the time. In Gesualdo's Moro e mentre sospiro, the
word sospiro (I sigh) is depicted by falling semi-tone in four of the voices.
•
•
Gesua/do: Moro e mentre sospiro, beginning. Libra Quarto. (Gesua/do: 1613.)
In Marenzio's Se voi sete from his madrigals for five voices (l/ Quinto Libra de Madrigali, 1585), the
words se voi sete cor mio (my heart thirsts for you), repeated twice at the beginning, both end on
drawn out sighs.
~~~~_ii~~Ulij@
~E ve~i fete cor!mio-Se voi r.ete cfor miom~anto ben qu~anta gioia~ba- _tr-
uer pofs'io E ca vollt' ecchi viene Q...uellavirtu ehe vieo mi mantiene che viae
Marenzio: Se voi sete. Madriga/i a Cinque Voci. (Marenzio: 1593.)
- 89-
•
•
In Piagne e sospira, Monteverdi uses a falling semi-tone to illustrate the word sospira (sigh) in all
• the voices.
• Canto
•
Quinto Jl@1I'liti"~*!'tw~; !!_
la ,,,'. foCpba 'ia ,D'e tG(pi.
se TIl'tOAB
Tenor 1I.Et;:t..;p_..~. ._nw, lt _it-,'.! ----J. . . ........i,... ~.
Bass
Monteverdi: Piagne e sospira. Libro Quarto. (Monteverdi: 1615.)
Proberger's Lamentation sur ce que j'ay ëté volé. Et se joue a la discretion et encore mieux que les
soldats m'ont traicté, (Lamentation on my being robbed. To be played with discretion and much
better than the soldiers treated me) contains many sighs, the longest and most drawn-out of which
- 90-
•
occurs in the bass toward the end on the long tied note c. The repetition of c in the bass, towards
.' the end of the piece, is like a sob. Froberger's wry comment about playing the piece better than he
had been treated, shows us an endearing side to his nature, about which we know very little.
Evidently he was able to laugh at his circumstances as well as to complain about them.
Froberger: Lamentation sur ce ray ëté volé, ending. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
Many of Froberger's gigues are written with a C time signature and they seem to call for a slow
rendition so that the occasional sighing motif "becomes an expressive event, not just an ornamental
flourish" (Schulenberg 2008:7.13). The gigue from FbWV 614 contains several such drawn-out
sighing motifs. In bar 6 below, c' to b ~ in the left hand (the accidentals apply only to the following
note) and in bar seven, b ~, to a' in the soprano and c to B~in the bass are three such examples.
Froberger: Gigue FbWV 614, bars 6-7. (Froberger: 2005: VollI/.l.)
Similarly, in his Meditation ...sur la Mort Future de ....Sibyl/a, Froberger uses a variety of "sighs",
including the two sets of slurred descending semitones at the beginning of the piece, the long sigh
from e~" to drr in the same bar in the top voice, and the prolonged sigh in the bass from g to f# at
.' the end of the extract below .
- 91 -
•
•
•
• Froberger: Meditation sur la mortfuture de Sibylla, opening. Late Autograph. (Maguire: 2006.)
3.4.3 The Descending Diminished Fourth
The descending diminished fourth was often used to express grief and pain. In the example by
D'India below, there is a diminished fourth on the words non mori (he died not).
T~rza parte.
70
- zal Ahi vi - sta. Ahi vi - sta. co-ncrscen - zal Non mo-rt
11
D'India: Amico hai vint'io. Libro Quarto 1621. (D'lndia: 1992.)
Caccini uses the interval to great effect in the opening of his Amarilli ma bella.
- 92-
•
•
•
~·.-r. . :·.';·.iam~f::bC_Jla.NóaeQ_i cl dd usio ~r, d6m~' c!er.."i_0',n.d_iëé:""ni " '
• . . . . , -----:-. ~ ',',
Caecini: Amarilli ma bella. Le Nuove Musiche. (Caecini: 1601/2.)
• Similarly, there are diminished 4ths on the word piangete (weep) in Aseuigate i Begli oeehi by
Gesualdo in the alto (the first piangete) and first tenor (the second piangete) parts.
Gesua/do: Aseuigate iBegli Occhi. Libra Quinto. (Gesua/do: 1613.)
- 93-
•
•
Pain is expressed by the diminished 4th (b~' - f#') on the word sorte (fate) in Monteverdi's Oihme
• dove il mio ben in the quinto part (beginning of the last line of the extract).
•
•
Monteverdi: Oihme dove il mio ben. Settimo Libro. (Monteverdi: 1619.)
In Michelangelo Rossi's madrigal E Cosi pur languendo the diminished 4th is frequently used (see
the word cosi below in the tenor and bass parts), as Brian Mann points out "in rich suspension laden
harmonies" (Mann 2002:151).
flh tt
.. )I pUI 1.10 p' .n
I 1'''' IJ,
d... 1'111 IJII
Rossi: E Cosi pur languendo. (Mann: 2002:151.)
- 94-
•
Froberger also seems to reserve the diminished 4th to express profound grief. In meantone tuning,
.. the interval of the diminished 4th is particularly dissonant and very expressive of pain. Froberger
uses it in isolation at poignant points in the music. For example in the Lamentation sur ce que j'ay
. êté. volé (Lamentation on my being robbed), the diminished fourths b ~, - f#' and a ~'- e' (bothringed) and in the Plainte pour passer la melancholi (Plaint to drive away Melancholy), the' diminished fourth f' -c#" .
Froberger: Lamentation sur ce que j'ay ëté volé. FbWV 614, bars 15f! (Froberger: 2005: Voll/l.l.)
Froberger: Plainte pour passer la melancholie. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
In his Lamentation for Ferdinand Ill, a diminished 4th in bar one (a ~, to e') sets the tone for the
whole piece.
,
Froberger: Lamentation .... Ferdinand le Troisiême. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
Froberger's use of the diminished fourth is equally common in his toccatas. For example the
interval g' - d#' at the beginning of the extract below.
- 9S -
•
i'
Froberger: Toccata FbWV l.Ol, bar 6. Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
Unlike the isolated cases of the descending diminished fourth, Froberger often uses the descending
perfect fourth in a sequence, often in a lombardie rhythm. Whereas this device could also be
regarded as word painting, his use of the interval is entirely different to the descending diminished
fourth described above. For example in the Allemanda repraesentans monticidium Frobergeri
(Allemande on Froberger's fall in the mountains), bar 10 starts with a series of five descending 4ths
(only one of which, g' - d#', is diminished), possibly illustrating part of his walk in the mountains
(his fall seems to be illustrated earlier in the piece) .
Froberger: Allemanda repraesentans monticidium Frobergeri, bar 10. (Froberger: 2005:voll/l.2.)
Similarly, the allemande from Partita FbWV 627 contains four consecutive descending fourths.
According to the notes provided by the scribe, this particular section illustrates Monsieur
Mitternacht's futile attempts to swim after he landed in the Rhine. (Please see Chapter 2 for more
detail on this part of Froberger's life.)
pm Mr Q2Ê};@l
-;j j If'h I·
Froberger: Allemande faite en passant le Rhin, bar 7. (Froberger: 2006.)
- 96-
•
3.4.4 Unexpected Melodic Leaps
Compared to the mostly stepwise singing of the Renaissance, there are many leaps in the "modern
madrigals" .
.~ In Tu m'uccidi Gesualdo uses a leap downwards after a long note on the words e vuoi chi'io taccia. In
the canto it is a fifth but in two of the lower voices it is an octave and a seventh, respectively. This
gives the words E vuoi (and you) an accusatory tone, almost as if there is an exclamation mark after
the word vuoi - a raised voice followed by softer speaking.
I
trA - mor em - pia. homi - ei - da, E vuoi ch'Io tac-cia et)
fl
-iT CT -u ~f4 -~-
ei - da, d'A - mor em - pia.homi - ei - da, E vuol eb'io tac-cia
:J 6- -d: c;I ~
ei - da, 3Jd'A - mor em - pia.homi - ei • da, E VUOi~o ta.C -
f -
'i!
era
~r ~ei - da, d'A - mor empia.homi - ei - da, E vuoi C~.'10 tac-cla
1":1..
-,
Cl - da, E vuoi eh'io t~ cia.
Gesua/do: Tu m'uccidi. Libra Quinto, 1611. (Gesua/do: 1958.)
In Amico hai vint'io D'India uses a downwards leap of a seventh (e" to f in the top voice) to express
the tumbling of a small stream down the mountain:
-97-
•
40
•
quln-dl ton-tan __ nel sen del mon .
10 II
• 45
plc • clol rl • 0 E . gII ac- cor . se e'l el- mo ern- pie nel
•
D'lndia: Arnica hai vint'io. Libra Quarto, 1621, (D'India: 1992.)
• In the Meditation on Sibylla's future death, Froberger uses an unexpected leap from b' to g" to b' in
the top voice of the first full bar and from e~' to g" towards the end of the extract. Although this
leap is from one voice to another (alto to soprano), the ear perceives it as a large melodic leap
because of the rest preceding the g" and the already decayed drr which precedes it in the same
voice.
Froberger: Meditation sur la mortfuture de Sibyl/a. Late Autograph (Sothebys). (Maguire: 2006.)
- 98-
•
'.
In the Allemande faite en passant le Rhin, Froberger uses melodic leaps to illustrate Monsieur
., Mitternacht's attempt to force himself upwards out of the whirlpool (note 16, ringed leap) and to
illustrate the "vicious blow" that the crewman accidently gave him with a pole (note 18 ringed leap
in the bass). This leads the unfortunate Monsieur Mitternacht to cry out 0 Dio, illustrated with one
ofVicentino's "bad leaps" of a tritone (note 19, ringed leap).
Il
... ------ .....
1
~---------------.-i'
Froberger: Allemande faite en passant le Rhin, bars 17ff (Froberger: 2006.)
Large, unexpected melodic leaps often follow a tirata, discussed in the next section.
3.4.5 The Tirata to Express Anguish.
Caccini's preface to Le Nuove Musiche includes the tirata as one of his many examples of passaggi,
but in other theorists it was a separate ornament. In his Syntagma Musicum of 1618, Michael
Praetorius illustrates it as follows:
Pretorius: Tirata. (Nettl: 2010.)
- 99-
•
As mentioned in Chapter One, although the tirata is an ornament and could therefore be included in
• Chapter Five, I have decided to include it in the current chapter as it was used so effectively as a
word painting device to depict anguish, especially when it was followed by a large leap. It is the
expressive leap that distinguishes it from a merely virtuosic display, turning it into an effective
word painting device. In the following example, Gesualdo uses a tirata in each of the voices on the
• word brama (longing), to express his unrequited love.
•
- _ la ad cic bra 1II.1IJ alÏo de
Gesualdo: Dolcissima mia Vita. Libro Quinto. (Gesualdo: 1613.)
Another example is by Rovetta from his Madrigali Concertati. Libro Primo (1636). The example
below is taken from the canto part of the madrigal Chi Vuol Haue for two sopranos and shows a
tirata followed by a descending diminished 4th. It illustrates the sexual frustration of unrequited
love.
~~_rt~-t-_~-t$--~.iLt~t .t-iif~- :tt-~ii!I!-~'~t~t;J •. -!&-._--t'lft.~-l .'.~!J.O... !,l~f~l,i:~~i~~~~~~:,~:~g
ne IlIal b~lcna amor (he non (act...... • . U nc
Rovetta: Chi Vuol Haue. Madrigali Concertati, Libra Primo. (Rovetta: 1636.)
-100 -
•
The tirata was also commonly used by mid-century composers. The following example is from
.' Carissimi's Lamento di Maria Stuarda (c. 1650). Carissimi uses two tirate on the words sfogati
(rage) and assali (attack). (Mary Stuart is describing the attacks upon herself with anger and
distress.)
/45
- mor si. Si. si, sfo ga - (I, "s - sa II,
4 3
Carissimi: Ferma, fascia chi'io par/i. Lamento di Maria Stuarda ,c. 1650. (Carissimi: 1996.)
Caccini uses the tirata on a regular basis, although from the following example, it is easy to see why
he regarded the tirata as belonging to passaggi rather than being a separate ornament. His use of
the tirata on the word morta is a vivid depiction of the death throes of the wounded.
Iaml~_D~/3~:~~:";~t'~'~~.mB·y.:~.g.;:.~'.:.·,__ "
~;{'.' . 'lI~g~ - on l:u'liogmdojp~b~t:l 1D0r .
f·~::~. .u: ii,-i .). i•.t.f.t:'.i:-$i' ;i ;.iWti1J~
• • •• M - • '.
·~'fl~H.~~·
l~ . '. le ch'i 0010 vn'
~...:.-.:-=1 i: Si: :41m
Caccini: Dovro dunque morire. Le Nuove Musiche. (Caccini 1601/2.)
- 101-
Piero Benedetti might have been a dilettante. Edmund Strainchamps refers to his "amateurish style"
.' (Strainchamps 2009). However, his three surviving books of madrigals seem to be typical of the
times, with much word painting and many dissonances. A characteristic of his style is the use of the
tirata, ending in a downwards leap, as in the example below from his Libro Secondo (1613), in
which he uses a tirata followed by a leap of a seventh to express the sound of crying .
•
-,.. EELLi4iif ....... _~ ~~,.
Benedetti: 0 miei vedovi. Libro Secondo. (Benedetti: 1613.)
The ascending tirata is one of Froberger's most frequently used expressive devices. He uses it in his
lamentations, plaintes and meditations to express what seems to be a tortured scream of anguish
and, more often than not, follows it by a large leap. The notation of the following example has a
written in accelerando:
29
Froberger: Lamento ...Ferdinand le Troisiême, bars 29-30. (Froberger: 2003: VollV.l.)
- 102 -
•
The tirata in the following example is followed by an enormous leap from err in the soprano to G in
.. the base .
..'
Froberger: Meditation sur ma Mortfuture. Late Autograph (Sothebys). (Maguire: 2006.)
This device of an upwards scale followed by a large leap is also a feature of the rhapsodic,
contemplative, sections of Froberger's toccatas. In Toccata FbWV 102, the penultimate bar contains
such a device, with another clear accelerando written into the music.
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 102, bar 33. Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
It is also to be found in many of his canzons:
-103 -
•
•
Froberger: Canzon FbWV 303, bar 22-23. Libra Secondo, 1649. (Fraberger: 1993.)
•
In the penultimate bar of the Allemanda, repraesentans monticidium Frobergeri, Froberger uses a
long upward G major scale, ending with the short pause that Frescobaldi recommended and
followed by an enormous leap of just over three octaves to b in the bass. In the excerpt below, the
• fingering was probably added by Michael Bulyowsky (in his Clavier book, dated 1675). The
numbers show the crossed fingering method that was the practice at the time, indicating that the
scale is to be played by the hands in alternation with each other (starting with the left hand and
ending with the right). This is borne out by the grouping of the notes in three other sources of the
same piece: E. Amsterdam, the Schwerin MS and the Sing-Akademie MS, in which the upward scale
is grouped into units of four semi-quavers with a slur over each group to indicate the over-legato
that is clearly required.
Froberger: Allemanda ...Man ticidium Frobergeri, penultimate bar. (Froberger: 2005: VollII.2.)
In the Sing-Akademie MS the piece is called Allemande faite sur le Subject d'un Chemin Montaiqneux,
la quelle se joue a discretion (Allemande composed on the subject of a mountain road [or pass],
which is to be played with discretion).
- 104-
•
•
Froberger: AlIemande ...Chemin Montagneux, last bars
showing the grouping of the notes. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
Froberger seems to have inherited this device from his teacher, Frescobaldi, although Frescobaldi's
use of the device in his toccatas is generally less extreme with shorter upward runs and less
dramatic leaps. Frescobaldi, in turn, may have borrowed the device from his teacher, Luzzaschi,
who used it in both his keyboard works and his madrigals.
••
r -
_I I
Frescobaldi: Toccata Prima. Libra Primo. (Frescobaldi: 1949.)
- 105 -
•
•
Luzzaschi: Toccata per organo, bars 8-9. (Diruta: 1625:42.)
•
Franco Lambardo (c. 1587-1642), one of the composers from the early Neapolitan Keyboard School,
left a short toccata in which the following ascending run followed by a leap is found. This use of the
device is also very similar to Froberger's. Lambardo was part of the Neapolitan group associated
with Gesualdo and de Macque (ApeI1972:427).
Ir
Ir
Lambardo: Toccata. (Ape/: 1972: 428.)
-106 ~
.'
3.4.6 Onomatopoeia.
Composers depicted sounds and sensations via musical devices. In Gesualdo's ltene, 0 miei sospiri,
the words precipitate (speed headlong) and vola (flight) are depicted by a fall of notes in the first
case and a run of quick notes in the second .
.
. Canto It). I - tene ó miel so - spi - ri Pre _cL pi ,, Quinto
-.:r I - teneê miel so .. spi - ri Pre_
Alto
I'" I tenen miei so - spi - ri
Tenore
I tene ó miei so - spi - rl
Basso
I - tene ê mlei so - spi - rl
1«.1 _ta_té'l vo, 'JoPreci pi ta te'l vo lo
A - -
W _el.PI_ta_ te'l vo , _lo Pre_cL
Pre vel _pi. ta _ te't vo , -
Pre _ ci _ pi _ ta _ te il ;0 _-
Pre.cl ,
Gesualdo: ltene 0 miei sospiri. Libra Quinto, 1611. (Gesualdo: 1958.)
Maniates (1979:333) quotes Marenzio's Scaldava il sol (1582) in which the chirping of the Cicala
(cicada) is depicted by parallel thirds against the sustained f' in the tenor. (There is a difficult to
spot 8ve below the elef in the third voice.) There is an implied accelerated rhythm as well, the
quavers following the ribattuta-like dotted notes.
- 107-
~.:=v=;j cr I¥=~ r
b Ci- ea- I.
;V&- :_:_i-I-~(~-e:==I-"
,:. Ci- ea- I.
(II'
Marenzio: Scaldava il sol. Libro Terzo, 1582_ (Einstein: 1929.)
In the following example by Monteverdi from the madrigal Quel Augellin che canta, the words canta
(sings), and vola (flies) are depicted by runs of notes_
to Sidol cc-men-re cia-sci
to si dol-ce-men-re cia-sci
"
Et or dallug - gio.al
dal'. -I:>c tc_al lug - gio Et ordal lag
ve-te \'0 or dal fag - gill, ct
Monteverdi: Quel Augellin Che Canta. II Quarto Libro di Madrigali, 1603. (Monteverdi: 2008.)
Caccini's depiction of happy singing in Euridice is depicted by a volley of quick notes on the word
cantando.
-108 -
·'
~
~::Lt-~_~-I!S
• Jo.
Caccini: Euridice, 1601. (Eitner: 1881.)
Proberger's Allemanda, repraesentans monticidium Frobergeri might have been composed after
Froberger fell during a walk in the mountains. The term monticidium is, according to Rampe
(Froberger. 2005:XXVI), a late-Latin construct composed of mons (mountain) and cadere (to fall). In
any event, the allemande is clearly programmatic. This is further indicated by the insertion of the
" word alleg in bars 3 and 5. According to Rampe this is probably an abbreviation for allegare (from
which the English word allegory is derived). Alternatively, but less likely in view of the nature of the
piece, the word might be an abbreviation for allegro (merry). The long sustained note on c",
concluding in a fermata, seems to represent the moment of suspension, of free-fall, before the actual
rapid descent.
Froberger: Allemanda ... monticiduim Frobergeri, bars 4-5. (Froberger: 2005: ValI/U.)
Froberger's Tombeaufait a Paris sur la mort de Monsieur Blancheroche is marked fort lentement a la
discretion, sans observer aucune mesure (very slowly with discretion without observing the beat at
all). 8lancrocher died after a fall down a flight of stairs, and his fall is depicted towards the end of
the first section. Froberger has indicated an accelerando by writing semi quavers followed by demi-
semi quavers.
-109 -
•
i'
Froberger: Tombeau ...sur la mort de M. Blancheroche, bar 10. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
In the Gigue nommé la Phi/otte (Phi/ette in the Sotheby's autograph), Froberger illustrates the sound
.', of a lute playing in the fashionable stile brisé, where notes are sounded one after the other, rather
than plucked together.
Froberger: Gigue nommé la Phi/otte (Philette), bars l.Off (Froberger: 2005: Volll/.2.)
In the Allemande faite en passant le Rhin, M. Mitternacht falling into the water is depicted by a
descending arpeggio (note 2) and the subsequent scurrying around and confusion is represented by
the following quick disjointed motifs (notes 3, 4 and 5).
Allemande faire en passant le Rhin dans une barque en grand peril, la quelle se joue
lentement ii la discretion
r-;------------------, 12 113
Froberger: Allemande faite en passant le Rhin. (Froberger: 2006.)
-110 -
•
3.4.7 EyeMusic .
•
"Eye music" is musical notation with a symbolic meaning that is apparent to the eye but not
necessarily to the ear. Typical examples are a love song in the shape of a heart, or black notes to
• illustrate night or darkness. The visual appearance of the music illustrates the text. In effect, it is
only understood by the composer and the performer, not by the listener, unless the listener also has
a copy of the music.
According to Thurston Dart (Dart: 2010) eye music was supported by Pietro Cerone (1566-1625) in
• his treatise E/ me/opeo y maestro: tractado de musico theorica y pratica; en que se pone par
extenso; /0 que uno para hazerse perfecta musico ha menester saber (Naples, 1613) and
endorsed by Gioseffo Zarlino (c.1517-1590) in as much as he employed black notation in his motet
Nigra sum sed formosa (I am black but beautiful). However, it was despised by, amongst others,
Galilei in his Dia/ogo della musica antica et della moderna (1581). The use of two identical
semi-breves or minims by many composers for the word Occhi (eyes) was so commonplace as to be
trite. One example is to be found in Gesualdo's Ascugate i be/Ii occhi.
-- --
Gesua/do: Ascugate i belli occhi, opening bars. Libra Quinto. (Gesua/do: 1613.)
-111-
•
•
Marenzio used a visual representation of the enharmonic modulations in 0 voi che sospirate which
• occur on the words Muti una volta quel suo antico stil (change once his former style). Whereas the
words refer specifically to death, there is an implied reference to the new musical style as well.
Marenzio modulates around the circle of fifths, using enharmonic spellings within a single chord
(for example c# and d ~). The real effect can only be appreciated if the music is seen as well as
.~ heard.
--.,::.. - ·~2 :.::::2,o\,,=:=:I_=_,I=J=bo_'.S..._"'~
• ËJ J... J-.J '.::.I~ . ..J.-bd. .• .,.. h""'__~ ~8 =r=r::: . : . : SJ =tio:::::=tEo: ;. . I
..... I ~
ti u-na vol que! suo rul - ti
co [le] D
I
.-0 .c . -I
- co Sb le _
Marenzio: 0 voi che sospirate. Libra Secondo, 1581. (Steven Ledbetter: 2009.)
It is also possible that pitches such as c# and d ~ were actually supposed to be different, in which
case the piece would be exceptionally dissonant. Marenzio went to Ferrara between November
1580 and May 1581 (Steven Ledbetter et al: 2009) and it is possible that he heard Luzzaschi
- 112 -
•
perform on Vicentino's archicembalo, a modified harpsichord with six keyboards and 36 pitches to
• the octave (Latham 2002:58), thus allowing notes such as f# and g~ to be heard as two separate
pitches. Luzzaschi was not only a composer of madrigals: he was also a talented organist and
harpsichordist, known for his complex and learned ricercars. He was one of the few people able to
perform on, and compose for, the archicembalo (Hammond and Silbiger: 2011). Using this
• keyboard, it was possible to play acoustically-satisfactory intervals in any key, and therefore some
of the recently composed music in a chromatic style, which was only in tune when sung, could also
be played on the keyboard.
• Froberger uses eye music on a number of occasions, for example in his Lamentation on the death of
Ferdinand Ill, which is full of allusions to the Emperor's name, using F's and three's. The piece is
composed on F and continually shifts between Fmajor and f minor; the last three notes are F's; and
the last ascending group of notes seem to ring out the Emperor's name Ferdinand le troisiême,
• ascending to heaven. The form is not that of the traditional two-part lament, but that of the English
t~e-pall.pavans, yet another allusion to three. The following example shows the ending of the
Lamentation in Froberger's own handwriting.
Froberger: Lamentation faite sur la mort tres douloureuse de Sa. Majesté Imperiale,
Ferdinand le troisiême, ending. Late Autograph (Sothebys). (Maguire: 2006.)
-113 -
•
•
•
• -- .. _---*- ..-. .._. - ..... - ..~..... -...~
Froberger: Lamentation ...Ferdinand le Troisiéme, opening bars, showing the shifts in tonality
(Froberger: 2003: Vol/V.l.)
•
Similarly, Froberger uses a C major scale ascending to the top of the four-octave keyboard at the
end of the Lamento sopra la dolorosa perdita della Real M.sta di Ferdinando IV (the adult son of
Ferdinand III who died in 1654, three years before his father). It has been speculated that this
• depicts purity and the ascent of the soul into heaven (Schott 2010), especially as there is an
illustration of clouds at the end of the piece.
The slurs over each group of four notes at the end of the piece (please see example on the next
page) imply a technique of overlegato, using each hand alternately to get a smooth run to c'",
probably the last note on Froberger's keyboard. In the original autograph, which was decorated by
Sautter, there are two putti supported on tombstones with weeping willows and an hourglass at the
beginning of the lament and at the end there are putti in the midst of clouds. Visually, the C major
scale ends in the clouds with the putti. The lament for Ferdinand IV is the first piece in Partita
FbWV 612. The entire partita is clearly intended to be funeral music, as each of the dance
movements contains funereal decorations such as urns and wreaths. Even the gigue is so decorated.
This gigue, like many others that Froberger wrote was in C time signature, and there has been some
speculation that such gigues were not supposed to be played in a fast tempo, like their later
Baroque counterparts, but rather in a medium-slow tempo. Referring specifically to the gigues,
Schulenberg (2008:7.13) says "these duple-time movements seem to require a certain gravitas". It
would certainly make more sense to have a slow funereal gigue, rather than a fast one, although the
concept of a funeral gigue is bizarre and, to my mind, somewhat grotesque.
-114 -
•
•
Froberger: Lamento ...Ferdinand /11, Showing the ascent of Ferdinand IV to heaven.
Autograph facsimile from Libro Quarto, 1656. (Froberger 1995: XXXVJIJ.)
- 115 -
3.4.8 Chains of Suspensions and Dissonances. '
Composers used chains of suspensions, forming dissonances that were resolved downwards by
step to form new dissonances, This was particularly effective in slow-moving parts of madrigals
where the dissonances could berelished, In keyboard music, the effect was taken to extremes in the
toccatas durezze eligature (dissonances and suspensions) that were composed mainly for the
Elevation of the Host during the Mass. In this type of toccata, according to Diruta, "the organ should
imitate the bitter and harsh torments of the Passion" (Silbiger 2004:271).
• The following example by Faleone contains chains of suspensions (7-6 and 4-3) together with an
enharmonic shift in bar six of the example (f#" in the quinto and g~ in the bass occur together) and
a beautiful dissonant chord in bar seven (b, e ~', b', f#", a') which resolves to b, e', b', e", g'. This
strange enharmonic shift and dissonant chord occur on the words che vinto sono con fraude (that
• are won with fraud), giving the sentence meaning, both visually (the enharmonic shift) and aurally
(the dissonance).
ou , _ me che vin _ to 50 __ no con fraud'
Falcone: Sfidi tuforsia baci. Madrigali, 1603. (Torchi: 1897.)
The example below shows the use of this effect in an early madrigal by Monteverdi (Libra Prima
1587). The original part books did not contain bar lines and it was therefore not necessary to show
tied notes, each individual note being given its correct length. It is thus difficult to see the effect of
-116 -
•
the music from the individual parts. The examples show extracts from the original part books
• followed by a more easily understandable modern edition .
• Canto
•
Alto
•
Quinto inl~!!j.,£jIti~tHt9it;
. IN rl{'i .!&Moa ..... il dual di IDOl' .. c ~'IIICII'C , more
Tenor ~ff!~H~~~il~~~
raNM_aiJdllol&U .... cpur ii IDQI'C ii lIIICft~dj ck.Ic'amo-
Bass
Monteverdi: Baci Soavi e cari. Libro Primo. (Monteverdi: 1607.)
·117 -
•
20 25
el S.I
"
t) v
I.jl duol__ di mor· Cc__ pur __ si mo re, c__ pl1r__ si mo re. Quunl'
. S. Jl "
t) I
pur sl mo re. e__ pur __ si mo • • re. Quanl'
" .-.-
.' A. t) I ,9- se n I'!.)l duol__ dl mor . .'e__ pur__ si mo re. ~ mo ?!. Qmmt'
T. "
-'-I' .-
~ - ---~- - ---~r tltf::'" -1=-I' -'-. -'-I'sen . 1811 duo I dl mor re pur si 1110 re, si mo re . Quanl'
.-.
B. -I" --t' -I---!-'-I-
sen - IRII duol pur si HID • . re.
Monteverdi: Baei Soavi e cari, bars 16f[ II Primo Libra de Madrigali, 1587. (Monteverdi: 2006.)
• In the following example from Gesualdc's Libra Quinto, the suspensions are sometimes tied notesand sometimes repeated notes. (In Molmaro's edition of 1613, the tied notes are indicated by a
really tiny loop over the bar line.)
rtl
na Cbe & la mor - te.ehea la mor - te mi me - na,
,f!
.r. ....
~...._- c.; ~~ I' - ~-p
', ,rna Cbe a. la __ mor- te mi me na, che & la,r dl I" o
pe - - na cbe & la mor- te __ mi me -
~ Che a la mor te mi me - -' na,etiea la 'mor - te mi me na;
-ZT.
\ di quel-Iá a - t;o - ce pe- - na _ Chea la mor -
Gesua/do: Ma tu cagion di quel/a. Libra Quinto, 1611. (Gesua/do: 1958.)
-118 -
•
•
•
•
Gesualdo: Ma tu cagion di quel/a. (Gesualdo: 1613.)
The early Neapolitan composers used the technique in their keyboard music. De Macque's and
Trabaci's Consonanze 5travaganti and Toccate di Durezze e Legature (sic) used chromaticism, and
• chains of suspensions.
II I I I 1 I 1 I I
tJ I '] , I
) jr r
'IJ' r I
..0.- ...-..A-. ..0. - --..0. - .cl. ~ J J d. J
:
I I"
De Macque: Consonanze Stravoqanti, opening bars. (Macque: 2009.)
Toccata di durezze et legature
t1 J 1 I
IU J" I ',- 1--1 r f'
~ ~ J-l. -& ..0. .J. ~ J. 1
"U" r I
,., • • •
-.J. ~rj'- -r ~tr-& f'- i--'f tr"
!Alf .J . .lj ..J .J. J I .d. .J;;:L-e-
'--- , L.J r , r HF r "U" I
Trabaci: Toccata di durezze e ligature, opening bars. Libro Primo, 1603. (Trabacci: 1899.)
-119 -
•
•
A strong visual impression of the style is given by Frescobaldi's beautifully engraved edition of
• 1637 .
VIll Toecat didllreZ1.cALl aturc
•
•
•
Frescobaldi: Toccata di durezze eligature. Secondo Libro di Toccate.
(Frescobaldi: 1637.)
- 120-
•
Froberger seems to have generally avoided this extreme style of durezze e ligature writing in his
.' toccatas, although, as will be seen below, the style is evident in certain other works. Even in his
Toccate da Sonarsi alia Leuatione, written to be played at the "Elevation" part of the Mass he uses
relatively short chains of suspensions. In Froberger's Toccata FbWV 105 da sonarsi alia leuatione,
the beginning contains a series of seventh chords, often in inversion and even a ninth chord (second
half of bar 2 - d'f'a'e"), The dissonant notes in these chords: 2nds, 4ths, 7ths and 9ths, form
suspensions, the resolution of which is often delayed.
.', , -=-.' W' ---- ~ '#;,' i) ê -~
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 105, opening bars. Libra Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
The style of durezze e ligature is clearer to see in other works by Froberger, such as the following
fantasia and ricercar.
Froberger: Fantasia FbWV 206, bars 8-21. Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
- 121-
~I
.. t:\I.:J
t:\
.0.
I.:J
Froberger: Ricercar FbWV 402, bars 29ff. Libra di Capricci e Ricercati, c.1658. (Froberger: 1995.)
Shorter chains of suspensions are to be found in Froberger's partitas. For example in the Allemande
from Partita FbWV 617, the opening system has a short chain of suspensions beginning on b ~, in
the alto (halfway through the system). This b~' is repeated by the soprano and forms the first note
of the chain. This particular sequence also illustrates the descending line which forms part of a
tetrachord: b ~', a', g', f', which was discussed earlier. This Allemande carries the inscription: faite
,
en honneur de Madame la Duchesse de Wirtemberg, la quelle se joue fort lentement et a discretion
(composed in honour of Madame the Duchess ofWiirtemberg, which should be played very slowly
and with discretion). It is one of two Allemandes dedicated to Sibylla that have survived. (The other,
which carries a similar title, is from Partita FbWV 618).
Allemande Partita
!c~r:~-ir=iPE~.=~o~r
Froberger: Allemande from Partita FbWV 617. Opening. (Froberger 201 0).
- 122-
3.4.9 TheTritone
The tritone. the interval of three whole notes, was considered a dissonance. Vicentino (L 'antico
musico ridotta alla moderna pratico 1555:77) includes it in his list of salti molto cattivi (very bad
leaps). His remarks show that he also considered 6ths, 7ths and 9ths to be "bad".
MoJo l'""p4'~t diclimate ifsl'; de TritJni,b- diScfle rniMri,t7 dj rn.iggiori , Cr li
strtimt,bl;.r\one,dlrmsu,balrusg,;',CDnfdCiIita. Cd1'.·X I. .
~ • ... it'
•
Vicentino: L 'antico musica, 1555:77
Way of learning to sing the leaps of Tritone, the minor sixth, the major sixth, the
seventh and the ninth, both up and down, with ease. In the composition, it occurs
that the composer often makes very bad leaps .....
Taken in context, however, it is clear that Vicentino was authorising the use of these intervals for
the purpose of expressivity. Earlier in the book, Vicentino mentions thatthe composer can use
every "bad step with bad consonance" to illustrate words and "every sort of step and harmony",
although he makes it clear that this applies to madrigals, sonnets and canzonas and not to
ecclesiastical works.
- 123 -
'.-:':'I.;:.,--.':,~';;:'I,i,~~":~~:;.:..:~-~w...::.:.~:...,-:,.-.-.::;;;~~~~[~:;.!~ •.~;.;;;:._:;J:."~-S...;':';:;~-:'::";'::;;',::,;~,:::,:::,~",:-'~:~~.::r::~''''-':;~''~'"'.':'''~:':;'~)'~;~~~':':_'~'~~y,'-:_;;';-~'1't,.:;..:;....;;::~;;:.'.- .i.: ..;;,,:,~'_'x;:.:.;;.,.~"';;~"';':~::::':""~";'~-.~~~.R~":;:'~~.;.:
;!!dUcgrc,~quatZilomtfl(l·7:ftcondo illor~Juggictto; bda 1";ft caucTa la ragLmt,c~t: ogni if
I..~#.g.T.do •c.otl 'Iltt;U..1.1.~o)fon.:%n%aJ.of.ra lt pJ..YlJleft,rJ. tra uforcJC:am.1 "...ilo.,.o~ffmi•;j.~~.I1ue... ~.'.....
,:L.([,pr~,tJl,pJrolc ft patr,t comp.or:rc;pgmfort c dt~gra."l, b-d, :JYmlir.,a • i:r an,darjUoJ"'f'.C al !~,f
~!.b rcggCT.fiJ(',~ndlJ ilfitggidto ,Idle f.lr47lcvolgari ,J!cJ/Ult' cbt: J'.fopra s'hJ,ldto; Hora ê J
·'I}.~ff#$~~~@,tWMt~~2i*J..4j~!~~rlJiAl)wJ!1~~éttQ!\'Jf.t4r~m_d~·,*ii¥~#~. -:%~"1~';'t~,Wj~ ..~.~'f1};i'i~~"iIt;!i~·"l'I~~R_~·I·':"·!1~~¥.i:. _·_" __~:~ ",T;'!; ;r-~.,'",:,~~,
Vicentino: L'antica musica, 1555:48
Hence the reason that every bad step, with bad consonance, can be used with
words according to their effects, then on such words you will be able to compose
all sorts of steps and harmony, and go outside the mode, and be governed by the
subject of the vernacular words, according to that which has been said above.
Examples of the tritone in both vertical harmony and, horizontally, as a leap within one voice or
• from one voice to another, are common in the madrigals. In Lasso, Lasso perchê mi fuggi Saraciniuses a descending diminished fourth, corto g#' followed by an ascending tritone from g#' to drr in
the vocal part (penultimate bar to last bar of the example).
:.:.~.."'~'-·I·.. ,; . i "'"" .r...=_-..--_.--.. I~ i.£._. ;;;'. ~:., J .•• ; '. - - . - ,~., -," ,_:-itft-·...,-,·~ ~;.-' -, ~ ...'....'2'- . 7J;I';:l'i'_~,-, - '_ _.:"-~.~~. .--- .~.t·-I~.e-f-·.··.., ,~ -,,' ._: -. .-·-:-f-=m'- _"--.·.._.1 I..... .._...,. -·-· ._..-.. .....- .".- .'.~·• ·r,"." ........... ....., .. J.~..·..·.•l---.-¥--_.-4.·.~.i..-'·f.il.m._.·...-. '.!-_.t.-.~I---.-.-A_."'~-.'._ ; ••. --_ ......... _ . .....,;... .-.--;;J=. -
, 1.·.·.·· .• =.t~: -~{:-ê-- 'i-'~I·Ah. --&H. mIPu:I.·._..~. ""._.;_·_.:.·._'lii.I.· '~- ~r'I·,,-.~.·.·-~i:.'.....;:..jJ'·:-
. '.~-_._=-=-. ,~=-:~=:-~~:- '=·:'11--0 .. t0·=-::' :_1.=.:.-::.,. : :,_,...,1t=:-.t.-;'~~-0,1~'~" ...~...=::0=+=. - .
Saracini: Lasso, Lasso perchê mi fuggi. Le Seconde Musiche, 1620. (Saracini: 1620)
In Gia piansi ne/ dolore Gesualdo uses a descending tritone from g' to c#' in the tenor on the word
gioisce (rejoices). Given the bitter-sweet text, which is about the extremes of emotions that the
lover goes through from despair to euphoria, the use of this interval on such a happy word is
poignant.
- 124-
•
•
•
•
•
Gesua/do: Gia piansi ne/ dolore. Libra Sesto. (Gesua/do: 1613.)
Sigismondo D'India goes one step further in his Lamento d'Olimpia (Misera me, sia vera) using a
• falling tritone on the word Ohimê twice in a row (d" to g#' and e" to a#').
ahi me chïo mo - rol Oh! - më,ohi • me chl ml da vi - la?_
D'lndia: Lamento d'O/impia. Libra Quinto, 1623. (D'lndia: 1992.)
Froberger uses the tritone on a regular basis, particularly in his subjective, melancholy outpourings.
For example, in the P/ainte faite a Londres pour passer /a Melancolie, the leap from c-c' to F# in the
bass (between bar 1 and bar 2 of the extract) seems to express overwhelming misery. A similar
instance is the leap between d'' in the top voice and G# in the bass (as part of the chord G# e b) in
the second bar of the extract.
- 125-
•
Froberger: Plainte ...pour passer la melancolie. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
In the Tombeau for Blancrocher, he uses many tritones, for example in the passage below. Within
the space of a few bars, there is:
Ct an ascending tritone, a diminished 5th between e' and b ~, (tenor and alto voices) in bar 18,
• a descending tritone, an augmented 4th between c#" and g' (alto voice), in bar 20,
• • an ascending tritone, an augmented 4th between g' and c#" (alto and soprano voices), in bar
21,
• a vertical tritone of an augmented 4th between the bass/tenor and the soprano in bar 22,
D/d to g#".
Froberger: Tombeau ... 81ancheroche, bars l8f!. (Froberger. 2003: VollV.I.)
In his Lamentation for Ferdinand III, he often uses a tritone, which includes the notes for f#, further
illustrating the play on the Emperor's name. In the extract below there is :
- 126 - .
,ti.'
• a vertical tritone, an augmented 4th, between fin the tenor and b' in the soprano, in bar 16
• an ascending tritone, an augmented 4th, between c' and f#' (alto to soprano) at the end of
bar 16
• a descending tritone, an augmented 4th, between f#' and c' (soprano to alto) in bar 17
• a vertical tritone, an augmented 4th, on the first chord of bar 18 (c' to f#')
• a tritone of a diminished 5th, between the E natural in the bass and the b ~ in the alto in bar ,,
19.
In several of these instances, the tritone can be seen as both a vertical sonority and a leap .
.,
•
- -
r--"''''''''j
Froberger: Lamentation ... Ferdinand III, bars 16ff (Froberger. 2003: VoIIV.I.)
A particularly moving use of the device is found towards the end of the piece. After an ascending
scale played by alternate hands, Froberger drops from c" to F# in the bass.
Froberger: Lamentation ....Ferdinand le Troisiême. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
-127 -
In the Allemande faite en passant le Rhin, , there is a tritone on the words 0 Dia, g" to c#", when
Mitternacht presumably thought that he would be overcome by the water (bar 12, note19).
Froberger: Allemande faite en passant le Rhin, bar 12. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
The tritone is also commonly found in Froberger's toccatas. Toccata FbWV 116 ends with three: in
• bar 62, there is a tritone between the alto and the soprano parts: a-e~'. In the same bar there is a
tritone between the tenor and the alto parts: f#-c'. In bar 63 there is a tritone between alto and the
soprano parts: c-f#'.
Froberger. Ending of Toccata FbWV 116. (Froberger: 2011).
••
-128 -
3.5 Summary
Judging from the vast number of madrigals that were produced in the late 16th and early 17th
centuries, the madrigal must surely rate as one of the most popular forms of music ever written.
Great composers considered it worthy of their interest; many of them using the form to illustrate
novel musical ideas. Many of the madrigals were set to beautiful poetry, written by famous poets
such as Petrarch. It seems that the brevity of the form encouraged a type of miniaturism, where
exquisite detail, daring word-painting and harmonic invention became the norm. When the
madrigal poetry was set to music, the composer was able to respond to the evocative words and
·e\ imagery, producing music that, in many cases, transcended the original and immortalised the verse.
Many of the madrigals of the late 16th and early 17th centuries are characterised by their
• introverted, intense melancholy. Not only is this a feature of the music, but it seems to have also
been representative of the poetry and the painting of the times. This melancholy is to be found in
Froberger's music, in particular the lamentations, plaintes and similar forms. Whereas the
lamentations and related forms show the most obvious similarities to the madrigals, Froberger's
other compositions also contain many expressive and adventurous elements that can be linked to
the madrigals.
Madrigal composers of the late 16th and early 17th centuries strove to move the affetti, (emotions or
It: passions) by expressing emotions related to the text with various word painting devices. The
madrigals of this period are often expressions of intense personal feelings and composers used
various devices to express their anguish; devices that I have also found in Froberger's keyboard
music. These include: the descending line; the falling semi-tone; the descending fourth; unexpected
melodic leaps; the tirata followed by a leap; onomatopoeia; eye music; chains of suspensions and
dissonances and the tritone, amongst other devices.
The use of these devices in his keyboard music endows Froberger's music with an expressivity that
• is akin to the anguished laments of unrequited love of so many of the madrigals. Like the
- 129-
•
outpourings of his vocal counterparts, much of Froberger's music is sad and introverted. He uses
tt' word-painting devices to convey extra-musical concepts, depicting events, commemorating the life
of people he loved and expressing his moods and feelings. Like the madrigal composers he used
these devices to move the affetti of his listeners, producing feelings of love, pity or despair.
His passionate nature seems to have found its soul-mate in the intensely emotional music of the
madrigalists. Influenced by the madrigalists, he used an array of word painting devices to express
his emotions, to paint a musical picture, to recount a story and, it seems, for the sheer intellectual
fun of exploring creative invention. The expressiveness of the madrigals seems to have been a key
influence on the development of Froberger's keyboard style. To a certain extent, elements of the
music of both the madrigalists and Froberger are merely a symptom of the times, a common
musical language that was used by many composers. However, Froberger was the first composer to
capture such expressiveness and introversion in harpsichord pieces such as tombeaux, plaintes,
• meditations and lamentations, which recall the tortured anguish of Gesualdo .
-130 -
CHAPTER FOUR: SPREZZATURA
4. 1 Sprezzatura: the Theorists and the Writings of Composers
Aristocratic nonchalance or sprezzatura was recommended by Castiglione in his El Libra del
Cortegiano (1528), a book describing the virtues and behaviour of the ideal Renaissance nobleman.
The book was greatly admired, translated into Spanish, German, French and English and, as
Cartwright Ady (2009:1) notes, it was reprinted in over 100 editions before the turn of the century.
Sprezzatura was, according to Castiglione (who seems to have actually coined the word himself):
E per dir forse uno nuova parola, usar in ogni casa uno certa sprezzatura che
nascanda I'arte, e dimostri cia che si fa e dice venir fatto senza fatica e quasi senza
pensarvi (Castiglione 1528:35).
• To use a new word perhaps, to use in all things, a certain nonchalance, a manner
that conceals all artistry and makes whatever one says or does seem uncontrived
and almost without thinking.
It is clear from Castiglione's comments that the word Sprezzatura contained elements of elegance,
education and refinement. Some of the qualities that Castiglione identified as being required in the
ideal courtier included an education in Greek and Latin, a grounding in the art of Rhetoric, the
ability to converse with anyone and the rather Machiavellian concept of virtu (which included a
large dash of pragmatism and self-interest). At court, the ideal nobleman must be accomplished in
various sports, be familiar with good literature, be able to draw and dance but, above all, everything
he does must seem graceful and natural. As far as music was concerned, he must be able to sing at
sight con bella maniera and play various musical instruments. However, Castiglione's perfect
courtier avoided the appearance of professionalism, which seems to have carried a down-market
image. Castiglione's courtier "would apply sprezzatura; feigning a slight acquaintance with the art
he would nonetheless take care to give a pretty good account of himself whenever he did perform"
(Haar 1998:24).
In the preface to Euridice (1601) Caccini appropriated Castiglione's word for musical purposes and
advocated the use of sprezza tu ra, where appropriate, to emphasize the meaning of the words.
-131-
•
Nelia qual maniera di canto ho io vesta una certa Sprezzatura, che io ho stimato
• che abbia del nobile, parendami con essa di essermi appressato quell piu alla
naturalfavella (Solerti 1908:51).
In this manner of singing, I have used a certain nonchalance (sprezzatura) which I
deem to have an element of nobility, believing that with it I have approached that
• much nearer to ordinary speech (Stark 2003:161).
Caccini's exact meaning is vague, but it seems to relate at least partly to a variable tempo in which
the singer could alter the rhythm and the tempo of the notes to fit the natural accentuation of the
words and to accommodate their meaning, even to the point of singing without a beat (senza
• battuta) or without strict measure (senza misura). James Haar (1998:35) remarks that lilt is an
interesting sign of the changed cultural climate of the end of the sixteenth century that Caccini
associates the quality of sprezzatura with the art of the professional singer". In Le Nuove Musiche
Caccini's preface contains a passage of three bars over which the following instruction is written:
• senza misura, quasi favellando in armonia con suddetta sprezzatura (without measure, as if speaking
in harmony with the said nonchalance). Palisca (1994:464) remarks that the music moves in
regular rhythm and that the only way the performer would know that it should not be sung exactly
according to the beat is by reading Caccini's instruction. Mystifyingly, Caccini also calls for another
phrase to be sung con misura piu larga (with the beat, but more slowly).
Caccini: Le Nuove Musiche. (Caccini: 1601/2:13.)
-132 -
•
The use of sprezzatu ra allows the performer to express emotion more realistically than a strictly a
., tempo rendering would permit, and at the same time, it gives an element of spontaneity or
\',J
improvisation to the musie. This is perhaps the true meaning of the word sprezzatura, which, in its
original courtly meaning meant to make whatever is done or said appear to be without effort.
Sprezzatura could therefore be described as a sort of rehearsed spontaneity. The improvisatory
aspect of Sprezzatu ra is covered in more detail in section 4.7.
In Le Nuove Musiche (1601/2) Caccini broadened the meaning of sprezzatura to include not only a
rhapsodic approach, but also the introduction of dissonances for expressive purposes.
/
Caccini: Le Nuove Musiche. (Caccini: 1601/2:6.)
una certa nobile Sprezzatura di canto, trapassando talora per alcune false, tenendo
pero la corda del basso ferma
a certain noble negligence (Sprezzatura) of singing, sometimes transgressing by
(allowing) several dissonances while still maintaining the bass note (Stark
2003:161).
Initially, in the later part of the 16th and the early part of the 17th centuries, there was a delight in
dissonance for its own sake, for example in the works of Marenzio and Gesualdo. This gradually
gave way to a more moderate approach to dissonance, where dissonant notes were introduced for
special effects. With time, this unorthodox harmony became accepted and commonly used, thus
fundamentally changing the concept of dissonance and paving the way for the harmonic practices of
the later Baroque. The use of dissonance is discussed more fully in Chapter 6. This current chapter
concentrates on the variable tempo aspect of Sprezzatura.
For obvious reasons, the use of the "nonchalance" that Caccini recommended is more suited to solo
• singing than to polyphony. The solo singer can vary the tempo with the meaning of the words
-133 -
without having to consider other singers. With the accompaniment of a mainly chordal basso
• continuo, the accompanist can accommodate such fluctuation in tempi. In contrast, the tempo of the
multi-voiced madrigals of the turn of the century could only be varied by getting the singers to
agree upon the tempo variation up front. Despite the difficulties, it was obviously still done in
polyphonic madrigals. The comments made by Vicentino, quoted below, are proof of the practice.
However, it would be logical to suppose that such tempo fluctuations in madrigals with more than
one vocalist were less spontaneous.
[ackson (2005:343) notes that as early as 1555, in L'Antica Musica ridotta alia moderna pratica
Vicentino remarked that one might occasionally "sing more rapidly or more slowly in accordance
with the sense of the words", cautioning that this goes beyond "what can be written down" by the
composer. Vicentino linked music to oratory, advising singers to vary the tempo for a greater effect.
•
Vicentino: L'Antica Musica, 1555:90.
For now he [the orator] speaks loudly and now softly and more slowly and more
quickly and with this greatly moves his auditors and this way of changing the
tempo has a great effect on the soul (Power 2009:248).
'·"a¥\;';~4.,~~.:~~~:{~.£I.'-i.u:·~·.if5i~~..:.t~~,~~"~~~..1;.4i,;~~~~~-:';';;'"5i~~,"L~ .~..~~.!,,:~~~ ••
tCf im;t~r gii 4CCtnli,Cr c..ff~lticklle part; deW crdtiont, & cbt tjfdto far;a fOratorc dI,
'Iccita tt beUaor~irJru:stn{:j l'orJine de ifwi accent;,&- prorwnti~ , Cr m"ti ud"ei,; Cr .
ftlTdi ,Cr:' Jl Il dir ~iJno b· /&rle 1ue11o non mUl.'ucria,g l'oJitor.i. Ilfimile deeJJ':re ,d;
Z.M"~ic.s.1"-YtQe se I oralur, m.~ gII oditori CJn gro,rdini flpradetti ,4uanto maggklT:
mmte Id MutÏca 'YtcÏlala con imcaesrmi ordini accompagft4ti dalf Armo,ud , ben unita ,f~
Nmo~o piu cffr:tt,,';et l'efpcrierna 4eU'org~ itfegnCl , ,he Jol4meJlte con l'intcno1tionc d,~l~
Vicentino: L'Antica Musica, 1555:90.
-134 -
...If an orator would attempt to make a beautiful oration without (adopting) the
rules of its accents and pronunciations, words delivered now quickly or slowly,
some softly, some loudly, the effect will not move the listeners. It must be the
same in music because if the orator is to move the listeners with the above
mentioned rules, so much better the music recited with the same rules
., accompanied by well ordered harmony, it will be far more effective ... (Haines
2004:254).
When the composer intended the tempo to be varied, he did not usually put this instruction in
writing, relying on the sensitivity of the singer(s) to portray the meaning of the text. However, there
are enough references in the literature of the time for us to be certain that it was common practice
and expected of the performer. The singer-composer Giovanni Domenico Puliaschi (late 15th
century - 1622) in the postscript to his Gemma musicale dove si contengono madrigali (Rome 1618)
speaks about using diverso tempo di battuta tra J'aria gravi & allegre, come anco in aleuni pasi
stringeria & allentaria : using a different tempo in grave and joyful arias as well as speeding it up in
some passages and slowing it down in others. (Carter 2000:11 and 33.)
The Lettera Amorosa (for canto plus accompaniment) and the Partenza Amorosa (tenor plus
accompaniment) in Monteverdi's Settimo Libro de Madrigali a 1234 & 6 voci, con altri generi de canti
(1619), both contain the heading a voce sola in genere rappresentativo e si canta senza battuta (for
solo voice, in the rappresentativo style, and to be sung without [strict adherence to] the beat).
Monteverdi: Lettera amorosa a voce sola in genere rapresentativo & si canta senza batuta. Settimo
Libro. (Monteverdi: 1619.)
-135 -
Monteverdi: Partenza Amorosa in genere rapresentativo, Voce solo & si canta senza battuda.
Settimo Libro. (Monteverdi: 1619.)
Fillippo Vitali (c.1599-c.1653) included a Lettera Amorosa in his Concerto, a selection of music
published in 1629. His wording is an almost exact copy of Monteverdi's: Lettera amorosa, in genere
• rappresentativo a voce sola e si canta senza battuta.
Monteverdi's eighth book of madrigals (1638), which, like Froberger's Libri Secondo and Quarto
was dedicated to Emperor Ferdinand Ill, contains a Lamento della Ninfa with an interesting preface.
Monteverdi: Lamento della Ninfa. Libro Ottavo. (Monteverdi: 1638.)
-136 -
•
, I
.c9m~io <neUa .JfinJa_ .1 '
• '[Composer's note]
MOdo di rappresentare i] presente canto. Le tre parti, che cantano fuori del pianto de la Ninfa, si
sono cosi separatamente poste, .perche si cantano al tempo de la rnano, Ie altri tre parti che vanne
commiserando in debole voce la Ninfa, si sono poste in partitura, accio seguitano il pianto di essa,
qual va cantato a tempo del'affetto del animo, e non a quello de la mano.,. " .
How to perform the present song. The parts for the three voices which sing before and after the.....
• ,Nymph's Lament are placed separately, because they sing in strict tempo; the other three voices, 'which softly express their pity for the Nymph, are placed within the score, so.that they can follow 1
~er lament, which itlo..l¥ sung at a speed ~ete~ed by feeling and not by the (conductor's) hand. ,
Preface to Lamento della Ninfa. (Deschamps: 1997.)
•
In the preface to Euridice (1600), Peri stated that vocal music should imitate speech using a
declamatory style. In his edition of the opera, Howard Mayer Brown (1981:XLIII) has translated
Peri's words as "lying between the slow and suspended movements of song and the swift and rapid
• movements of speech". Peri continued, "keeping in mind those inflections and accents that serve us
in our grief, in our joy and in similar states, I caused the bass to move in time with these, either
more or less, following the passions" .
•
In addition Peri uses frequent changes of note values, indicating a change of pace. Over the longer
notes of the basso continua, the voice moves through both dissonances and consonances. The
dissonances are not necessarily prepared or resolved, violating the rules of traditional
counterpoint. Thus, the voice is freed from the harmony and the result is speech-like declamation.
Meanwhile the longer sustained notes of the basso continua emphasize certain syllables that would
in normal speech be emphasized. Pirrotta (1982:263) differentiates between cantar recitando
(speaking song) to characterize Caccini's more lyrical style as opposed to Peri's more realistic
recitar cantando (singing speech).
•
According to Palisca, in contrast to Caccini, Peri's recitative is:
Inherently without measure, that is free of metronomie recurrence of beat and
metre. For example in Dafne's speech the line che celato giacea tra' fiori e l'erbo
-137 -
•
•
truly fails to submit to regular measure in that the accented syllable 'Ter" of
• "l'erba" falls on the fourth beat of [the bar] (Palisea 1994:464).
The original of the music bears this out:
•
• Peri: Euridice. (Peri:1600)
Although there are some sections of Peri's Euridice that use regular bar lines, other sections are not
regular. In his edition of the opera, Howard Brown advises the singers to "Constantly keep in mind
the possibility of changing their tempo ... the phrases in Euridice are unusually free because the
• music follows natural speech patterns so closely." (Peri: 1981:viii.). In order to achieve this, Peri
changes the number of beats to a bar to portray the slowing or speeding up of natural speech
rhythms (Peri:1600:2). In the following extract, Tirsi's song, Nel pur ardor, the modern score (in
which the note values have been halved) has indicated this by beginning with a C time signature,
moving to 6/4 on the words e qui discendi (and here descend) and moving back to C.
It r ,
--- -
_._ -I' ". __---t--
, "" .
~~-- _.
_-; - 'l }_. -.i--i- --
~ t -...I t .. "I-H'H -__._ -t- -t:--
-1 dl~' foe' ac-een - di. ' E qui di-seen - dl su "au?t~ piu -me.
l-J). for- tu - na -Ii .-man - ti E tra bei can - Il dl $() • '-yV mo - li·~.:.:p ~ I '
--+-
. ï,-. -~ •
Peri: Nel Pur Ardor. Euridice, 1600. (Palisea 2001: 275.)
• The 1600 edition shows the original note values and bar lines.
- 138-
•
•
•
•
•
Peri. Euridice. (Peri:1600:11-12)
•
A similar effect is to be found in Gesualdc's works. Brian Mann (2002:25) mentions that "Molinaro's
score is irregularly barred in shifting units of 6/2,4/2 and 4/4 ... offering insights into the metrical
life of this music".
Lorenzo Bianconi writes:
Although Gesualdo did not usually alter the modal framework of a madrigal,
he often weakened the cohesion and viscosity of the 16th-century tactus ...The
rhythm of Gesualdo's madrigals is subject to excessive variation, which leads
not only to further individualization but also to musical fragmentation of each
line or half-line ... The slow contortions of chromatic or dissonant episodes
alternate abruptly with fast declamations in quavers, or with interwoven
diatonic melismas in quavers or semiquavers (Bianconi 2010).
At the end of 0 Tenebroso giorno (Oh dark day), Gesualdo frequently changes the number of beats to
a bar to accommodate the meaning of the words: ....e piu vaga, che con suoi sguardi morte e vita
appaga? (... and more charming, and who with her glances pours balm on both death and life?). The
-139 -
•
•
edition of his works published by Simone Molinaro in 1613 shows how he changes the beats in the
• bar. The modern edition of the same piece of music shows this fluctuation in tempo via changes in
time signature .
•
• ---- -- ...... --1.1 •
Gesua/do: 0 Tenebroso Giorno. Libra Quinto. (Gesua/do: 1613.)
(The clefs in the first part of the extract are not shown but are the same as in the second part).
-140 -
•
r~~~~~~~~~~*-$~hb4b54gQ
\':l) • '",.;J.. C jpiil\',_a yh.., Che ''(Q"l .~III)I St;IJflt -
;;; I~ 2 ëjE::
- .tr'ÏI~ pitj ~'a - ~.l~piil\"" ... Sl-:'
1~~~Ët"E'mHfi B-r; j. J.·.d-1t~1gg
'n ,Itr'é Il~\!; :;sin. :.. ilra e ,:lu, '1':', flit, ChO ,~{l1I S'IKli ~"unr • di.Wee2-:;; ~ ~F~
:l- ~" _ ~ •• ~JI
Il:2~ j ,; :;EET r:=H
gn,
s
.' II
n
T2
.' 171
rc c ".~ la ...p . 'pl;'
Gesua/do: 0 Tenebroso Giorno, bar 31 to end. Libra Quinto, 1611. (Gesua/do: 2009.)
Mann also refers to the Berkeley MS of Michelangelo Rossi's madrigals which show a great
~, similarity to the Molinaro score in their irregular barring and changing time signatures. His two
books of polyphonic madrigals for five voices show a marked influence of Gesualdo in their use of
dissonance and harmonic explorations (Mann 2002:25). From 1601 to 1617, Molinaro was Maestro
di Capella at the Genoan Cathedral of San Lorenzo, where Rossi, who was born and raised in Genoa,
• was later an organist (Watkins and Fabris 2011). It is possible that Rossi knew the Molinaro score .
- 141 -
'.
•
Thus, at the beginning of the 17th century, composers of madrigals expected performers to change
• the tempo of the music to fit the meaning of the words. Seen against the background of the tactus of
older music, this seems to have been quite a revolutionary practice. Tactus is discussed in more
detail in section 4.6. It is clear from the various texts quoted above that tempo was, at least partly,
left to the discretion of the singers of the madrigals. Most of the "part books" of madrigals that were
• published in vast numbers did not contain bar lines. This is probably a remnant of the centuries old
custom of writing vocal music without bar lines, but it happens to express the concept of
sprezzatura rather well. The example of exquisite calligraphy and engraving below is taken from
Gesualdo's second book of madrigals (Ferrara 1694).
•
•
grane in le i.
•
Gesua/do: Cara Amoroso. Libra Secondo. (Gesua/do: 1594.)
-142 -
•
4.2 Adagio
(~
In other cases, tempo fluctuation was indicated by the word adagio, adag. or adasio. The word,
which in Italian means "at ease" or "leisurely", was given its literal meaning in the 17th century.
Modern usage gives it a slightly different meaning: a slow tempo. According to the Oxford
Dictionary of Music, it is a tempo that is "not so slow as Largo, but slower than Andante"
(Kennedy 2010). The 17th century literal meaning of the word is akin to Caccini's
sprezzatura, in that it is used to mean "free" or without strict adherence to the beat. This
meaning was also implied by Brossard in his Dictionnaire (1703) who translated the word adagio as
.\ "comfortable, at one's ease, without hurrying" and added that it usually meant "slowly, dragging the
beat a little" (Fallows 2010). Rousseau, in his famous Dictionnaire describes it as meaning "at ease",
"calmly" and as also being the manner in which to beat the time. His meaning is not entirely clear,
but it seems to imply a certain casualness in the marking of the time .
•
>:.':~'" ,~~,,,'.~~;:~~~...I.:~';:_,,,,.".;, >~::;.,",::..::!:. ..Jt' ~01~i.:Il.'~.i.:,~i:.J~.J.:.~';-~";~';':';{;,.Jt ,.,;~:.. ;.;,~·,-_:;" -~~~ ~~~...,_~~._,.,,::.I..'.. -..!#.-~ .. ..:- ~ .~...:.~_
MOUV£MtNT.) {1dagioell un adverbe Iralien qui lignitle, ;'t':
i
~ l'aife, poflment, & c'e.t1:auffi de ~etf~.maniere qu'il I
faut battre-la·Mefure des A1U aux ads Il s·a i,
Rousseau: 1768:27
Adagio is an Italian adverb that signifies at ease, calmly, and it is also in this
manner that one beats the time of the airs to which it is applied.
In Dario Castello's Libra Seconde, Sonate Coneertate in stil moderno per sonar nel organo overa
clavicembalo con diversi instrumenti a 1.2.3.4. voci (1629) the instruction adasio is used in this way.
The example below shows the ending of the instrumental part for the Sonata Prima a Sopran solo.
When the music is performed, it is obvious that a more rhapsodic approach is suitable from the
point at which Castello writes adasio .
•
-143 -
'.
.'
gQ JA Dd"'"_ "'slll .. QldD_o .. t·Q:t:tli:llc:.o=" :::::_:~•• :o.:at:lll otltQI ::::~::::::::::::::: ::::::::::I:IIo:.:"o:la::~.:. :Q:I:ll:::l:1l~i_,. ::~::::::::- :••::~:·:i:r:=··"
, '- _ •••••• 0 _ J_._ '" ••••• " •• ~.Q.u-_- ••••• ,__ '.~•J• _ •••••••••• _. ,: 1 -
• CasteI/o: Sonata Prima a Sopran solo, ending. Libra Secondo. (CasteI/o: 1629.)
Cypess (2010: 181-223) discusses metrical freedom in Castellc's Sonata prima a sopran solo:
Playing against a slow-moving bass line and without another melody instrument
to enforce its adherence to the tactus, the solo instrument is free to move slowly
or quickly ....slowing to highlight dissonances and other expressive features of the
composition ...
In Barbara Strozzi's Lagrime mie from her Opera Settima (1659), the word adagio is clearly used to
mean a less metrical style of singing. She places the word, not at the beginning of the lament, in
which case a general slow tempo might be deduced, but at a point where the text reads ma ben
m'accorgo, che per tormentarmi maggiarmente, la sorte mi niega anco la morte (but well I perceive
that to torment me more, fate denies me even death). By doing this, she emphasizes the words.
Presumably, one reverts to the normal tempo thereafter, although she does not specifically indicate
this .
•
-144 -
adag.
lOS
Ma .ben m'ac-cor - go, che per tor - men - tar -
o
mag nie-ga an-eo lamor- te, mi
B. Strozzi: Lagrime mie, bars 104ff Opera Settima, 1659. (Strozzi: 1993.)
.' Giovanni Rovetta's Madrigali Concertati. Libro Prima contains tempo markings such as allegro,
adagio (adaggio), and animé.
~:l:i. :!-:t_:_;DI,~t-_-:"-!-$---:t----:---J:~o ,0 • _~o.~ • U "-._0-~I~_- .._.:.1f~.._-. _-:f--_-:--t=._i_:f;::_i::t_-·~-~--.~:-::i=j::~~toD'_.!. __ -.I.. J .----,-- 1 ~... ._- - -__.-.----.! ..•t;.t/
M:_~oIl~:~:&;:R,r~-(li-.i.. -ot.~ :~~t , ]t~-:·::~t~~'.~_·~t:·~_:D:QtQ· --:-=t.-:-~--:-~'j~-~.-t'.:~=~~I~:.~~:=q::O-""'_II_O-Q._..p~ •. GQotAI:II:I .. --t .._..'*l-t- - ..=. _l. ...
Rovetta: 0 Rubella d'amor for two tenors.
Madrigali Concertati, Libro Primo. (Rovetta: 1636.)
Frescobaldi used the word adagio on several occasions in the prefaces to his works. Read in
context, it is clear that this means rhapsodically as well as more slowly. Frescobaldi's remarks
about tempo are covered in detail in the next section .
.'
- 145-
"e,'
4. 3 Frescobaldj's Comments on Tempo
In the prefaces to his published works (Libra Prima, Libra Secondo, the revised edition of Libra
Prima, the Capricci and the Fiori Musicali), Frescobaldi makes various comments that have a
bearing on tempo. His most comprehensive remarks about tempo fluctuations occur in the revised
edition (1637) of his first book of toccatas and relate specifically to the toccatas. It seems that his
partitas were to be played with a steady, moderate tempo, a battuta commoda (Frescobaldi: 1615),
as he regarded it as unseemly to start quickly and then have to slow down for the fast passages.
Libre Primo, revised edition: 1637
Primieramente, che non dee questa modo di sonare stare soggetto a battuta, come
.~ veggiamo usarsi ne i madrigali moderni, i quali quantunque difficili si ageuolanoper mezzo della battuta portandala hor languida, hor veloce, é sostenendola
etiandio in aria secondo iloro afetti, a sensa delle parole (Frescobaldi: 1637).
Firstly, this style of playing must not be held to a strict beat, but rather as with
the modern style of madrigals, where the difficulties are reduced by taking the
beat slowly at some times and fast at others, and even pausing sometimes as
suggested by the emotions ("afetti") or the meaning of the words.
In trying to establish correct historical performance practice, musicians are indebted to Frescobaldi
for this insight as it proves that sprezzatura was not only applied to the "modern madrigals" but
also to keyboard music under certain circumstances.
Li cominciamenti delle toccate sieno fatte adagio et arpeggiando: e cosi nelie
ligature, a vera durezze, come anche nel mezzo del opera si batteranno insieme, per
non lasciar vota I'lstromento (Frescobaldi: 1637).
The beginnings of the toccatas should be played adagio and arpeggiated: similarly,
if there are suspensions or real dissonances, in which case, as in the middle of the
piece, they should be played together, so that the instrument should not sound
empty.
- 146-
In all the translations of Frescobaldi's prefaces that I have read, the word adagio seems to be
.. always translated as "slowly". In the context, I feel that the word, which, as mentioned above, really
means "at ease" should be taken to mean rhapsodically. There was a certain freedom in the way
Frescobaldi intended his toccatas to be played: not only in the tempo but also in the point at which
the performer can stop playing .
...ma che anche si possa ciascuno di essi passi sonar separato l'uno dall'altro onde il
sonatore senza obligo di finitie tutte potra terminarle ovunque li sara gusto
(Frescobaldi: 1637).
...but also that their various sections may be played separately, so that the
performer may finish where he wishes, without being obliged to play them
complete.
• To our modern way of thinking, it would be quite strange not to play a toccata from start to finish,
but Frescobaldi's message is quite clear. In toccatas that were meant to be played at the elevation of
the host during the Catholic mass, the organist could thus accommodate the priest somewhat more
easily, finishing a section of the toccata at an appropriate time in the service. However,
Frescobaldi's toccatas are suitable for playing on the harpsichord as well as the organ and his
comments seem to apply to all the toccatas and not just the alia leuatione toccatas. In fact, the title
of his works lists the harpsichord first: Toccate d'lntavolatura di Cimbalo et Organo. In his first
book of toccatas, none of the toccatas specifically mention that they should be played on the organ.
In his second book, of the total of eleven toccatas, numbers three and four have the instruction per
I'organo da sonarsi alia leuatione (for the organ, to be played at the elevation of the host) and
numbers five and six have the comment sopra ipedali per I'organo, e senza (to be played with or
without the pedals of the organ). Toccata eight is di durezze e ligature (with dissonances and
suspensions) and this type of toccata is more suited to the organ. However, this leaves the 12
toccatas of the first book and 6 toccatas of the second book which are suitable for the harpsichord -
and it seems to be correct not to actually play to the end of any of them if the performer so desires!
Froberger seems to have meant certain of his works to be treated similarly. There is a shortened
version of Canzon FbWV 304 in the printed anthology of Froberger's works by Bourgeat (1696). As
this anthology seems to have been soureed from autographs, the shortened version (22 bars
shorter) can be regarded as an original version of the work (Froberger. 1993: Libra Secondo: XXXI).
-147 -
Similarly there are shortened versions of Toccatas FbWV 113,115,116 and 118 in the WMin 725
ijl MS.They were possibly used as versets.
Nell'ultima nota, cosi di trilli, come di passaggi di salto, 0 di grado, si dee fermare
ancorché detta nota sia croma, a biscroma a dissimile alla sequente; perché tal
posamento schiuera il confonder l'un passaggio con I'altro (Frescobaldi: 1637).
In trills and passage-work, whether proceeding in disjunct or scalewise motion,
the last note should be held, regardless of whether this note is a quaver, a
semiquaver, or different from the following note; this will prevent confusion
between one passage and the next.
In Frescobaldi's toccatas, because of the great variety of rhythmic figures, different types of passage
work and trills that the composer uses in quick succession, this "holding of the last note" occurs
quite frequently. In itself, this will stretch the beat a little, adding to the rhapsodic feeling of the
music.
•
Le cadenze benché sieno scritte veloce conuiene sostenerle assai; eneilo accostarsi
il concluder de passaggi a cadenze si andera sostenendo il tempo piu adagio
(Frescobaldi: 1637).
Cadenzas even when notated as fast, should be strongly retarded; and similarly
when the end of a passage or cadenza is approached, the tempo should be played
more adagio.
Here, the word adagio seems to imply a gradual slowing down of the tempo.
Trouandosi alcun passo di crome, e di semicrome insieme a tutte due le mani portar
si dee non troppo veloce; (Frescobaldi: 1637).
When a passage is found with quavers and semiquavers at the same time in both
hands, they should not be played too quickly;
,. This implies that the beat is not completely strictly adhered to in such a passage.
-148 -
Avanti che si facciano li passi doppi con amendue le mani di semicrome douerassi
fermar alla nota precedente, ancorché sia nera: poi risolutamente si faro if
passaggio ... (Froberger 1980).
Before playing double passages with both hands in semiquavers, you should
pause on the preceding note, even if it is a short one: and then play the next
passage with determination ...
Similarly, this instruction implies a slowing down and then a speeding up of the tempo.
In other works, Frescobaldi also refers to similar tempo variations. In the first edition of Libro
Primo, his instructions were not as detailed, but they nevertheless give a similar impression of
Frescobaldi's intentions. Relevant sections of his instructions are offered here with translation, but
without further comment, as the words speak for themselves.
From the first edition of his Libro Primo (1615)
I Principij delle Toccate sian fatti adagio, et s'arpeggino le botte ferme. Nel
progresso s'attenda alla distinzone de i passi, portandoli piu et meno stretti
conforme la differenza de i loro effetti, che sonando appariscono (Frescobaldi:
1615).
The beginnings of the toccatas should be played adagio with arpeggiation of the
written chords. As one progresses, one should pay attention to the character of
the various passages, playing them more or less strictly according to the
differences of mood that appear when they are performed.
Nei i passi doppi simifmente si vada adagio, accio siano meglio spiccati ....(
Frescobaldi: 1615).
With passagework in both hands, one should play adagio so that they can more
• readily be distinguished ...
- 149-
Conuiene fremarsi sempre nell'ultima nota di tril/a, et d'altri effetti, come di salto,
ouero di grado, benché sia semicroma 0 biscroma; Et communemente si sostengano
assai le cadenze (Frescobaldi: 1615).
It is always right to pause on the last note of a trill or other special effect, such as
jumps and even scales, even if it is a quaver or semi-quaver, and one usually
reduces speed considerably at cadenzas.
II Primo Libro di Capricci. 1624
Frescobaldi's remarks in the preface to his Capricci are all the more remarkable for being applicable
to a genre (capriccl) which is generally played with strict adherence to the beat. His comments
show that even in such works, rhapsodic playing was correct under certain circumstances .
....ho valuta avvertire che in queste case, che non paressera regolate, con l'uso del
con trap un to, si debba primieramente cercar l'affetto di quel passo et il fine
dell'Autore circa la dilettatione dell'udito et il modo che si ricerca nel sonare
(Radojev: 2005).
I wish to point out these things that do not seem to be regulated by the rules of
counterpoint, one must firstly seek out the feeling of the passage and the aim of
the composer concerning the effect on the ear and the way that one should play
such passages.
Si deuono i principii cominciarli adagio a dar maggior spirito e vaghezza al
sequente passo et nelie cadenze sostenerle assai prima che si incominci l'altro
passo, e nelie trippole, 0 sesquialtere, se saranno maggiori, si partino adagio, se
minori alquanto piu allegre, se di tre semiminime, piu allegre se sarnno sei per
quattro si dia illor tempo con far caminare la battuta allegra (Radojev: 2005) .
••
-150 -
The beginning should be played adagio to give greater spirit and beauty to the
following passages; and in the cadenzas broaden them a little before beginning
the next passage; and in the groups of three or six, if they are long values one
should bring them out slowly; if in smaller values, a little faster; if of three semi-
minims, faster; if of six against four, one may give them their rhythm by playing
in a lively measure.
Conviene in alcune durezze fermarvi con arpeggiarle accio che riesca piu spiritoso il
seguente passo (Radojev: 2005).
It is suitable in certain dissonances to slow down by arpeggiating them in order
that the following passage may produce a livelier effect.
_'
Fiori Musicali 1635
Nelie Toccate quando si trouerit aleuni trilli ouero passi affettuosi sonarli adagio e
nelie crome seguite nelie parti insieme fargli alquanto allegri eneIIi trilli siano fatti
piu adagio con il lentar la battuta benché le toccate si deuono fare it suo
beneplacito secondo il gusto del sonatore (Radojev: 2005).
In the toccatas, when some trills or ornamented passages are found, play them
adagio, and in the fast notes that follow in several parts, make them sound
somewhat faster. The trills should be played more adagio with a slowing down of
the beat, although the toccatas may be played according to the desire and taste of
the performer (Radojev: 2005).
Li principi di tutte le Toccate ben che siano di crome potransi fare adagio, e poi /
secondo i loro passi farli allegri (Radojev: 2005).
The beginnings of the toccatas may be played adagio, even if they are written in
black notes, and then, according to their movement, make them faster.
- 151 -
~i
According to Newcomb, the rhapsodic approach recommended by Frescobaldi should not be taken
~ as suggesting a performance with no basic tempo.
It was written against a background of the tradition of an unvarying tactus and
recommended a performance style that allowed the pulse to stretch subtly in
order to achieve flexible and expressive delivery in an increasingly declamatory
and rhetorical style (Luzzaschi. 2007:XV).
The following excerpts show typical places in Frescobaldi's toccatas where sprezzatura would be
appropriate: at the beginning, where the chords should be arpeggiated and at the end, in the florid
cadenza finale.
Il L c, ~ , 'I L J .1 _. -=1+
IV "~I , I I I , 1'--1 r-r· .~ I ,-'I r r I U'L.,LU''j
A ,,~ ~J I,.,) J _J ~ .d I [",---,,1 J ,.j--J ;
: --=--'
"
Frescobaldi: Toccata Settima, opening bars. Libra Primo, 1637. (Frescobaldi: 1949.)
Frescobaldi: Toccata Sesta, ending. Libra Primo, 1637. (Frescobaldi: 1949.)
.'
-152 -
4. 4 The Use of Sprezzatura by other Keyboard Composers.
There are some instances of the use of sprezzatura by other keyboard composers of the time. The
Capricci da Sonare (1687) by Gregorio Strozzi (c.1615-after 1687) contains some interesting
examples of fluctuations in tempo, even in dance music. Although it was published in 1687, his
Capricci da Sonare was probably composed much earlier (Hudson 2010). The works are in the
keyboard tradition of the early Neapolitan School.
-~: êij. 0.- ~o.:..~
<Ir <Ir
<Ir
-F=I .0 ~. EL.___ .Fo=.-I0- F=I .0.~
• it battuta
_ j,::~:... =-~ii
.
-~~ 0.
0. 00. 0
- 0. 8 -t-1:: «>
«> 8
§ - 0. 0 .F=I
.0..
- .0.-0
~:~ F=I =§
_;~:
0
0 ~o0.
G Strozzi: Sonata terza dell'undecmo tono trasportato, all'ottava sotto. (Strozzi: 2002.)
The following example shows the fluctuation in tempo in dance music.
~.~r_ d-~-d-bJ-gJI =r-
.d -----l-...o.
Gregorio Strozzi: Gagliarda terza. (Strozzi: 2002.)
.'
- 153-
When FrescobaIdi wrote that his music should be played in a way that is similar to the modern
li' madrigals, he was only summarising what was current practice, obviously in sung music, but even
in certain keyboard works, particularly toccatas. Rhapsodic playing was probably a feature of the
Neapolitan keyboard works as well.
The ending of de Macque's Capriccio Sopra re fa mi sol is such an example. According to Apel
(1972:425):
passages like this one and many others that occur in the works of Macque and his
followers are meaningful only when they are presented in a free tempo.
FrescobaIdi was the first to describe and demand it, but he only made explicit
. what was implicit in the works of the Neapolitan precursors .'
IInII
De Macque: Capriccio Sopra re fa mi sol, bars 98-102. (Macque: 2009.)
The rhapsodic sections of Proberger's toccatas are easier to pinpoint than those of his teacher,
FrescobaIdi. Froberger's toccatas are clearly divided into five sections: rhapsodic, imitative,
rhapsodic, imitative, rhapsodic. This may be an influence of Michelangelo Rossi. Although he was
~ primarily known at the time for being a.virtuoso violinist, Rossi is now mainly remembered for his
toccatas written in the style of Frescobaldi, which were re-printed in the Toccate e Correnti of 1657
- 154-
but written and first published considerably earlier. Alexander Silbiger (1983:19) states: "Indeed,
i' the first edition of the volume must have been prepared no later than the early 1630s, that is,
before Frescobaldi had completed some of his major works." This does not necessarily mean that
Rossi was not influenced by Frescobaldi, with whom he might have studied. However, it poses the
interesting question of whether Frescobaldi was influenced by Rossi. It also means that Froberger,
who went to Rome in 1637 at the age of 21, might well have known Rossi's keyboard compositions.
Rossi's toccatas include imitative sections with fast motifs and his toccatas usually contain two such
passages, dividing the whole into four sections: rhapsodic, imitative, rhapsodic, imitative. The
second imitative section dissolves into passage work at the end, in what could be regarded as a
short rhapsodic section. This division of the toccata seems to have started with Claudio Merulo
(1533-1604), a member of the Venetian School. It is worth noting that the Neapolitan School did not
have imitative sections in their toccatas. The following example shows how Rossi's Toccata Nona
(Toccate e Corenti d'lntavolatura d'Organo e Cimbalo, Rome 1657) moves from the last imitative
section into a short rhapsodic ending.
Rossi: Toccata 1)(,ending. Toccate e Corenti, 1657. (Rossi: 1899.)
-155 -
4. 5 Froberger's use of Tempo Fluctuations
Although composers occasionally included instructions such as senza misura, senza battuta, or
adagio, in most cases the application of sprezzatura was left to the discretion of the performer(s).
Perhaps this is the origin of Froberger's many instructions to play certain of his works avec
discretion or even avec discretion, sans observer aucune mesure (with discretion, without observing
the beat at all). In 17th century French, according to Boyer's Royal Dictionary (1699) the noun
mesure meant "time or measure in musiek" and the adjective mesuré meant "cautious, discrete,
circumspect, regular". Boyer gives two synonyms for the word: concerté .and reglé, meaning
.\ composed (in the sense of calm) and regulated. Froberger's instructions seem to mean not only to
be played without adherence to the beat, but also without any emotional restraint. However, even
Froberger did not always write down this instruction: presumably he assumed that the performer
. would be aware of current practice .:
'::"i~,~~Y..á~·~~~'t1t:~iw,i~Ji;~~~~~'~~~-~jL
Mriurc' • .).',F",_,l/Ift1]Nfl,
:1, G rL.r MeJure{dil'1\e$)h()nJ .,,.-
:.\.1.f..#,t:, ~."W"_P4~"~. {.fut,./iU.1G.
•~ {c·m. de ",U61i'J~)1ÏFf"nr .'.'"
"1 .• 'ri', in "/~~., «r (f'ed de
~ rer~) .. [0,1/,. in '1'01"), .r,Cr (~~.
J at-nee) ""111""', or muur. '1).,.;1':'
:~..!•... I(".Tr.f~ d·.,Ef.:rime),.jtJp'.!4(tf·:.ft9'#".(mrr"F. ~.tUIJA)4.ol ~.
i, ,~. ~ .M~~W'u{mo)~cfl,,)mt.4#t,..,
~ ,tnto."·,i tt .,.i",~",tbilll. ,~lIt. ,"l}, Nt:!t",ulcr p.l'lntd. t.1lTrur~.
~, '1l~/~ q~f1qQ'UJhljlhaVfnu~61'if.
J1 'ur ,~!pla.for~..e, :, .'Mr.fure, Q(t,-vf. mu(urtd.
~;~tM.ie~rufl.r.,ëi.,ft;'H)Ccrr.ér('gl}.'J)'~J'~fift#~pw,mJt~a."g".
'/~,. .,'
Boyer: Mesure. Royal Dictionary, 1699.
As Howard Schott (1998:99ft) mentions, Johann Mattheson (Der Vollkommene Capellmeister 1739)
• gave the most detailed explanation of the words avec discretion:
- 156-
In the case of things of this sort ... one probably writes these words: ceci se joue a
discretion, or in Italian: con discrezione, in order to point out that one is not
permitted to keep strictly to the tempo, but rather may play now slowly now
quickly as the spirit moves him. Besides Froberger, who in his time was very
famous and did much specifically in the style of writing, there were a few more
active fantasiasts in the good sense ...
The words avec discretion also carry the connotation of good taste or good judgment. It could be
.' equated with Castiglione's use of the word sprezzatura, an "aristocratic nonchalance". In his.discussion of Voltaire's Fables of Discretion: The Conte Philosophique in le Taureau Blanc, Thomas
Carr (1985:48) describes Voltaire's use of the word discretion as "[implying] the aristocratic
exclusiveness ... that is the mark of a self-conscious elite, eager to preserve its secrets from outsiders
it considers unworthy." Although le Taureau Blanc is from the following century (1774), the
• connotation of the word seems to be the same as in the previous century.
The aristocratic exclusiveness and good judgment that is implied by the words "avec discretion"
(;have their parallel in the French Précieux society, which originated in the Marquise de
Rambouillet's salon in c. 1610. In this and similar salons, educated men and women could meet to
discuss such issues as etiquette, philosophy, art, music and the purification of language (Meilers
1968:50). These salons, attracted some great thinkers, writers and musicians. Famous lutenists and
harpsichordists such as Denis Gaultier and Chambonniëres were regular members of the Précieux
salons (Meilers 1968:195). In the autumn of 1650 Froberger met the lutenists Denis Gaultier, other
members of the Gaultier family, Francois Dufaut and Charles Fleury, Sieur de Blancrocher. He also
met Francois Roberday (1624-1680) who later published a "fugue" FbWV 407a (actually a ricercar)
by Froberger in 1660. He probably met Chambonniêres and definitely knew Louis Couperin who
had recently come to Paris to study with Chambonniêres, Rampe (Froberger. 2005:XLVII)
speculates that Froberger was a guest performer at the private concerts organised by
Chambonnieres, called the Assemblée des Honestes Curieux (the Assembly of Curious [in the sense of
enquiring] Gentlemen). Froberger's use of the term avec discretion seem to be a hybrid of the
Italian sprezzatura and the indefinable French ban gout (good taste) that the French held so much
store by.
- 157-
•
4.5.1 Tempo Fluctuations in the Toccatas
• Whereas the surviving Libri Secondo and Quarto do not contain specific instructions to the
performer about when to play rhapsodically in his toccatas, it is interesting to note that in the Sing-
Akademie MS,which is in all likelihood a compilation of pieces from later autographs by Froberger,
the instructionjoue a discretionjusque d., (play with discretion untiL) is found in all the toccatas at
• the beginning of the rhapsodic sections. There is a sign that looks like a female gender sign: ~ ( a
circle with a cross below it), to mark the end of the rhapsodic sections of each toccata.
In later sections of each toccata, when rhapsodic playing is once again required, the words
lentement avec discretion or lentement et a discretion are to be found. The following examples show
• these instructions and the use of the circle-plus-cross sign at the beginning of a toccata, in the
middle rhapsodic section and at the end of a toccata, where rhapsodic playing is also required. The
five sections of Froberger's toccatas are thus very easy to discern.
•
/'l ..... -::: . .....
( ],.
L
" \ I
• Froberger: Toccata XIII, opening. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)The instructions are: Cette Toccate se joue a discretion jusque ..... a [circle with cross underneath]
This Toccata is played with discretion until ...
- 158-
•
•
•
•
•
•
Froberger: Toccata XVIl/, middle section. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
The instructions are: se joue a discretion jusque ..... c:} [circle with cross underneath]
play with discretion until .....
•
-159 -
•
•
•
•
•
Froberger: Toccata XIV ending. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
The instruction is: a discretion.
•
Even where Froberger does not give specific instructions, it is obvious that the non-imitative
sections of his toccatas should be played avec discretion. The following excerpt shows the end of the
rhapsodic beginning of a toccata leading into the first imitative non-rhapsodic section, which begins
in bar 5.
-
- r -
I 1-
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 104, bars 3-6. Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
•
-160 -
•
·'
4.5.2 Tempo Fluctuations in the Polyphonic Works.
I~
Froberger also used such rhapsodic passages at the conclusion of each section of his canzons and at
the end of most of his capriccios. In the following extract, the beginning of the ending rhapsodic
section starts half way through bar 48. The half bar lines are all editorial. Froberger's autograph
does not contain any bar lines at this point in the can~on.
Fraberger: Canzon FbWV 301, ending of section two. Libra Seconde, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
•
The following example, the ending of Froberger's Capriccio FbWV 514 from Libra Quarto, shows the
end of the measured section and the rhapsodic finale, indicated by a change in time signature. The
section preceding this change (including bar 47 and 48 of the extract) is in 12/8.
Froberger: Capriccio FbWV 514, ending. Libra Quarto, 1656. (Fraberger: 1995.)
It is noticeable that Froberger seems to use rhapsodic passages less often in his later polyphonic
works. With the exception of the ricerears and most of the fantasias, the Libra Secondo (1649) and
- 161 -
.'
the Libro Quarto (1656) contain frequent rhapsodic episodes in the polyphonic works. The Libro di
'. Capricci e Ricercati (c. 1658) contains fewer such episodes and the Setheby's autograph, which
dates from Froberger's later years, has six fantasies and six caprices, which apparently contain no
toccata-style episodes at al1.6However, despite the lack of obvious rhapsodic episodes in the
fantasias, it is interesting to note that Mattheson (Der Vollkommene Capellmeister 1739:88)
specifically mentions that it is correct to play Froberger's fantasias with discretion. Illustrating his
point, Mattheson quotes the beginnings of a toccata and a fantasia. Unfortunately the toccata is not
by Froberger (it has apparently been identified by Snyder as being by Buxtehude) and the fantasia
is not amongst the currently known works of Froberger. However, this does not detract from
Mattheson's opinion that Froberger intended these types of works to be played with discretion.
~ ;~~ :-~ .~
i;E'.klltiIBJ iV,¥
!? t 'iJ I r tt! ~j~
Matth eson. 1739: 1:10.
6 I am indebted to Bob van Asperen (2008:4.5) for this information, as the Sotheby's manuscript is,
unfortunately, now in private hands and not available for inspection.
- 162-
•
Roberday's comments in the preface to his publication Fugues et Caprices a quatre partier miser en
• partition pour J'orgue (Paris 1660) throw further light on the performance of the polyphonic works
that it contains. Roberday (1661) writes in the preface:
Il ne reste plus qu'á vous dire que les caprices se doiuent (quant-a la mesure) jouer a
discretion & fort lentement quoy qu'ils soyent Nottez par des crochues & double
crochues (Roberday: 2009).
Nothing else remains to tell you, other than the capriccios (as far as the beat is
• concerned) should be played with discretion and very slowly, even when they are
notated by quavers and semi-quavers.
TI'es lentement .
1\ ..
Roberday: Caprice 2, ending. (Roberday: 2009.)
The instruction tres lentement seems to indicate the beginning of the rhapsodic section. However,
Roberday's remarks seem to mean that the entire capriccio is to be played without strict adherence
to the beat. As Rampe (Froberger. 1995:XXXIV)points out: "This ... may also find consideration
while performing Proberger's polyphonic works".
4.5.3 Tempo Fluctuations in the Laments and Related Forms
Froberger gave specific instructions to play avec discretion in several of the works that he called
lamento, lamentation, tombeau, afliqée, plainte or meditation. In these works, he mentioned that the
• piece should be played lentement (slowly) a la discretion or avec discretion. In some cases, these are
-163 -
•
•
pieces that stand alone, such as the Lamentation for Ferdinand III and the Tombeau for M.
• Blancrocher.
•
Froberger: Tombeau ... M. Blanrocher [sic], opening, showing the title and the comments "fait a Paris
et se joue bien lentement et a la discretion" (composed in Paris and to be played very slowly with
discretion). Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
•
The Sotheby's autograph contains three such pieces, each marked to be played avec discretion in
Froberger's own handwriting. The following extract is from the Meditation composed in Madrid
upon the future death of his benefactress and employer, la quel/e sajoue lentement avec discretion.
•
Froberger: Meditation sur la mort ...Madame Sibyl/e. Late Autograph (Sothebys). (Maguire: 2006.)
The other two stand-alone pieces marked to be played avec discretion in the Sotheby's autograph
are the Tombeau composed upon the death of Ferdinand Ill, which in other sources is called
Lamentation and a hitherto unknown Tombeau composed upon the death of Sibylla's husband, Due
Leopold Friderich de Wirtemberg, Prince de Montbéliard.
-164 -
•
•
4.5.4 Tempo Fluctuations in the Partitas
Froberger included several pieces, called meditation, lamentation or plainte as the first movement
of partitas. In effect, they are slowallemandes and, in most cases, they carry the instruction to be
played avec discretion. An example is the Plaincte [sic] faite a Londres pour passer la melancholie: la
quelle se joue lentement et a discretion. (Plainte, composed in London, to drive away melancholy:
which should be played slowly and with discretion). This is the opening piece of Partita FbWV 630.
Froberger: Plaincte ...pour passer la Melancholie. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
Another example is the meditation composed upon his own future death, which, unlike that of
Sibylla, is the first movement of a partita (FbWV 620).
Froberger: Meditation ...faist sur ma Mortfuture. Late Autograph (Sothebys). (Maguire: 2006.)
- 165-
In other cases, the opening piece is actually called an allemande, such as the Allemande faite sur le
'. Subject d'un Chemin Montaigneux, la quelle se joue a discretion (Allemande composed on the subject
of a mountain road, which should be played with discretion). This particular title is only found in
the Sing-Akademie MS, but, with a different title, it is also found in various other sources. In
Bulyowsky 1675, it is known as Allemanda, repraesentans monticidium Frobergeri (Froberger.
2005:XXVI). In all the sources except the Sing Akademie, there are no specific instructions to play
this piece avec discretion. However, the piece needs such an interpretation if it is to be effective.
At the time that Froberger wrote his partitas, certain dances had already become music to be
listened to rather than danced to. Catherine Gordon-Seifert (2010:237) quotes several
contemporary sources that indicate that this was customary, especially with pieces such as the
allemande and the sarabande. Certainly this must be the case with Froberger's allemandes, where
they have a title such as lamentation and the instruction to be played "with discretion". Where his
allemandes do not carry such a title or such an instruction, it is a moot point whether or not they
should also be played a la discretion. Perhaps all the dances in Proberger's partitas were designed
for listening to, rather than dancing to. Even four of his gigues include rhapsodic elements (FbWV
607, 613, 619 and 620). In the Sing-Akademie MS, the gigue from Partita FbWV 613, nommée la
rusée Mazarinique (called Marazin's subterfuge) has an instruction in the last line NB lentement
avec discretion, comme le retour de Mons. Le Cardinal Mazarin a Paris (NB slowly and with
discretion, like the return of Monsieur the Cardinal Mazarin to Paris).
.' Froberger: Gigue nommée la rusée Mazarinique. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
-166 -
Three other sources of the gigue corroborate the Sing Akademie's comment that the ending should
'. be played avec discretion. The Grimm MS (1698/99) shows a change of time signature at this point
(the rest of the piece is in 12/8) and the E Mortier publication of 10 Suittes (sic) in 1709 has the
instruction a discretion.
Froberger: Gigue from FbWV 613b/2, showing change in time signature in the Grimm MS.
(Froberger: 2005: VollII.I.)
The Bulyowsky MS has the comment Lament et a la discretion come la retour de Mons. Le Cardinal
Mazarin a Paris. The writer of the words probably had an inadequate command of French, writing
• lament instead of lentement (slowly). This particular source of the gigue is interesting because of
the absence of bar lines, although there is a 6/8 time signature. The example given below is of poor
quality, but the absence ofbar lines is clear to see.
... ..-
,_.'r'
Froberger: Second part of Gigue from Partita FbWV 613b. Bulyowski MS. (Froberger. 2005: Vol lll.l.]
-167 -
This absence of bar lines seems to express the rhapsodic feeling of the piece rather well and
'ff, provides a further link to the part books of the madrigals which were typically written without bar
lines according to the conventions of the day.
\. In a variant of the gigue from FbWV 607, in the Sing-Akademie MS, the copyist has added the
instruction lentement avec discretion to the ending.
,~
Froberger: Gigue from FbWV 607. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
This gigue is also to be found in the Libro Quarto, without the instruction avec discretion. As the
Sing-Akademie source is so reliable in other respects, it seems reasonable to suppose that this
variant is a revision ofthegigue made by Froberger at a later date.
In another gigue, from Partita FbWV 619, there is a rhapsodic section towards the end of the piece
(which is in c minor, despite the single flat in the key signature) which has the instruction: NB avec
discretion Lentement (NB with discretion, slowly).
- 168-
!
Froberger: Gigue from Partita FbWV 619. (Froberger: 2005: VolllI.2.)
In the gigue from FbWV 620 there is the instruction avec discretion towards the end in all three
•• extant copies of the piece, one of which is in the late autograph. (For a more detailed discussion of
this work please see Chapter 7.)
.' The words avec discretion or a la discretion, applied to music, seem to belong specifically toFroberger. The term was not in general use by his contemporaries. The only other uses of the term
by his contemporaries that I can find is by Roberday, who used the word in the preface (but not in
the music itself) to his Fugues et Caprices (Paris 1660) to describe the way the caprices should be
played (see section 4.5.2 above) and Alessandro Poglietti (d.1683) who used the term in his
t-. programmatic description of the Hungarian uprising, Toccatina sopra la Ribellione di Ungheria. The
final movement of this somewhat bizarre piece is called la Decapitation and it is to be played avec
discretion.
It is significant that Poglietti was, like Froberger, an organist at the Imperial Court of Vienna from
1661 until his death at the hands of Turkish invaders during the siege of Vienna (Gillespie
1972:120). Poglietti may also have been taught by Froberger (Froberger. 2005:XLVIII). The term
con discrezione was famously used by Bach in his D major Toccata BWV 912, but that was in the
following century.
- 169-
4. 6 Changes in Time Signatures
/'
In addition to written instructions, such as senza battuta or instead of leaving the application of
sprezzatura up to the singer(s), the madrigalists used changes of time signature to indicate a
slowing down or a speeding up of the tempo. Before discussing the use of this technique, a brief
overview of tactus and proportional time signatures will be given.
4.6.1 Tactus
~ The tactus was:
A unit of time measured by a movement of the hand, first discussed in detail by
Adam von Fulda (De musica, 1490). One tactus actually comprised two hand
motions, a downbeat and an upbeat tpositio and elevatio, or thesis and arsis).
Each motion was equal in length in duple time (tempus imperfectum); in triple
time (tempus perfectum) the downbeat was twice as long as the upbeat. In theory
the tactus in 16th-century music measured a semibreve of normal length (integer
valor notarum), a breve in diminution (proportio dupla), and a minim in
..
augmentation. Gaffurius (Practica musice, 1496) wrote that one tactus equalled
the pulse of a man breathing normally, suggesting that there was an invariable
tempo then of M.M. = c60-70 for a semibreve in integer valor. (Mayer Brown and
Bockmaier: 2011.)
Prior to the application of sprezzatura, the overall tempo of the tactus might vary, for example, in
accordance with written instructions for a particular section. In Luys Milán's El maestro (1536) he
indicated that the tactus should be fast or slow with the expressions apriessa and espacio
lê; respectively. (Mayer Brown and Bockmaier: 2011.) However, it seems that once the tactus speed
had been chosen, one stuck to it quite rigidly. In contrast, Caccini's and Vicentino's remarks, quoted
at the beginning of this chapter, show that the avant-garde were questioning the validity of this old
system and suggesting a variable tactus to allow greater expression in the madrigali moderni. This
is further illustrated by the comments of the singer Aquilino Coppini who observed in 1609 that
"the emotionalism of certain of Monteverdi's most recent madrigals was best served by a degree of
- 170-
local flexibility in the tactus". (Bowers 2011). Whereas this might have become acceptable at the
beginning of the century for secular vocal music, sacred vocal works or instrumental works in a
contrapuntal style still followed a rigid tactus.
Frescobaldi departed from this norm in his toccatas but also in his Primo Libro di Capricci (1624) .
-4, tJ As Etienne Darbellay has shown (Silbiger 1987:301ff), Frescobaldi stipulated a tactus speed that
varies according to the time signature and to the range of predominant note-values (the Notenbild).
This principle departs unmistakably from the late Renaissance theories of an
invariable tactus whose fixed speed governs the note values irrespective of the
Notenbild. Had it not been applied to a collection of contrapuntal works [the
Capriccii, this stipulation would not be as far reaching, since a variable tactus
must be assumed in any case for the large range of new galanterie associated
with the seconda prattica ... The "tempo tyranny" of the tactus ...eventually came
into conflict with the freedom required by the metric patterns and tempos of the
new baroque practices. (Darbelley in Silbiger 1987:301.)
Thus, the strict tempo regulations of earlier music started to disintegrate in the late 16th and early
17th centuries. This is particularly apparent in the endings of many of Froberger's contrapuntal
works where a change of time signature indicates the start of a rhapsodic section.
4.6.2 Time Signatures and Proportional Notation
Although an explanation of the "old" (ie commonly used in the Renaissance) system of time
.: signatures is given below, it is not within the scope of this work to discuss the old notation system
in detail, and the reader is referred to The Notation of Polyphonic Music 900-1600 by Willi Apel and
to the articles on Notation by Chew and Rastall (Bent et al 2011) and on Proportional Notation
(Bowers 2011) in Grove Music Online for further information on this complex issue .
• ' The older system of notating time is based upon a combination of triplex (perfect) and duplex
(imperfect) subdivisions:
- 171 -
Perfectus Imperfectus
Maximodus 1 maxima = 3 longae 1 maxima = 2 longae
Modus 1 longa = 3 breves I longa = 2 breves
Tempus 1 brevis = 3 semibreves 1 brevis = 2 semibreves
Tempus could be further divided by Prolatio, which was divided into maior and minor: Prolatio
maior: 1 semibrevis = 3 minimae. Prolatio minor: 1 semibrevis = 2 minimae. In practice, maximodus
and modus were seldom used and composers used tempus perfectus and tempus imperfectus
together with prolatio maior and prolatio minor.
This combination of tempus and prolatio resulted in four possible combinations which were
indicated by signs: a circle for tempus perfectum, a half-circle for tempus irnperfecturn. Prolatio
maior was indicated by a dot within the circle or half circle. No dot equalled prolatio minor. The
examples given below are in "full black" notation, where the noteheads of minims and longer notes
are black. In "void notation", a later development, such noteheads were white.
0 Tempus perfectum
ID
with Prolatio maior = • • • = !!! !!! !!!
1 breve = 3 semibreves = 3x3 minims
0 Tempus perfectum
with Prolatio minor .. = • • • = !! !! !!
1 breve = 3 semibreves = 3 x 2 minims
C! Tempus imperfectum
with Prolatio maior III = = !!! !!!
1 breve =• •2 semibreves = 2 x 3 minims
C Tempus imperfectum
with Prolatio minor • = • • = ~~ ~~
1 breve = 2 semibreves = 2 x 2 minims
In medieval notation there was a progressive slowing down of note values and
this continued during the 16th century, partly no doubt owing to the proliferation
- 172-
of short note values. By the second half of the century the minim had become the
normal beat in polyphony ... the crotchet became the main time unit for much
music in the 17th century ... (Bent et al 2012)
Translated into modern time signatures these four combinations would mean:
Tempus perfectum with protatio maior: 9/2; adjusted for the later reduction in note values: 9/4.
Tempus perfectum with protatio minor: 3/1; adjusted for the later reduction in note values: 3/2.
Tempus imperfectum with protatio maior: 6/2; adjusted for the later reduction in note values: 6/4.
Tempus imperfectum with protatio minor: 2/1; adjusted for the later reduction in note values: 4/4.
Although the tactus was fixed, note values could be reduced by the insertion of a line through the
time signature or by the addition of numbers to the time signature. The system of proportional
notation was in use from the early 14th century to the early 18th century and underwent several
., changes. However, by the end of the 16th century and the early part of the 17th century there were
two basic additional rules for the system:
• A stroke through the time signature indicated that the notes would be played as if their
values were halved (the origin of the modern alla breve).
• A fraction written after the time signature indicated that the upper number of notes would
be played in the time previously taken to perform the lower. The most common of these
time signatures were 3/2, 3/1 and 2/1 (the 1 was often omitted because it was regarded as
obvious). Thus, 3/2, meant three in the time of two; 3 (or 3/1) meant three in the time of
one; 2 (or 2/1), meant two in the time of one.
.' These proportional signatures, in the form of fractions, could be cancelled by the inverse of thefraction and were used for pieces with short sections in different metres. There were other
possibilities and the issue is further complicated by the fact that in some cases a particular
composer had a system that did not correspond entirely with anyone else's. Chew and Rastall (Bent
et al 2011) state that after 1500 the more complex proportions are found only in theoretical works
.' and in a few sixteenth century polyphonic works to illustrate the text.
-173 -
The very beginnings of the dissolution of the proportional system, and of its
orderly evolution onward, can be traced to about the 1620s, with the inception of
a progressive evaporation of the concept of the tactus on which it had come to
depend (Bowers 2011).
The old system of proportional notation affects the number of beats in a bar, partly explaining the
"double bars" that we perceive in Froberger's music. Apel (referring mainly to instrumental music)
states that "bar lines in 16th century compositions ...are drawn at the distance of either a brevis or a
semibrevis (two or one whole note), the choice depending to a certain extent on the absence or
presence of small note values" (Apel 1970:82). Double-length bars (if one applies modern thinking)
are thus very common in the music of the time and are a remnant of the conventions surrounding
the tactus where, for example, C = one breve in the bar (Mayer Brown et al: 2011), or, in effect, two
semibreves, an upbeat and a downbeat, of equal length in duple time (tempus imperfectus). In other
• words, there would be usually be eight crotchets in the bar rather than the four crotchets that the
time signature means today. If the music is written in C or cut C there may be either one or two
semibreves (or minims) in the bar. If the music is written in triple time there may be either one or
two beats of a breve+semibreve or minim+crotchet. Once one understands the system, this music
has a regular barring system, even though it is not quite the same as the modern system.
4.6.3 Time Signature changes in the Madrigals, indicating tempo changes.
In some cases, madrigals are sub-divided into sections and these sections start with a different time
signature. However, some of the madrigalists also used rapid changes in time signatures. These
changes do not precede new sections, but seem to depict rapid tempo changes. For example In
Itene 0 miei sospiri, Gesualdo uses a change of time signature. The phrase reads: Che l'amaro mio
pian to, canqero lieto in amoroso canto (that my bitter lament, I will happily change to a love song.)
On the word cangera (change) he changes time signature from eta 3 changing back again to C two
bars later.
- 174-
•
•
•
• Gesua/do: Itene 0 miei sospiri. Libra Quinto. (Gesua/do: 1613.)
In Rovetta's 0 Rubella d'amore, the composer not only writes in the instructions adagio and a/egro
• (sic), but changes from C (the adagio section continues from the previous part which is under this
time signature), to a/egro with a time signature of 3, to Cto 3 and back to C.
~:.-.._1=:-_i--: i-:£-7..l..-.:._~._":..'I:-i-:._l--:l__:-.i._--_
I\dlgln.
~:.I..:-l_-'·:-:I-Bt:t-:-..':--.:-+-:--.:-1--:.-:.:-:1:-:·J-- - - ! - - - - ------ -.-. -.- -J-} - .~_
cbe !,crche nOl' f'~ec .t:'ld~t =O'lrra t 'coli mi
~~t:-:·l::-:.~.f·: I-::-:-:-~·:~--'¥=T--::u~J:!~·.:-·:ft:-C-iI·I-:~-~-·-:Y--'-lt'"~":-t!_'. .,:::....::!_:_=~:!!_: ..:.::: ::::-:1:" :-t::J-:t:.:: ~ .:=
(ei fedel coi IJlj fti (,del Mr. .onanle
"1'::'·_---,-_-·i-·&--!..l.,,·i-~--.l.-...-...·;..-...!.;...-;-..·Q··
tn,."·-i-
-- -- - -- - -- .. --t--t-¥- __"" .t£.
--J-- -- ---.--.-...---,I------ ...---...--.-.-~.---,I,------,--,-.~_-- ---- -- •-------....... ."..--.... ..._ -.... ... ---~-----••_-,---.--...-""-"
o Rubella . Jtubdla d'Amor Rubdla d·Alr.or
eJoi I-·--~.·.. , _- _''IV''·---'f -·ï,'.-.--i1-----~"---.-.-·-----·--------·--&- -~••-- ·---ii----- *---i-l
8_---..---_-..-----..-_.-.. _-- ..--.,-..--t------------·-----.--.-0-..;---..-0--_l-i--.-_--.-t.;-!~---'-f-I-I _-_.._--.,------------
-=-::t·~·:i:=--:t.·:!-::--ë--:=..f.·..-f - eeud" a "zmallfe - tu gio-'fl == ::-t-::.:-:1--:-:--t~-:1é-:-:-J~~:'::-.:t~:-=-1-::-:'-i.}.,.:::::.:_:! .~:::.::~_:!-:: ::::::::=::: !~::~-
'~jrd -i-~tu-g-io-l"--irc~j 't'f-io--l'anj;uirco jo l:tnghi-~:-:- -: -: !--:i :-2- - - --"i- t·--- ""-'._-------: ..:- :- :-:-'lf·:·: :..-t_-=-l-:-~--:-_-i:_-:-l_'--]-[¥-_i:.-._..-:~:-:-i~---------- ..~ -._"'_i:--
(0 lansus(o -_ ...... eu pec~nl ru pe" (ani • ;0'. pa-
• Rovetta: 0 Rubella d'amore. Tenor I part Madrigali Concertati, Libra Primo. (Rovetta: 1636.)
-175 -
•
•
Similarly, in Monteverdi's Dice la mia bellissima, the extract below from the basso continua part
• shows rapid changes from C (tempus imperfectum) to 3/2 under tempus perfectum with halved
note values, to Cto 3/2 to C.
• ~*~Clt-d-:~·~~~. .... _.._-- ...
~; I
•
mlIJm •• r• fi
Monteverdi: Dice la mia bellissima. Settimo Libro. (Monteverdi: 1619.)
4.6.4 Froberger's use of time signatures
Froberger uses both the old proportional system and the newer system that is commensurate with
the modern use of time signatures: ie the denominator of the time signature indicates the note
value upon which the music is based eg 4 = the crotchet, 2 = the minim and the numerator indicates
the number of these notes per bar. His pieces are sometimes a hybrid of the two systems.
In the autograph works of 1649, 1656 and 1658, it is interesting to note that Froberger always
begins each work in C; that is, if one regards each partita as one entity. (In the partitas of 1649 and
• 1656, whereas the allemandes all begin in C, the dances that follow have a variety of time
signatures.) There is only one instance of a "cancellation" of a time signature in these three
-176 -
•
•
autographs, and that occurs in Toccata FbWV 101, where a 12/8 section is followed by a 8/12
section. He uses the following time signatures in these libri:
• 3 This is a remnant of the old practice and usually means 3/2: in other words, three in the
• time of two rather than 3/1, three in the time of one .
• 6/4 This is equivalent to the modern time signature in that it means that each bar contains
6 crotchets. It also carries the meaning that these 6 notes are equal in duration to the 4
notes of the preceding section. Similarly, 12/8 is equivalent to the modern time signature
on the one hand but also indicates that the 12 quavers are equal in duration to the 8 notes
• of the preceding section. He also uses 9/3 on one occasion, in Fantasia FbWV 303, which
seems to equate to 9/8.
• Cut C. This time signature carries the modern connotation of a quick duple time, but
includes the older meaning of a doubling of the time of the previous section. When
• Froberger uses this time signature, for example at the end of Toccata FbWV 112 and the end
of several of his Capriccios, a quick, free tempo section seems to be indicated.
• C3 This time signature is used for all the courantes and the sarabandes and for one gigue. It
indicates that there are three minims to the bar, in the case of the courantes and three
semibreves to the bar in the case of the sarabandes and that these should be played in the
time of one minim/semibreve of the preceding section. The music is thus much faster than it
appears to be from the notation. The gigues are written in C, with three exceptions. The
gigue from FbWV 602 is in 6/4 (this is the only autograph partita containing the gigue as the
last dance); gigue FbWV 610 is in C3; andgigue FbWV612 is in C6/4.
Like the madrigalists, Froberger conventionally uses changes in time signatures to split a piece into
different sections with different tempi. However, he also uses rapid changes of tempi. The following
excerpt from his Fantasia FbWV 205 shows changes in time signatures from 3 (the piece begins in
this time signature) to Cto 6/4 within the space ofa few bars .
•
- 177-
•
'.
Froberger: Fantasia FbWV 205, bar 33 to end. Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
These quick changes in time signature, as opposed to changes that precede a new section, seem to
signify changes in tempo, rather than being proportional changes with the overall tactus remaining
the same. Such changes would allow the composer to express different feelings or emotions, almost
like a soliloquy expressing the composer's stream of consciousness. This links the compositional
style to the madrigals as well as to that of recitative (particularly French recitative), where, on
many occasions, the characters express their innermost thoughts as they occur, with changes of
time signature to express the ebb and flow of their emotions. It also illustrates Mattheson's claim
• (1739:88) that the fantasias were also to be played "with discretion".
In many instances, Froberger uses a change in time signature to indicate a section in free tempo.
The ending rhapsodic section of Toccata FbWV 112 is indicated by a change of time signature from
6/4 to cut C.
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 112, ending. Libro Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
•
-178 -
Similarly, the ending of Capriccio FbWV 504 moves from C to Cut C at the end, clearly indicating a
change of tempo .
.Froberger: Capriccio FbWV 504, ending. Libro di Capricci e Ricercati, c.1658. (Froberger: 1995.)
, The ending of the gigue from FbWV 610 includes a change from C3 to Cut C, possibly indicating a
rhapsodic ending to the piece .
•
Froberger: Gigue from FbWV 610, ending. Libro Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
Frescobaldi also used the idea of changing time signatures frequently to express changes in
emotion in his keyboard music. In the Libro Primo, he relies more often on textural diversity and
note length to indicate a faster or a slower pace in his toccatas, but in his second book, time
signature changes are more frequent. Toccata Nona from his Libro Secondo contains 14 changes of
time signature. Appropriately, Frescobaldi added the postscript non senza fatiga si giunge al fine
(not without fatigue is the end reached). The extract below shows the ending of the toccata. The
extract begins in 4/6 time in both hands and then changes to 6/4 in the left hand, illustrating
Frescobaldi's use of complex rhythmic puzzles as well as the frequent changes in time signature.
-179 -
Frescaba/di: Toccata Nona, ending. Libra Secanda. (Frescaba/di: 1637.)
4.6.5 Coloratio
Another way of altering the value of notes was by coloratio, whereby certain notes were coloured
in. In the earlier black notation, coloured notes were red. In the later void (or white) notation,
coloured notes were black: for example a semibreve would be coloured black instead of left void.
The basic function of these coloured notes was to indicate a reduction in time value by two thirds.
(Bowers 2011.)
- 180-
•
With the increase of smaller (black) note values in music in general, coloratio was seldom used as it
became confusing. However the practice survived in the 16th and 17th centuries for expressing
hemiola rhythms in 3/2: for example, three black semibreves replaced two normal void dotted
semibreves. The following example by Monteverdi shows the use of coloratio in a madrigal for solo
tenor plus basso continuo. The basso continua part uses coloratio in the section that is in 3 in
• tempus imperfectus with halved note values (indicated by the line through the time signature). The
tenor part of the same madrigal is written in normal (for the time) notation .
•
•
'1_=__.;....!.._..!._.!..j.J. ;r..-.!_:!~-....-... --~--,-.~..:~:~::§=.~.ê.~~r~ti=-~
Monteverdi: Ninfa che scalza il piede. Basso Continuo. Jl Ottavo Libro di Madrigali. (Monteverdi: 1638.)
Monteverdi: Ninfa che scalza il piede. Tenor part. Jl Ottavo Libra di Madrigali. (Monteverdi: 1638.)
There are some examples of coloratio in instrumental music, written in stile moderno in triple time.
•
-181 -
•
'.
I.~
Frescobaldi. li Primo Libro di Capricci. 1626. (Example from Bent et al: 2011.)
•
.~ GB Fontata. Sonate a 1.2.3. 1641. (Example from Bent et al: 2011.)
Froberger uses black notation coloratio briefly at the end of Ricercar FbWV 402 and, more
extensively, in Fantasia FbWV 203. The example below is also in triple time and the use of black
notes backs up the time signature of 3/2: three in the time of two of the previous section, which is
in C.
- 182-
Froberger: Fantasia FbWV 203, bar 52f[ Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
A similar use of colour, or more correctly non-colour, is in the use of void (white) notation where
black notation would have been normal, for example the use of white "crotchets" or crame bianche
in the example below .
•
•
Fraberger: Toccata FbWV 102, showing the transition to the contrapuntal section in white notation.
Libra Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
The flagged minims that he uses are clearly "white" crotchets and the preceding and the following
sections of the toccata are in ordinary notation. This notation is unique in Froberger's works: even
other contrapuntal sections of toccatas, written in the same 6/4 time signature, are in normal black
notes, such as in the example below.
-183 -
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 112, bars 19-20. Libro Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
In both examples above, from FbWV 102 and FbWV 112, triple time is clearly intended and the
basic metrical unit is a dotted crotchet. Similar use of the 6/4 time signature with normal black
notation can be seen in the other works from his autographs, for example Canzon FbWV 304 bars
59ff; Canzon FbWV 305 bar 9ff; the Gigue from FbWV 602 and FbWV 612 and Capriccio FbWV502,
which aU.hav.e the dotted crotchet as the basic metrical unit. A slightly different use of the time
signature is to be found in Fantasia FbWV 205, bars 45ff and Canzon FbWV 302, bars 47ff, where
the metrical unit is a dotted minim, once again written in normal notation .
•
The use of crome bianche seems to have been a sort of retro-fashion as the notation dates back to
much earlier times when paper began to be used instead of parchment and the ink used to fill in
black notes tended to run. The solution was to make the notes white instead of black (Latham:
2002:844). However, by Froberger's time this cannot have been a consideration, as so much of his
music contains black notes with small duration values - as does the music of the madrigalists. As
Froberger wrote other sections in 6/4 time in normal notation and as he used black coloratio in
FbWV 203, he seems to have meant something else by his use of crome bianche in Toccata' FbWV
102. It is my contention that he used the notation to draw attention to, and provide performance
instructions for, the vocally-inspired lament-style nature of this section. By using the retro-
fashionable white notation he was able to visually distinguish the section from other pieces of a fast
gigue-like nature in 6/4. The descending lines in each of the voices of this section link it to the
lament and, if it is played slowly, the sad beauty of the piece is revealed. In all the recordings of this
toccata that I have heard, this section is played fast. I believe that this is the incorrect interpretation
of Froberger's intention and that the section should be played slowly, like a lament.
-184 -
~)
There is evidence of use of crome bianche in Italian vocal music of the 17th century, particularly in
'j Carissimi's music, although, frustratingly, the lack of surviving autographs means that the notation
cannot be checked against the intentions of the composer.
I~$t.i i I t£t£i litt I·ml rW.lll,¥$' j(
Conh .9{/dc,; -,:,._. - "_, _ --=-_, - _ '_:,. ua (J
•
Carissimi: Bel tempo per me se n'ando. Partition de plusieurs airs ltaliens,
MS Res F935. (Carissimi: 2011.)
•
The practice is borne out by Sébastien Brossard. who notes:
On trouve souvent sous ce signe 3/2 sur tout chez les ltaliens, de Blanches Crochées
au lieu des simples Noires (Brossard: 1708:176).
One finds white crochets instead of simple black ones often under the sign 3/2,
especially with the Italians.
Although the practice was Italian rather than French, void notation was used later in the
seventeenth century by French composers, (notably Charpentier), when they wanted to write in the
Italian style. Sadier (2010:47) explains that void notation was extensively used by Charpentier from
1670s onwards in settings of Italian texts at a time when the Italians had already abandoned the
'. practice. He ascribes this to the influence of Charpentier's sojourn in Italy, where he apparently
_ 185 _
~I
studied with Carissimi, according to the Mereure Galant of February 1681. The example below is
:f taken from SadIer (2010:50).
.[_vn-1-]..----
ter
.;_,--- -"""" ....,._ ...__ ..._- -
[: 8]
Charpentier, Psalmus David 5rll~'in tempore belli pro Rege. H 168;
Mélanges, \'01. 3. p. 1]9 (cahier 20. fol. 63)
.' Charpentier used white notation for pieces that were slow and pieces that were not slow. ShirleyThomson (2002: 83-93) concludes that no special significance can be attached to Charpentier's use
of the notation as far as tempo is concerned. White notation has survived in other French music,
notably in 27 pieces by Francois Couperin (Tunley 2004:13). Francois Couperin's music is of less
relevance to the current discussion, as his music dates from the following century. However, Tunley
(2004:13) concludes that white notation in Couperin's music meant a slow tempo and, in the case of
his satirical piece Les fastes de la grande et ancienne Mxnxstrxndsx it was also used "to emphasize
the antiquated nature of the closed society of ménestriers against which he had a running battle".
"
White notation was also used on one occasion by Purcell in his Ode Laudate Ceciliam. Martin
Adams states:
-186 -
This style of notation is unique in PureelI's autographs ....lts use of 'white' note-
heads ...was rare in England, though it survives in a few contemporary sources of
Italianate music by English composers. (Adams 1995:38.)
The use of crome bianche in keyboard music from this period is rare and the link to Carissimi, who
used the style extensively, is intriguing. Froberger's possible study with the master is referred to in
Chapter 2. Kerll, who studied with Carissimi (Harris and Giebler 2011) and probably knew and was
possibly taught by Froberger, also used crome bianche, notably in his Ciaccona. It is also tempting to
see a link between the notational style of the French un measured preludes and the use of crome
bianche, especially because a copy of Toccata FbWV 102, with the void notation accurately copied,
was transcribed into the Bauyn MS. As mentioned in Chapter 1, Moroney (Couperin. 1985:6ft)
discusses the likelihood that the Froberger pieces in the Bauyn were copies of autographs owned by
. Louis Couperin and transcribed by his brother Francois Couperin .'
tt ... '
I
/
L.Couperin: Prelude 4, systems 1-2. Bauyn MS. (TiIney: 1991.)
.'
- 187-
4. 7 Improvisation
As discussed at the beginning of this chapter, the use of sprezzatu ra gives an element of spontaneity
or improvisation to the music. Sprezzatura in music could be described as a sort of rehearsed
spontaneity. The music appeared to be improvised and, in writing it down, composers attempted to
record the act of improvisation. Froberger's toccatas, like those of his teacher Frescobaldi, seem to
be both an attempt to record the improvisatory aspect of what may have originally been (at least
. partly) an improvised genre and, in contradiction to this, an attempt to make a genre which wasactually highly structured (by the time Froberger was composing), appear to be improvised .' ,I "
In her thesis, Analytical Issues in the Toccatas of Girolama Frescobaldi, Naomi Barker summarizes
this process:
It' Resolving the paradox of 'composed improvisation', if, indeed, such a resolution
is possible, creates a further paradox - that of strict formulaic procedures being
used as a framework for creating the impression of spontaneous creation. For
example, local areas of extemporary creativity are controlled by formulae of
.' diminution and embellishment; large-scale structures are determinedbeforehand in terms of rhetorical practice; the materials of the 'subject' are
chosen to correspond to theoretical constructs and are explored within the same
restrictions so that the whole 'improvisation' follows a set code of practice. The
existence of such a network of processes is the foundation of compositional
freedom, guiding the composer from one point of reference to the next and
maintaining coherence throughout the changes of affect, contrasts of tempo and
metre, different textures and continually changing motifs that characterize the
'free' style of the toccata. (Barker 1995:362.)
,
j
Works such as Froberger's lamentations and related forms, seem to take this rehearsed
improvisation to new heights. In order to express this, Froberger instructed the performer to use
his/her own discretion in the interpretation of the tempo.
-188 -
It should also be remembered that Froberger and his contemporaries came from a tradition of
"
,il improvisation. A good musician was expected to be able to improvise. According to Rampe
(Froberger. 1995:XXIII), Froberger travelled to the Electoral Court of Dresden in the autumn or
early winter of 1649 and, according to Mattheson (Grundlage Einer Musicalischen Ebren-Pforte,
1740:88), he engaged in a friendly competition with Weckmann at the request of the Saxony
."'. Electorate. Such "friendly competitions" were relatively commonplace and enabled the composer-
performer to show off his skills at improvisation. At Dresden Froberger is said to have performed a
variety of pieces which he copied very neatly into a beautifully bound book which he presented to
the Electorate as a gift. Unfortunately this book has been lost. Perhaps it was a record of the
improvisations that Froberger delighted his audience with. Alternatively, perhaps it was a record of
carefully thought out compositions which he learned off by heart and then appeared to have
improvised. This is the dichotomy of the art of improvisation: In order for the composer-performer
to appear to be extremely capable, his "improvisations" must be the result not only of a great deal of
prior experience but of that artistic nonchalance, sprezzatura, where the appearance of
.' effortlessness is considered the highest art.
Another indication of Froberger's ability to improvise is attested to by Constantijn Huygens. A letter
.. from Huygens in English to Ultricia Ogle Swann of 29 December 1666 (Huygens: 2010) confirms
that he had heard Froberger perform "improvements" (improvisations) at the Electoral-
Archiepiscopal court in Mainz the previous year. (See Chapter 2 for a discussion on the date that
Froberger met Huygens, probably early September 1665.)
Many of the surviving works by Froberger are found in more than one source and although there
are some obvious differences between such works, they are not only clearly identifiable as the same
piece, but are, in many cases, considered to be alternative authentic versions. In other words, there
were two or more versions of the same piece, each of which was written down by Froberger at
some stage in his life. Whereas the major features of the music remain the same, he might have
written the music down from a "blueprint" in his head on various occasions. This indicates that this
music, which so often appears to have an improvisatory aspect, was indeed, to a certain extent,
improvised. The written versions of his music might differ from each other because Froberger's
own performances of his music varied owing to an element of improvisation. Alternatively, or
- 189 -
perhaps in addition to, it indicates that he might never have regarded a piece as "finished", adding
,j) improvements or small changes to it each time he played it.
The fact that there is more than one authentic version of some pieces sheds some light upon all of
Proberger's music. Even the autograph versions of his works should perhaps be regarded as just
one version of the piece at one point in Proberger's life. This is yet another illustration of the way
Proberger's works seem to be fluid, open to change either by himself or by the "discretion" of a
performer of his music.
In his edition of the complete keyboard works of Froberger, Siegbert Rampe has been diligent in
recording each variant (that was known at the time of publication) of the pieces. One of the most
extreme examples is Partita FbWV 605. Libra Secondo of 1649 contains one version in Froberger's
.) own handwriting, but the piece appears in seven other manuscripts: Wagener I,Wagener 2, Grimm
1698/99, Tappert c. 1670, Schwerin, Stoos, OB 1695 and Ihre 1679 (Froberger. 2005:LXXVI).
Whereas it is possible that the variants of the partita are the result of changes made by the various
copyists, it is also possible that they are authentic transcriptions of Froberger's own versions. The
number of sources for this partita is rivalled by FbWV 623 (nine sources) and FbWV 602 (eight
sources).
The Lamentation on the death of Ferdinand Ill's son, Ferdinand IV, Lamento sopra la dolorosa
If perdita della Real M.sta Ferdinando IV Re de Romani & (Lamentation on the sad loss of his Royal
Majesty, Ferdinand IV. King of the Romans ete) is to be found in the 1656 autograph. However there
is an interesting version in WMin 743, with a French title, Lamentationfaite sur la tres douloreuse
mort de sa majeste Ferdinand le quatrieme. Roy de Romanis; et se joue lentement avec discretion. An
~ 1654. (Lamentation written on the very sad death of his majesty, Ferdinand the fourth, King of the
Romans; to be played slowly with discretion. 1654.)
This version appears to be an early version of the piece. Rampe (Froberger 2005: LXXVII) points
out the differences in bars 17-19 of the WMin 743 version with the bars 10-11 in the autograph.
- 190-
•
(The difference in bar numbers can be ascribed to the extended bars that Froberger used. This
• barring system, based on the tactus, is covered in Section 4.6.1 above.) Rampe says that the WMin
version "throws remarkable light on Froberger's compositional process...it provides ...evidence that
Froberger first captured a partita movement as an improvisation ... and profoundly re-worked it
later" (Froberger 2005:LXXVlI). In general, Froberger used French, rather than Italian, for all his
• partitas and lamentations and Rampe suggests that the first version was the WMin 743 one and that
Froberger re-worked it and ransláted the title into the courtly Italian that was in use in Vienna for
his presentation copy to Emperor Ferdinand Ill.
•
[/"i-=1-~-- -Hr; rJ-y=::\-J'fl ~l'~lr i~i_ ~-
------j
m __ -
:_ -====- -==--:ytcr=Ef!-!
•
Froberger: WMin 743 version. Lamentation faite sur la tres douloreuse mort de sa majesté Ferdinand
le quatrieme ...et se joue lentement avec discretion. An 1654. (Froberger 2005: Voll/l.1).
Froberger: The same section of the music from the autograph. Lamento sopra la dolorosa perdita
della Real M.staFerdinando IV. Re de Romani &. Libro Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
In the Sing-Akademie MSthese bars are an exact copy of the autograph, once again illustrating the
reliability of this source.
The addition of suitable ornamentation to a work is also an element of improvisation and was an
• art form that was held in high regard at the time. Ornamentation will be covered in depth in the
next chapter.
-191-
•
4.8 Summary
Froberger's genius enabled him to assimilate many musical influences during the course of his life,
but it is reasonable to suppose that one of the greatest influences on Froberger as a young man was
his sojourn in Rome, where he studied with the great Frescobaldi. Frescobaldi supported the new
style of playing (and composing) in which the emotions generated by the music govern the way the
music is played. Instead of a strict adherence to the beat, he advocated using a rhapsodic approach,
"even pausing sometimes as suggested by the emotions" in the style of the madrigali moderni.
At the beginning of the 17th century, composers of vocal music expected performers to change the
tempo of the music to fit the meaning of the words. To depict the emotions, slow passages
alternated with fast passages and the tempo of individual words or phrases were sung without
necessarily adhering strictly to the beat. The theorists of the time supported the practice and
Vicentino describes it as early as 1555 in L 'Antica Musica ridotta alia moderna pratica, indicating
that it was common long before Caccini famously appropriated Castiglione's word sprezzatura to
describe the seemingly effortless use of a variable tempo to heighten the emotive content of the
music. The centuries old custom of writing vocal music without bar lines was still common in the
period under discussion. It seems to visually reinforce the concept of sprezzatura (in the sense of a
free tempo).
In other cases, tempo fluctuation was indicated by the word adagio. The word, which in Italian
means "at ease" or "leisurely", was given its literal meaning in the 17th century. In the various
prefaces to his keyboard works, Frescobaldi makes a number of comments that have a bearing on
tempo. In several instances he uses the word adagio and, read in context, it is clear that he means
this not only to mean more slowly but also to mean rhapsodically.
Although composers occasionally included instructions such as senza misura, senza battuta, or
adagio, in most cases the application of tempo variation was left to the discretion of the
.' performer(s). I believe that this is the origin of Froberger's many instructions to play certain of his
-192 -
works avec discretion or a la discretion; words that seem to belong specifically to Froberger. The
,. phrase avec discretion also carries the connotation of good taste or good judgment. It could be
equated with Caccini's use of the word sprezzatura, an "aristocratic nonchalance". Froberger uses
variable tempo in almost all of his works: in the laments and in the rhapsodic sections of his
toccatas, but also in the more traditional contrapuntal forms such as capriccios and canzons and
even in dances such as allemandes and gigues.
Perhaps it is the element of "discretion", with its connotations of free tempo and good taste, that
prompted Froberger to ask Sibylla not to disseminate his music after his death. It is clear from her
correspondence that he did not regard anyone as capable of performing his works properly without
prior instruction. It is only possible to speculate why Froberger felt so strongly that he did not want
his music to be published or to fall into the wrong hands. I think that it is probable that his unique
style was, at least in part, based on his approach to tempo and that he therefore felt that a stranger
~' would not know how to play his music.
The use of sprezzatura allows the performer to express emotion more realistically than a strictly ti
• tempo rendering would permit, and at the same time, it gives an element of spontaneity or
improvisation to the music. This is perhaps the true meaning of the word sprezzatura, which, in its
original courtly sense, meant to make whatever is done or said appear to be without effort.
Sprezzatura could therefore be described as a sort of rehearsed spontaneity, akin to the art of
improvisation. Froberger came from a culture of improvisation, where the art of spontaneous
• creation was expected and even formed the basis of many a friendly competition between
composer-performers. In some cases, Froberger's compositions seem to be a written record of his
wonderful improvisations that so delighted Constantijn Huygens. It seems to me that in order to
express this rehearsed improvisation, Froberger instructed the performer to use his/her own
i'!i discretion in the interpretation of the tempo. His frequent injunction to play avec discretion indicate
that his music should not be played exactly as written. He gives the performer exact instructions as
to the pitch of the note, but does not always specify the duration, paving the way for the French
unmeasured preludes of Louis Couperin and Jean-Henry D'Anglebert.
.'
- 193 -
,e'
In earlier music, the overall tempo of the tactus might vary, for example, in accordance with written
'~' instructions but once the tactus speed had been chosen, one stuck to it quite rigidly in instrumental
or in vocal music. However, avant-garde madrigalists started to use a variable tactus to allow
greater expression in the madrigali moderni. Some of the madrigalists used rapid changes in time
signatures within a short space of time. These changes do not precede new sections, but seem to
depict rapid tempo changes.
Froberger's use of time signatures seems to be a mix of the earlier system of proportional notation
and time signatures that we would today recognise as being completely modern. His use of time
signatures can often be interpreted as signalling a section in free tempo. In addition, he uses rapid
changes of tempi. These quick changes in time signature, as opposed to changes that precede a new
section, seem to signify mercurial changes in tempo, expressing"'different feelings or emotions,
almost like a soliloquy. This links the compositional style to the madrigals as well as to that of
• ' recitative.
Another way of altering the value of notes was by coloratio, whereby certain notes were coloured
in. The basic function of these coloured notes was to indicate a reduction in time value by two
thirds. Froberger's use of white crotchets, crome bianche, seems to have been a sort of retro-fashion
as the notation dates back to much earlier times when paper began to be used instead of parchment
and the ink used to fill in black notes tended to run. I believe that he used the notation to draw
attention to, and provide performance instructions for, the vocally-inspired lament-style nature of
je, the section of Toccata FbWV 102 where he uses this notation. By using the retro-fashionable white
notation he was able to visually distinguish the section from other pieces of a fast gigue-like nature
in 6/4. The use of crome bianche in keyboard music from this period is rare and the link to
Carissimi, who used the style extensively, is intriguing. Froberger's possible study with the master
.' is referred to in Chapter 2.
.'
- 194-
.~
CHAPTER FIVE: VOCAL ORNAMENTS
5. 1 Introduction
~) This chapter shows how ornamentation commonly used in Italian vocal music was also used by
Froberger for expressive purposes. Some of the ornaments that are discussed below were common
to both instrumental and vocal music. Others are specifically vocal. The ornaments can be divided
into two broad groups:
• Small ornaments added to (usually) one note. These ornaments, for example the tril/o, the
intonazione and the esclamazione were also known as grazie, accenti, affetti or maniere. The
use of the word grazie (graces) to describe these small ornaments is indicative of the
aesthetic concept underlying the vast amount of ornamentation in this period of musical
• history. It was vital that singing and playing had to be accomplished with grace .
• Complex runs of notes, which often disguised the melody. Under this category are cadenzas
and passaggi. These were remnants of earlier practice (Kreitner 2010) and seem in some
cases to be the same as the evenly flowing diminutions of the Renaissance, but in the 16th
•
and 17th century these runs of notes were often used to illustrate specific words, events or
feelings and they often included the small ornaments referred to above.
As mentioned in Chapter One, the sections of this thesis are sometimes not as clear-cut as would be
ideal and in many cases an ornament is both an embellishment and a word-painting device. The
distinction is not always clear, especially as theorists of the time linked the two.
Noteworthy is Zacconi's [Prattica di Musica 1592] stress on word-meaning as a
guide to embellishment. Bovicelli in 1594 [Regole passaggi di Musica Madrigali]
stresses more strongly than Zacconi the importance of text for choice and
execution of ornaments. (Neumann 1983: 22).
In the discussion of individual ornaments in the following sections I have taken Caccini's
description of the various ornaments in Le Nuove Musiche (Caccini: 1601/2) as my starting point,
• adding references to other theorists where appropriate .
- 195-
The use of ornamentation by the composer for expressive purposes was one of the fundamental
.', elements of the late 16th century and early-to-mid 17th century style. Ornaments were often written
into the music and extra ornaments were added at the whim of the performer. In a letter to
Alessandro Striggi, 18 December 1627, Monteverdi made it clear that he judged a singer by his/her
ability to improvise ornaments (Jones and Crutchfield 2010). In the late 16th century madrigal,
ornamentation was often taken to extremes, and elegant stylised ornaments were often used to
demonstrate the prowess of the singer rather than to enhance the meaning of the text. In fact, this is
one of the key reasons that Caccini gave for publishing Le Nuove Musiche as he felt that:
I see ill-used those single and double vocal roulades - rather, those redoubled and
intertwined with each other ...... and I see vocal crescendos-and-decrescendos,
escJamazioni, tremolos and trills, and other such embellishments of good singing
.~ style used indiscriminately. (Caccini. Preface to Le Nuove Musiche 1601/2.Quoted by Jones and Crutchfield 2010).
In the early Baroque, the intention was to use ornamentation in moderation for expressive
purposes only. However, in practice, there was usually not much difference. Ornamentation in the
later madrigals was often just as extreme as in the earlier madrigals.
As an example, I would like to quote one of the later madrigals by Monteverdi, Mentre vaga
angioletta, from his Libra Ottavo published in 1638. The use of ornamentation in this work is so
extreme that Margaret Mabett (1989:254-5) has speculated that it might be "a satirical catalogue of
contemporary vocal embellishments". However, the text is full of words such as cantando (singing)
corre (racing) and garrula (garrulous), which are depicted via ornaments. This leads me to think
_/ that Monteverdi was not being satirical. Two extracts from the two tenor parts are given below. The
first illustrates the word veloce (speed) and the second illustrates the words tremoli vaganti
(wandering tremolos).
- 196-
~I
•
•
•
•
• Monteverdi: Mentre vaga angioletta. Madrigali Guerrieri et Amorosi, Libro Ottavo .
(Monteverdi: 1638.)
Monteverdi: Mentre vaga angioletta. Madrigali Guerrieri et Amorosi, Libro Ottavo.
(Monteverdi: 1638.)
•
-197 -
•
According to Vincenzo Giustiniani (Discorsa sopra la musica, 1628), there was a new style of singing
.. in the 1580s, the most distinctive characteristic of which was the wide-ranging and technically
demanding ornamentation (Holzer 2010). It is noteworthy that the new expressive style, usually
associated with the early part of the 17th century, was already being practiced.
The ladies of Mantua and Ferrara.i.moderated or increased their voices, loud or
soft, heavy or Iight...now slow, breaking off sometimes with a gentle sigh, now
singing long passages legato or detached, now groups, now leaps, now with long
trills, now with short or again with sweet running passages, sung softly, to which
one sometimes heard an echo answer unexpectedly (Stark 2003: 192ff).
If Giustiniani was correct, then these ornaments were applied not only to the concerted madrigal of
later years, but also to the polyphonic madrigals of the late 16th century. In the case of polyphonic
madrigals, because more than one (and often five or even six) voices were singing at any time, the
addition of ornamentation would have to be regulated in some way, especially when the addition of
ornaments stretched the tempo, as it often did. In some instances, as will be shown below, the
composer wrote the ornaments into the music. Where ornamentation was not written into the
music, additional ornamentation was, presumably, either not inserted at all or I assume that there
was some agreement between the singers as to the extent and placement of the ornamentation.
This practice of adding ornamentation to voices singing in polyphony seems to be borne out by
various theorists of the time.
Like Finck, Zacconi says that all voices including the bass should be ornamented.
Banchieri for instance advises against bass diminutions, (Neumann 1983: 22.)
- ,' (Neumann is referring to Finck's Pratica Musica of 1594; Zacconi's Prattica di
Musica of 1592 and Bovicelli's Regale passaggi di Musica Madrigali of 1594)
• Virtuoso singing and displays of complex ornamentation have connections with certain Italian
courts where singers were lionized. The Concerto delle Dame Principalissime (also known as the
-198 -
~)
Concerto delle Donne) was a group of professional female singers at the North Italian court of
• Ferrara (Fischer et al: 2010). The ensemble was founded by Alfonso II, Duke of Ferrara, in 1580 and
was active until 1598 when Alfonso died, Ferrara became part of the Papal States and the ruling
Este family moved to Modena. The style was imitated by several other influential Italian courts such
as the ones in Florence (the Medici), Rome (the Orsini) and Mantua (the Gonzaga family) and it
.>' remained popular until the mid 1650s. Although Luzzaschi is the composer most associated with
the Concerto delle Dame, other composers either wrote specifically for the ladies or were inspired
by them: Gesualdo, de Wert, Marenzio, Lodovico Agostini (1534-1590), Monteverdi and Alphonso
Fontanelli are a few examples. In a despatch dated 26 June 1581, (Bowers and Tick 1987:110),
Orazio Urbani, the ambassador of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, listed ornaments used by the
Concerto delle Dame: passaggi, cadenze, tirate and accenti.
Keyboard composers copied the affetti used by singers. A remark by Frescobaldi in the revised
'. edition of the Toccate ... !ibro prima (1637) illustrates this:
Hauendo io conoscuito quanta accetta sia la maniera di sonare con affetti cantabile
e con diversita di passi.
It is well known to me how great is the general popularity of playing with
singable ornaments and with varied passage work. (My emphasis.)
However, Proberger's use of these ornaments was different to his keyboard contemporaries, even
Frescobaldi. The examples given under the various sections below show how he used not only the
more conventional keyboard ornamentation such as cadenzas, passaggi and gruppi commonly
found in his keyboard contemporaries but also specifically vocal ornaments such as tril/i,
intonaziani and escJamazioni.
-199 -
s. 2 Unreliability of Terminology
'ij
Before a more detailed analysis of the music is presented, a word on the terminology of the time is
appropriate. Unfortunately there was no standardisation, particularly with regards to the term
trillo which seems to have been a generic term for a small ornament in the early Italian Baroque. Its
abbreviation "t" or "tr" was also widely used to mean an oscillation (like the modern meaning of
trill), as well as the rapid reiteration of a single note (it's more common meaning at the time). In
other cases it meant a mordent or a turn. Caccini's preface contains additional illustrations of the
trillo that include auxiliary notes as well as repeated notes, thus confusing the issue further .
•
Caccini: Trillo. Le Nuove Musiche. (Caccini: 1601/2.)
For Monteverdi, a trillo was the rapid, or not so rapid, repetition of a single note. In the following
example he uses the ornament to illustrate "natural" laughter.
dn
Monteverdi: Il Ritorno d'Ulisse, 1640. (Kreitner: 2010.)
'.' For Emilio Cavalieri (c.1550-1602), it was the repetition of a note with its upper auxiliary.
- 200-
•
•
Cavalieri: Rappresentatione di anima et di corpa, 1600. (Kreitner: 2010.)
•
Diruta referred to the rapid repetition of a note as a tremolo. Rognoni called it a tremolino. The
alternation of a note with its lower auxi-liary was one of many ornaments that Diruta referred to a
gruppo. These included ornaments that we would today call a trill or a shake beginning on the main
note or the lower or upper auxiliary (Ferguson. 1998:134). In the few instances where Froberger
• does not actually write out the ornament, he often uses the abbreviation fit",leaving the performer
to insert the appropriate ornament. This is especially true of the music found in his Libra Secondo,
Libra Quarto and the Libro di Capricci e Ricercati. In the following example, the just visible fit"over
the second note might appropriately be a short trill or a lower mordent.
•
Froberger: Lamento sopra ...Ferdinando l~ opening. Libro Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
In the example below, a long trill is clearly indicated .
•
• Froberger: Canzon FbWV 301, bar 66. Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
- 201-
•
•
In the following example, the use of "t" in several places must mean that the performer should
• insert a very quick ornament, such as an upper mordent.
•
•
••
•
Froberger: Allemandafrom FbWV 602. Libro Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
However, the use of "t" or any other abbreviation for ornaments is rare in Froberger's early
autographs. Abbreviations for ornaments are more common in copies of his works and in the late
autograph (Sotheby's), where he uses the French signs.
•
• Froberger: Meditation ....sur ma mortfuture. Late Autograph (Sothebys). (Maguire: 2006.)
- 202-
•
•
5. 3 Improvised Ornamentation.
In the preface (AI Lettore) to Le Nuove Musiche Caccini stated (Caccini 1601/2:2) that one of his
reasons for writing the work was because his compositions had been decorated to excess. He
wanted to show the correct way to embellish his music. He also described vocal ornaments that had
previously not always been written down, but that may have been improvised. These ornaments
represented a reaction against the evenly flowing diminutions typical of the late Renaissance.
Singers were encouraged to improvise ornaments at appropriate places and virtuoso singers used
this freedom to show off their talents. Theorists of the same era list similar ornaments to those
..' mentioned by Caccini. Of particular note are: Girolamo Diruta in II transilvano dialogo sopra il
vera modo di sonar organi, et istromenti da penna (Venice, 1593, revised 1609), and Francesco
Rognoni (flourished early 17th century) in Selva di varii passaggi secondo I'uso moderno per
cantare e suonare con ogni sorte de stromenti (Milan, 1620). There were also numerous Italian
manuals on the art of improvising ornamentation for vocal music, written at the end of the 16th
century and the beginning of the 17th.
One of the earliest treatises about 16th century vocal performance practice was by Giovanni Carnillo
Maffei (fl. 1562-73). This treatise, published in 1562 in Naples in the form of a very long letter to
Maffei's employer the count of Altavilla (Brigman 2012), describes the way "ornamentation should
be applied by singers to the bare bones of a notated madrigal in order to. render the performance
worthy of noble company" (Wistreich 2007:139). In another, even earlier document, Duo dialoghi
(Naples 1552), dedicated to the nobleman and bass singer Giulio Cesare Brancaccio, Luigi Dentice
(1510/20- before 1566) mentions the ability to improvise passaggi and describes the "restraining
and reinforcing of the voice" (rimettere & rinforzar la voce), a technique that sounds very similar to
Caccini's esclamazione (see below for details on this particular ornament). Wistreich concludes
(2007:139) that in Le Nuove Musiche of 1601 Caccini was merely summarising what was already in
current practice, rather than describing new ornaments.
•• Zacconi's Prattica di musica (1592) contains a reference to improvised ornamentation. He states
that some singers can sing everything written down in the songs but cannot perform passaggi or
- 203-
gorgia, a skill that gives the singer a distinct advantage (Wistreich 2007:145). In the preface to
,_I Euridice, (1601), Peri praised the embellishments introduced by Vittoria Archilei [fl. 1582-1620):
she "always made my compositions worthy of her singing, adorning them not only with those
ornaments and those long turns of the voice, simple and double ... but also with those pretty graces
which cannot be written, and ifwritten, cannot be learned from writings" (lenes 2010).
One of the arias in Caccini's Nuove Musiche carries the heading Ouest'aria canto solo parte con i
propri passaggi e parte a suo gusto, il famoso Francesco Rasi... (This aria is sung by the famous
Francesco Rasi, partly with its own passaggi and partly to his own taste). Presumably this means
that Caccini wrote out some of the ornaments and left the rest up to Rasi. Alternatively it might be a
record of how Rasi ornamented Caccini's aria and may be regarded as just one possible
(recommended) version. Carol MacClintock (1961:31) mentions that Francesco Rasi (1574-1621)
.. was a virtuoso singer and a composer of madrigals in his own right, attached to the court of Mantua .'
Caccini: Qual Trascorrendo. Le Nuove Musiche. (Caccini: 1601/2.)
The printed score (Venice, 1609 & 1615) of Monteverdi's Orfeo, first performed on 24 February
1607 at Mantua, contains both a plain and an embellished version of the aria Possente spirto. The
unornamented version was probably included for the convenience of a singer who could provide
his own ornamentation and the ornamented one, like the example by Caccini above, should be
regarded as a suggestion by Monteverdi, rather than the only possible version. Although the
example below, which shows both versions, is of poor quality, it is clear to see that the ornamented
version demands exceptional virtuosity.
,.'
- 204-
·'
..:
~~~"' '~~i¥_,_.,"._'_A.""... ¥44-.:.::; :;=T J~;~~
---_"._~----"--- -----I-
prcfiJ..
--.....,_~"- ---l--._._-- ........... __,...,.,...- :e;- *_ =_-_- --_....... *1'-' -----....... ... ._... ---..-----__._...-_....._...--- --- -".-..-....1 .._. --_.-,_.....' .. ...-_"-' .._-"._..--- ......-.-..f$
Monteverdi: Possente Spirito, showing the simple vocal part, the ornamented vocal part
and the basso continuo. L'Orfeo, 1615 edition. (Monteverdi: 1615.)
• The custom of improvising ornaments extended to keyboard music as well. The fact that
Frescobaldi felt it necessary to add the comment come sta (as it stands) to some of his canzonas
seems to indicate that he did not want ornamentation added at this point. The obvious corollary to
this is that where he did not write come sta, he permitted the addition of ornamentation.
Whereas many ornaments in Froberger's music are written out, it was also customary to add
ornaments to his music, particularly in slow sections and in the repeats of sections, such as in
dances. In Froberger's day, although sets of variations were often written out, ornamented repeats
of dances were not, and the performer was expected to improvise such ornamentation. The practice
of writing out a double showing how the original, simpler version of a dance could be ornamented
became common in later keyboard composers. In the partitas of the 1649 Libro secondo, written .
before his first journey to France, Froberger does not write out any doubles except for one double to
,. a courante in FbWV 606, the Partita Auff Die Mayerin, which is actually a set of variations rather
than a dance suite anyway. However, this double does not contain any more ornamentation than the
- 205 _
original - it is more of a variation, with a series of running notes to fill out the sparse texture of the
.•' original. In partitas written at a later date, he often includes a separate piece that he calls a double
but most of them are more like variations rather than doubles in the French style.
'.. Howard Schott (1998:113) remarks that
there are movements in Froberger's suites that seem to cry out for such
[ornamental] elaboration. The most striking example is provided by the
sarabande of suite IV of 1649. Clearly to play it literally, even at the somewhat
faster tempo of the 17th - as compared to the 18th - century sarabande would be a
totally insufficient realisation of the musical content.
ii
o (j
•
Froberger: Saraband from FbWV 604. Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
In Grundlage einer Ehren-Pforte (1740:396) Mattheson mentions that Froberger sent Matthias
Weckmann Ita suite in his own hand written with every manner of ornament, so that Weckmann
thereby became fairly well-versed in the Frobergian style of performance". Only the courante from
... Partita FbWV 611 has survived in the Hintze MS (written out by Weckmann). However, the full
partita is in Libro Quarto (1656). The fact that we have an unornamented version of the courante in
Libro Quarto and a highly ornamented version in Weckmann's handwriting, copied from a
Froberger original, implies that improvised ornamentation was an essential part of Froberger's
style.
- 206-
COVRANTE •
.. ~\.ll: "()J. _h J. J--fï=R
--;y·lt- 3J-"_
0) I -1- -y~I :PltJ
~ II 1 I bJ I J J- -
~-it. r I ~ r-__..r r' T * r
r->~
Froberger: the original version of the Courante from FbWV 611. Libra Quarto, 1656.
(Froberger: 1995.)
Cnvrante
• .. )) Jl: '1))i _f.j- J. Jl ;.-._..Ffï5_ _hQI-...1 .. . :t. n~.t- :~ Jl
IIiJ.. 0) I pi -
1 I 1 ~I - ,- i ~ 1_j__.J--.J J I .1 I::}! . : : :1,r I F r1·1 r' I I I r
.'
10
F------f ~
Froberger: Weckmann's copy of the Courante with added ornamentation. (Froberger: 1995.)
- 207-
'..
Similarly, we have an un-ornamented version of the gigue from Partita FbWV 609 in Libra Quarto
',_, and a highly ornamented version in the Sing-Akademie MS. The ornamentation of this gigue seems
to be very similar to the Weckmann example given above, giving credence to the theory that the
Hintze MS might have been one of the sources for the copyist of the Sing-Akademie MS (please see
chapter 1.4 for further information on the sources.)
•
Froberqer: the original ~ersion of the Gigue from FbWV 609. Libra Quarto, 1656.
[Fro.berqer: 1995.)•
Froberger: The Sing-Akademie copy of the Gigue from FbWV 609 with added ornamentation.
(Froberger: 2010.)
- 208-
'.
A similar instance can)~ found in Partita F~WV 615. An unornamented version is to be found in
,. the edition by Roger (Amsterdam 1698) which seems to be copied from autographs.' A highly
ornamented version is to be found in the Bulyowsky MS,which carries the note "ex autgrapho".
,~ The ornaments in the Bulyowsky MS include French signs, such as the wavy line for a trill (gruppo)
and the crossed wavy line for a mordent, in addition to some strange symbols that look like: 7
(possibly a mordent or a suspension) and V (possibly an appoggiatura or a slide).
~;
•
Froberger. Allemande from Partita FbWV 615, Opening. Version from the Roger Edition
without ornament signs. (Froberger 2005: Vollll.2).
•
Froberger. Allemande from Partita FbWV 615, Opening. Version from the Bulyowsky MS
with added ornament signs. (Froberger 2005: Vollll.2).
It was not only in the partitas that ornamentation was added by the performer. The Muffat MS
contains numerous examples of ornamentation that has been added to toccatas. Although the
ornament symbols that this MS contains are probably not copied from an original autograph, they
clearly show the amount of ornamentation that was expected at the time. This MS also contains
~)
7 For a discussion about the provenance of the material for Roger's edition, please see Rampe's
comments in Froberger 2005: Volume 111.2:XVlIlff.
- 209 -
contrapuntal works by Froberger that have been ornamented (Froberger 2010: XVIII). The
,. example below shows an extract from Toccata FbWV 113. The primary source of this toccata is the
Sing-Akademie MS but the numerous ornaments shown below, come from the Muffat MS.
Froberger: The Sing-Akademie copy of Toccata FbWV 113 with added ornamentation
from the Muffat MS. (Froberger: 2010.)
•
Froberger: The Sing-Akademie copy of Toccata FbWV 113 without the added ornamentation
from the Muffat MS. (Froberger: 2006.) The same part of the extract begins after the ~ sign.
- 210-
•
5. 4 Written-out Ornamentation
Towards the end of the 16th century, composers started the trend of writing out the ornaments for
vocal music rather than leaving the ornaments to the discretion of the performer. Wistreich
(2007:243) mentions that Duke Alfonso of Ferrara liked to impress visitors by showing how the
singers of his musica secreta sang exactly and only the ornaments which were written down.
(Please see section 6.1 for m~re information on musica secreta). Caccini documented various
written out ornaments in Le Nuove Musiche (1601/2), and the title of his later work, Le Nuove
Musiche e Nuova Maniera di Scriverle of 1614 (The New Music and the New Manner of Writing it),
.. ' refers to the new trend of writing out ornaments. This trend gradually became the norm, and the
onerous practice of writing out ornaments in detail eventually gave way to using abbreviations
(signs) for the most commonly used ornaments. Kevin Kreitner (Kreitner et el 2010) stresses that
until the early 17th century ornamentation in vocal music was improvised rather than written out.
ft ••• no conventional 16th-century partbooks or choirbooks indicate ornaments in any way. The
• clean, uncluttered appearance of the music on the page is thus misleading". Written out
ornamentation was thus part of the new way of doing things in the late 16th and early 17th century .
• 5.4.1 Cadenza
In this thesis, the word cadenza is used to mean the florid embellished ending of a phrase, whether
written out by the composer or improvised by the performer. In the late 16th and early 17th
centuries this embellished ending was often an integral part of the madrigal. It was inserted to
show off the prowess of the performer and was often written into the music so that the composer
could not only beautify his composition, but could pander to the ego of the performer as well as
(possibly) limit the performer's addition of unsuitable ornamentation elsewhere in the madrigal.
However, the term cadenza is confusing as it has other connotations as well, especially as the plural
is cadenze in Italian, sometimes spelled cadence. In some treatises it is referred to as cadentia
(plural cadentien or cadentie) for example in Syntagma Musicum 1618 by Praetorius. In German it is
usually Kadenz or Schluss, but sometimes Cadenz. However the most confusing use is by the French
who also spelled it cadence, like the Italian plural of the word, but gave this word three other
- 211 -
,~I
meanings as well. In France cadence (plural cadences) came to mean not only the embellished
,_fj; ending, but the harmonic formulae at the end of a section, a turn (the ornament) or the overall
rhythm and mood of the music. In 1716 Francois Couperin wrote: cadence est proprement I'esprit et
I'ame (Halford 1974:49) - cadence is, properly, the spirit and the soul [of the music].
The French usage of the word, to mean a turn or the overall rhythm, is not used in this thesis. Nor is
the much later meaning of the word, where it applies to the solo display at (usually) the end of the
first movement of a concerto. Where the meaning is the harmonic progression at the ends of
phrases or sections, I have used the English word cadence (plural cadences). Where it means the
ornamented end of a section, I have called it cadenza (plural cadenzas) - which is the subject of this
part of the research.
! Eva Badura-Skoda writes:
The tendency to elaborate or 'colorate' the penultimate note of endings is
apparently as old as the art of discant itself. As early as the 13th century clear
references may be found to a 'point of organum' (punctus organicus) on the
• penultimate, which provides a florid, cadenza-like passage at the end of a piece of
discant... ..Among the first theorists to use the term 'cadenza' for embellished
endings was Pietra Aaron (Thoscanello de la musica, 1523) ... Non-Italian
authors of treatises on diminution and ornamentation, such as Bermuda, Tomás
de Santa Maria, Ortiz and Fink, knew similar ornamented endings, but did not use
the term 'cadenza' to describe them. As early as 1585 Giovanni Bassano's treatise
Ricercate, passaggi et cadentie per potersi essercitar nel diminuir discussed how to
invent cadenzas and provided examples. (Badura-Skoda 2010.)
The art of embellishing the ending of a section was therefore not new in the late 16th and early 17th
centuries, but a well-established practice. As the examples below show, the difference is that it was
more commonly written into the music, rather than just being an expected improvisation .
.•' Frescobaldi's instructions on how to play his (written out) cadenzas are given in detail in section
4.3, where he instructs the performer to slow the tempo at a cadenza.
- 212 -
Luzzaschi's madrigals include written out ornamentation for the soprano parts, moving away from
,li, the tradition of leaving the improvisation of cadenzas to the singer. The following example shows a
highly-ornamented cadenza in the top two soprano voices. Of interest, is the written out keyboard
part which is an intabulation of the vocal parts (with an added base line) rather than an
independent accompaniment as in the slightly later accompanied madrigals of the early Baroque.
ehe piu Ian- guls co Che fa me- eo il do - lor se ne glo -_
Chc fa me-eo il do - lor se nc glo-I -
------J
• ~o· -j-'""""1- -.=1--- -I-F-q :1: :F==I~~~~_~~_;J~:-,j- " :f: :f: :..t=j..II< _.l.... _.,.~,...... .._. •• • !--V
I seo so np. glo -
~"-,Ë[f·;~~~:~!.~J" -1---- - - t" ~@
seo se
.." - -- ~ ,--- "
V Fi=r¥i
se ne gio -
" I I 1 L JJj- =J' l.
I~L ~ , ....tlj'
:.: .~. -s-
r. i I-z; 1 r I I I
f:;Z:' F -.
""
..' Luzzaschi: 0 Dolcezz' Amarissime d'Amore. Madrigali a uno, due e tre Soprani, 1601.
(Luzzaschi: 1994.)
. 213 .
'.
Caccini included the following cadenzas in Le Nuove Musiche. They are excellent examples of the
'i'. florid style typical of the era, but neither example seems to illustrate his point about the new music
doing away with excessive ornamentation.
,ftffif_lHU}~l:ttli~I~~it1~~: .
. ,ii l'Auro .
....--..--
. ~-'-;, .........-:~-- ..~.....~..--~:--
,C' •. ra.
"X-IO'4 _
~~;~~-,--E';~·'~·=·~~~-~gi·~~-lE~:~;".g~;~}'~J:
. !-!!
•
Caccini: Vedro'l mio sol. Le Nuove Musiche. (Caceini: 1601/2.)
. .
• '~riuHltr:ll~
d DCdIi~'lmie> bel (OCO • c, mio bel fe> .'. .
~~jin r : ï § ~.
• ~~EllftIlmJm~ .
~~~i-~=~~I·~~~~~~=-_3
~o.
:' lj j_J!
....,!.
Caceini: Fortunato Augellino. Le Nuove Musiche. (Caceini: 1601/2.)
- 214-
•
Perhaps surprisingly, long examples are not to be found in the madrigals of Gesualdo. However the
• following example illustrates how the cadenza is distributed over the voice parts. Each individual
voice does not have a very long sequence of notes, but over all the voices, the entire cadenza
extends over five bars.
•
•
•
•
Gesua/do: Tu m'uccidi, 0 crudele. ending. Libra Quinto. (Gesua/do: 1613.)
• Rovetta uses a florid ornament on the word tugace (fleeting) which not only illustrates the word,but also happens to coincide with a cadence. The extract is from his Vdire Amanti for four voices.
- 215 -
•
Rovetta: Vdire Amanti. Madrigali Concertati, Libro Primo. (Rovetta: 1636.)
The following is from the Canto part of a madrigal by Pallavicino from his collection of 1597,
showing the ornamented ending .
.'
, Pallavieino: Doleemente dormina. Il Quinto /ibro di Madriga/i. (Pallavicino: 1597.)•
The following example is from a cantata by Carissimi, whom Froberger probably met, and with
whomhe might have studied whilst he was in Rome. (Please see Chapter 2 on Froberger's Life and
Travels for a discussion of this issue.)
ei
• ti.
Carissimi: Il Ciarlatano (before 1634), voeal part only. (Carissimi: 1899.)
- 216-
In Luigi Rossi's manuscript of Neapolitan keyboard pieces there is a Canzon Francese del Principe.
• The Principe (Prince) might be Gesualdo, and the piece is probably an intabulation of one of his
madrigals. It contains a cadenza that must surely be a wild exaggeration of its vocal original.
Canzon Francese del Principe. (Apel: 1972:429.)
Frescobaldi's Toccata Prima from Il Secondo Libro di Toccate, ends with a rhapsodic section that is a
decoration of the cadence. He indicates the beginning of this section with a change of time
el signature. Within this florid ending, he uses a variety of trills and passagework in both hands; a
tirata and a quick passage in demi-semi quavers before the final tonic chord is struck.
•
.'
•
Frescobaldi: Toccata Prima, ending. Libro Secondo. (Frescobaldi: 1637.)
'~ As might be expected, Froberger also concludes his toccatas with such cadenzas, and he also uses an
extended decoration of the cadence in many of his polyphonic works. The third and final part of
- 217-
'~I
Canzon FbWV 301 ends with a very 'long rhapsodic section and an extended decoration of the
.' cadence, in which he uses his hallmark short trill and turn that he seems to have inherited from
Frescobaldi; a long trill (here, unusually, indicated by "t" and not written into the music) on the
minim a"; a downward run of notes that accelerates, beginning with semi -quavers and progressing
to demi-semi quavers, followed by an arpeggiated chord before the final section that would require
the retardation t"hat Frescobaldi recommended in the preface to his first book of toccatas.
_,
•• er~~~~1 : !!:w-._.~~-=ey F-
.,.
J
•
Froberger: Canzon FbWV 301, ending. Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
Froberger's capriccios have similar turbulent endings. Capriccio FbWV 514 from the Libro Quarto
reaches a frantic climax on the a" in the right hand, after which a significant pause seems to be
called for before the final, calmer notes.
Froberger: Capriccio FbWV 514, ending. Libro Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
- 218-
•
The runs of notes in both hands at the end of Toccata XVlIl from the Sing-Akademie MS illustrate an
• even more frenzied cadenza.
-,-., ... .,......_ .,ttJ;::r",_ ~\ -~ ..,. ...t"'t:'r_-
• ~ ..~ ~-(1\ • .
~ I l .~'tT:
'~ ..... - .~ ~-, 'h .---::-r-.
1'10" " 7-."'"lt • -_- _LU t:- or: iti..fv-I t ..~- -~ r " ~,.
•
-r--' -r:- .A"2'to. k~ ~
• •.-.:.I.._
'~~ '. v >
,y .1 +rt. ~•r .. -=- .
-11 - .:! -", .t' N 1
T 'Q.:H..--·~ -+-, =r-
- - I ~ /,.",--, A'• - . - --
Ir-f.- . , ~ .
'i' Il,t. ~ /./ :~~'2;~~
I~.~ L~"t
"+ '"~// /" . .-~;'
Froberger: Toccata XVlIl, ending. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
Even the more conservative fantasias are not always exempt from the practice.
•
Froberger: Fantasia FbWV 205, ending. Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
•
- 219-
•
5.4.2 Gruppo
~\
The gruppa (or grappa) was a trill with accelerating rhythms. It may have a turned ending, called
the circa/a. Rega/e, passaggi di musica, madriga/i et matetti passegiati (Venice 1594) by Giovanni
Battista Bovicelli (1550- after 1594) showed how to apply elaborate embellishments. According to
Maniates (1979:217) he was the first theorist to describe accelerated tempo in trilli, grappetti and
passaggi. Caccini illustrated two types of gruppa.
The long gruppo
Caccini illustrated this as follows, showing the acceleration:
• ~. . !II.I.. i"_,~~
Caccini: Le Nuave Musiche. (Caccini: 1601/2.)
In modern notation:
.'
Caccini: Le Nuave Musiche 1601/2. (Kreitner 2010).
In vocal music, this ornament seems to have been often improvised on long notes. In the madrigals,
written out gruppi are understandably usually shorter than gruppi for the keyboard. The following
example by Luzzaschi shows gruppi with circa/a endings. The first example begins on the upper
auxiliary, the second on the lower.
"
. to a la sla - glon no vel~ -----. I • --=1
• Luzzaschi: [' mi son Giovinetta, bars 4-6. Madrigali a uno, due e tre Soprani, 1601. (Luzzaschi: 1994.)
- 220-
I
II'
lj
The example below by Monteverdi shows gruppi starting on the lower auxiliary, with endings
turning upwards. The example is from the part books for canto and quinto.
Monteverdi: 0 Come sei gentile. Settimo Libra. (Monteverdi: 1619.)
The next examples show the use of the typical written out gruppo in keyboard music. Even where
ornaments were written out, they were often not expected to be performed exactly as written. In
the preface to his revised edition of the Toccate ... Libra Prima (1637) Frescobaldi wrote that
the number of repercussions in a written out trill should not be taken literally.
If either hand has to play a trill and the other a passage at the same time, one
should not play note against note, but only endeavour to play the trill quickly but
the passage slower, and with expression, otherwise confusion would arise
(Pidoux 1949).
The following two examples by Frescobaldi and Froberger show the trill without a turn at the end .
•• . Frescobaldi: Capriccio Pastorale. Libra Primo, 1637. (Frescobaldi: 1949.)
- 221-
'.
Froberger: Canzon FbWV 306, bars 27-30. Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
The next two examples, by de Macque and Froberger, show the trill with a turned ending.
1\ -"l-----~. ~1 .J LJ JJ J.J JJ] I JJ
•
'-'
~ I
I I
I
De Macque: Capriccio sopra re, fa, mi, sol. (Macque: 2009.)
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 107, bar 3. Libro Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
The example below shows one of Froberger's more extreme examples of a long gruppo. In general,
Froberger starts gruppi on the lower auxiliary:
- 222 -
48
I.,
-~--------------------
.... ---------- - I t:\
I
Froberger: ending of Toccata XV from the Sing Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006)
David Ledbetter (1987) has demonstrated that the French un measured preludes of the mid 17th
• century owe much to Froberger's influence. Louis Couperin's Prelude 6 (found in both the Bauyn
MS and the Parville MS, where it carries the annotation Prelude a I'imitation de M. Froberger) is a
tribute to his influence. In Couperin's keyboard music in general he uses the French symbol for a
gruppo (a horizontal wavy line), rather than writing the ornament out in full. However, in the
unmeasured preludes he wrote out these long trills: this might to be yet another example of
Froberger's influence on his younger contemporary. In the 1649, 1656 and c.1658 autographs,
there are only a few instances of Froberger's use of "t" or "tr" and none at all of the French wavy
line. Froberger almost always wrote out the trill in full in the earlier autographs. Similarly,
Froberger wrote out most of the other ornaments that he used in these early autographs - and so
did Couperin in his unmeasured preludes (he used the French symbols in his other keyboard
works). Later in life, Froberger seems to have adopted some of the French abbreviations for
ornaments. The late autograph, c.1665-7 does include such French abbreviations, but this dates
from after Couperin's death, which occurred in 1661.
The example below shows the opening of Couperin's prelude. It illustrates the inventive way that
Froberger might have arpeggiated the opening chords: the un-arpeggiated chords can be seen in
the extract below from Toccata FbWV 101 upon which this prelude appears to be based (Ledbetter
.~. 1987: 92). The second system shows a gruppo, which, like most of Froberger's gruppi, is written out
in full and is approached from the lower auxiliary.
- 223 -
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 101, opening. Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
•
Louis Couperin: Prelude 6 "A L'imitation de M. Froberqer". (Tilney: 1991.)
•
The short gruppe
Caccini also gave the following example of a short gruppo with a turned ending in his madrigal
Queste lagrim'amare. This ornament - which is preceded by a long note, starts on the lower
auxiliary, accelerates and has a turned ending - is frequently used by Froberger, especially in the
toccatas, canzons and capriccios.
Caccini: Le Nuove Musiche. (Caccini: 1601/2.)
- 224-
•
In most cases, Froberger starts this ornament on the lower auxiliary, although he sometimes starts
• on the main note. The following example from the Toccata da sonarsi alia leuatione FbWV 106
shows several of these little ornaments in succession .
•
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 106, bars Ilff Libra Seconde, 1649. (Fraberger: 1993.)
Canzon FbWV 304 ends with a series of them .
•
• Froberger: Canzon FbWV 304, bars 70ff. Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
They are also to be found liberally sprinkled in the Capriccios.
Jl
Froberger: Capriccio FbWV 503, bar 11. Libro di Capricci e Ricercati c 1658. (Froberger: 1995.)
•
Froberger: Capriccio FbWV 517, bars 41ff. Libro Quarto 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
- 225 -
•
5.4.3 Trillo
The word trillo is used here to mean a tremolo or repeated note on the same pitch. Whereas many
of the ornaments in use in the late 16th and early 17th centuries became standard in later
generations, the trillo was an ornament that was largely abandoned in the later Baroque. Its use in
the late 16th and early 17th centuries seem to make this ornament a speciality of the times.
Trilk» •
••• 00·' •
=~t:-m' n~~~
Caccini: Le Nuove Musiche. (Caccini: 1601/2.)
In modern notation:
.'
Caccini: Le Nuove Musiche, 1601/2. (Kreitner: 2010.)
• The example below shows agruppo followed by a trillo sung by two voices (Due Ninfe del cora).
fn _ ge •
non val or _ ta). .. In . ge. _ gono.
'"
Caccini: Euridice, prologue, 1601. (Caccini: 1881.)
~. The example below by Monteverdi shows a held note that becomes a trillo.
'.' Monteverdi: Sei Languidi miei squardi, ending. Settimo Libra. (Monteverdi: 1619.)
- 226-
The example below from the madrigal Da te parto cor mio by Saracini contains an interesting
example of a cadenza which contains several tril/i, the last being a very long one.
e\
.,"~---.~-----'_--.fu...t.,.__...._--.--.-.-...-....._.- -"-_'.,";...-.--.~:;=::...-O. ...-...._...........-..-..-,_..-..-..--........ -...-'-~- --.m·.·· .h~.-.---.---._........'....., -.-.. -...~. . _ .. _- ....... - ..............,..... .. -....s_...... - . Z.- aZwEQ_......'......-....-._. .....--._-.-.<' - -.,:--.. - -.- -. - . f"
. ..II ....• ,' , " .
• Saracini: Da te parto cor mio. Le Seconde Musiche. (Saracini: 1620.)
In general, the tril/o was a vocal ornament, but Froberger adapted it in his keyboard music for
• expressive purposes. The opening bar of the sarabande from Partita FbWV 619, (from the
Bulyowsky MS) contains a tril/o with fingering, probably added by Michael Bulyowsky. This
sarabande also contains the interesting remark" Froberg. Ex autoqrapho", probably indicating that
Bulyowsky copied it from an original. .
Froberger: Sarabande from FbWV 619. (Froberger: 2005: Vollll.2.)
- 227-
The repeated notes in the first (complete) bar of Proberger's Meditationfaist sur ma Mortfuture ...
.~ should be performed as a tril/o.
Froberger: Meditation, opening. Late Autograph (Sothebys). (Maguire: 2006.)
•
Examples occur in the allemande from FbWV 601:
2iJ
•
5
• r
Froberger: Allemande from FbWV 601. Libro Seconde, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
Froberger's influence on the young Louis Couperin. whom he met on his first visit to Paris in 1650,
is clear to see in the use of this ornament which, in the 17th century French Claveein School seems to
1.1 be peculiar to Couperin. Couperin's un measured preludes contain numerous examples of the tril/o.
- 228-
~/
System three of Prelude 6 contains not only a trillo but it is followed by another written out gruppo,
lj) approached from below, like most of Froberger's qruppi .
.3
r .........
J (. .. '" "
.. ~ '" -... '"~. .r;
~ - :: \) .=. O~i~.":.~9 1"",. ~ ~«,~__ <vv"_. .' ea ,,1 .~:~:/\éL~'_J__ ;? ~ ' __' '_'_ t_,' :
:z
Couperin: Prelude 6. Bauyn MS. (Tilney: 1991.)
'.
For ease of comparison, here is the same system in modern notation:
• Couperin: Prelude a l'imitation de M. Froberger. (Couperin: 1979.)
Similarly, the eleventh prelude from the Bauyn MS contains two trilli in the first system .
•
...... , .. 'I Z
,"" ,li C ",ev Z
Couperin: prelude no. 11. Bauyn MS. (Tilney: 1991.)
- 229-
5.4.4 Intonazione
The intonazione is a slide from a third below begun on a consonance. In his treatise Regole,
passaggi di musica, madrigali et motetti passeggiati (Venice, 1594) Giovanni Battista Bovicelli
instructs singers to begin "a third or a fourth below according to the consonance of the other parts"
(Harris 2010). Rognoni also recommended it in order to facilitate gaining the correct pitch for the
main note .
.'
Rognoni: Principiar sotto la note (intonazione). Selva di va rii passaggi, 1620. (Kreitner: 2010.)
Diruta's presentation of the ornament, which he confusingly called clamationi seems to agree:
'. ·~=~-~~f~~-~£--,=-~.~-J. --t._~~-~----:-- __."_:--~~f-:L~
'..~
-!-~!~_=~~=
Clamariom. . .
• Diruta: Jl transilvano dialogo ...(1593, revised 1609: Part 1/: 13.)
Caccini was, in general, not in favour of this ornament stating that it might conflict with the
harmony. The example below shows how Caccini used it without clashing with the underlying
• harmony.
~ IS
-
mia_ lu- c~ mia gto-
lP" p pj
,.
II 6
Caccini: Vedro 'I mio so, bars 14-15. (Palisca: 2001: 268.)
- 230-
The intonazione in bar 10 of Barbara Strozzi's Cantata Lagrime mie is before the beat, rather than
on the beat and, against Caccini's advice, it forms a dissonance with the accompaniment.
Iti -ehe BOD i·- sfo-ga • te il fit'r. il (ier do - 10
B. Strozzi: Lagrime mie. Opera Settima, 1659. (Strozzi: 1993.)
This ornament is to be found in Froberger's works as well. For example the gigue from Partita
FbWV 607c, opens with a slide to the mediant.
•
.' Fraberger: Gigue from Partita FbWV 607c, opening bar. (Fraberger: 2005: VollI/.l.)
This particular example is from the Clavier Book of William BabelI (1702), written by his father,
Charles Babell. This slide, and other ornaments in the same piece, may have been added by Charles.
~\ However, even if the ornaments were not written by Froberger, they show customary practice.
A similar ornament often introduces Froberger's allemandes, sometimes in dotted notes, sometimes
not. For example, in the opening of Partita FbWV 60B and Partita FbWV 631. The opening slide from
the allemande from Partita FbWV 60B, from Froberger's Libra Quarto, 1656, is undotted.
- 231-
ALLEMANDE
I~
Froberger: Allemande from Partita FbWV 608. Libro Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
,\ The allemande from Partita FbWV 631 shows a similar motif, but with a dotted rhythm.
b'l:- __ /I I -
, - -I'
W v .:..-. ~1u- r ~.......fill -t i ~f·..
JJ ~ ~ I I ,,L
• _v_
r-----r
Froberger: Allemande from Partita FbWV 631. (Froberger. 2003: VollV.I.)
•
A similar ornament occurs in the first bar of the Sarabanda from Partita FbWV 610. After two initial
lute-like strummed chords, the melody begins with a slide, slurred to c". The slur is of interest (it is
not editorial) as it implies an over-legato touch, making the ornament even more similar to the
vocal equivalent. If the slur had not been present, the performer might have articulated before c".
SARABANDA
Froberger: Sarabandafrom Partita FbWV 610. Libro Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
- 232-
5.4.5 Passaggi
The term passaggi was a general term for stepwise runs in quick notes. As opposed to cadenzas,
they do not fit over the cadential harmony at the end of a section, but are inserted within the music,
often, in vocal music, illustrating a particular word. Most of the diminution manuals that serve as
primary sources for passaggi illustrate motion in quavers, but later books show more variation in
rhythmic values, greater reliance on dotted notes and the incorporation of smaller ornaments.
(Kreitner 20:tO). The examples below by Rognoni show this. In addition, the first example
illustrates the practice of including many more beats to the bar than the original unornamented
version, thus illustrating the practice of tempo variation discussed in the preceding chapter.
Rognoni: Selva di varii passaggi, 1620. (Kreitner:2010.)
•
• (e)
t·......~"··:::I'~.·!:::.·.··"
(f)
:r··t;j··· ~•....... , __~._-~....··".·.·m·i···; ·g·~""±·:; ·::::g.";. ···"--_·
IIIi .:;:~;t:~=.tJ"_.~.:::;~.ïiO==::::::~:~~i~·· 41~:::#"" ..-~._z.; :".-Jo:::::::::'::::::;Ji
~) ~)
'."~.. :.P., ~._-·J.1"·.-"- !·.::::::::1:'":::·:;;:::-:::3::l=l7to_--'--E:':·'=' .:_:::m;.=..-._... .w....:: _ ..;+~~. '-.'--".'"=..'::~:':::]:0· '·..11·
-It) --:-.. ·tI -_ :"' .'~ ftP- ~i1:--.1Ii." .,. .. . " _....I
(Q
-"~&'- - ..-.,=~w':'.;:;_"i~.. t~:.:: ~J··W··_·~~:;..h:.:.).;.D;:~ ~.~ W-o' ~-;:'::.:.·.:;.-~.=I....·::~.• ,/~~:~W:.«.... ,""~' W', :t"-'\!tI-·.. _Im. ._~·,U,·lw.,~ ""0:"'''.·''''·''''-:':1-''_-'' ·1
Rognoni: Passagi. Selva di varii passaggi, 1620. (Kreitner: 2010.)
- 233 -
As florid ornaments, Caccini did not generally approve of passaggi, referring to them derogatorily
_~ as "a tickling of the ears" and claiming that they belong to instrumental music rather than to sung
music. However, he employed them himself as a means of underlining a stressed syllable; and he
admitted that he occasionally introduced short passaggi "as a bit of decoration" (Jones 2010). The
following extract from his aria secondo in Le Nuove Musiche, Ardi Cor mio, shows such a passaggio,
,~ which I would not describe as short, despite Caccini's protestations. Throughout the aria, whenever
the word Ardi (burn) appears, Caccini introduces a long run of notes which are not only an
ornament but tacitly imply that the burning of his heart is a long torment.
Caccini: Ardi, cor mio. Le Nuove Musiche. (Caccini: 1601/2.)
Caccini's annotations to three arias in Le Nuove Musiche seem to contradict his statements on his
dislike of passaggi. He recommends that one of these arias should be sung with passaggi in the style
of Melchior Palentrotti, who sang in Caccini's II Rapimento di Cefalo. 1600 (Stark 2003:195).
• Another is in the style of Francesco Rasi, who also sang in II Rapimento di Cefalo and a third is in the
style of [acopo Peri. There are significantly long passaggi in these three arias such as:
Caccini: Passaggi in the style of Palentrotti. Le Nuove Musiche. (Caccini: 1601/2.)
- 234-
Caccini: Qual Trascorrendo, in the style of Rasi. Le Nuove Musiche. (Caccini: 1601/2.)
• Even more extreme is the following passaggio from the aria that he claims is in the style of Peri:
,,1l.._1iiff piA c4ntP {ohconAI~i PdJ[aq.i flconJiJ;J {IU n~le]"CD['O Peri,;
~ufi'p pcc~lItfJl, fltft'!IZ!t419dil q.uepe 4."."{~t stremJ!!
.I"t1.Mhjr~t:I~~'
, g~ , 'I!~.njli i!f ," " ,'''' ,~ "
~f:~t;,; ::I:,<':,~:'::\':L..L ï' :,j~,l 'ii::' Jt,
~_f'.tlitiWfiJN1j;tm~mfïl,
lo .. ,',
~2! ," ;" ",,: ',".r §;~'',fÊt,, '".~.,...' 'e,:<:.::-~",,,,,,.r.r-:"" "~!!ê" i";, ," I %,'_ " • '" ..d,," .. " I, ,'"...., " " ...
!_f:Li'" , ,.~'
Caccini: Fil/i, mirando il eielo. Le Nuove Musiche. (Caccini: 1601/2.)
- 235-
•
The following extract from Monteverdi's fourth book of madrigals, shows a number of passaggi for
,ii' the canto part, following each other in close succession .
•
Monteverdi: Ave Giro sol de Begl'oochi. Quarto Libro. (Monteverdi: 1615.)
•
A similar run of notes is to be found frequently in the works of other composers, such as this extract
from Saraeini's Le Seconde Musiche 1620.
Saracini: Tu parti a pena guinto. Le Seconde Musiche. (Saracini: 1620.)
- 236-
tij
and this excerpt from Rovetta's Madrigali Concertati. Libra Prima. 1636 which shows two passaggi.
• Rovetta: Ohime, Chi mi Ferisco. Libro Primo, 1636. (Rovetta: 1636.)
In vocal music passaggi are more obviously ornamental than in instrumental music. In instrumental
• music, it could be argued that passaggi are embedded in the style of the music and are not actually
ornaments at all. In many cases they owe their existence to a continuation of the Renaissance
practice of diminution, whereby a long note is replaced by a melodic figure in shorter notes.
Diminutions served to decorate the transition from one note of a melody to the next with passage-
work giving scope for virtuoso display (Garden and Donnington 2011). In diminutions for the
keyboard, whereas there may be a great deal of variety between one section and another, within a
section they typically use uniformly shorter notes and use a great deal of repetition of figures. They
do not exhibit the wide variety of figures and note values that Froberger uses in his passaggi.
Froberger's passaggi include other ornaments such as the tirata, gruppi, the ribattuta or the
esclamazione and his use of the passaggi seems to not only serve as a vehicle to demonstrate
virtuosity (as do the vocal examples given above) but also to express emotion as recommended by
Frescobaldi's instructions on how to play his toccatas (please see section 4.3). This style is more
•
- 237-
~J
closely linked to the madrigalists than to the even diminutions of most of Froberger's keyboard
'le"' pre decessors.
In Il Transi/vano Dia/ogo, part II, Diruta gave several examples of how to perform diminutions. One
l·iJ of them is given below, but the others are all similar.
- ..,....--------::...-....:..--~--._:-:_-:-~:1_:-=-:-='-:-~'-='1:':-:-::-=':".- -I-----·-:---·--~--:-.:..~-:...-'tt -1--_~_-:-~::-~'_T:=;~-.:,'.:-..'-.:-:--:-=-----_--=---_---_.-'-=---_--_-.="-__-_~-:-:_--=:_.-.-..-:-._--y---..-,-...---~-y------,. =--==$==========':8":=.~=------·-l---~~ . . ---_-.:-.-.-._.;-.-_'--------------.-.-.-.--..
~-.-..-_..
. " .' . .
. .' . ' . . . . .. "
• ~___:_t~~ii~ .~Jt~..1IJ~1~ :i_J-l:~~tii~~~ri~~i~!.f.~i~~~!~~~i~l~~liff~~~!~~'----J--~_--'""--_-------~-!-~. ~,~~. .
Diruta: II transi/vano dia/ogo sopra i/ vera modo di sonar organi, et istromenti da penna
{1593, revised 1609: Part 1/: 12.)
•
This type of passage work, similar to Diruta's example was common in the earlier Italian keyboard
composers. The following example is from a Canzona Franzese per cembalo (c. 1600) by Ercole
•• Pasquini, Frescobaldi's predecessor as organist of the Accademia della Morte in Ferrara and a
formative influence on Frescobaldi's style.
, 1'1 -
It.! •• I r
_r ..
Pasquini: Canzona Franzese, bars 52-3, c.1600. (Pasquini: 1908.)
- 238-
Diminution is linked to the art of improvisation. Many of the manuals of the 16th century show
:e' standard formulae that could be learned off by heart and applied to long notes. Despite the
improvisatory element, the diminutions applied to a particular keyboard piece could therefore
actually be quite similar in the hands of different performers. The examples given below of
Froberger's music are vastly different from these standard diminutions and I would argue that they
1ft; are expressive passaggi in the style of the madrigali moderni. In order for the difference to be clear,
the first example is from his Partita auf! die Mayerin (1649) which is a set of variations in which
Froberger clearly intends to present a series of diminutions. In the Quarta Partita, the theme is in
the base, with the faster notes of equal value in the upper stave. The reverse occurs in the Quinta
Partita .
•
Quinta Partita:
•
Fraberger. Partita auf] die Mayerin. Libra Secondo, 1649. (Froberger 1993.)
In contrast, Froberger's use of passaggi as an extended ornament in the style of the madrigals is so
common in his works that any toccata and almost any of his contrapuntal works (except the
ricercars) would serve as an example. The following bars from his Toccata FbWV 103 show a volley
of notes running from one hand to the other in a wide variety of figurations.
- 239-
I~
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 103, bars 13-16. Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
Similar runs of notes can be found in his Capriccio FbWV 514 .
•
Froberger: Capriccio FbWV 514, bars 49-50. Libro Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
And in Canzon FbWV 306 .
•
Froberger: Canzon FbWV 306, bars 12-13. Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
These examples are vastly different from the evenly running quavers of the Partita auff die Mayerin.
- 240-
5.4.6 Cascata
A cascata is a descending stepwise run. Caccini gives several examples of variants.
Caccini: Cascata. Le Nuove Musiche. (Caccini: 1601/2.)
'. These variants are easier to see in modern notation:
J J J lo II
··:t5I:o H
C.lSCiltD pet- rieeere il tlalO
fEr ; iitIH!]#J J J lo II
• (.b)r CJ iJ J J J iJ J J
II
,.'
Caccini: Cascata. Le Nuove Musiche, 1601/2. (Kreitner: 2011.)
The following excerpt from Caccini's madrigal Queste lagrim'amare illustrates the use of the
••' ornament in practice.
- 241 -
•
• iprnttlf=!!f.I]tIEft@f;lH;iJ1ÏStJUkfj£
'c . . Ct: pur dl'io PlO . "ra moriré jj morire> ma .
!iJsti' t tin I_J. :~~
• Caecini: Queste lagrim'amare. Le Nuove Musiche. (Caeeini: 1601/2.)
It was a commonly used ornament in early 17th century Italian vocal music. Gesualdo's madrigal,
• Languisee al fin, contains caseate in all five voices, each voice taking over from the preceding voice
in what becomes a cascata over nearly three octaves.
•
•
•
Gesualdo: Languisee al fin. Libra Quinto. (Gesualdo: 1613.)
•
The alto part of Monteverdi's madrigal Batto qui pianse contains several examples.
•
- 242-
•
\~
Monteverdi: Batto qui pianse. Il Sesto Libra di Madrigali a einque voci. (Monteverdi: 1614.)
The example below is by Carissimi from his secular .cantata for three sopranos and continua Il
Ciarlatano (before 1634).
• A ~ man-ti COr - re _ te, COr_
A _ man t1 cor - re _
• Carissimi: Il Ciarlatano, vocal parts only. (Carissimi: 1899.)
The cascata was equally common in the keyboard works of Italian composers pre-dating Froberger.
e The example below is from Merulo's Toccata del non a tono from his Libra Secondo (Rome 1604).
e,
- 243 -
~)
rrrFr
Merulo: Toccata del nono tono, ending. Libro Secondo, 1604. (Torchi: 1899.)
Froberger frequently uses the cascata. His lament on the death of Ferdinand IV (FbWV 612)
contains the following example:
•
•
Froberger: Lamento ... Ferdinand lV, bar 5 and 6. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
Similarly, in his Capriccio FbWV 503, where an accelerando is implied:
Froberger: Capriccio FbWV 503, bar 10. Libro di Capricci e Ricercati, c. 1658. (Froberger: 1995.)
- 244-
,,.'
The ornament is a frequent part of his toccatas. In the example below from his Toccata FbWV 103
~., the first cascata follows an ornament (possibly a short trill or a mordent) indicated by "t",
3 .t.,._, '. _...... .... Jl
._ -I-
"*.,;~~ '-'
(lit)
I I J I
-r r I
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 103, bar 3. Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
The ornament also appears regularly in his partitas:
.'
Froberger: "Chique" from FbWV 613. EAmsterdam MS, 1698. (Froberger: 2005, VolllI.2.)
• Froberger: Allemande from FbWV 614. EAmsterdam MS, 1698. (Froberger: 2005, VollIJ.2.)
This allemande is the Lamentation sur ce que j'ay été volé, although in the Amsterdam 1698 MS, it
does not carry this title.
- 245 -
5.4.7 Ribattuta di Golo
La ribattuta di gala (re-striking of the throat) is a slow trill in dotted notes. It may introduce a tril/a.
Caeeini: Ribattuta di Gala. Le Nuove Musiehe. (Caeeini: 1601/2.)
:;/!,~~-:::'-k ~~\';;.w- r:::18~Ii~rfi:"(~:' }"'1ib.;;';r:~ ':-;(;;{i;:"}--"-\'5-V't·!tj',.:;,-:.it ";·t'I;8'''''·;,>idi~w ~~i\'~'\~:-'~y.i.:.;;:.-:st- t'.t.\l£j.-·:,-,.r'_ is,. '--:-i.-' " --",
ribattuta di gol a
~: II
• Caeeini: Ribattuta di gala. Le Nuove Musiene. 1601/2. (Kreitner: 2010.)
In the following example by Caccini, the ornament is followed by a written out gruppo and cireolo
• and seems to increase in tempo. The singer might have added a tril/a on the a' in the following bar
after the end of the ornament.
:. ~.' '. "'Pre voI)~te . p. . . ;'IC • I'-
.l--_1.. ~'i"':O:.:-<t··:.. : : ?Um.?.. ]'_ '.'
Caeeini: Queste lagrim'amare. Le Nuove Musiehe. (Caecini: 1601/2.)
.\ The following extract by Benedetti from the madrigal Eeeo Solinga shows two examples. The first
ribatutta is followed by a easeata, the second is followed by a tril/a.
- 246-
\~
Benedetti: Ecco Solinga. Musiche Libra Secondo. (Benedetti: 1613.)
The ribattuta is a feature of Frescobaldi's keyboard music, adding to the complex texture of his
style. The Quarta parte of his Partite sopra J'aria della Romanesca opens with a ribattuta followed
byagruppo.
I.
Q)
•
Frescobaldi: Romanesca, Quarta Parte, bar 1. Libro Primo, 1637. (Frescobaldi: 1949.)
•
Froberger is almost as fond of the ribattuta as Frescobaldi is. However, whereas Frescobaldi writes
the ornament with dotted notes, Froberger often assumes that the performer will add them. For
example, Toccata FbWV 107 opens with two ribattuti di gala, which should be played as dotted
• notes, even though they are not notated as such .
•
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 107, opening bars. Libra Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
.'
- 247 -
(.,
•
On other occasions, he writes dotted notes:
23
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 103, bar 23. Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
'.
.1
.: Froberger: Toccata FbWV 112, bar 11. Libro Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995)
Froberger's use of the ribattuta is mainly confined to his toccatas. However there is an example in
the Tombeau for Blancrocher.
•
34
Froberger: Tombeou[sic] ...Blanchrocher [sic). Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
- 248-
,!i;
5.4.8 Accento
Whereas the term accento is often used in a generic way to mean all small ornaments, as another
term for grazie or affetti, Rognoni and some other theorists gave it a more specific meaning.
Rognoni used the term to mean an ornament used to connect two longer notes, a short dissonant
auxiliary note on the weak part of the beat. He states that it was most properly used in descending
rather than ascending notes and the example below shows how it is slurred to the preceding note .
.,
Rognoni: Accento. Selva di varii passaggi, 1620. (Kreitner: 2010.)
Diruta also described accenti, notating the ornament as follows. It has the effect of accentuating the
note that is on the beat.
•
_:_~.. fl~l-:_;Jl!._:-.f'_=._.i_-~_:t~._:l_.:f-_:.t:::-:--.~.------ --- -- .:-- --. ; ..-:---.
-~-------.----___ :--_:a..~.
• Accent: •
Diruta: II transilvano dia/ogo sopra i/ vero modo di sonar organi, et istromenti da penna
(1593, revised 1609: Part 1/: 13.)
The ornament was frequently used by Monteverdi. The following example is from the tenor part of
his seventh book of madrigals.
Monteverdi: Vorrei Baciarti, ending. Settimo Libro. (Monteverdi: 1619.)
In the example below, from a madrigal by Caccini, the ornament is used repeatedly in an extremely
florid passage: excessiveness that he claimed to despise.
- 249-
f_':'-l tNQ~mljltitit.l~fJ~~itl~:
.,ij rAUrO
I~\
Caecini: Yedro'l mio sol. Le Nuove Musiche. (Caecini: 1601/2.)
Benedetti used it in a less extreme form in Eeeo Solinga, which he claims is in the style of Gagliano .
•
Benedetti: Eeeo Solinga. Musiche, Libra Seeondo. (Benedetti: 1613.)
The same ornament, also used "correctly" in its downwards form, is found in de Macque's works .
•
cr
~ uUr
De Macque: Capriccio sopra re, fa mi sol, bars 42 ff (Maque: 2009.)
- 250-
Examples in Froberger's works include:
(."
Froberger: Courantfrom FbWV 620, bar 6. (Froberger: 2006.)
In the example below, Froberger uses the ornament as a recurring motif in the gigue (after the
repeat sign in the example).
•
Froberger: Gigue from Partita FbWV 607b, bars 26Jf (Froberger: 2005: Volll/.l.)
•
In Canzon FbWV 304, it forms part of the opening statement and it is repeated thereafter in all the
voices throughout the first section of the work. The example shows the first statement in the tenor,
• followed by the motif in the tenor and the bass together.
Iii)
.".,
.J. _.J)J J J ~ nh .J .J j . )lj nnn r
~
,_ Froberger: Canzon FbWV 304 opening. Libra Seconde, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
- 251-
5.4.9 Esclamazione
This is a light quick decrescendo and crescendo. Caccini called this effect a strengthening of the
relaxed voice and states that it is the principle means by which the singer moves the affections of
his audience.
L'escalmazione, che e mezzo piu principale per muovere I'affetto: & /'esclamazione
propriamente altro non é, che nellassare della voce rinforzaria al quanto (Caccini
1601/2:preface).
:':~~~~~~~e(d~ip~~~~~;::' '. : ..'..'-;,P~e!"~p~ .':' . '. -; ).._. ,... :•
• __ ltl):I~t1ila""""">" ~ ~:-§
;.'."·:1\'êo~,:.~:ó." clCli'" .PÓQWlP'· :..... : ~~ .~ __, __~~~~ .. ",:--' '_' ~.
• yltilJ!ju:.jlf 1 :;·Ilu.· •~1I}nof: : J
Caccini:Esclamazione. Le Nuove Musiche. (Caccini: 1601/2.)
esclamazio ne langeida esclnrneziore piil viva
::::::=- --===:
,~f.~;:r:-r:r=;:.-=9 : III·~~#~§=~F=~I-o--II
,J- COl" mio deh non lan-gul l'e.
Caccini: Esclamazione. Le Nuove Musiche, 1601/2. (Kreitner: 2010.) Dynamic markings are editorial.
Caccini's description of the ornament is confusing but he proceeded to give examples of various
esclamazioni in the madrigals of Le Nuove Musiche, especially in the madrigal Deh Dove sonfuggiti.
The following two examples from this madrigal show an esclamazione spiritoso, an esclamazione piu
vita, various "ordinary" esclamazioni and an esclamazione rinforzata, all within the space of a few
bars. These variations of the esclamazione are not explained properly by Caccini, although the
'\.~ interpretation is fairly obvious from the context.
- 252 -
viua
'.,--. ,'~
dch doue foa fUggiti deb doue fOD (pari
__~_~~:~Jt~=iih~nI£-£~l
Caccini: Deh Dove sonfuggiti, beginning. Le Nuove Musiche. (Caccini: 1601/2.)
• Caccini: Deh Dove sonfuggiti, ending. Le Nuove Musiche. (Caccini: 1601/2.)
The esclamazione, as described by Caccini, was not written out in sung music, but was expected at
• appropriate places. Unfortunately Caccini seems to be the only Italian theorist of the time who
mentions this ornament. Diruta's clamatione is similar to the intonazione and Rognoni does not
mention it. After Rognoni theoretical works disappear in Italy and one is dependent upon German
treatises for information.
• Following the lead of Praetorius's Syntagma musicum (1614-19), many of these
Germans - including 8ernhard (Ic1649), Herbst (11642) and Cri.iger (E1630,
E1660) - were enthusiastic advocates of the Italian style, though their knowledge
of its ornamentation practices may have been largely second-hand. (Kreitner et al
2010.)
Praetorius refers to the ornament as Erhebung der Stimm which, if translated as a "swell in volume",
is not quite the same as Caccini's ornament as it misses out the decrescendo. However, Caccini's
I.' example of the ornament seems to agree with the much clearer explanation given by Johann
Andreas Herbst (1588-1666) in his Musica practica sive instructio pro symphoniacis, das ist,
- 253-
~I
Iiir
Eine kurtze Anleitung, wie die Knaben ... auff jetzige ltalienische Manier ... (1642) as a few
~ short rising notes at the end of a long note (Kreitner 2010). Herbst called this ornament the
Exclamatio. The effect is similar to a decrease in volume (the long note) followed by a swell in
volume (the rising notes).
(~
Herbst: Esclamatio. Musico Pratico. 1642. (Kreitner: 2010.)
On the harpsichord, the long note would have a natural, but short, decay, similar to Caccini's
requirement of a decrescendo. The quick rising notes could be interpreted as a crescendo.
Froberger's use of the esclamazione often sounds like a cry of distress and is particularly
appropriate to his laments, plaintes and other melancholy pieces. In the extract below he uses the
device in the first full bar of the extract.
Froberger: Lamento sopra ...Ferdinando IV, bar 1. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
•
It is also a frequently used device in his allemandes, for example in the last bar of the following
extract.
[A;:.,J --Af."-------
.' Froberger: Allemande from FbWV 608, opening. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
- 254-
~!
Schulenberg (2010:297) notes the esclamazione just before the final cadential formula in the gigue
,~ from Partita FbWV 616. (Froberger also uses it earlier on in the gigue as wel!.)
Froberger: Gigue from Partita FbWV 616, ending. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
5.4.10 Crescere e Scemare della Voce
• Il crescere e seernare della voce is a crescendo and then a decrescendo on whole notes. In effect it is
the converse of the esclamazione. Stewart Carter (Kreitner et al 2010) mentions that Rognoni calls
this ornament Portar la Voce and describes it as reinforcing the voice on the first note little by little,
and then making a tremolino (tril/o) on the crotchet following it.
:~I
Rognoni. Selva di varii passaggi, 1620. (Kreitner 2010.)
Giovanni Doni (1595-1647) in Trattato primo sopra il genere enarmonico (1635) wrote that this
reinforcing also involved a gradual rise in pitch from the lower to the higher note. Domenico
Mazzocchi (1592-1665, Madrigali Rome, 1638) calls a similar ornament messa di voce, and notes
that it also involves both a rise in pitch and an increase in dynamic level (Kreitner 2010). Like the
esclamazione, this ornament was not written out, but singers were expected to improvise it where
•• appropriate. Caccini was not nearly as fond of this ornament as he was of the esclamazione, and I
- 255-
~I
can find only one reference to it in le Nuove Musiche. It is immediately followed by an esclamazione
:fi', spiritosa.
fcemar di ."oee' villa
deh douc fon fpari
__.:::~~~24iJl ~n IL--=L=!i®t
Caccini: Deh Dove sonfuggiti, beginning. Le Nuove Musiche. (Caccini: 1601/2.)
If the esclamazione can also be described as "a few short rising notes at the end of a long note"
(Herbst 1642) then logically, the crescere e seernare could be described as "a few short descending
notes at the end of a long note". In contrast to the esclamazione, which increases in volume, the
• overall effect would be a decrescendo. Froberger uses this effect in the second bar of the extract
below .
••
Froberger: Meditation ...sur ma morte future. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)·
The opening to his Lamentation on being robbed contains several of these little ornaments, which
seem to be like drawn out sighs.
Froberger: Lamentation sur ce j'ay êté volé. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
- 256-
5.5 Summary
The use of wide-ranging and technically demanding ornamentation for expressive purposes was
one of the fundamental elements of the late 16th and early-to-mid 17th century style. Virtuoso
singing and displays of complex ornamentation have connections with certain Italian courts where
I~
singers were lionized. The Concerto delle Dame Principalissime (also known as the Concerto delle
Donne) was a group of professional female singers at the North Italian court of Ferrara (Fischer et
al: 2010). The ensemble was founded by Alfonso II, Duke of Ferrara, in 1580 and was active until
1598 when Alfonso died, Ferrara became part of the Papal States and the ruling Este family moved
'. to Modena. The style was imitated by several other influential Italian courts such as the ones in
Florence (the Medici), Rome (the Orsini) and Mantua (the Gonzaga family) and it remained popular
until the mid 1650s.
In the preface to Le Nuove Musiche (1601/2) Caccini described vocal ornaments that had previously
not always been written down, but may have been improvised. These ornaments represented a
reaction against the evenly flowing diminutions typical of the late Renaissance. Singers were
encouraged to improvise ornaments at appropriate places and virtuoso singers used this freedom
to show off their talents. Caccini also stated that one of his reasons for writing Le Nuove Musiche
was that his music had been decorated to excess and he wanted to show the correct way to
embellish his music. Other theorists of the same era list similar ornaments to those mentioned by
Caccini. Of particular note are Girolamo Diruta and Francesco Rognoni. .
Some of the ornaments were common to both instrumental and vocal music. Others are specifically
vocal. The ornaments can be divided into two broad groups:
• the small ornaments added to (usually) one note. These ornaments, for example the trillo,
the intonazione and the esclamazione were also known as grazie, accenti, affetti or maniere:
• complex runs of notes, which often disguised the melody. Under this category are cadenzas
and passaggi. These were remnants of earlier practice (Kreitner 2010) and seem in many
cases to be the same as the evenly flowing diminutions of the Renaissance, but in the 16th
- 257-
and 17th century these longer runs of notes were often used to illustrate specific words,
events or feelings and they often included the small ornaments referred to above.
In many cases an ornament is both an embellishment and a word-painting device. The distinction
(.1 is not always clear, especially as theorists of the time linked the two. Improvised ornaments were
applied liberally not only to the concerted madrigal of later years, but also to the polyphonic
madrigals of the late 16th century. In the case of polyphonic madrigals, because more than one (and
often five or even six) voices were singing at any time, the addition of any ornamentation not
written into the music would have to be agreed by the singers, especially when the addition of
ornaments stretched the tempo, as it often did. This practice of applying ornamentation to voices
singing in polyphony is borne out by various theorists of the time .
.~ Towards the end of the 16th century, composers started the trend of writing out the ornaments for
vocal music rather than leaving the ornaments to the discretion of the performer. The title of
Caccini's later work, Le Nuove Musiche e Nuova Maniera di Scriverle of 1614 (The New Music and the
New Manner of Writing it), refers to the new trend of writing out ornaments. Thus, ornaments were
• often written into the music and extra ornaments were added at the whim of the performer. In the
late 16th century madrigal, ornamentation was often taken to extremes, and elegant stylised
ornaments were often used to demonstrate the prowess of the singer rather than to enhance the
meaning of the text. In the early Baroque, the intention was to use ornamentation in moderation for
expressive purposes only. However, in practice, there was usually not much difference.
Ornamentation in the later madrigals was often just as extreme as in the earlier madrigals.
As was customary, Froberger expected the performer to improvise ornamentation, particularly in
~ slow sections and in the repeats of sections, such as dances. However, Froberger also used a wide
variety of written ornaments in his music. Most of them, like the ornamentation used by the
madrigalists in the early 17th century, are written out rather than indicated by signs. The use of "t"
or any other abbreviation for ornaments is rare in Froberger's early autographs. Abbreviations for
ornaments are more common in copies of his works and in the late autograph (Sotheby's), where he
'!t" uses the French signs for some of his ornamentation.
- 258-
Most keyboard composers pre-dating Froberger seem to have used diminutions: a technique that
~. Froberger used only rarely. Froberger's passaggi are much more varied than the evenly running
series of quavers and semi-quavers used in most diminutions and his music contains a wide
selection of note values and small ornaments, some of which are found almost exclusively in vocal
music. Froberger's use of these ornaments was different to his keyboard predecessors and
~ contemporaries. The examples given under the various sections show how he used the more
conventional keyboard ornamentation such as cadenzas, passaggi, cascati and gruppi commonly
found in Italian keyboard music of the time. However, his ornamentation is not only more diverse,
but more extreme than his predecessors. He also used specifically vocal ornaments such as tril/i,
intonazioni, la ribattuta di gala, accenti and esclamazioni amongst other grazie.
Froberger's influence on the young Louis Couperin. whom he met on his first visit to Paris in 1650,
is clear to see in the use of Couperin's ornamentation in his unmeasured preludes, particularly the
.fI' use of the trillo, which, in the 17th century French Claveein School seems to be peculiar to Couperin.
In addition, Couperin wrote out most of the ornamentation in his preludes, as opposed to using the
French signs for ornamentation which he uses in the rest of his oeuvre.
Froberger's unique use of ornamentation seems to not only serve as a vehicle to demonstrate
virtuosity but also to express emotion. His use of specifically vocal ornamentation links his style
closely to the madrigalists.
- 259-
CHAPTER SIX: MERAVIGLlA
6. 1 Introduction
One of the features of the late 16th century and early 17th century madrigals is their continuous
invention and diversity. This was part of the desire to impress, to cause a sensation of meraviglia, or
amazement, in the listener. In addition to their use of affective devices, tempo fluctuations, and
ornamentation, which have been discussed in previous chapters, composers used a wide variety of
.) rhythms and textures to portray the agitation of the passions and to add other forms of
expressiveness to their music. Contrast seems to be an essential element and a continuous stream
of invention was called for to provide musical interest. Caccini (1601/2:6) states that essendo molto
necessaria la variazione in quest'arte (variety is most necessary in this art).
Composers varied the number and type of the voices singing at anyone time, sometimes using a
high voice, sometimes a low voice. They used dotted notes, syncopations, juxtaposition of rhythmic
extremes and a variety of note values. In terms of modern analysis, some of this music seems to
• modulate frequently, especially in slow chromatic sections. The music often has a feeling of
continuous restlessness, caused by a variety of effects such as the shift between modal and tonal
systems, the use of accidentals to blur the tonality (modality) and the unorthodox use of
dissonance. This diversity is totally different to the more uniform style that was considered Ars
Perfecta in earlier times.
Maniates (1979:5), in writing about Mannerism (which Maniates defines, controversially, as
occurring between 1530 and 1630) says:
Above all Mannerism wants to startle. When the shock value of a device wears off,
mannerists move on to yet more startling effects ....Meraviglia rests on calculated
novelty and deliberate stylization addressed to a select audience whose
sensibilities appreciate the wit ofmannerist play.
- 260-
Whether or not one calls this period "Mannerist", or whether one splits it into Renaissance, late
,.' Renaissance and Early Baroque (please see Chapter One for a discussion of the Mannerist
controversy) the fact remains that Meraviglia was often referred to by writers and theorists of the
time, especially with regard to the new theatrical intermedi that were fashionable. Starke (2003:
160) mentions that contemporary accounts of Caccini and other singers of the Early Baroque
describe a performance known as meraviglia which was characterised by wonder, surprise, the
unexpected, the extraordinary, the supernatural. These theatrical effetti meravigliosi (marvellous
effects) include a calculated delight in complexity, which was part of the way in which composers
and performers aimed to delight and astound their audiences. The emphasis was on virtuoso
display and, with few exceptions, the music is only playable or singable by a performer with a high
degree of technical skill. For example, In 1590, Alessandro Guidotti praised Victoria Archilei for
mosse meravigliosamente a lacrime (wonderfully moving [her audience] to tears) (Stark 2003:160) .
• ' Music written for the courts throughout the ages has always had a certain degree of elitism
attached to it: it was, after all, only heard by a relatively small number of privileged people. The
mere fact that the music has survived links it to the rich and educated sector of the population: it
could be written down, sometimes printed, paid for and preserved. In this respect, it is interesting
'. to note that Guilio Cesare Monteverdi's list of noteworthy composers of the se~onda pratica (ScherziMusicale 1607) only contains members of the nobility (Bianconi 2010).
However, the musica secreta of the Court of Ferrara went a step further. The music was heard by
• only a few invited guests: it was not even available to all the courtiers. These concerts seem to echo
Castiglione's toffee-nosed advice to the courtier when performing music:
Come ancor ho detto, che si fugga la moltitudine e massimamente degli ignobili.
(Castilione 1528:126.)
As I have already said, avoid crowds, especially the common people.
Deborah Roberts (1992) writing about the Concerto delle Donne at Ferrara:
- 261-
By the 1580s, however, the Duke of Ferrara, Alfonso II, had become so obsessed
with the sound of soprano voices, that he was procuring the finest singers of the
time and establishing them in his court as extremely well paid professionals. The
three most famous, Laura Peverara, Livia D'Arco and Anna Guarini, were all of
middle class origin and joined the court exclusively as singers. They were not,
however, widely heard, for their performances were reserved by the Duke for his
~)
musica secreta, or secret music, which took place in private and to which only a
few honoured guests were invited.
It is tempting to imagine the amazement of Duke Alfonso's honoured guests at "the spectacle of
apparently noble women able to display the skills of trained musicians (which in fact they were)".
(Wistreich 2007:243.) Luzzaschi's Madrigali of 1601 are the most famous examples of the musica
secreta. They are technically very demanding.
e:
•
Luzzaschi: 0 Prim a vera, bars 17f! Madrigali ...1601. (Luzzaschi: 2010.)
The frenzied runs of notes in Froberger's toccatas show a marked similarity to this style.
.-..' ..
Froberger: Toccata FbWV lOl, bar 7f! Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
- 262-
As discussed in Section 5.1, concerts such as the famous ones in Ferrara became the vogue in Italy
._1 and were imitated by several other influential Italian courts such as the ones in Florence, Rome and
Mantua. They remained popular until the mid 1650s. It is possible that Froberger heard such music
performed either whilst he was studying in Rome (1637-41) or when he visited Florence and
Mantua in 1649.
~)
Similarly, in France, around the time that Froberger was in Paris (early 1650s), exclusive concerts
were being held at the salons of the Précieuses and at the private concerts organised by
Charnbonnieres, called the Assemblée des Honestes Curieux (Assembly of Enquiring Gentlemen).
(Chapter Two gives more information on this part of Froberger's life.)
The invention and complexity of madrigalists seeking effetti meravigliosi was carried over into the
keyboard idiom as well. Froberger's style is characterized by this wonderful diversity and
virtuosity, which he seems to have absorbed from the madrigalists as well as from his keyboard
predecessors; like them, continuously pushing the boundaries of invention and technique.
- 263 -
•
6. 2 Structural Complexity
•
Some of the madrigals of the early part of the century show a calculated delight in complexity for its
own sake. Piaqn'e e Sospira from Monteverdi's fourth book (1603) "is based on six motifs presented
in constantly changing combinations during the first 87 bars" (Whenham and Wistreich. 2007:102).
The opening of the tenor part shows these six motifs stated one after the other .
•
Monteverdi: Piagn'e e Sospira. Quarto Libro. (Monteverdi: 1615.)
•
Frescobaldi's fantasias of 1608 are examples of this deliberate structural complexity. There are 12
fantasias, with up to four subjects. Don Michael Randel (2003: 307) writes that they move
progressively through the modes and the hexachordal and chromatic subjects are augmented,
diminished, inverted and treated to nearly continuous transformation by means of rhythmic
distortion, fragmentation, inganno'' and changes of metre and tempo.
For example, Fantasia seconda sopra un soggetto (Primo Libro delle Fantasie a Quattro, 1608)
contains six sections, in which the subject (I below) is treated to rhythmical distortion (II),
inversion of the second half of the subject (III), diminution (IV), syncopation (V), and chromatic
variation (VI).
8 Inganno is the deceptive modification of a subject (often done by Trabaci) by means of changing hexachords
- thus the same subject starts on a different note with possible changes of both rhythm and melodic contour.
- 264-
•
J. II
Frescobaldi: Fantasia Seconda. Primo Libra delle Fantasie a Quattra, 1608. (Apel: 1972:450.)
Froberger's fantasias are similarly complex. One example is FbWV 204, which is titled Sol la re,
lascia fare mi. It is developed on two subjects. The theme, sol la re, represents the notes G,A,O,
:., transposed down a fourth to O,E,A and the words lascia fare mi (leave it to me) are converted to
solmisation syllables: la sol fa re mi: A,G,F,O,E, also transposed down a fourth to E,O,C,A,B. The
latter is a sequence of notes used by josquin Oesprez in his Missa La sol fa re mi and by other
composers after him. It was used by josquin to mock Cardinal Ascanio Sforza's standard response
to the composer's requests for payment. This is clearly a joke for the learned connoisseur. In this
.' and in his other fantasias, Froberger uses many devices to provide complexity and interest. For
example, in Fantasia FbWV 203 the subject is treated to transposition, diminution and rhythmical
variation and he concludes with a section that presents the subject in augmentation against a
countersubject. However, as Apel points out (972:554), in Froberger's fantasias, "neither intrusive
learnedness nor empty figuration disturb the total impression".
~ ,.
Uil
~ ol r I r I jl !t'i
.m= ~ .J ,J .J J .d I .J~ h..J J I J ..J i .JJ? J).d I J
- -~----,.r-j5>- -I"-
'" - -"'-"" - -
~ I I I I•
Fraberger: Fantasia FbWV 203, opening bars showing the subject. (Froberger: 1993.)
.. Fraberger: Fantasia FbWV 203, barsb92JJ. Libra Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)The subject in diminution transposed up a third in the soprano, in augmentation in the tenor, in' ' augmentation transposed down a third in the bass, in diminution transposed up a second in the tenor.
- 265 -
•
It is likely that both Frescobaldi and Froberger were influenced by the learned contrapuntal writing
.i of the Neapolitan Keyboard School. The characteristic of stating the subjects at the beginning of the
piece and developing all the subjects throughout the piece, is a device that was used by Mayone and
Trabaci in their ricerears. It is one of the aspects that differentiates the music from their Venetian
counterparts who used a different subject in each section. Mayone, Trabaci, Frescobaldi and
~ Froberger all introduce the subjects of imitative compositions at the beginning and present the
subjects thereafter in ever-changing combinations.
Proberger's Hexachord Fantasia, FbWV 201 is quoted by Kircher in Musurgia Universalis (1650) as
a perfect example of the sty/us phantasticusi. He mentions its "perfect method of composition", "the
order of things following themselves cleverly" and "the remarkable change of the time". From this,
one can deduce that the intellectual construction of Proberger's fantasia, which has a wide selection
. of rhythms and textures, was of primary importance to Kircher (Kircher. 1650: 466ff) .'
The Hexachord Fantasia falls into seven sections. As Collins points out (2005:42) in section one the
theme is in semibreves, in section two, crotchets, then minims, various note values in section four
• and dotted crotchets in section five. In sections six and seven the theme undergoes chromatic
alterations and is presented in crotchets in section six and, in inversion, in minims in the last
section. In each of the sections (except section four) a different contrasting countersubject provides
variety and complexity. From section to section Froberger also varies the voice in which the first
.. statement of the theme is found, the order of entry of the voices and, in the later sections, the timesignatures. The following examples from Kircher's Musurgia Universa/is (1650) shows the opening
bars of sections one, two and three of the fantasia, showing the gradual increase in speed and
complexity.
9 From the description of the style and the examples given by Kircher, it can be deduced that the stylus
phantasticus embraces music composed according to the strict rules of harmony and counterpoint on a
\tIl' subject that is freely invented by the composer. This definition contrasts with the later use of the term by
Mattheson (1739), which he interpreted to mean a virtuoso style that sounds improvised and which has a
free approach to tempo.
- 266-
\ê"
I~
Froberger: Fantasia FbWV 201, opening of section one. Musurgia Universalis, 1650. (Collins: 2005:42.)
-i3-~".-::-~:=:Ë=-_-----'-:_:-.=_-:.:.,.-,:·~_-_".:.:.:.:.:::.=I:_::-·:-::-::~':I:l:-::-:.:-:·c::=,.:I-3:-5:+:=t-f::·!-=
,;~,::=-o··: ::=::::=: .-.==~~.:.-:::::::~.:::..:.::::::-: : --
Froberger: Fantasia FbWV 201, opening of section two. Musurgia Universatis. 1650. (Collins: 2005:43.)
'.'
.~.
Froberger: Fantasia FbWV 201, section three, opening. Musurgia Universalis, 1650. (Collins: 2005:43.)
- 267-
The stylus phantasticus of Froberger has much in common with the Stravaganti of the Neapolitan
,~ Keyboard School. Michael Tilmouth (2010) writes that the word Stravaganti is:
A term for a piece in no specific form involving melodic, harmonic, rhythmic or
~i: other features of an extraordinary kind. It appears adjectivally by the end of the
16th century in works such as Giovanni de Macque's Consonanze stravaganti for
organ ...which exhibit harmonic mannerisms, similar to those employed by
Gesualdo, that became part of the stylus phantasticus of the Baroque period.
One of the most pervading characteristics of the music of the early 17th century madrigalists, the
early Neapolitan school of keyboard music, Frescobaldi and Froberger is the invention and
diversity of their music. They introduced a variety of rhythms and textures and their music has a
• sense of continuous restlessness and energy and a delight in complexity.
~'
'.'
- 268-
6. 3 Rhythmic Animation and Variation.
In the early sixteenth century madrigals, from 1530-1550, composers started to use small note
values which resulted in many small black notes, leading to the term madrigale a note nere
(madrigals in black notes) which were typified by a rhythmic animation entirely foreign to
traditional polyphony (Maniates 1979:289). This was accompanied by a more lively declamation of
the text and later composers continued the trend of rhythmic animation.
~, According to William Martin, the most individual characteristic of the music of Orazio Vecchi "in
madrigals and canzonettas alike, is a rhythmic variety and vitality that enlivens even the simple
homorhythmic canzonettas. Often this variety is the result of his sensitive use of rhythmic and
metric accents which, when enriched by cross-rhythms and syncopation, produces a rhythmic
• interest and freshness ..." (Martin 2010). An example of this rhythmic diversity prior to the turn of
the century is given below. In the madrigal Soura le lucid' acque (Selva divaria ricreatione, Venice,
1590) note values range from semi-breves to semi-quavers, and there are a variety of figurations
and rests.
}~ ..
lti
chiar' on da la sua chiar' on da
"
::1
ti
da Che ra. la sua chiar~ - da lo
" ::I
....I
lu I I
Che fa che fa la sua chiar' on
" .. ..,
I~ on du Che fil che fa In sua chiar' on
.~.
" ,.,
I~ da la sua chiar 011 - da lo t'a.
,.. ~
Che fa III sua. chiar' on da
Vecchi: Soura le lucid' acque. Madrigale a 6, 1590. (Vecchi: 2009.)
- 269-
.'
•
The following example from Solo ePensoso by Marenzio shows how the composer varied the voices
'.i, singing at anyone time within a few bars. The note values used range from a semi-breve to a semi-
quaver and he uses a variety of rhythmic figures.
1'1 -
IV 'seam- ..... . . .-. . . pi~
tro .vo che rfti scam- "". . -. . pi
_. ,.
non tro . vo
III
non tro.vo ene mi
non
1/1 n~n
1ft}
- Dal :fe- . . sto ac.- Dal .....-. ma.ni fe ; .• ·DaL. ...... _'--- . re ':"-~"-If3
seam . .- . . . -- . . pi Dal ~..... ma . ni , fe •
• -#Jj .,--"- ~
tro.vo che ml seam • pl Dal .. ma.nt • fe , _
Marenzio: Solo e Pensoso. Il Nono Libra di Madrigali, 1599. (Marenzio: 1897.)
~ Similarly, Monteverdi's Quel Augellin che canta has a variety of figurations and note values.
- 270-
ta Sidol ce-men-t
ta Sidol ce -men-te cia-sci
ta si dol-cc-ruen-te cia-sci
- ===
IV ---~
(\ li ve-te vg_, === - - r.!ll Or da l'a - be - tC._jl1 tag - gip Et ~ dal fag - gio.al ..
v - --==t::l .....,~
(\ li v~ v~ .:.__ ~ _....;_ la Or da l'a - be - te~al fag - gio Et or dui fag
.. :;;; ~-.r
ve-te vo la Or da li .- be I'~CIyt'. ag-glo. E-t or daIf:ag - gi.o, ct
Monteverdi: Quel Augellin che canta, opening bars. II Quarto Libro di Madrigali, 1603.
(Monteverdi: 2008.)
When this rhythmic variety of the madrigalists is compared to the Italian sacred music of the 16th
and 17th centuries, the delight in diversity and invention is apparent. The Roman school, which
• devoted itself to the continuation of the Palestrina style (stile antico) and the Venetian polychoral
style was active until the late 18th century (ApeI1973:737).
The following example shows the conservative style of a motet by Nanino.
_ - ,II ..~: _... '.0-~-l!.-' , - --"'"10- I'"' Ho- di- e enri- stus NI- tus es\,
f, I - ~
"
!...:,. -.It. - ---4__Ji-' + hi· -~.-.'-
IfJ f'" ~ .. 4- 4- r;I -al
.... Ho. ol. @ fChri- Sh,1S na- tus est,
-t!i}- " ......... --'..... -, - -
u !
B Ho- dï. ('
I
-_...
Ho- di-
Giovanni Maria Nanino. Opening bars of Hodie Christus natus est. (Nanino 1969)
- 271-
•
Composers such as Giovanni Maria Nanino (c.1545-1607), Francesco Suriano (1549-after 1621),
~ Ruggiero Giovannelli (1560-1625) and Gregorio Allegri (c. 1582-1652) are just a few of the many
composers of stile antico church music in the time period under discussion.
~" The same type of ever-changing nervous figuration, found in the madrigals but not in the sacred
music of the time, is also to be found in De Macque's Capriccio sopra re fa mi sol. This piece shows
many of the stylistic traits that became standard fare for Froberger's toccatas: an arpeggiated,
rhapsodic beginning; rich textural and rhythmical diversity; contrasting slow and fast passages;
modal/tonal ambiguity and written out ornamentation.
, ,
'" , I I I J I J-
u r 'I 'r 'I lj li 'I w 'I I 11-= I
... ---' ,-, ,._ n 111-.#
JJ! v =-F----
'. q"
~F
.' l
De Macque: Capriccio sopra re fa mi sol, bars 1-7. (Macque: 2009.)
De Macque's style was continued by his pupils Trabaci and Mayone who used bold harmonic
language, dissonance, unexpected modulations, suspensions, textural diversity and abrupt rhythmic
,.) changes. The Neapolitan Keyboard School is further characterized by agitated rhythms, dotted
notes, syncopations and the use of the lombardie rhythm. Silbiger (2004:272) mentions that the
- 272 -
••
Neapolitans took pride in idiomatic writing for the harpsichord (as opposed to the organ) - a trait
rjl that set them apart from the Venetian School.
This type of figuration is also found in the variations on the Ruggiero theme by Ercole Pasquini.
131 I~
J . J
Pasquini: Ruggiero (c.1608) bars 13ff (Pasquini: 2009.)
Frescobaldi took this diversity yet one step further and any of his toccatas would be good examples.
Toccata seconda from his Libra Prima starts with arpeggiated chords (bar 1 to half of bar 2),
continues with a four note motif that is imitated in three of the voices (bar 2, second half and bar 3),
progresses to a faster motif imitated in all four voices (bars 4 and 5), then continues with a series of
fast runs, supported by chords in the left hand (bar 6). This excerpt contains note values ranging
from a breve (tied semi-breves) to semiquavers, dotted notes, suspensions, step-wise movements,
arpeggiated chords, leaps and runs of notes.
-~t:;:Jf!iI'f!'fW;JJe:IMZ,rr!W; ,I
tC::JJm:C:;;~~1::~~!!rrFTFur~ru.;JJmh I
Frescobaldi: Toccata Seconda, opening bars. Libra Primo, 1637. (Frescobaldi: 1949.)
- 273-
Similar diversity is also to be found in Froberger's works. The second toccata from his Libra Quarto
,il (FbWV 108) starts with an arppegiated section interspersed with a motif of a gruppo with a circolo
ending which is imitated in three of the four voices and continues with fast runs first in the left
hand and then in the right, supported by chords in the left (bar 3 second half, bars 4 and 5).
---_
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 108, opening bars. Libro Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
The following extract from Froberger's Toccata FbWV 106, da Sonarsi alia Leuatione, contains note
• values ranging from three-tied-minims-tied-to-a-crotchet-tied-to-a-semiquaver, down to demisemi
quavers. There are dotted notes, lombardie rhythms, runs of notes in both hands, tied notes, and
quick ornaments.
Fraberger: Toccata FbWV 106, bars 16-19. Libra Secondo,.1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
- 274-
This diversity even extends to incorporating dance-like sections into the toccatas. In Toccata FbWV
101 from his Libra Secondo, Froberger uses a gigue-like motif in his second fugato section, in 12/8.
;1-. . -. --- _ .- ·1-
1- l.,..
~ ~ - .
--. ·I';-~:·J:F
.
~ ~~1- JD' . \I .A' ..... \It \ 'I
tk1- . I ..
Lr:\::. . - ._ - . ., .--"'-- -
.~ \
Fraberger: Toccata FbWV 101, bars 21-23. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
There are similar, but usually less extreme, examples in his other works as well.
"
Froberger: Canzon FbWV 303, bars 22-23. Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
Frobe rger. Capriccio FbWV 503, bars 24ff Libra di Capricci e Ricercati, c.1658. (Fraberger: 1995.)
- 275-
6.3.1 The Use of Rhythmic Extremes.
Although composers sometimes used changes in time signature to indicate a change in tempo, they
often expressed a change of pace by alternating passages with long slow notes and passages with
{~ quick notes, At the beginning of the 17th century, the slow passages were often chromatic: the
performer would dwell upon the dissonances. The faster passages, which often contained written
out ornamentation, were, in general, more diatonic in character. The following example, 0
dolcezz'amarissime d'Amore (0 delights most bitter of love) from D'India's first book of monodies,
Le Musiche (1609), shows a languid chromatic section followed by a quicker diatonic passage.
- me d'a - luo te, [ete]
.' #0
• SiI- ria l'iI-lniIl' f., - li - ce stil to S,,'I
4 )
~@=p~)~~~~~ e
gia go - du - to ben non si __ pcr - des se, [ete]
#6 11 #
D'lndia: 0 dolcezz'amarissime d'Amore. Le Musiche, 1609. (joyce: 2010.)
- 276-
•
The excerpt below from Gesualdo's Giá piansi ne/ dolore (I cried in pain) has a slow, chromatic
• beginning with long dissonant chords on the opening words followed by ornamented, quick,
consonant runs of semiquavers to express the following words Hor gioisce i/ mio core (or my heart
rejoices). These rhythmic extremes express the torment of a mind oscillating between the raptures
and the pain of unrequited love.
•
•
• Gesua/do: Gia piansi ne/ dolore. opening bars, Libra Sesto. (Gesua/do: 1613.)
Luzzaschi's music is also notable for the close juxtaposition of rhythmic extremes. For example in I'
• mi son giovinetta (Madriga/i per cantare e sonare a uno, due e tre soprano, 1601), one of the two
sopranos is given a volley of quick notes after a slower section, against the backdrop of the other,
slower-moving voice part and a mostly chordal accompaniment.
~~ - n. T 1_-0• -("; =1f I -
". la." C~n la va la mla dol cc pa . SlO - rel
" n. _ .. . - ... .. • • ,~·:Ii=E + rl"~--e_,~..~
@) I
Can· ta va la rnla dol - C~ pa- ste-rel -
" I I J. J ,jo I I I I lo(.)-In... If'- -(.)- ~e -- io
-tJ u ! I
I
~. A-Ilo): R - ~A - - L -I......
• Luzzaschi: I' mi son Giovinetta, bars 4-6. Madriga/i a uno, due e tre Soprani, 1601. (Luzzaschi: 1994.)
- 277-
•
'.
Luzzaschi's keyboard music exhibits the same characteristic. In the extract below, long notes in one
\~ hand are offset by quick semi-quavers in the other; slow sections are followed by quick ones.
Luzzaschi: Toccata del4 Tono, per Organo. (Diruta: 1622:43)
Composers of the early Neapolitan Keyboard School had similar rhythmic extremes. For example,
the Canzona Franzesa Quarta from Trabaci's Libra Primo (1603) has the following opening.
Trabaci: Canzona Franzesa Quarta, opening bars. (Apel: 1972:441.)
- 278-
This stylistic trait is also found in Frescobaldi's music. The following excerpt is taken from his
\~ infamous Toccata Nona, where frenzied runs of notes give way suddenly to slower tied notes.
'27
~
III . I",~ I J'" Ir-.cL
_"1, J'
+, ~~
~:bW= ~ ~T ~1
I [trJ- ~ I I li .V3 ~II 1...r"J:. lvi 't
. ~t --
,~
5.J.,,! ...... I ~ ...... J«
Frescobaldi: Toccata Nona, Libro Secondo. (Frescobaldi: 1637.)
In Toccata FbWV 105 da sonarsi alia leuatione, Froberger continuously alternates between long
slow arpeggiated chords and quick ornamented motifs, staying on a slow section for usually only
_" two or three bars. The effect is of mercurial temperament changes.
• ~cij5~---=; J I
~J:!~
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 105, bars Ilff Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
In the following example, taken from Froberger's Capriccio FbWV 516, the composer moves from an
, almost sedate section into frenzied runs in both hands involving notes as small as hemidemiserni-
quavers.
- 279-
i
is
~~~.~~~~~~~~~~~~
l~' J
(j':
0-
Froberger: Capriccio FbWV 516, bars 18ff Libra Quarto, 1656. (Fraberger: 1995.)
• 6.3.2 Syncopations.
Rhythmic variety was also added by means of syncopations. This method of adding variety was
referred to in several documents of the time. Pietro Aaron in Compendiolo di molti dubbi segreti et
• sentenze intorno al canto fermo (Milan after 1545), in praising the madrigals of Verdelot, refers to
his style as "allegro, soave, fugato, harrnonioso, commodo, sincopato" (cheerful, gentle, fugal,
harmonious, comfortable [possibly meaning a moderate tempo] and syncopated). (Quoted in Italian
in Haar 2009:60.)
Puliaschi in the postscript to his Gemma musicale dove si contengono madrigali (Rome 1618) writes:
In aleuni passi stimo assai il for gustor a chi sente le disonanze portate con la voce
in modo, che non offendino aspramerte I'orecchio, adoprando una somig/ianza
d'andar sincopato, che le da gratia ....
In other places, I very much like causing the listener to delight in the dissonances
done with the voice such that they do not offend the ear harshly, adopting a
.' similarity to syncopation which gives them grace. (Carter 2000:11)-.
- 280-
This remark seems to refer to the practice of preparing a dissonance by suspension which would
, jJ give a syncopated effect as in the example by Marenzio below. A treatise attributed to
Giovanthomaso Cimello (c. 1510-after 1579) in the Bologna Civico Museo Bibliografico, MS B57
(mid-late sixteenth century) refers to syncopation in madrigals. The treatise is primarily about
mensural notation. He states that the cut C time signature is used incorrectly "in fast and difficult
(Ii'l madrigals, where minims and occasionally semi-minims are used in syncopation ...." (quoted in Haar
1998:168). According to Cimello, the correct time signature should be C. The following example by
Marenzio shows how the composer used prepared dissonances in suspension to create an
interweaving, syncopated, effect between the voices.
~ ~",-....., ~ .....
1'- S·i .............. r-'" ch~iomiere - • d 'homai. '_0' .... che mon - - - ti piag. 'f:} • ..-. -
1_'" Si eh'iolnl ere - - d~ho mai che ,mon ..tie piag-. - - - ,-. D 0 0
Si ch'ior'ni ere - . d'ho 'mal che mon . tie piag - ge
Marenzio: Solo e Pensoso, top three voices. Nono Libra, 1599. (Marenzio: 1897.)
_'
Asimilar effect is obtained in Marco da Gagliano's Euoê Padre Lieo.
a 2
Illq enore .
0
Seen ..da giu bian , ~ ca ce. le _ - _ ste Che fu - ne - - .
Basso
·0 .
_- r-,
, .
Seen _ da g"iu bian ', ea ce • le _ ste Che fu _ ne _
Jlln . . _ •
_
.ste Oual troncar vorria la.. vi ..; te AI _ ma vi te Átn{a· . . ,t .11· "
r r
.ste Qual tron.car vcrria la Vl. te Al _ma VI • te Alma
Da Gagliano: Euoe Padre Lieo. Sesto Libra, 1617. (Gagliano: 1899.)
- 281 -
".'
•
Gesualdo uses syncopation to add emphasis to the accusatory words e tu pur vivi (and you still live)
.. in lo pur respiro in cosi gran dolore. The protagonist accuses his beloved of cruelty because she is
still living whilst he is dying in agony (of unrequited love).
•
Gesua/do: lo pur respiro in cosi gran dolore. Libro Sesto. (Gesua/do: 1613.)
Syncopation was also used by the Neapolitans, although its use was not as extreme as in the works
of Froberger or Frescobaldi.
t
•
Trabaci: Partita. Libro Primo, 1603. (Trabaci: 1899.)
• The frenzied left hand runs of bars 15-17 of Frescobaldi's Toccata Ottava are followed by a slower
syncopated section.
- 282 -
•
~)(=~~!~~:~;=!=~rr::J
i\ te::e::JiZZ/;-m\=:=
Frescobaldi: Toccata Ottava, bars 15-21. Libro Primo, 1637. (Frescobaldi: 1949.)
Froberger made frequent use of syncopation. The examples below show its use in a toccata and in a
capriccio.
t7 A~J "I ~ J I I I 1'1 =~- )\_!' .c:z:-y- I- I I -PI 7 rT-1f~ I)l~. J. _h J _h..J..- )1'l1. Jl
-.-.--._Jl ,<I- I~ J ..bJ- ~f' -~t I
I' ~ I DI ~
• Froberger: Toccata FbWV 109, bars tff Libra Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
•
Froberger: Capriccio FbWV 507, bars 47ff Libra Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
In addition, Froberger was influenced by the current fashion in French music of stile brisé in which
notes are sounded one at a time, although several may be held down at any time to create harmony.
It was known in the 17th century as stile luthé as the style originated with lute music. It gives a
syncopated sound to the music. The stile brisé became common in later French Claveein music, but
,.' Froberger was one of the first harpsichord composers to adopt the style. It is interesting to note
that the stile brisé was a feature of Froberger's partitas even before he travelled to Paris and, very
- 283 -
•
likely, before he was exposed to the harpsichord music of Charnbonniêres, Partitas from his Libra
\.', Secondo of 29 September 1649 show the influence of stile brisé. Froberger was probably only
introduced to the music of Chambonnieres around 15 September 1649 when Swann was in Vienna
(please see chapter 2 for more detail on this). It is not clear when Chambonnieres started to
introduce the stile brisé into his music, as the earliest copy of his music, the Oldham MS, dates from
\.~ 12 August 1651 and other important sources of his music date from considerably later: the Bauyn
MS which was written on paper that has been dated to 1676 (Fuller 2011, article on
Chambonniêres) and the two printed volumes of his music dated 1670. In any event, it is unlikely
that Froberger would have had time to assimilate the stile brisé of Chambonnieres, compose music
in the style, copy it into the Libro Secondo and have it decorated by Sautter between the time that he
was exposed to it in mid September 1649 and his presentation of the highly decorated volume of
music to the Emperor at the end of the same month. It is therefore possible that Froberger, and not
Charnbonniêres, was the first composer to introduce the stile brisé into harpsichord music or,
alternatively, that they did so independently of each other. David Fuller says of Froberger's use of
'. the stile brisé:
The evidence of Froberger's realization of French lute style suggests that he
worked at first without knowledge of Chambonnieres: it was the style brisé that
fascinated him, and he carried it to sometimes bizarre extremes, whereas
• Chambonniëres used it sparingly (Fuller 2011, article on Charnbonniêres].
This extreme use of the stile brisé is evident in the previous example. In the following excerpt, from
the Libro Secondo of 1649, the lute influence is clearly seen in the arpeggiated chords of the left
hand which create a lute-like, strummed, syncopated effect.
Froberger: Sarabandafrom Partita FbWV 602, bars 6JJ.Libra Secondo, 1649. (Fraberger: 1993.)
If the opening of an Allemande by Chambonnieres is compared to the opening of an Allemande by
Froberger, the difference between the use of the stile brisé is immediately apparent. Notes played
- 284-
(41
•
by the left and the right hands sound together regularly on the main beats of the music in the
,.' Allemande by Charnbonniêres. In Froberger's Allemande, the use of the stile brisé is more extreme:
notes sound together usually only at the beginning of the bar - and not even always then.
f\ 1 ,. "" "" "" "" ~""
I~ I - - r ~\!t'
<
~J J , .JrJI ..bl ]) 1 I i
I I I If I
Chombonniêres: Allemande, Opening. Livre Second, 1670. [Chambonniêres: 2008.)
•
Froberger: Allemande fait a l'honneur de Mad. Sybille Duchesse de Wirtemberg. Opening.
(Froberger: 2005: Volll/.l)
.-
6.3.3 Dotted notes,
Compared to earlier music, composers in the early 17th century made much more use of dotted
rhythms. They are a hallmark of Caccini's music. The example below is taken from Euridice.
If
~l _ zia.m le YO _ Cl,' e'l cor ..... can _
If
Al _ z lam lo YO _ cl, l"] cor . can _
l
---1-'
Al _ zlam lo YO _ ei, 0'] vo ~ of,oll cor . .. ~.
AI _ zlam le YO _ cl, e'] cor. . . . . . .. cao_
Caccini: Euridice, 1661. (Caccini: 1881.)
- 285 -
I.
In addition to the more usual long-short dotted notes, Caccini also used the short-long (lombardic)
rhythm, often as part of a written out ornament.
•
mi, E non ho spe-móhi- - - - me eh mi con - - for - - -
Caccini: Alme Luci Beate (vocal parts onlyJ, bars 19ff
Nuove musiche e nuova maniera di scriverle, 1614. (Caccini: 1952.)
Dotted rhythms were also used liberally by Monteverdi. The music of the following example is
based upon the Romanesca harmonic-melodic formula. The effect of the dotted rhythms is, once
again, easier to see in the modern edition, which is provided below .
•
Canto
•
Quinto
•
•
Basso
Continuo
• Monteverdi: Ohime dove il mio ben. Romanesca a 2. Settimo Libra. (Monteverdi: 1619.)
- 286-
•
piu che'l mio Arno - re am-bi-zio - s'e trop-po lie
mo re am-bi-zio-s'e trop - po Iie-
, \~,
Monteverdi: Ohime dove il mio ben, Romanesca a 2, Settimo Libro, 1619. (Monteverdi: 2009.)
As might be expected, the Neapolitans used dotted rhythms,
•
LJ
~
""
uUr
~
~
De Macque: Capriccio sopra re, fa, mi, sol, bars 42f[ (Macque: 2009.)
I~I The use of dotted notes is often found in Frescobaldi's works.
- 287-
•
Frescobaldi: Partite 12 Sopra l'aria di Ruggiero, Quarta Parte. Libro Primo, 1637. (Frescobaldi: 1949.)
Elsewhere in the music of the 17th century, extreme dotted rhythms are known as accentando and
gruppeggiando, for example in the toccatas of Gregorio Strozzi, a Neapolitan. Although Strozzi's
music was only published towards the end of the century (Capricci da Sonare, 1687), it shows many
traits typical of the early Neapolitan keyboard style and was probably composed much earlier
(Hudson 2010). Hudson says of his music:
Figurations passing through the entire texture, and erratic, pointed rhythms,
often of the Lombard variety, are two specially striking features which
sometimes become so affected and passionate that supplementary performance
directions are needed: arpeggiando, accentando, gruppeggiando (very pointed
• lombardie rhythm), largo, stretto, a battuta, piano, forte. The music is also
profusely ornamented (Hudson 2010).
Arp.
•• J-J_
o
.J .d J
~. ~1-'
G.Strozzi: Toccata quarta per I'elevatione. Capricci da Sonare. 1687. (Scarpa: 2002. WIMA: 2009.)
- 288-
•
I.
gru.ppeggian. 0'\ I _I . It.,.. . ,---;--• j~J 1-0 jl J-. H-H-. -1)1.=• r r I" u
. k..II'-P- -e- -e-. G
• I
G.Strozzi: Toccata Seconda. Capricci da Sonare. 1687. (Strozzi: 2002.)
• Proberger's use of these rhythms is equally extreme. He used both the lombardie short-long dottednotes and long-short rhythms. An example of his use of the lombardie rhythm is shown below. The
slurs are in the original autograph (except the dotted slurs, which are editorial).
•
•
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 111 bars 19jJ. Libro Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
•
In section three of Froberger's Canzon FbWV 301, the long-short dotted note rhythm is used as a
motif throughout. Like his mentor, Frescobaldi, Froberger composed canzons in multi-sectional
• variation forms. Proberger's variation technique is usually rhythmic.
.IV
•
Froberger: Canzon FbWV 301, bars 50ff. Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
- 289-
•
•
6.3.4 Notes Inégales
The use of notes inéqales, in which there is an alteration of the relative time values of (usually) pairs
of notes, differs from sprezzatura (in the sense of rhapsodic playing) in that the underlying tempo
does not change. Pairs of notes are subtly modified, almost as if one of the notes is dotted, although
this would exaggerate the effect. The Spanish composer and theorist, Tomás de Sancta Maria
(c.1515-1570), mentions it in Arte de Toiier Fantasia (1565) stating that it is intended to intensify
the charm of the music or to add vigour to the rhythm. However, it was the French who gave it a
name - notes inéga/es - and because of the many French treatises that mention the practice and the
undoubted use of it in French music, it is often regarded, probably erroneously, as a particularly
(.' French effect. Tomás de Sancta Maria mentions three types: a long-short rhythm (referred to by the
French as /ourer), a short-long rhythm (cou/er) and a type that has had very little attention from
modern writers (probably because the French did not use it, or at least they did not give it a name):
a series of four notes, the last of which is slightly prolonged (the previous three being slightly
shortened). Sancta Maria regarded this last type as the most elegant of the three. The French had an
• additional type that they called pointer or picquer (or piquer], which is an exaggerated form of the
long-short form (Iourer), similar to double dotting .
.' In Le Nuove Musiche, Caccini refers to the practice of playing inéga/e:
...on the second syllable of the word 'languire' how much more grace the first
four eighth notes have with the second lengthened by a dot than the last four
equal ones (marked 'per esempio)! (Wiley Hitchcock 1978:49).
He gives the following example in which the dotted version is presented first, followed by the plain
version:
~:·t~~·f.~~~~~~~;'~~~{:.~t.~~":f~~:~:".~S~?·_!~~~-~-:~~::~~;~::_;".~::"':.-"::r~;"':'~'i;"~'~":';:::"~~':'":"::2··,l1-::t~.'·:',~"."".
,:.:;~ . 'T·· ...,....... _ .. ,
. ....
"~.'.'~.'. _. ~L"':'_.
Caccini: Le Nuove Musiche. (Caccini: 1601/2.)
- 290-
He then goes on to mention:
Indeed there are many things used in good singing style that are written in one
way but, to be more graceful, are effected in quite another (Wiley Hitchcock
1978:50).
,:el He gives the following examples of the use of this altered rhythm:
#I I I -
III .:" .,". .. .:~ "
~ : .~ i:_2 .;~ "': : ~
I""lI III .... -
,
j
.:.'• - "• ,
t--
...
:it J •
'l
!~2. ;N..H1)!ll~if-D;rl'::., Ttmo;I(#':[J;; ëJ ; ij
Caccini: Le Nuove Musiche, 1601/2. (Caccini: 1978:51.)
It seems clear from the context that Caccini was referring to a convention that was so widely
accepted that one hardly needed to mention it. It was probably normally not notated because the
subtlety of the effect could not be rendered by actually writing dotted notes.
,.
In his Prattica di Musica (Venice 1596) Lodocivo Zacconi also referred to this practice:
...these notes are accompanied by certain accents caused by certain retardations
and sustainings of the voice which are accomplished by taking away a particle
from one value and assigning it to another." (Translation Palisca 1994:61.)
A remark by Frescobaldi indicates that the Italian keyboard composers also used notes inégales.
Trovandosi alcun passo di crome e di semicrome insieme a tutte due le mani, portar
si dee non troppo veloce: e quella che far« le semicrome dovra farle alquanto
puntante. cioê non la prima, ma la seconda sia col punto; (Frescobaldi: 1637).
- 291 -
On finding a passage of quavers and semiquavers together in both hands, do not
take them too quickly: the hand that plays the semiquavers should play them
somewhat dotted, that is dotting not the first but the second;
This would produce a eau/er effect. Frescobaldi's use of the word "somewhat" is significant: an
indication of the subtlety of the effect, which was not as pronounced as a written, dotted rhythm.
In the following century Francois Couperin, referring specifically to the French tradition of using
notes inéqales, wrote that, in contrast to the French, the Italians always write music as they intend it
'il to be played: Au contraire les ltaliens eerivent leur musique dans les vrayes va/eurs qu'ils l'ont pensée
(Couperin 1716:49). Couperin was not the only Frenchman to believe this and Loulié (1696),
Brossard (1703) and Rousseau (1768) agree with him and have often been quoted as proof in the
ongoing scholarly debate over the use of inéqale in non-French musicw. However, judging by the
.' above-quoted remarks by Caccini, Zacconi and Frescobaldi, they were wrong. Howard Ferguson(1998:101) points out that the Italian theorist Pier Francesco Tosi refers to the practice of using
notes inéga/es in his Opinioni de Cantor Antiebi e Modern! (1723), stating that it is used for "pathetic
and tender" pieces in vocal music and in music performed on one instrument. Tosi confirmed that
the bass continues to move in an exact rhythm. It is probable that Froberger expected the
• performer of his music to use notes inéqales. In many instances, probably in most instances, the
effect is not notated. However, an examination of different versions of some of his pieces seems to
suggest specific instances that an inéga/e interpretation would be appropriate.
The short-long rhythm
Caccini's first example, the lombardie short-long rhythm or eau/er, can be found notated in the
.. Allemande from FbWV 616, the Allemanda, repraesentans monticidium Frobergeri. This example is
from the Bulyowsky MS and seems to be an attempt to notate the eau/er effect.
10 This has been one of the most hotly contested debates in the world of historical performance practice,
'! particularly with regard to the use of inégale in JS Bach's music (Fuller: 2011). Although [ have no intention of
entering the debate on music composed in the later Baroque (Bach and Handel for instance), I do believe that
inégale should be judiciously used in Froberger's music.
- 292 -
)l
.l Froberger: Allemanda ...monticidium Frobergeri, bar 10. Bulyowsky MS. (Froberger: 2005: Vo/III.2.)
The Schwerin MS, the Amsterdam 1698 edition and the Sing-Akademie MS show the same piece in
an undotted version. (In the Sing-Akademie MS the piece is known as Allemande faite sur /e Subject
d'un Chemin Montaigneux.)
_~: -!--=a·'4-.r r.
Schwerin MS (Froberger: 2005: Vol Amsterdam 1698MS.(Froberger:2005: Sinq-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
m~ ~m~
In French treatises, notes inéga/es are forbidden in passages with leaps. However, Caccini's example
shows the effect in both step-wise notes and leaps and one can thus assume that the Italians
permitted notes inéga/es in music with leaps, even if the French did not. It is possible that
• Froberger was trying to notate the cou/er effect in the opening of pieces such as the Meditation on
his death and the Lamento for Ferdinand IV. Both the following examples are conjunct notes, rather
than leaps. (The similarity between the two openings is quite pronounced!)
•
Froberger: Meditation sur ma Morte Future. (Froberger: 2005: Vo/III.2.)
/I
-~. -j- -1-1-=r1--=-:1- - .... ""-IIV .; 71" -
I
-.. - -p-
:& I I
Froberger: Lamento ... Ferdinand lV Libra Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
- 293-
The long-short rhythm
.. Caccini's second example shows the long-short rhythm known to the French as lourer. In many
instances Froberger's music seems to require this effect, for example, it seems appropriate to play
the following descending group of notes (bar 10) slowly with notes inégales.
Froberger: Lamento ... Ferdinand lV. Libra Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
This group of notes is not slurred, whereas in other places in the same piece similar groups of notes
• are slurred, probably indicating that Froberger required a different effect. In French treatises, the
use of a slur underneath or over a group of stepwise notes meant that notes inégales was not
permitted. The extracts below are all from Libra Quarto, so the slurs were written by Froberger
himself. The slurs in the last extract below, seem to mean an overlegato effect, which of course does
not rule out the possibility that Froberger intended these notes to be played inégales as well.
However, the first two examples are too fast to permit the effective use of notes inégales.
t~ ~t lc~
A JJ
J ~- .¥pIm.~~
r ~ r ~i
Fraberger: Lamento ... Ferdinand IV bars 5,13 and ending. Libra Quarto, 1656. (Froberg,er: 1995.)
Margery Halford provides a useful list of "rules" for playing inégale, based on treatises by French
theorists such as Loulié, Chocquel, Engramme!, D'Ilette, Montéclair, Corrette and Couperin.
- 294-
WHERE INEQUALITY ·· WHERE INEQUALITY
IS PERMITTED IS,FORBIDDEN
'Thc:sc ~'()rd.~reqUt~ it:;n,gal,s: notes ,·nftlalt~...: ••· These wow .. forbid it: i.·;,Ilt',('In~nl:MIc'$ i-g(l/~.(;·
lourer; pointt'r. · IWIt'S mandêes: di/nrltl':': mouvement tliddi>:·• IIW.. ,·t'/~ltIJ1I1Ulf(ltti: (·oup.~;''gul"''.
• Groups or srepwise notclO h:aving shonet time :· • Broken figures; pu.ss:.gcs with m:.inly kaping
,..alue Ihan the lower figure (J( the tinte iiigoalUu,: · nult. ... n:ptatc:ll flutes·
:· • Triplets: s)'nc(tp:l1tCJn~~dolted neres
• Mclctdies ~'hich become mort de,;.:!nr ~'fttn : 0 Vf!t)- fuSt iempl, tA1hic'h "'duld M1und f'~·tn,;C::
riared uncqu:aIJ)' · very stow Itrnpi. which ~'ould sooniJ~I"ggtsh
• GmliPl" m:linl)' unint~rruph~d by resrs or notes of ·
···
mhc:r rime value •··
·: 0 Ori~l~t s.lur over more lhan IWOnotes• Origitlal ~Iur over pairs of notes which afC ·
otherwise .suitable •:• • Ori8inal dms which tool.: like Sf:JC'(311)S forbid: j"cqualil~'
• • A "ickup ni-Iu: before ;t );roup plcayed un.:qU!llly ·
adJu~is h) ,~ Ineipmlity ··: • :\'l:iny aUlhmhies j'"rbid inequalit}' in AI·
'·: tcmaridc~ and in f\1urchc~. Some (ni'h'~ il in'•·. ac(ompanimcnl p.:1ns.
• List of 'rutes'Tor playing notes inégales. Halford 1974:11 .
It is likely that Froberger used most of the same conventions as these French writers and the Italian
theorists mentioned above and that he expected the performer to add notes inégales at appropriate
• places. The third and subsequent examples given by Caccini are all variations on the first two
effects of couler and lourer and they are therefore not discussed further .
.'
- 295 -
6. 4 Shift between Modal and Tonal systems
An interesting aspect of the music of the late Renaissance and early Baroque is the gradual
changeover from the modal to the tonal system. This makes any analysis of the music difficult, as
neither modal nor tonal thinking can be uniformly applied. To the modern ear, schooled as it is in
tonal music, the effect can be strange, giving a sense of restlessness and ambiguity. It must have
sounded strange to many late 16th century/early 17th century ears as well because Artusi (in
L'Artusi, overo della imperfettioni della moderna musica 1600 and again in his Seconda parte
dell'Artusi, 1603) criticised composers for mixing modes, rather than staying in one mode
I~I throughout a piece. Artusi, like his famous predecessors Zarlino and Glareanus believed that each
mode had a particular character, evoking a particular emotional response in the listener. Keeping in
one mode was therefore essential to avoid confusion. However Galilei in his treatise II primo libro
della prattica del contrapunto of 1591, scathingly debunked this belief, stating that plainchant
modes were meaningless in modern polyphonic composition (Palisca and Bent:2011). To theorists
• such as Galilei, mixing modes was as acceptable as the introduction of dissonances. The expressive
end justified the means .
• Many modern theorists have attempted to explain the transition from modality to tonality and to
provide a system suitable for the analysis of music that exhibits characteristics of both. In the late
16th and early 17th centuries and even later, the characteristics that theorists later came to call
"tonality" emerged, in particular the focus on major and minor at the expense of the other modes;
• the emphasis on vertical chord-based progressions and the establishment of a tonal centre .
Tonal composition using chords, as it gradually evolved during the 17th and 18th
centuries, can be distinguished from modal composition using intervals, first (as
already mentioned) by its conception of the chord as a primary, indivisible unit,
second by its referral of every chord to a single tonal centre and third by its
segregation of intervallic dissonances into the categories of dissonant chords and
notes foreign to the harmony. (Dahlhaus 2011).
- 296-
•
Modern theories have ranged from seeing modality and tonality as mutually exclusive systems that
• abruptly changed when monody arrived on the scene (McClary 1976: 13 and 176) to Dahlhaus's
contention that they existed side by side and were not separate compositionallanguages (Dahlhaus
1990:18). Wienpahl (1971:407-17) coined the word Monality to describe compositions which show
a mixture of tonal and modal elements. Current thinking on this issue has largely centred around
.. two different approaches. The controversial "tonal type", first identified by Siegfried Hermelink in
1960 ("Tonartentyp") and expanded by Harold Powers. This system classifies compositions based
upon three "markers":
a) the "system" ie whether it is written in cantus mollis (with the governing key signature of a b
• flat) or cantus durus (without the b flat);
b) the "cleffing" ie whether it is written for the standard chiavi naturali (SATB) or the high clef
chiavette, a fourth or a fifth higher than the standard range;
c) the bass note of the final triad. (Powers 1982:43ff.)
•
The other approach is typified by Bernhard Meier who has studied the theoretical writings of
(mainly) the second half of the 16th century and concluded that compositions of this period were
composed in a particular mode much in the way that later generations composed a piece in a
particular key. Any inconsistencies are to be explained by the composer's desire to express the text
more accurately. (Meier 1988:250ff.) Broadly speaking, the approach by Powers could be described
as "etic" and the approach by Meier as "ernic" .
•
Many eminent theorists have entered the debate, which has largely concerned itself with vocal
music, but despite conflicting theories on how the transition occurred and how best to analyse and
describe it, most modern theorists seem to concur that the music of the late 16th and early 17th
• centuries showed characteristics of both modality and tonality and that the music, in one way or
another, was a coalescence of both systems. I think that it is likely that composers of the late 16th
and early 17th centuries used whatever elements of the musical stockpile they needed, fully
realising that in some cases they were breaking the old rules. However, as more and more
composers transgressed the old boundaries, previous infringements became acceptable, gradually
being seen as normal, then conservative, as ever more transgressions were added and accepted.
- 297 -
•
:.
In the period of history under discussion, composers used both the major and the minor versions of
;. thirds within a short space of each other, giving a sense of shifting tonality to the modern ear. The
addition of many chromatic notes for reasons of expressivity compounded this effect, blurring the
mode or key even further. In modern analysis, some of this music seems to modulate frequently,
especially in slow chromatic sections. Composers achieved this effect by, for example, using
(. chromatic root progressions by tone or semitone. As the 17th century progressed, composers
gradually switched over from the hybrid system to a more fully fledged tonal system. This change is
discernable in Proberger's music. In his early works, he is more obviously modal, in later works,
more tonal. The remnants of modal thinking are apparent especially in his use of key signatures,
with (to the modern way of thinking) one or two flats or one sharp too few, or one sharp too many.
For example, the following gigue is in c minor, although there is only one flat in the key signature.
Giqve
"
IIiJ ~f.,.;..:..._*,_~,t.L.r ~r:::r ~ if
J~ "I ~' ~. ~ 11»( '"--')]]1. ~-r+
• !f
I I Il I
"I r
Froberger: Gigue from Partita FbWV 619, opening. (Froberger: 2005: Vo/IlI.2.)
6.4.1 ShiftingThirds
The use of major and minor thirds in close proximity on the same bass note gives a sense of shifting
f tonality. In modern analysis, Falcone's madrigal Sopra le Verdi contains shifts from a minor to A
major (bar 3 of the extract) and from Dmajor to d minor (bars 4 and 5 of the extract).
- 298-
.'
,~
-let ti di ea Al tri
ti ti
(- ea _ no . ti Al •
.let . ti
.no - rlau.gel . let _ .tl Al •
(.
Falcone: Sopra le Verdi. Madrigali, 1603. (Torchi:1897.)
Giaches de Wert uses this technique repeatedly in his madrigal Sovente all'or che su ql'estivi ardori.
.' In the second part of the madrigal, on the phrase poscia dicea piangendo (and then he said,weeping) he oscillates back and forth between Gmajor and g minor triads.
4S
Po . sein di- cca pian • gcn do:
• •
gcn do: pinn . gcn - do:
Po . sci" di - cca pian - gen do.
'.'
1'0 - scia di. CC. pian - gcn - - do:
De Wert: Sovente all'or che su ql'estivi ardori. La Gerusalemme Liberata. Canto VlI, c. 1595.
(Wert: 2003.)
It was also a common feature of Frescobaldi's keyboard music. In the Partite 12 sopra l'Aria di
Ruggiero, in the opening parte, Frescobaldi uses the major and the minor triad on d (the tonic),
adding c#, and b ~ and their naturals in addition to f# and f natural to create further ambiguity.
- 299-
Frescobaldi: Partite .J'Aria di Ruggiera, Prima Parte, bars 6-8. Libro Primo, 1637. (Frescobaldi: 1949.)
Similar use was made of this device by the Neapolitans. The opening of de Macque's Capriccio sopra
re, fa, mi, sol shows a shifting back and forth between Gmajor and g minor triads.
,., _I I I J 1 I ~-
" :~IP'
v r 'I 'r 'I Ir r 'I If 'I , .............- n ..:f!'_._£_
- ,
UJf ~ ~j---
De Macque: Capriccio sopra re.fa, mi, sol, opening bars. (Macque: 2009.)
This tonal ambiguity is also a feature of Proberger's music. In his Toccata FbWV 105, there are
continuous changes. In the excerpt below he alternates between C major, c minor, G major, g minor
and 0 major, d minor.
Froberger: Toccata FbWV lOS, bars 6-8. (Froberger: 1993).
In his Lamentation for Ferdinand Ill, the opening shifts between major and minor on the root F.
This is a feature of the entire piece, with its constant allusions to the Emperor's name.
•
- 300-
••
Froberger. Lamentation ...Ferdinand III (Froberger: 1995).
In the Setheby's autograph, the piece is called a Tombeau and, interestingly, Froberger uses an f
liIti minor chord to open the piece (Schulenberg 2008:6.4), rather than oscillating between F major and
f minor as he does in the other two sources of the piece: WMin 743 and the Sing-Akademie MS. It
seems that, when he wrote out the piece at a later date, he gave it a more modern tonal feeling and
updated the title to the more fashionable tombeau.
In Froberger's toccatas da sonarsi alia leuatione, by raising or lowering notes he seems to glide
effortlessly through a spectrum of keys, shifting tonalities continuously. The effect is not harsh or
discordant, but portrays a sorrowful restlessness, appropriate to the section of the mass during
which the toccata was supposed to be played (at the Elevation of the Host) .
.'
Froberger. Toccata FbWV 106, bars 13-14. Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
6.4.2 The Twisting Chromatic Line - the "Figura Serpentinata".
A chromatic twisting motif or turn, usually not played fast as an ornament would be, but
deliberately dwelt upon for effect, also creates a feeling of shifting tonality. , The motif includes
• adjacent notes which have been chromatically altered. For example: f, g, f# e or f g, a, g#'would be
- 301-
•
typical. The motif is most often found as a four-note figure, but is also common as a three- or five-
• note figure. Apel (1972:435) mentions that this "striking harmonic feature ... suggests an abrupt
change from major to minor - one of the typical surprise effects of early Baroque style". Referring
to the progression g, f#, e, f, Apel continues: "This formula ... suggests a common cadence formula (g
f# ejf#) - an expectation that is thwarted at the last moment".
• This type of motif has been referred to by Naomi Barker (1989:45) as the figura serpentinata, a
term borrowed from art to describe the convoluted posture often used in Mannerist paintings and
sculpture .
•
•
•
• Giovanni da Bologna (1524-1608). Jl Mercurio Volante, 1580. (Bologna: 1580).
Museo del BargeI/o, Florence.
- 302-
•
I~)
This sculpture shows the use of the ftgura serpentinata, a typical Mannerist pose which can be seen
it'l as an extreme form of the. traditional contrapposto, in which the weight of the body falls on one leg,
whilst the shoulders and arms twist off-axis to balance the body. In Mannerist art this stance was
taken to its impossible extreme.
The twisting motif is frequently found in the madrigals. In Merce grido piangendo from Gesualdo's
fifth book of madrigals, the ending contains a series of such motifs, some of them short, three-note
motifs on the words lo moro, such as the e" f#" f" in soprano I and the c#" d" b' in soprano 2..
Others are composed offour notes such as those in all the voices on the words pria chi'io mora .
.
-' (,.:
~r
:::.n· illJ.. _.- ...,
c;, I-I'__ "
,~,.... lts - si dir· ti pris. _ cb'io mo • ra:\
.:; -0. tes - si dir . ti pria. ch'io mo - ra, pria. ch'io .';;0 - _ 11' ra.:. --\.--
, .(\)=.:t:::.:i\-- .:", . ------i .. --I
y\ t) ou CJ v u- 11'-' ~..,___.,...4 -t:t -& lf~
pc-tes-si dir - ti pria ch'io mo . ra, pria __ ch'io mo - ra.:
..~. -,.'
') tes - si dir > ti pria. _ ch'io mo - - ra, pris_ ch'io mo - ra:
, tes si dir - ti pria. ch'io mo ra.:
It;... II~
"lo mo· ro, lo mo - ra!" mo - rol"
~-
_ .. -~ ~"lo mo - '.ra, io mo - ro!"
~
t) '~g :0 q'O' . " ---• ro.,:---. 1.0 mo ro, lo mo ro!" rol" .
"lo mo•• - ro,~~
io mo - ro!'
n -& -
,
,,(0 mo - ro, io mo - ro!"_._
Gesua/do: Merce grido piangendo, ending, Libra Quinto, 1611. (Gesua/do: 1958.)
In Marco da Gagliano's 0 Misera Dorinda (1602) in the top two voices on the words non c'hai
ghiaccio: e'fg'f#' and b'c"d"c#".
- 303 -
•
14
• '1\Y-·-I-· _. ~ -:+-1.=" .•• =:::-:i
Ier""" .. .. !lU_ .
c'"h/ii ghl.aoc- cle, le nO-l\ __ ('hIlI ~:IiC' Clu)l eo- re.
·0· cor; =l
I~- ::l
I~ Igf,i.:. do. Don c'hui ghi:Ic. ('ill" ro-
1\
• -,.-l~- 3I~ I TSe nOli c'h;d ~ilW- d\fl eo-
1\ _.-t--~---, ~~:l .. '· '1,
I~ I~'bAl .hill.:- ci<t_il ca- 1'0:. II CI')-
=!
I10Il c'bai .shiac- cic.}1
Da Gag/iano: 0 Misera Dorindo. Il Primo /ibro de'Madriqali, 1602. (Gag/iano: 2003.)
In many cases, the effect of this chromatic twist is that the raised and the lowered third appear
close together. It results in a sudden and unexpected change from major to minor or vice versa. This
particular harmonic device was used extensively by Mayone of the Neapolitan Keyboard School.
The following example shows two such motifs used by Mayone in Toccata 13.
a.
1'1 ~.! b.
Iv .!J. bJ_- I "L_f ! u l'UA ~ ----.1 ~1i:'J }- t--J ,J
:
W1"..!U r "lJ
• Mayone: Toccata 13. Libro Seconde, 1609. (Ape!: 1972:436.)
Trabaci even goes so far as to use the twisting motif in the subject for one of the versets from his
Secondo Libro de ricercate et altri varii capricci, con cento versi sopra li otto finali ecclesiastici.
11
IV I~~ -q'r IbF qr r pr -g IJ ..~ r
0&- I I I I I ,...I, I I . r I ~
I "
-
• Trabaci: Verset no.Ll. Secondo Libro, 1615. (Ape!: 1972:447.)
- 304-
•
In Frescobaldi's Toccata Duodecima (Libra Prima), bars 8-9 use f# and f natural in the soprano part
1'.' and b natural and b ~ in the tenor part. Bar 10 uses a similar motif in the alto.
Frescobaldi: Toccata Duodecima, bars 7-12. Libra Primo, 1637. (Frescobaldi: 1949.)
In Froberger's fantasia FbWV 206, bars 11 and 13 contain afigura serpentinata that uses c natural
and c# in the tenor.
• , ~. J ~ -' ,"
Froberger: Fantasia FbWV 206, bars 8-14. Libra Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
•
It is also common in Froberger's rice rea rs. In FbWV 407 he uses the motif in contrary motion in the
two lower voices simultaneously:
•
~ --- 'r ~r r
I 1_' ~I I
I r ~ I I I
Froberger: Ricercar FbWV 407, bars 8-9. Libra Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
Toccata FbWV 105, bars 13-14, shows an example of its use in the top three voices: tenor: b~ , a, g, a,
b; alto: d', c', c#', d; and soprano: f', g', f', e ~',e',f#',g.
- 305 -
/3
Froberger: Toccata FbWV lOS, bar 13f! Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
The motif is also to be found in the partitas. The Allemande from FbWV 618,fait a l'honneur de Mad.
Sybille Duchesse de Wirtemberg (composed in honour of Sibylla, Duchess ofWiirtemberg) contains a
shortfigura serpentinata in the soprano part: d',e',rJe~'Jd'.
Froberger: Allemande fait a l'honneur de Sybille. FbWv 618 bars 4-5. (Froberger 2005) .
•
The Sarabande from the same partita has two of the twisting figures. In bar 6-7, the alto part: aJ b ~J
bj a and the soprano part in bar 7: c#', c', d' .
•
Sarabande"
Froberger: Sarabande from FbWv 618 bars 6-7. (Froberger 2005).
- 306-
6. 5 Dissonance
Caccini's remarks in Le Nuove Musiche about sprezzatura, allowing "several dissonances" for
expressive purposes, and Vicentino's remarks about allowing "every bad step", "bad consonance"
and "changing the tempo" in the quest for the right dramatic effect were indicative of a change in
thinking. Not only was a variable tempo required, but the judicious use of dissonance was allowable
as well. The end justified the means. Composers deliberately added dissonant notes to express
various emotions. However, the fact that they still saw the dissonant notes that they used as
. d_issonances, shows that the fundamental thinking had not changed much. They used unprepared, , ' and unresolved dissonances, fully realising that they were violating the accepted rules of
composition. In fact, the practice of using such dissonances seems to re-affirm the underlying, "old
fashioned" practices in the same way that it is "the exception that proves the rule". It was a
deliberate shock in order to express a particular emotion after which the composer reverted to the
• compositional norms of the day.
Le Institutioni harmoniche (Venice 1558) by Gioseffo Zarlino (1517-1590) is widely recognised as
one of the most important treatises about music theory. Despite the controversy surrounding some
of his ideas, especially on tuning, Zarlino's treatise became the touchstone of music composition in
the later part of the sixteenth and the early part of the seventeenth century. The madrigalists'
deliberate use of dissonance should be seen against his classification of intervals into consonant
and dissonant. In addition to the unison, the perfect fourth, the perfect fifth and the octave, intervals
~ that were already recognised as being consonances, Zarlino added the major third, the minor third,
the major sixth and the minor sixth. The minor sixth was regarded as the least consonant of the
above intervals but was allowed because it was a combination of a perfect fourth and a minor third
(Palisca 2012). Dissonances were, therefore, the remaining intervals of seconds: sevenths and any
• augmented or diminished intervals. Zarlino allowed dissonances, provided that they were prepared
by suspension and resolved by step to a consonance.
In addition, Zarlino felt that a composition should be steadfastly kept within one mode, which
~ limited the number of notes that could be introduced outside the diatonic steps. In reading Artusi's
attack on Monteverdi's music, Artusi's viewpoint seems more reasonable when seen against the
- 307-
background of accepted contemporary theory, especially because Artusi had studied with Zarlino.
'i' Artusi's key complaints revolved around Monteverdi's unorthodox use of dissonance and the fact
that he mixed modes. His remarks on dissonance focus on unprepared dissonances, careless voice-
. leading, the diminished triad and the dominant seventh (Maniates 1979:169-170) .'
In addition to using "dissonant" intervals, composers introduced a wide range of cromatici:
chromatic notes that did not belong to the diatonic steps of the mode or key. In the hands of some
composers, the use of cromatici resulted in extreme dissonance. These cromatici were used to
express anguish or other feelings, but at the same time this blurred the mode or key, giving the
effect of shifting tonalities. As Maniates points out (1979:303), chromaticism eventually became
accepted, becoming just one component in the repertory of devices, but not before it succeeded in
revolutionizing musical language .
.'
Marenzio's ninth and last book of madrigals (1599) for five voices contains some of his most
audacious dissonances. In Solo epensoso, the long ascending chromatic line in the canto part
. produces a number of harsh clashes with the other voices. Steven Ledbetter considers this madrigalMarenzio's "most extended essay in linear chromaticism" (Ledbetter 2009) .'
~
I-.J
• ~50 i
piu de ~ - . ser .• -- ti•,...._ - - . pi i piu de ser.tl cam . - i
"-'
................ cam . pi i piu de - ser _ ti cam--::p1' vo'
So epensoso i pl.U' de.ser, t·1-.... .....f"~' cam. . . pi
Solo epen. S050.,i pl.U. de. ser.tt cam _ • pl
Marenzio: Solo ePensoso, bars 5-9. Libra Nono, 1599. (Torchi: 1897.)
- 308-
Peri uses unprepared and unresolved dissonances on the word Misera (wretched) in the extract
'jl below: Arcetro's response to Dafne's account of Euridice's death.
Che nar -,ri, ohi - mê,
!~ , -lI:"---
Peri: Dafne's speech "Per quell vago boschetto". Euridice, 1600. (Palisca: 2001:278.)
Gesualdo is justly famous, or infamous, for his unresolved and unprepared dissonances and his use
of cromatici.
•
Gesualdo shared Luzzaschi's interest in the chromatic arcicembalo made by
Vicentino and kept at the court of Ferrara. The practice and theory of such an
instrument had an undoubted influence on Gesualdc's stylistic evolution; his
writing encompassed an almost complete chromatic scale (the only chromatic
• change which never appears is F~), ... (Bianconi: 2010) .
The opening of Belta poi che t'assenti from his sixth book of madrigals is a case in point. The
opening bars, shown below, contain the following notes (not in this order): a, a ~, a#, b, b ~, c, c#, d,
d#, e, e ~, e#, f , f#, g and g#.
- 309-
•
•
•
• ~r.s·::JhJïHjliUiI i:~iI~
; : ri::' TU~:II ~ i ~ IJif 2lij:i hi)
pona i tonMl* ei potU i tor .... o.e·
• §!,:1 1 faU i ·:K;UI•• HUI EH
po.u I toIatftd pona i tonM'ftti porn i tonMMi .
=, ~; il'qHid !'~'1;111 Il I i !U:fJ
. mcnti*' ponaln(or IDtnti perul ._; CIIC~• HU ,Ol : :f I ii I 1: ilm ~:~:i
ca i tot'I7't ti , \)1U i tOC' .. tnti
Gesua/do: Belta poi t'assenti. Libro Sesto. (Gesua/do: 1613.)
•
Gesualdo used these unorthodox dissonances to express anguish. The following example from his
madrigal Moro, Lasso (I die, alas) is a prime example. Almost every vertical sonority has clashing
dissonances. The clefs are missing in the first part of the example, but are given in the second part.
• The words Ahi, che m'ancide e non vuo/ darmi aita! 0 dolorosa sorte ... (Alas, who kills me and will
- 310-
•
•
not help me. 0 sorrowful fate, ...) shows Gesualdc's depiction of anguish. Note, for example the chord
• on Ahi (d, a, d#', b ~, f"), the chord on ancide (8, g, d#' b, d"); or on the first sorte (f d' a' b ~').
•
.. ---- --
•
•
• Gesualdo: Moro Lasso. Libra Quinto. (Gesua/do: 1613.)
The following example by Faleone is taken from the posthumous publication (by his father) of his
madrigals in 1603, Alii signori musici di Roma: Madrigali a einque voci .... Within a few bars, it
• illustrates the word painting conventions of the sighing motif (Ohime), a descending lament-style
- 311-
•
line (Che vinto sono) and anguished dissonances (sono con fraud). Note the particularly dissonant
'.: chord in bar 6 of the example (g ~, c#', a', f#" a') where the g ~ is presumably not the enharmonic
equivalent of f#; and the poignancy of the chord in bar seven (b, e ~', b', f#", a').
•
•
Falcone: Sfidi tu forsi. Madrigali, 1603. (Torchi: 1897.)
Michelangelo Rossi followed Gesualdo's example. The following extract shows his use of bold
chromaticism. The opening (shown below) uses a wide variety of pitches and during the course of
the madrigal, he also uses extremely unusual pitches such as F double sharp, 8#, E# and 0
i~ double sharp.
- 312 -
.Tll~_"_nr.1I
:ë~ &~'h.
'0lI--'
;re-nt':u;: J ," Ohl
lJ - ==1-- --- :j."_=------g-j--
(Jh,
,~
Rossi: Ohirne se tanto arnate. (Mann: 2002.)
The keyboard works of the early Neapolitan School also show similarities to Gesualdo's extreme
use of dissonance. De Macque's use of harmonic progressions, according to Apel (1972:425),
.. "anticipate and even outdo the chromatic audacities of Gesualdo's madrigals". De Macque was
employed by the Gesualdo family before he moved to Naples around 1585 and he may have been
part of Gesualdo's retinue of musicians when Gesualdo went to Ferrara (1594). He published 12
books of madrigals in addition to his canzons, ricercars, capriccios and other pieces for the
keyboard. Silbiger (2004:275) notes that his keyboard music is virtuosic, chromatic and
• harmonically adventurous. The following example, one of the Consonanze Stravaganti, shows an
example of his chromatic and expressive harmonies. Seven-six and four-three- suspensions with
delayed resolutions are common and, by changing the bass note by a semitone, he gives an
impression of continuously changing tonality .
•• iz'" I I I ,...., I I I, I I - -
) el "I I I I I "1 r nl I I I I"I I I d.J. i r '-.lI- J. .J J. 1): -
• T28'", I I I I I I I I
.. -
) ~ T I r I r nr
- '.. r '1 cr·~
.J .JU J .. :>.1 1- ~.JlIJj.J-: - .. .......
(~
De Macque: Consonanze Stravaganti, bars 22-33. (Macque: 2009.)
- 313-
The concept of dissonance cannot be divorced from the tuning systems of the period under review.
~. In the Dia/ogo della musica antica et della moderna of 1581 Galilei set out to prove that the tuning
then used in vocal music could not be the syntonic diatonic of Ptolemy, as Zarlino maintained, but
had to be a compromise between the Pythagorean diatonic ditoniaion, with its pure 5ths, and the
diatonic syntonon, with its consonant 3rds (Palisca 2011). Galilei argued that singers must
continuously temper intervals appropriately to avoid dissonance and loss of pitch (Maniates
1979:136). In this respect they shared the same problems as keyboard players.
The use of accidentals in keyboard music was limited by the tuning. With the exception of ,
instruments such as Vicentino's archicemba/o (which had 36 keys to the octave to allow a wide
range of cromatici), keyboard instruments were generally tuned in the quarter-comma meantone
temperamentt-. This meant that there were 12 notes available to them: the notes of the C major
scale plus c#, e ~, f#, g# and b ~, as described in Pietro Arcn's /I ToscaneIlo in Musica of 1523 (Schott
• 1998:108). Thinking in terms of modern major-minor tonality, this limited the keys available to
major keys with a maximum of 2 flats or 3 sharps ie B~, F, C, G, D and A; and minor keys with a
maximum of 2 flats and no sharps in the key signature, thus g, d and a minor. Minor keys associated
with G D and A major (e, band f# minors) would require the sharpened seventh of d#, a# and e# -
• none of which were viable notes in the standard tuning of the day.
One of the very few compositions that has survived for the archicemba/o is Trabaci's Toccata Terza
et Ricercar sopra i/ Cimba/o Cromatico in which he uses notes such as F double sharp, E#, A# and 8#
• (Apel 1972:447). In the preface to this Toccata, Trabaci refers to f double sharp as terze maggiore
sopra D semitonato - the major third above D#.
Rossi's most famous toccata, (Toccata Settima), takes chromaticism on the keyboard to a new
extreme in the concluding section which contains descending and ascending passages in semi-
tones, forming a series of fourths: perfect, augmented and diminished. However, even this
chromatic toccata uses the "normal" tones of the quarter-comma meantone tuning.
11There were several other systems of meant one tuning such as the 2/7 comma tuning suggested by Zarlino.
- 314-
\~
Jl
It) 'L,. '.i_'If r il' tY' .._,. ~",-,".. , :t.,. L.I,,, 1,)). J . I ~ r"j
.
......., I r~
Rossi: Toccata VlI, bars 56-64. Toccate e Corenti ... 1657. (Torchi: 1899.)
•
Froberger does not stay firmly within this gambit, introducing d# so frequently that it is almost a
hallmark of his chromaticism, sometimes even in the same piece as e ~. The range of notes that
te' Froberger used included: c c#, d ~, d, d#, e ~, e, e#, f, f#, g, g#, a ~, a, a#, b ~, band b#. This 18 note
range is considerably broader than the 12 notes traditionally used.
•• For example, Proberger's Ricercar FbWV 406 is in the very unusual tonality (for the times) of c#
minor. The following example shows his use ofb# and e# (in the last chord).
20
II··~ -It I
.. I I I I.
I_I I /":'\
-
-.J '-/1 I j'-~r
j J J. rJi ~j I
\:,/
J.- j J J _d, J
u, 0 .0. ~
t . .
I I I . I \:,/
.~ Froberger: Ricercar FbWV 406, bars 20ff Libra di Capricci e Ricercati, c. 1658. (Fraberger: 1995.)
- 315-
Similarly Ricercar FbWV 412 is in the unusual key of f# minor and the following extract shows the
,~ use of the notes e# and a# in bar 21.
Froberger: Ricercar FbWV 412. Libra Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
Howard Schott makes the interesting observation that the use of these accidentals proves that
Froberger wrote these ricerears for the harpsichord rather than for the organ or the clavichord, as
has often been presumed .
•
These two ricerears are strong evidence that these particular polyphonic works
can hardly have been conceived in terms of the organ, the tuning of which cannot
easily be modified. (Keyboards with divided sharps to provide additional
chromatic notes were so exceptional that their use is not to be inferred from the
existence of these two ricercars. Furthermore, 8# and E#, both required, cannot
be provided by split sharps.) As organ temperaments were notoriously
.. conservative well into the 19th century, and since fretted clavichords cannot be
re-tuned specially for such exceptional pieces, the only possible conclusion is that
these ricerears must belong to the repertoire of the harpsichord (Schott
1998:108).
In meantone tuning, there is a difference between major and minor semi-tones. Major semitones
(semitones between notes that are diatonically adjacent eg C# - D) are wider than minor semitones
(semitones that occur between notes of the same letter eg C - C#). This further underlines the
improbability of enharmonic equivalents, such as G# and A ~: it is more than likely that composers
who were accustomed to meantone tuning, meant two different notes. Meantone tuning would
- 316-
effectively disallow both G# and A~ in the same piece, or, similarly, D# and E ~. It is possible that
Froberger used a harpsichord with split sharps, allowing both D# and E~ for example, although
such instruments appear to have been extremely rare. It is also interesting to speculate that
Froberger might have been an advocate of using a "circulating" temperament, like the one used in
the following century by Bach. This type of temperament would have given him a wider range of
',.' usable chords than the more standard mean-tone tuning of the day, using a standard harpsichord
without split sharps.
One would have expected Froberger's three toccatas da sonarsi alia leuatione FbWV 105, 106 and
111 to have been conceived for the organ and not the harpsichord. However, the presence of notes
extraneous to meantone tuning in these toccatas indicates that even these were conceived for the
harpsichord. Both Toccata FbWV 105 and Toccata FbWV 111 contain both d# and e ~ and Toccata
• FbWV 106 uses d ~ and a ~ on several occasions, usually within a short space of the enharmonic
equivalents c# and g#, which were in the standard meantone range of notes.
!9.", I I I,....--...r--,• I ("'Tlr r f.!r:l, I \.j:.J:J Ff.j J -Ii: ,fl~ ..lJjQJj#l i .J),~ JJJJjJ~~~~,.
I
I === ~r
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 106, bars 9-10. Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
20" n li I.
• I I I r I'1 · ., Whf~, .)) J .J nJ' _~"*,, •• h,,#lo. _~•. .. .. J J------ I
7 r r
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 106, bar 20. Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
- 317-
The Elevation of the Host during the Mass is a time of contemplation and the toccatas played at this
.:!J. time were supposed to help the congregation meditate upon the presence of God and the suffering
of Jesus. Expressive dissonance was used by Froberger to achieve this, although he prepares and
resolves these dissonances in a way that both Zarlino and Artusi would have approved of. The
Toccatas da Sonarsi alia Leuatione contain many seventh and ninth chords and other dissonant
notes that form suspensions.
The following example from Toccata FbWV 105 shows the tonic chord of d minor, followed by the
dominant seventh (a', c#', e', g', e") in second inversion, with an additional dissonant note in the
bass (d') which forms a second with the bass note (e'). The following chord is a ninth chord on the
tonic (d', f', a', [c'] e"), in which the dissonant e" resolves to d", which becomes the 3rd of the next
seventh chord (b ~, d", f', a') .
•
=-" I, I, _":= = Q j JJw..~
oJ ti '-::~"-I I I I I
~ .o.--==::- :JJ, ._ -
.,r-~"t_ ;t - 1~~·"t·· ;-.h:/--• (~'f r . "':.
Froberger: Toccata FbWV lOS, opening. Libra Secondo, 1649. (Fraberger: 1993.)
Froberger uses similar expressive dissonances in his lamentations, plaintes and meditations to
express pain. In modern analysis, the second half of the Meditation faist sur ma mort future, of
which the following example shows the opening bars, starts in f# minor, changes to G major and
then the dominant of d minor as the bass line ascends. Similarly to the example of De Macque's
~. music, we are left with an impression of unease, as the music finds no resting point in the ever-
changing harmonies.
- 318-
/2
Froberger: Meditationfaist sur ma Mortfuture, bars 12-14. (Froberger: 2005: Vollll.2.)
The chromatic descending lines of Froberger's Tombeau fait a Paris sur la mort de Monsieur
8lancheroche produce a series of dissonant fourths and seconds.
~I
•
fl I ,......, - ----
_ 6]" ._. :r~~ r -'.t) -,r !Jf" '1 r ..~.J=·.
- Jk..J~b..J_p-, =1'~
• r I I
Froberger: Tombeau fait a Paris sur la mort de Monsieur 8lancheroche, bars 21-26. (Froberger: 1959.)
Froberger used chromaticism in the 6th partita of his Auff die Mayerin (FbWV 606), which, according
to Rampe (Froberger 1993:87) was inspired by the poem Hylas wil kein weib nicht haben by Georg
Greflinger (c. 1620-1677) and which was, apparently, a favourite of Emperor Ferdinand III. The 6th
partita is headed Grammatica which is possibly a corruption of the word Chromatica. In the
facsimile copy of the piece, the first "a" of the word Grammatica seems as if it has been changed
from an "0". The capital Cmight also have been changed to a G. (Froberger 1993:XXXII.)
- 319-
I·
•
..
•
_I'<'Oc:hMftrN.u~IId..",,,·.,\t.p._~ ,. (f"t i....)...""".."."f'''_'~'l''' lt. \'f".; "!Wot .. i~&hl .. ·(r"J"m" I. 1"'l11"TlUJ~y.l\,dif """,,"".f1 ltJM ffwJ,," 'J.ul:tet. .,,, ~Al.l'4!;~ 'rtlunnJ.t..uh ~ (~).u ..,. '1'lf'dnrt. ...."twr, \!it~ ~
•
Froberger: Auff die Mayerin. Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
Another use of dissonance is to be found in the opening of the allemande from Partita FbWV 614,
'. the Lamentation sur ce que j'ay ëté volé (Lamentation on my being robbed), which depictsFroberger's treatment at the hands of soldiers who robbed him. The pedal on G in the bass clashes
with the descending arpeggio in the right hand (a' fW c') forming intervals of a second, a seventh
and a fourth. In the second (full) bar of the extract the E~ in the bass forms a dissonance with the
repeated d' in the upper stave. The version of this allemande in the Sing-Akademie source calls for it
• to be played fort lentement, a la discretion sans observeur aulcune [sic] mesure (very slowly, with
discretion, without observing the beat at all.)
•
•
Froberger: Lamentation sur ce que j'ay ëté volé. (Froberger. 2005:52.)
- 320-
In a letter to Sibylla after Froberger's death, Huygens refers to the practice of introducing "beautiful
rt dissonances" that was so popular in Italy in vocal music.
Cesjours passes un certain virtuoso nommé Francesco, Alemand de naissance, mais
eslevé dans la science a Rome, m 'est venu veoir, et outré son beau talent de tres bien
chanter a l'italienne, et d'accompagner sa voix sur le claveein avec beaucoup de
scavoir et de belles dissonances, quit sant aujourdhuy les delices d'ltalie. (Huygens.
letter to Sibylla 4 August 1668, Instituut voor Nederlandse Geschiedenis 2010).
These days there is a certain virtuoso called Franceso, German by birth, but
taught the art in Rome, who came to see me and demonstrated his fine talent of
singing well in the Italian style and of accompanying his voice on the harpsichord
• with much knowledge and those beautiful dissonances which are these days the
delight of Italy.
• This "Francesco", who Huygens later describes as playing Froberger's music extremely well, was
more than likely Franz Franken who was a contemporary of Froberger's at the Viennese court and
possibly a student of Froberger's (Froberger. 2005:XLVIII). The letter to Sibylla is dated 1668,
proof that dissonances were still popular even after Froberger's death.
- 321-
6.6 Summary
A feature of the late 16th century and early 17th century madrigals is their continuous invention and
diversity. Composers used a wide variety of rhythms and textures to portray the agitation of the
passions and to add other forms of expressiveness to their music. Contrast seems to be an essential
element and a continuous stream of invention was called for to provide musical interest.
Composers varied the number and type of the voices singing at anyone time, sometimes using a
high voice, sometimes a low voice. They used dotted notes, syncopations, juxtaposition of rhythmic
extremes and a variety of note values. Notes inégales were used to intensify the charm of the music
I~) and to add vigour to the rhythm. Like their counterparts in the visual arts, the madrigal composers
were sometimes deliberately extreme, introducing novelties which later became stock in trade for
subsequent composers. The composer seeking to startle or astound his listener must continuously
invent new devices. Innovation is, thus, a part of the style .
•
The music often has a feeling of continuous restlessness, caused by effects such as the use of
accidentals to blur the tonality (modality), the use of chords in inversion and frequent modulation
• (if modern analysis is applied). An interesting aspect of the music of the late Renaissance and early
Baroque periods is the gradual changeover from the modal to the tonal systems. This makes any
analysis of the music difficult, as neither modal nor tonal thinking can be uniformly applied. To the
modern ear, schooled as it is in tonal music, the effect can be strange, giving a sense of agitation and
ambiguity. The use of major and minor thirds in close proximity on the same bass note gives a sense
l!J' of shifting tonality. A chromatic twisting motif or turn, usually not played fast as an ornament
would be, but deliberately dwelt upon for effect, also creates a feeling of shifting tonality.
• A related aspect of the music was the delight in complexity. The emphasis was on virtuoso display
and, with few exceptions, it is only playable or singable by a performer with a high degree of
technical skill. Some of the madrigals of the early part of the century show a calculated delight in
complexity for its own sake; a characteristic shared by Froberger's music which abounds in
invention and diversity. Froberger's music is complex, virtuosic and to a large extent theatrical. He
~'.~' seems to have been in permanent employment only for part of his itinerant life, going from one
- 322 -
court to another across Europe and, presumably, relying on his ability to instil a sense of meraviglia
• in the audiences he played to. There was a thirst for the new and the exciting amongst his listeners,
who, in many cases, had a variety of brilliant composers to choose from, whose music was
performed by extremely talented singers and instrumentalists. There must have been a substantial
amount of competition. Froberger used complex structures, rhythmic extremes, syncopations,
dotted notes, stile brisé and a "modern" feeling of tonality to "wow" his audiences. His use of the
word painting devices, complex ornamentation, tempo fluctuations and dissonance discussed in
previous chapters contribute to the overall effect of meraviglia. Compared to the more prosaic
keyboard style of many of his predecessors, his music must have seemed daring.
Caccini's remarks in Le Nuove Musiche about sp rezza tu ra, allowing "several dissonances" for
expressive purposes and Vicentino's remarks about allowing "every bad step", "bad consonance"
and "changing the tempo" in the quest for the right dramatic effect were indicative of a change in
• thinking. Not only was a variable tempo required, but the judicious use of dissonance was allowable
as well. Composers used chromaticism to express anguish or other feelings, but at the same time
this blurred the mode or key, giving the effect of shifting tonalities. Froberger's expressive use of
dissonance to express emotions is evident in all his works, but is particularly effective in the
lamentations, plaintes, tombeaux and meditations that he wrote. The fact that these keyboard pieces
have their roots in literary genres, like the poetry upon which the madrigals are based, provides a
further link with vocal music.
Froberger used a range of cromatici that go beyond the normal range of notes available to
instruments tuned in quarter-comma meantone. On several occasions, notes such as d ~ and a ~ are
to be found within a short space of their enharmonic equivalents c# and g#. This might indicate that
Froberger played on an instrument with split sharps, although such instruments were rare.
• Alternatively perhaps he favoured a tuning system that allowed the use of all intervals, such as the
ones recommended by Werckmeister at the end of the 17th century or by Kirnberger in the
following century. Both Froberger and the madrigalists were part of a culture of experimentation,
not in the sense of not knowing the outcome of what they were doing, but in the sense of trying to
provide a continuous stream of new and different ideas. The style is deliberately intellectual, self-
conscious, extreme, elegant and inventive.
- 323-
CHAPTER SEVEN: CASE STUDIES
.'
7.1 Tombeau •••sur la Mort de M. Blancheroche. FbWV 632 •
• Tombeau, fait a Paris sur la mort de Monsieur 81ancheroche [sic]; lequel se joue fort lentement a la
discretion sans observer aucune mesure. (Title in WMin 743.)
Affligée et Tombeou [sic] sur la mort de Monsieur B1anrocher [sic], faite a Paris, et se joue bien
lentement et a la discretion. (Title in Sing Akademie MS.)
Tombeau, composed in Paris on the death of M. Blancrocher, which is to be played extremely slowly
with discretion, without observing the beat at all.
Affliction and Tombeau on the death of M. Blancrocher, composed in Paris, which is to be played
41 very slowly and with discretion.
7.1.1 The Background to the Tombeau .
• Charles Fleury, Sieur de Blancrocher (c. 1607~ November 1652) was a lute player and composer,
although only one small work (a dance, which may be an allemande or a gigue) of his has survived
(Burchmore 2010).
The Latin postscript in WMin 743 provides an account of the circumstances of his death .
•
Monsieur Blancheroch[e] insignis Cytharoedus Parisiensis D[omini]. Frobergeri
optimus amicus, cum post convivium Dominae de S. Thomas, cum D. Froberger in
. horto regio deambulasset, domum rediret, et aliquid facturus scalas ascendisset;inde decidit, adeo graviter, ut ab uxore, filio, aliisque in lectum debuerit trahi. D.'
Froberger videns periculum, cucurrit pro Doctore: adsunt et chirurgy, qui
sanguinem in pede laeso confluum mitterent facta incisione: adest Monsieur
Marquis de Termes cui Monsieur Blancheroche proles suam commendavit; et
paulo post ultimum spiritum coepit trahere, animam exhalare (Froberger.
2003:23).
- 324-
One day Monsieur Blancheroche, an excellent lutenist in Paris and the best friend
.', of Herr Froberger, took a stroll with the latter in the royal gardens after a dinner
held by Madame de St. Thomas. On his return home he climbed the stairs to take
care of a couple of things and fell down so severely that he had to be carried to
bed by his wife, his son and several others. Herr Froberger recognized the danger
of the situation and sent for a physician. When several surgeons had arrived they
let the blood from his damaged foot. Also present was Monsieur le Marquis de
Termes, to whom Monsieur 81ancheroche entrusted his son. Shortly thereafter he
took his last breath and departed from this life .
•
•
Froberger: Tombeau de M. Blancheroche (sic), second part. WMin 743. (Froberger: 2003: VollV.l.)
Madame de St Thomas is described as a singer, which might explain the connection with Froberger
and Blancrocher (Sabatier 1998:315 and Delmasse 1859:151). The incorrigible gossip, Tallemant
des Réaux, wrote (Historiettes c. 1659) that Madame de St Thomas was really called Mile San drier
and only pretended to be married. He says that her "husband", St Thomas, was the secretary of state
I~ in Savoy and that he took the "pretty but very flirtatious" Mile Sandrier there and promised to
marry her, which he didn't. She claimed that he tried to poison her and Tallemant says that she
- 325-
came back to Paris, where "elle eut bien des gallants" (she had many lovers). One is left wondering
• whether Froberger and Blancrocher were visiting her for purely musical purposes. Tallemant also
mentions that she sang in the Italian style and grimaced horribly when doing so, looking as if she
was having convulsions (Tallemant ed 1861 :202-3). Admittedly writing six to seven years after
Froberger and Blancrocher visited her, Tallemant also says, rather maliciously, that she wears a lot
of makeup and he can't imagine how she supports herself, unless she has saved some money
(implying that she was paid by her former "gallants").
B1ancrocher's death inspired four tombeaux, two for the lute by Denis Gaultier and Francois Dufaut
(Du Fault) and two for the harpsichord by Froberger and Louis Couperin. These four men, together
with Blancrocher, seemed to have moved in the same musical circles in Paris in the early 1650s and
there appears to be a connection via Constantijn Huygens as well, who at that stage was in contact
with Chambonnieres (Couperin's mentor and teacher) and [acques Gaultier (whose exact family
.) connection with Denis Gaultier is unclear), in addition to Froberger himself. At a later date there is
also a connection between Dufaut and Huygens, when, in 1662, Huygens entrusted letters to Dufaut
to take to London (Spring 2001:315).
1101
~ The account in WMin743 mentions the Marquis de Termes, who also seems to have been part of the
same group. Blancrocher entrusted his son to the Marquis, who was also Froberger's benefactor in
Paris. Froberger wrote an Allemande faite pour remereier Monsieur le Marquis de Termes des favours
et bien faits de luy recues a Paris (Allemande composed to thank Monsieur le Marquis de Termes for
the favours and good deeds received from him in Paris). This particular piece is found in several
sources, but the most descriptive title, quoted above, is from the Sing-Akademie MS.
As related in Chapter 2, César Auguste de Pardaillan de Gondrin, Marquis de Termes was
apparently "...engaged in the intrigues of the Fronde. He was handsome, well-made, a man of wit,
very lively, very mischievous and of a very bad character" (de Sévigné 1677:18). Froberger's
connection with this known sympathizer of the Fronde uprisings is a further indication that he may
have been involved in a clandestine, diplomatic (spying?) capacity for his Habsburg employers.
- 326-
When Blancrocher died, in November 1652, Froberger, at the age of 36, was already quite famous .
• Just prior to 8lancrocher's death a concert was held in Froberger's honour at the Eglise desjacobins
in Paris on Thursday 26 September 1652. Chapter 2 provides more detail on this concert, which
was testified to by Jean Loret in his weekly gazette of Sunday 29 September 1652, La Muze
Historique.
7.1.2 Tombeaux
Whereas the word tombeau had been used previously by French lutenists to describe a piece to
~ commemorate the death of a revered person, Froberger and Louis Couperin seem to have been the
first keyboard composers to use the word. The term was initially a literary one, used by French
poets in the 16th and 17th centuries. Tilmouth and D. Ledbetter (2010) mention that the first use of
it in music was a tombeau by the lutenist Ennemond Gaultier for his teacher René Mesangeau
• (d.1638). In 1652, whereas the word was fashionable, the form was not quite as new. It had itsprecedents in the Italian lamenti, the English pavans and the earlier French déplorations .
. After Froberger's and Couperin's tombeaux for Blancrocher, the only known 17th century tombeaux
for harpsichord is one by D'Anglebert, in memory of Chambonniêres, published in his edition of
• 1689 and another two by Froberger, recently discovered in the Sotheby's autograph. One of these
. two "new" tombeaux is for Sibylla's husband, Due Leopold Friderich and the other is the already-
known lamentation upon the death of Ferdinand III, renamed tombeau. To the best of my
knowledge, as well as being the first keyboard composer (contemporaneously with Couperin) to
write a keyboard tombeau, Froberger was also the first keyboard composer to write a piece called
lamentation (or lamento). In addition to the one for Ferdinand Ill, he wrote a lamento for
Ferdinand's son, Ferdinand IV, and a Lamentation sur ce j'ay êté volé (Lamentation on my being
robbed). I know of no other lament/lamentation for keyboard in the 17th century (or earlier). This is
.1 a genre that Froberger made his own and it is interesting to note that he seemed to find the twoterms, tombeau and lamento (or lamentation), interchangeable.
7.1.3 Lamenti
,~) Madrigals called lamenti appeared occasionally in the 16th century, such as Stefano Rossetto's
Lamento di Olimpia (1567), but "the genre assumed musical importance around the turn of the 17th
- 327-
century ... theorists such as Giacomini, Mei and Galilei singled out the lament; because it expressed a
• height of emotional intensity" (Rosand 2010). The most famous lament from this period is
Monteverdi's Lamento d'Arianna from his opera L'Arianna (first performed in Mantua, 1608) which
he later re-published as a madrigal for five voices in 1614, as a solo madrigal with basso continua
accompaniment in 1623, and as an adaptation to a religious text in 1640 (Rosand 2010). After the
• Lamento d'Arianna, there were many more lamenti by many more composers, including more by
Monteverdi himself. There were also many madrigals which, although not specifically called
lamento, had the characteristics of a lament.
The lamenti were, in general, very long (compared to most madrigals), in a very free form, in a slow
tempo, were rhythmically flexible, expressed uncontrolled passion and grief, were rhythmically and
melodically complex and used certain typical expressive devices such as the sighing motif of a
falling semitone, dissonances, the descending tetrachord and a long, drawn-out, descending scale to
.. express sorrow. As soon as it became fashionable, they were in the stile recitativo. These vocal
lamenti have many similarities to Froberger's Tombeau for 8lancrocher, which, like his
LamentojTombeau for Ferdinand III is not part of a dance suite (unlike most of his meditations,
plaintes ete which are the opening allemandes of partitas). Compared to his meditations and
plaintes, the Tombeau for 8lancrocher is much langer. Whereas the Tombeau for 8lancrocher and
the LamentojTombeau for Ferdinand can be regarded as "proper" lamenti in as far as they are not
part of a suite and are of an extended length, just to confuse the issue, Froberger wrote another two
lamenti which, although called Lamentation sur ce que j'ay êté volé (Lamentation on my being
robbed) and Lamento sopra la dolorosa perdita della ...Ferdinando IV (Ferdinand Ill's son) are bath
• part of suites, both in the form of an allemande and both are shorter forms. Unfortunately, his only
other known tombeau (for Sibylla's husband) is not available for inspection as it was in the new
autograph that was auctioned by Sotheby's in 2006 to an unknown buyer.
7.1.4 Word Painting
The anguish depicted by a slow-moving descending vocal line was a typical expressive device of the
lamenti. The finallasciatemi morire (let me die) of the tenor part of Ariana's lament illustrates the
long drawn out descent of seven notes.
- 328-
'.
Monteverdi: Lamento d'Ariana. Sesto Libro de Madrigali. (Monteverdi: 1614.)
•
A passage from the second half of Froberger's Tombeau illustrates the long drawn out descent in
the top voice from drr to e ~', This descent continues in the next bar to d', completing the octave. As
the line descends, sighing motifs of a falling semitone are formed .
.'
Froberger: Tombeau ...sur la mort de M. Blancheroche, bar 23f[. (Froberger: 2003: Vol/V.l.)
Similarly, in the last bar of the Tombeau, a descending line is used to illustrate the final passing
away of Blancrocher. It seems that the groups of notes should be played by alternate hands,
gradually getting slower, with an overlegato effect.
•
--J
Froberger: Tombeau ...sur la mort de M. Blancheroche, ending. (Froberger. 2003: Vol Iv.l.)
This last bar has also been described by Schulenberg (2010:292) as "the burial of Blancrocher's
'.~) body, or worse, the damnation of his soul" or "his final descent down the stairs" none of which seem
to me to be the right interpretation of the music, especially as Blancrocher was Froberger's best
- 329-
friend and therefore hardly likely to be condemned to hell by Froberger, and because his fall down
• the stairs would be at the wrong point in the music. To me, it seems more like a gentle depiction of
Blancrocher's last breath.
.• As Blancrocher was a lutenist, the contains several references to lute technique, such a,sI~"Tombeau -
the campanella effects in the beginning of the second half and the low tessitura of the sans
chanterelle (Tilmouth and D. Ledbetter 2010). David Ledbetter (1987:xi and xii) describes the
campanella effect as "a passage in which adjacent or repeated notes are drawn from different
courses so that they may continue to sound when the following note is struck" and the sans
chanterelle effect as "a style of playing in the first course is not used" .
..'
.' Froberger: Tombeau ...sur la mort de M. Blancheroche, bar 14ff. (Froberger: 2003: VollV.l.)
The above example shows the campanella effect in bars 14 to 21 and the low tessitura of the sans
. chanterelle in bars 14 to 16.,
A passage at the end of the first section illustrates Blancrocher's fall down the stairs and the
descending scale seems to require a considerable accelerando.
• 10A
r -·rr
~ I I rm
j---j
Froberger: Tombeau ...sur la mort de M. Blanrocher, bar 10. (Froberger: 2003.)
- 330-
Funeral bells are portrayed by the repeated dirge-like G in the bass:
•
•
.,I'
..,=... +. :::=;;: ~~H+ ~¥:f;;. - - - .-
r r . - r
Froberger: Tombeau ...sur la mort de M. Blanrocher, bar 27ff Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
7.1.5 Sprezzatura
The titles in both sources of the Tombeau indicate that the piece should be played with discretion. In
the WMin MS, the instruction seems to go a step further, stating that it should be played sans
observer aucune mesure (without observing the beat at all) .
•
.•~
Opening of the Tombeau sur la Mort de M. Blancheroche. WMin 743 MS (Froberger. 3003:XLlV).
- 331-
7.1.6 Dissonance
The use of dissonance to express pain was also a typical feature of the Italian lamento. Ariana's
lament contains many tritones and other dissonances such as the tritones ringed in the
following extract.
• ~o· ."
-~.
~ .. Ëi. * [0--' I[8 . scia . te mi mo v ri .
"
I·t~ .... .r:F=;): --=J=l:
... ~<9- A' " . W===J ~La· s:ci~a ~r: Illi 1110 - n-/I 0
•• ~ I (I=>' - '-1'8 seia . le . mi, la . scia le mi mo· Ti .
~-"===w r-=I . .J ~ fJ - 1
~ La • seia • le· mi, ~ s~ia • IC . mi mo . Ti .
~
~~ :~.~
La· scia te . r. I <> I .. .-==--14 > 1111 mo n
Monteverdi: Lamento d'Ariana. Sesto Libra de Madrigali, 1614. (Monteverdi: 2006.)
In the Tombeau Froberger uses a series of dissonances in a descending line over a repeated chord in
• the bass, just before the end of the piece. The effect of these dissonances, which are resolved only to
be followed by a new dissonance, is one of bitter anguish .
•
Froberger: Tombeau ...sur la mort de M. Blancheroche, bar 32ff (Froberger: 2003: Vol/V.l.)
- 332 -
•
7.1.7 Ornaments
Froberger's Tombeau contains written out ornaments, typical of the madrigali moderni.
Ribattuta, gruppe and circolo ending
The ending of the version in the Sing-Akademie MS contains extended gruppi in both hands that
other versions of the piece do not.
(:)
\ . \ t" ·.f..,::.:e :
;
o_o" .•
.'-ttf:_,',
.;.
• Froberger: Tombeou [sic] ...Blanchrocher [sic). Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
A version of the piece, from WMin 743, without the gruppi (and without the annotation Requiescat
• in Pace), illustrates once again that ornamentation was not always written out.
•
Froberger: Tombeau ...Blancheroche [sic). [Froberqer. 2003: Vol/V.l.)
He also uses the esclamazione and the cascata :
- 333 -
The Esclamazione
••
Froberger: Tombeau ....Blanrocher, bar 4. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
The Cascata
Froberger: Tombeau ....Blanrocher, bar 7. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
Blancrocher's fall down the stairs is not only an example of onomatopoeia as shown above, but also
a substantial cascata with an accelerando .
•
Froberger: Tombeau ....Blanrocher, bars 10,11. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
- 334-
,.
7.1.8 A Comparison with Louis Coupertn's Tombeau for Blancrocher
Even though Froberger's Tombeau has a French title and was composed in Paris, it shows clear
indications of the influence of the Italian lamenti. In comparison to Proberger's Tombeau, Louis
Couperin's is quite different, illustrating the difference between the Italian and the French styles.
One of the most obvious differences between the two Tombeaux is that Couperin's contains very
little written-out ornamentation, although its slow moving tempo and drawn out chords seem to
welcome some improvised ornamentation. Ornamentation in Couperin's Tombeau is indicated by
signs above the notes as was typical of French Claveein music. In Italian style, Froberger's
ornamentation is written out or left for the performer to introduce at his/her own discretion.
e'
Couperin's Tombeau has more in common with the pavannes of his teacher, Chambonnieres, with
its tri-partite structure (Froberger's is bi-partite) and the stately minim chords. A comparison of a
few bars of Coupertn's Tombeau with two pavannes by Charnbonniêres illustrates this. Although
• Chambonnieres only published his Pieces de Claveein in 1670 (just before his death in 1672), they
were written considerably earlier.
'. " I I - (lW) -,q) r r ~ - "- "lY'" r- I"!"!I 0'
~ _.... - --- -do ... -,; .....
•
L. Couperin: Tombeau de M. de Blancrocher, bars 4-7. (Couperin: 1970.)
4
fl .... I ....
,~
.'1
,ii
". I:,: V'; 'f r I' - r . r ~r.: I- l r I li I._J'" r----; { ....,_., r} -t9 ~,., ,.,. ~1 _J----.
"'
~
';.
.' Chambonniêres: Pavanne L'Entretien des Dieux, bars 4-6. Livre Premier, 1670. [Chambonniêres: 2008.),~
- 335 -
•
(\ - - ..... ..... .....
= -
v .d- 7J- -r r r i---1 ~ .....__..
..-.J. I I ~
,- I I I ,_..., I I I I
I 1 I I I 1 1 I' I
Chambonniêres: Pavanne, bars 25-27. Livre Second, 1670. [Chambonniêres: 2008.)
• In Italian style, Froberger's Tombeau is much more rhythmically diverse and animated than
Couperin's, However, contrary to the accepted bon gout of the times, Couperin uses a few Italianate
programmatic devices, most notably to depict Blancrocher's fall down the stairs and the chiming of
church bells for his funeral. It is tempting to see Froberger's influence in this, even though the
• portrayal of the events is completely different musically. The following two extracts from
Couperin's Tombeau show Blancrocher's tumble down the stairs (bars 17-20); and bars 29-32, in
which the repeated motif in the lower two voices seem to be the chiming of funeral bells.
•
17
1\ - - .
el I r" .. -'I [---I ~
J ~ J.- vr r'+'r
. r-rr j,--r ~-
~ .J- ...J. I I 1_
:
•
29
1\
el l r i l r 1Lvr r-ur l r
. I I I I I 1 " I
I I I 1 r r :&
L. Couperin: Tombeau de M. de Blancrocher, bars 17f[ (Couperin: 1970.)
- 336-
•
Another possible influence of Froberger, is Couperin's instruction plus vite (faster) just prior to the
• tumble down the stairs. This tempo change is the only notated tempo change in Conperin's entire
keyboard oeuvre that I have been able to find (if you discount the changement de movement before
the measured sections of some of his preludes). A further influence of Froberger is to be seen in the
interesting similarity between systems 14-15 of Couperin's first prelude and the opening of section
,it two of the Tombeau, pointed out by Allan Curtis.
FHOBEIWER Tombcau de Blsncrocher
•
{~~-~-.-.- ---
COUPERIN Prélude (N" 45) ._
•
Couperin: Pieces de Clavecin. (Couperin. Vol l: XVII.)
•
..~
- 337-
•
7.2 Meditation and Gigue FbWV 620
•
Meditation, faist sur ma Mort future, la quelle se joue lentement avec discretion (Title in Hintze MS).
Meditation faite sur ma mort future la quelle se joue lentement avec discretion. A Paris 1May Anno
,411~ 1660 (Title in Sing-Akademie MS).
Meditation, la quelle, se joue lentement avec discretion, faict sur ma mort future (Title in Sotheby's
Autograph).
Meditation on my future death, which is to be played slowly with discretion .
•
and
Giguefrom Partita FbWV 620
.'
7.2.1 The Sources of the Partita
There are several sources for this particular partita: the Hintze MS (the Meditation only); the Sing-
Akademie MS (complete); Roger's published version in Amsterdam c.1698 (complete, but the
Meditation is called "Allemande"); a copy in WMin 731 (without the Meditation) and a copy in
Froberger's own hand in the Sotheby's autograph (complete). In addition to the Meditation and the
gigue, the partita contains a courante and a sarabande. The gigue is also to be found in the
Neresheim MS, where it is called Cique del Signore Froberqer.
•
7.2.2 The Meditation
The Sing-Akademie MS contains the following remark after the title of the Meditation: a Paris 1 May
Anno 1660. During his first trip to Paris, in the early 1650's, Froberger had been supported by the
Marquis de Termes. As mentioned in Chapter 2, Van Asperen (2008:10.1) speculates that Froberger
may have gone to Paris after leaving Vienna in 1658 (after Leopold I dismissed him) to look up his
former benefactor. It is also possible that he was trying to get work in Paris prior to Louis XIV's
marriage to Maria Theresa of Spain which took place on June 9 1660 in St Jean de Luz near the
Spanish/French border and which was followed by a series of magnificent festivities in Paris.
- 338-
•
The fact that there is also a copy of the Meditation in the Hintze MS, which Rampe dates to around
• 1653, and a copy in the Setheby's autograph, which probably dates from his last years in
Montbéliard (thus probably after mid 1662) illustrates once again that Froberger wrote out his own
works at various times of his life. The version in the Hintze MS, which was definitely a copy of an
original autograph, the parts of the Meditation in the Setheby's autograph which I have seen (I did
not have access to the entire piece) and the version in the Sing-Akademie MS are, (with a couple of
very minor exceptions such as a tied note or a different distribution of the same notes on the two
staves), identical to each other. This illustrates the great value of the Sing-Akademie MS, which is
not only one of the largest early collections of Froberger's music, but which appears to be extremely
accurate as well.
•
The Hintze MS, the Sing-Akademie MS and the Sotheby's autograph all contain the words Momento
Mori, Froberger? (Are you mindful of your death, Froberger?) at the end of the Meditation. This
reminder is echoed in a similar piece, found (as yet) only in the Setheby's autograph: Meditation, la
quel/e se joue lentement avec discretion, faict il Madrid sur la Mort future de Son Altess Sereni=
Madame Sibylle, Duchesse de Wirtemberg, Princesse de Montbéliard (Meditation, which should be
played slowly with discretion, composed at Madrid on the future death of her Most Serene Highness,
• Sibyl/a, Duchess of Wiirtemberg, Princess of Man tbélia rd). At the end of this piece is the inscription
NB Memento Mori Sibylla. This Meditation is interesting from a number of viewpoints, including the
light it sheds on Froberger's relationship with his benefactress - he calls her Sibylla and composed
a companion piece to his own Meditation - and the fact that it was composed in Madrid, which
enables us to add yet another city to Froberger's extensive list of wanderings.
•
The Meditation is in the form of an allemande. The performer is advised to play the piece slowly and
rhapsodically: lentement avec discretion. It starts with a step-wise, three-note upbeat, derived from
,tt the lute allemandes where these three notes are often slurred to indicate that the first note only is
to be plucked (David Ledbetter 1987:99). This upbeat figure occurs for the first time in harpsichord
music in the works of Froberger and Louis Couperin, which probably indicates that they influenced
each other or that, quite possibly, Froberger introduced the upbeat first and Couperin copied him.
We do not know exactly when Couperin wrote his suites (although it must have been between the
early 1650s and 1661, when he died), but in the early 1650s the young composer had only recently
- 339-
•
come to Paris to study with Charnbonnieres and he seems to have been greatly influenced by
• Froberger in other musical ways. This three-note upbeat does not occur in Froberger's partitas
from the 1649 Libra Secondo - only in later works.
I.' Influences of the madrigali moderni include ornaments, such the esclamazione and trillo in the first
full bar of the Meditation .
•
Froberger: Meditation sur ma Mortfuture, bar 1. Late Autograph (Sothebys). (Maguire: 2006.)
Expressive devices include the tirata, like a scream of anguish at the end of the following extract
• and dissonances such as the chord at the beginning of the bar, which includes a ninth CA - b) and a
tritone CA - d#').
•
_. -;7F,-
,1
Fraberger: Meditation sur ma Mortfuture, bar 14. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
•
Like many of the madrigalists, Froberger did not stick to the "normal" pitches of meantone tuning.
In the Meditation the use of d# is common, and Froberger also uses the even more unusual notes of
e# and a#. In the following two examples, these two pitches form tritones with the note below.
,.
_lUI
-_, !I~~-~"r"r ~~;~~~
"'~I I
: §ij EJr J. E
I or ...
Fraberger: Meditation sur ma Mortfuture, bars 10 and 5. (Froberger: 2006.)
- 340-
The entire Meditation is written in a low tessitura. The highest note is e", but even this pitch is
.~ unusually high for the piece. The notes on the top stave hover around an octave lower than this,
adding to the impression of deep melancholy. Descending fourths, such as the ones at the
beginning ofbar 7 add to the expression of misery .
••
•
Froberger: Meditation sur ma Mortfuture, bar 7. (Froberger: 2005:81.)
•• Froberger often obscures tonality by sharpening or flattening a note, such as in the example below
where c#' is changed to c' (on the tril/o) or in the next example where Gin the bass becomes G#.
• Froberger: Meditation sur ma Mortfuture, bar 1. Late Autograph (Sothebys). (Maguire: 2006.)
••
Froberger: Meditation sur ma Mort future, bar 17. Late Autograph (Sothebys). (Maguire: 2006.)
- 341 -
~\
•
The rapid changing of tonality at the end of the first section is both disarming and beautiful.
Froberger meanders through a variety of tonalities: A major, E minor, f# minor and F# major, the
last two being very unusual for the time.
I, •
• Froberger: Meditation sur ma Mortfuture, bar 7f! (Froberger: 2005:81.)
Throughout the Meditation there is a wide variety of rhythmic and textural features, such as note
values ranging from demi-semi-quavers to a note value that is the equivalent of almost two bars (a
semi-breve tied to a minim tied to a crotchet); Froberger also uses syncopation, dotted notes and
quick changes of texture.
The use of notes inégales seems to be appropriate in many places and there is an appropriate
dropping out of voices at the end of the first section, which ends on an F# major chord. In view of
Froberger's many references to the note F in his lamentation for Ferdinand Ill, the choice of this
chord in the meditation on his own death might be significant.
•
r'
Froberger: Meditation sur ma Mortfuture, end of first section. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
- 342 -
~\
•
7.2.3 The Gigue
According to David Ledbetter, gigues appear in lute sources only after 1650 (Ledbetter 1987:49). If
this is correct it would seem that Froberger might have been the first to introduce the gigue into the
• suite of dances (one appears in the 1649 Libro Secondo) rather than the French lutenist Jean
[acques Gaultier, who is normally credited for the innovation. As discussed in Chapter 2, it seems
likely that Froberger started to put the gigue as the second dance (as opposed to the last dance) a
couple of years later, at the end of 1651jbeginning of 1652 as is evidenced by the gigue from
Partita FbWV 613a, nomée la rusée Mazarinique (called Marazin's subterfuge) which probably
refers to Cardinal Mazarin's surreptitious return to France on Christmas Eve 1651, (Schulenberg
2008:17).
In putting the gigue second, there seems also to have been collaboration with the French lutenists
with whom he associated. According to Rampe (Froberger. 1993:XXXI),suites following this order
are known by the lutenists Francois Dufaut and Denis Gaultier. The Hintze MS,which Rampe dates
to 1653, corroborates this, as it states that Froberger now puts all his suites in this order. By the
time that Partita FbWV 620 was written this order seems to have been well established and both
the Sotheby's autograph and the reliable Sing-Akademie MSpresent the gigue as the second dance.
Froberger recommends the use of discretion not only in the Meditation, but, surprisingly, at the end
• of the gigue as well. Both the printed Suittes de Clavessin published in Amsterdam by Estienne
Roger in 1698 and the Sing-Akademie MScontain this instruction. The instruction is now definitely
confirmed as authentic as it is also added in Froberger's own handwriting in the Sotheby's
autograph version of the same gigue (Van Asperen 2008: 5.11). If the letters "NB"in the phrase NB
• avec discretion are significant, it may mean that the entire gigue was also supposed to be played
rhapsodically, like the Meditation, and that the ending should be played with even more abandon.
- 343-
•
Froberger: Gigue from Partita FbWV 620, ending. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
,.,
As in the Meditation, Froberger uses a number of Italian, vocally-inspired ornaments in the gigue
and various "madrigalisms". The esclamazione appears several times, as does the lament-style
descending line of notes, the sighing motif, the descending fourth and the dissonant descending
...'. tritone (d" to g#'). The following example illustrates all of these effects within the space of two
bars .
•
.'
Froberger: Gigue from Partita FbWV 620, bar Bf!. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
Chains of suspensions and dissonances are apparent in the ending of the piece, where a lament-
~, style descending line forms such a series. The extract below illustrates this, as well as the use of the
figura serpentinata in the bass.
- 344-
.,
Froberger: Gigue from Partita FbWV 620, bar 19f[ (Froberger: 2006).
Rhythmic animation is a feature of the gigue, with its dotted rhythms, syncopations and wide
• variety of note values. The bar lines in the gigue are sporadic, especially in the second half, seeming
to further illustrate the instruction that the piece should be played rhapsodically.
.' Froberger: Gigue from Partita FbWV 620, beginning of 2nd section. Sing-Akademie MS.(Froberger: 2006.)
•
,.\
- 345 -
..
7.3 Capriccio FbWV 517
This capriccio comes from the 1656 autograph Libro Quarto, dedicated to Froberger's Habsburg
employer Emperor Ferdinand Ill. Like the other pieces in this book, the capriccio has been
decorated, presumably by Johann Friedrich Sautter, who in any event decorated the title page. The
decorations for the capriccio include leaves, flowers and a cross, intertwined with a symbol that
looks like the letter eight turned horizontally - a sign for infinity or eternity. It seems that
Froberger made a tremendous effort to give Ferdinand III a beautifully presented volume. Not only
is it decorated, but the music is written in an exquisite hand, faultlessly transcribed by Froberger
". himself.
7.3.1 The Background to the Capriccio
Three sets of capriccios have survived in Froberger's own handwriting; each a set of six. They are to
be found in Libro Quarto, Libro di Capricci e Ricercati and in the Setheby's autograph, where they
are called caprice, the French equivalent. In addition there are several other capriccios from
secondary sources, three of which are to be found in the reliable Mainz edition, E 1696 (FbWV 509,
510 and 512) which was probably produced from autograph originals.
The literal translation of the word capriccio is "whim" or "fancy" and in the 16th century it was used
in connection with sets of madrigals and other vocal music. The earliest reference was by Jacquet
de Berchem, who called his setting of Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, "Capriccio", in his madrigal
collection of 1561 (Schwandt 2010). Furetiere defines a caprice as "a fantasie ...which succeeds
mainly by the force of genius rather than by the observation of the rules of art...These sorts of
compositions, which overstep ordinary rules, should be in a singular and new taste ... but in general,
one understands by caprice a bizarre composition in which ingenuity outstrips the precepts of art."
- 346-
Furetiêre: Dictionnaire Universel. 1690:242.
Capriccio FbWV 517, like others by Froberger, might be expected to belong to the Prima Pratica.
However, on further investigation the influence of the madrigali moderni is evident in the use of
vocal ornaments, sprezzatura, rhythmic and textural changes and the general delight in complexity.
7.3.2 Tempo
The keyboard capriccio was one of the forerunners of the fugue, but instead of the strict tempo
normally associated with this contrapuntal style, Froberger introduced tempo fluctuations. This is
particularly apparent in the concluding rhapsodic section of the piece, but is obviously intended in
.' bars 29-30 as well. The end of bar 30, (three notes on err), indicates the entrance of the main subject
again and the end of the short rhapsodic section.
• .111
Fraberger: Capriccio FbWV 517, bars 29-30. Libra Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
- 347-
As might be expected, the rhapsodic section at the end does not contain any bar lines (once again
the half bar lines are editorial).
'"
Froberger: Capriccio FbWV 517, ending. Libro Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
There are several notated changes of time signature within the piece, effectively splitting the work
up into four thematically related, rhythmically different sections. Each section seems to represent a
"" change in mood as the composer swings from slow chords to animated quavers to rapid flights of
notes. Each section ends in a rhapsodic episode. The first rhapsodic section is very short, no more
than one chord that Froberger presumably intended to be arpeggiated; the second rhapsodic
section is also merely indicated by a chord, but I surmise that Froberger expected it to be more
~ elaborately arpeggiated as he' changes the time signature just before the chord. In Froberger's
strange scheme of bar lines, this normally implies an extra bar line, and thus the arpeggiated chord
would be at least the length of one of his shorter bars, perhaps one of his longer bars. The third
rhapsodic section is slightly longer and the fourth, final, rhapsodic section is substantial. The
following extract shows the change from the slow chords of section two to the quick quavers in
•• 12/8 of section three. The momentary change from the time signature of 3 to C for the duration of
one chord is thus probably intended to represent the second rhapsodic section based upon the
creative arpeggiation of that chord.
"
Froberger: Capriccio FbWV 517, bars 21ff Libro Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
- 348-
7.3.3 Expressive Devices
Froberger uses a variety of expressive devices in the capriccio, such as:
The Descending Line:
This double descending line forms a chain of suspensions and dissonances.
Froberger: Capriccio FbWV 517, bar 13,14. Libro Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
The Tirata
In bar 29 -30 there is a tirata with a built-in accelerando and gigantic downwards leap in the bass of
just less than two octaves. This is followed by the re-entrance of the tenor voice two octaves higher.
The aural effect is of two enormous leaps in succession.
• Froberger: Capriccio FbWV 517, bars 29-30. Libro Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
Unexpected Melodic Leaps
The above tirata (bar 29) jumps nearly two octaves to E in the bass (bar 30).
Froberger: Capriccio FbWV 517, bar 30. Libro Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
- 349-
7.3.4 Ornamentation
In addition to the ornamentation that Froberger might have expected the performer to introduce,
he has written out various embellishments, such as:
The Cadenza
Froberger: Capriccio FbWV 517, bar 41. Libro Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
The Cascata
35
Froberger: Capriccio FbWV 517, bar 35. Libro Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
"
Ribattuti and Gruppi
.. The ending contains gruppi with implied introductory ribattuti and circolo endings .-
Froberger: Capriccio FbWV 517 last bar. Libro Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
- 350-
..
7.3.5 Modal/Tonal Shifts
• Froberger uses the ftgura serpentinata throughout the piece, for example in bars 31 and 32 in the
alto. This figure, so beloved of the rnadrigalists, also had the effect of introducing modal/tonal
ambiguity.
,"" Froberger: Capriccio FbWV 517, bars 31 and 32. Libro Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
Another way in which this ambiguity is achieved is by the introduction of accidentals that change
chords from major to minor on the same bass note. There are numerous passages such as the
following, where the notes C and C# are to be found next to each other over the same bass note.
Froberger: Capriccio FbWV 517, bars 35ff Libro Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
•
Similarly, in the following example, the minor chord - a [d' resolving to) c' e' a' - is followed by the
first inversion of the major chord, c# a e' a'. This chord is followed by a minor triad on e which
contains a cross relation: c' in the alto, with the previous c# in the bass.
\~~- ~
!~l~:.~1§
Froberger: Capriccio FbWV 517, bar 33. Libro Quarto, 1656. (Froberger: 1995.)
- 351 -
•
7.4 Toccata FbWV102
•
Toccata FbWV 102 is found in several sources, including Froberger's Libra Secondo of 1649. Other
sources include the Sing-Akademie and Bauyn manuscripts, the first printed anthology of
Froberger's works, E 1693 and the Muffat MS.The Bauyn MS contains an interesting annotation
fatte a Bruxellis anno 1650 (Froberger. 1993:XXXI)which must lead us to believe that Froberger
made a copy of the 1649 version of the toccata whilst he was in Brussels. (Or that the Bauyn MS
annotation is wrong.)
7.4.1 The Background to the Toccata
Libro Secondo is dated 29 September 1649 when it was presumably given to Emperor Ferdinand Ill,
to whom it is dedicated. Shortly thereafter, in the later months of 1649, Froberger travelled to the
Electoral Court of Dresden and from there went to Brussels. (Please see Chapter two for more
information on this part of Froberger's life.) Presumably it was during this period in Brussels that
Froberger wrote out the version of Toccata FbWV 102 which later found its way into the Bauyn MS.
7.4.2 Tempo
The Sing-Akademie source is particularly fascinating as it seems to confirm that Froberger's
instruction a la discretion definitely relate to rhapsodic playing. In the Sing-Akademie version, the
• toccata has the instruction a discretion at the beginning of each of the three rhapsodic sections. The
end of the first two rhapsodic sections is indicated by the sign that is similar to the Venus sigla: ~.
. (J ~ ~ :
•
~-n-rd4 \ r .~
11 • r--~.~ t V ~.~
(If,) Oac ~I- I.'trutI. t-a-~t"l'1"8 ~ •'"';.-.lU/tla.- i,4.- ...:.:;
•• Froberger: Toccata FbWV 102, opening. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
- 352-
•
•
•
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 102. The "venus sig/a" (ringed) signalling the end of the first rhapsodic
section. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 102, ending. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
•
These injunctions to play with discretion are absent from the 1649 Libro Secondo version of the
toccata. However, in the Libra Secondo, the typical Frobergerian disregard for conventional bar
lines is more apparent, adding to the overall impression that the music should be played without
strict regard to tempo.
- 353-
..
•
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 102, opening bars. Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
7.4.3 Expressive Devices
~.
The rhapsodic sections of the toccata contain many typical expressive devices, such as the tirata
followed by a leap.
Tirata
.,
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 102, bars 2-3. Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
..
I
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 102, bar 33. Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
- 354-
Chains of suspensions and dissonances and the descending line
•
The chains of suspensions and dissonanees in the toccata are reminiscent not only of the durezze e
ligature style of other keyboard compositions but also of certain madrigals where a suspended note
forms a dissonance with a note sung in another voice and is resolved only to form the next
dissonance. In some cases, these chains form a descending line, typical of a lament.
75 Non
mo lh-
Non puo...
D
Non puë ...
puë ...
BO
• Monteverdi: Stracciami pur il core. Terzo Libro, 1592. (Carter and Chew: 2012.)
Chains of suspensions and dissonanees in the toccata also form a lament-style descending line:
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 102, bar 16. Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
- 355 -
•
The second contrapuntal section contains descending lines in all the voices .
•
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 102, bars 30-32. Libro Seconde, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
The Tritone
-.. The example below shows the use of one ofVicentino's "bad leaps", the tritone between g' and c#'.
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 102, bar 19. Libro Seconde, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
The Bauyn MS gives this passage as:
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 102, bar 19. Bauyn MS. (Froberger: 1993.)
This use of the lombardie rhythm in such leaps is so typically Frobergerian that it underscores once
again that the version of the toccata that the Bauyn MS scribe copied was more than likely from an
autograph.
- 356-
..
The Descending Fourth
•
Froberger uses the descending fourth in a number of instances. A series of them is to be found just
before the final cadence.
'~
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 102, ending. Libro Seconde, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
7.4.4 Restlessness and Diversity
.. Throughout the toccata, chromatic descending lines and changing major jminor chords on the same
\
bass note give the feeling of shifting tonalities and a general restlessness that is never quite
resolved until the last chord. For example, the opening has f, f#, c, c#, b, b ~, g and g#, all of which
form intervals with the repeated note d in the bass or tenor voices .
•
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 102, bar 2. Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
- 357-
Between the sections of the toccata, Froberger avoids definitive cadences, using elisions that end
.. one section and begin the next. The use of these elisions blur the cadences adding to the impression
of continuous restlessness; they can be seen in the transition from the first rhapsodic section to the
first imitative section and in the transition between the second rhapsodic section and the second
imitative section. In both of the examples below, a chord forms the end of one section and the
beginning of the next. In the first example this chord is a d minor chord on the tonic. In the second
example it is a 0 major chord on the tonic.
7
'If.
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 102 showing the transition between sections, bars 7-8.
Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 102, showing the transition between sections, bars 19-20.
Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
~I
Another effect linking this toccata with the madrigals is rhythmic animation: quick notes
contrasting with long slow notes, rhythmic extremes and syncopation. All of these effects add to the
feeling of restlessness and mood changeability which characterise many of the madrigals. If the
opening of the toccata is compared to Gesualdo's Gia Piansi ne/ dolore in which the poetry
alternates between despair and rapture, certain similarities can be found. There are slow opening
- 358-
•
chords, followed by runs of quick notes in all the voices, starting high and ending with the low
• voices. Tiratas are followed by leaps to lower notes.
Gesua/do: Gia Piansi ne/ dolore, opening bars. Libra Sesto. (Gesua/do: 1613.)
\
[#f.)
L'\t . ~-.{v1~ ~\" ""~ -e: "
4'
""': .y
~\ I r {V \
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 102, opening. Sing-Akademie MS. (Froberger: 2006.)
- 359-
•
7.4.5 Crome Bianche
The second contrapuntal section of the toccata is written in white notation, or to give it its Italian
name, crome bianche.
Froberger: Toccata FbWV 102, bars 24ff Libro Secondo, 1649. (Froberger: 1993.)
As discussed in section 4.6.5 the flagged minims that he uses are crotchets in void notation. This
notation is unique in Froberger's works and appears to indicate that this section should be played
slowly, like a lament.
- 360-
•
CHAPTER EIGHT: CONCLUSIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES .FOR FURTHER
• RESEARCH
Johann Jacob Froberger's keyboard music is unique. It combines the then-current trends in
" II. keyboard music from the hotspots of composition and performance in Italy and France, with the
word painting, tempo changes, embellishments, rhythmic diversity and dissonance associated with
the secular madrigals. For much of his life, Froberger was not regularly employed, enjoying an
itinerant life-style that was at least interesting, if a bit uncertain. He seems to have depended upon
.. his ability to integrate quickly into the musical life of various courts and his reputation as a virtuoso'
performer. The downside of this lifestyle was, presumably, that he was not assured of a regular
income, but it had many advantages as well. He associated with famous musicians and composers at
a wide variety of influential courts throughout Europe; this exposed him to the latest trends. In the
first half of the seventeenth century the madrigal was still high-fashion and many worthy
• composers lent their considerable expertise to the form, pushing the boundaries with their musical
innovations. In addition, he composed for, and played before, Kings, Princes and nobles at these
courts. I would imagine that this honed his skills to a considerable degree. The courtiers demanded
new music, innovation and complexity together with an element of meraviglia that was partly
composed of surprise and virtuosity. They wanted to be impressed and, in many courts they were
spoilt for choice. There was plenty of competition and the fact that Froberger stands out in history
is a testimony to his greatness. There are several contemporary accounts of his performances and
improvisations; his music was collected and preserved and, surprisingly for the times, printed after
his death. Despite his acknowledged greatness, and despite the major contributions of several
historians concerning his life and travels, Froberger is still under-researched. Chapter two of this
thesis attempts to put the currently known information into chronological format, but there is
scope for much more research. For example, with the discovery of the late autograph, we now know
that Froberger visited Madrid. This would make an interesting topic for further research. The
~ publication of a detailed life history would be a major contribution to musicology.
Despite the major strides made in cataloguing and printing Froberger's music in a modern edition
(Rampe) there is scope for more research in this area. The recently auctioned autograph
(Sotheby's) from Froberger's later years is not yet available and no edition of Froberger's music can
- 361-
•
•
be complete without it. Libri Primo and Terzo have not yet come to light. Perhaps they are lost
• forever, but the recent discovery of the late autograph, the Bulyowsky MS and the Sing-Akademie
MS gives me hope. There is also an opportunity to publish a facsimile copy of Libro Secondo, Libro
Quarto and the Libro di Capricci e Ricercati and of course, the late autograph if it ever becomes
available. As described in Section 1.4, Rampe's attribution of the four partitas FbWV 653-656 to
Froberger is, in my opinion, incorrect. I believe that the partitas and the preludes that precede them
belong to a later Germanic composer active probably around 1700. Research to try to identify the
composer would be interesting: they exhibit stylistic characteristics of Kuhnau and Buxtehude.
The madrigals are characterised by melancholy and introspection, by a continuous moaning about
unrequited love and a depiction of the unfeeling attitude of the loved one. Considering the scarcity
of topics, there is a remarkable diversity in the music. Composers outdid one another in setting
poetry to music, expressing individual words or feelings with word painting devices, such as the
.. sighing motif and the descending line: devices that have become so associated with the form that
they are now often referred to as "madrigalisms". They are to be found in great abundance in
Froberger's music. The lamentations and related forms are akin to the madrigals, expressing a
variety of melancholy feelings on death, misfortune and loneliness. Froberger uses word painting
devices not only in these pieces, but also in almost all his works. His extensive use of the devices in
his music sets him apart from his keyboard predecessors, as does his use of the
lamentation/tornbeau form. There is perhaps scope for further research into the influence oL
certain individual madrigalists upon Froberger. I would suggest Gesualdo and Monteverdi in
particular. The influence of the French lutenists upon Froberger is widely accepted. However, who
~ influenced whom and to what extent is a moot point and would provide an interesting topic for
further research. For example, it i~ possible that Froberger had even more of an influence upon his
French friends than has previously been supposed; possibly introducing the gigue into the dance
suite before Gaultier did and introducing the stile brisé (stile luthé) into keyboard music before
.", Chambonniêres,
Froberger's many instructions to play avec discretion seem to sum up the concept of Sprezzatura.
Like Sprezzatura, discretion has connotations of aristocratic good taste, effortless competence and
improvisation. Knowing when to play rhapsodically and just how much the tempo should be
- 362 -
•
stretched is a skill that is difficult to teach, changing sensitively with each piece and from
~ performance to performance. Moving the listeners to tears or to joy was partially dependent upon
the judicious application of tempo changes and it was an ever-moving target, relying upon the
circumstances of the performance, the audience, the acoustics of the room etc. Froberger seems to
have felt strongly that his music could not be played by someone who had not received the
appropriate instructions, even asking Sibylla not to disseminate his music after his death. The
discovery of the Sing-Akademie MS was a breakthrough in proving what Early Music enthusiasts
had long suspected: the beginning, middle and end of the toccatas should be played rhapsodically.
The instruction to play avec discretion is present in the toccatas, the lamentations, in various
allemandes and even in some gigues. This instruction is given added emphasis by Froberger's
sometimes erratic use of bar lines. Like many of his predecessors, Froberger used proportional time
signatures and coloratio to further indicate tempo changes. His use of crome bianche in Toccata
FbWV 102 may be an influence of Carissimi, with whom he might have studied and his barring
system and use of crome blanche might have been the inspiration for Louis Couperin's unmeasured
" j.i, preludes. Certainly, Froberger's influence on the young Couperin seems to cry out for further
investigation. Some interesting similarities in their music have already been pointed out by,
amongst others, David Ledbetter and Davitt Moroney, but there is scope for a detailed comparison
of Couperin's music with Froberger's oeuvre.
The use of ornamentation for expressive purposes was one of the fundamental elements of the
madrigals. Although it was customary to improvise ornaments, composers started to write
ornaments into their music, probably to try to curb the tendency of singers to show off their
.. capabilities whether or not the addition of ornamentation was appropriate. Caccini's discussion on
ornamentation in the preface to Le Nuove Musidie (1601/2) has provided the starting point for this
part of my thesis. The performer of Froberger's music would be expected to add suitable
embellishments. Although he used the occasional ornament sign, particularly in his later music,
~ most of his ornamentation is written out. His use of specifically vocal ornaments is a peculiarity of
his music. Of particular note is the use of the trillo, the esclamazione and the ribattuta di golo. Once
again, the influence upon Louis Couperin can be seen in the use of the trillo which Couperin used
only in his unmeasured preludes. In addition Couperin wrote out nearly all of the ornaments that he
used in the preludes. This shows another link to Froberger as French clavecinists generally used
symbols, as did Couperin himself in his other keyboard works. This thesis concentrates on the
- 363-
•
influence of Italian secular madrigals upon Froberger, but an interesting extension of this would be
• research into the French airs de cour upon Froberger, in particular the use of ornamentation.
A sense of wonder, the unexpected, the marvellous and the new was part of the Zeitgeist of the
times. Composers and performers were expected to provide a constant stream of new invention.
Audacious dissonances, rhythmic animation, rhythmic extremes and structural complexity became,
like word painting devices, sprezzatura and new ornamentation, part of the composers' arsenal of
techniques. As one shocking new technique was invented and copied, it eventually became standard
fare. To provide an ongoing sense of meraviglia, new techniques were called for. Old-school
theorists like Artusi were horrified by the deliberate over-turning of traditional "proper"
compositional techniques. In addition, composers mixed modes. If, like many of the old theorists,
you believed that a particular mode evoked a particular emotion or feeling, then mixing the modes
just served to confuse the audience. The music of the times is a strange hybrid of modality and
tonality and Froberger's music is no exception. His use of the major and the minor third in close
proximity gives· his music an expressive strangeness to the modern ear as he often seems to wander
back and forth from one key to another, giving many of his pieces a feeling of unremitting
restlessness. Like the madrigalists, his use of dissonance is deliberate, expressing intense emotions
with intervals that would have sounded harsh to 17th century ears, especially in mean-tone tuning.
It is interesting to note that the gamut of notes that he uses greatly exceeds the notes that would be
available to the keyboard in normal meantone tuning, leading one to think that he might have had
access to an instrument with split sharps or that he espoused a different method of tuning, perhaps
more similar to the tuning systems of the next century in Bach's time.
Froberger copied adventurous compositional techniques of the madrigalists, combined them with
his strict South German heritage of conservative counterpoint, added a lavish soupcon of French
~ finesse and finished off the mixture with his own flash of genius to create intensely personal, highly
expressive music that seems, in many instances, to be the keyboard equivalent of the madrigali
moderni.
- 364-
•
BIBLIOGRAPHY
• Adams, Martin. 1995. Henry Purcell: the Origins and Development of his Musical Style.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Annibaldi, Claudio. 1998. Froberger á Rome; aux l'artisanat Frescobaldien aux secrets de Kircher.
J.J. Froberger, musieien européen. Klincksieck: Domaine musicologique, Vo120.
Apel, WilIi. 1970. The Harvard Dictionary of Music. London: Heinemann Educational Books.
Apel, Willi. 1972. The History of Keyboard Music to 1700. Tischler, Hans (Tr). Bloomington,
Indiana University Press.
Arnn, John 0 and Schroder, Dorothea. Ebner, Wolfgang. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music
Online, http://O-www.oxfordmusiconline.com.wagtail.uovs.ac.za/subscriber /article/
grove/mustc/Oêëu-t (accessed December 12, 2011).
Artusi. Giovanni Maria. 1600. L' Artusi overo delle imperfettione della moderna musica. Venice:
Giacomo Vincenti.
Badura-Skoda, Eva, et al. Cadenza. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online,
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.fsubscriber/article/grove/music/43023 (accessed
October 1, 2010).
Barker, Naomi. 1989. The Toccatas of Frescobaldi's Partite e Toccate Libra Prima. Master's
~ dissertation. Johannesburg: University of the Witwatersrand.
Barker, Naomi. 1995. Analytical Issues in the Toccatas of Girolama Frescobaldi. PhD Thesis.
London: University of London.
Bartel, Dietrich. 1997. Musica Poetica: Musical-Rhetorical Figures in German Baroque Music.
Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Benedetti, Piero. 1611. Musiche Libra Primo. Florence: Christofano Marescotti. IMSLP Website.
http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Composers. Accessed 5 October 2009.
Benedetti, Piero. 1613. Musiche Libro Secondo. Venice: Ricciardo Amadino. IMSLP Website.
http://imslp.org/wikifCategory:Composers. Accessed 5 October 2009.
Bent, lan et al. Notation. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://O-
www.oxfordmusiconline.com.wagtail.uovs.ac.za/subscriber / article / grove /music/20114pg7
• (accessed December 29, 2011).
Bernhard, Christoph. Tractatus composition is augmentatus. From The Treatises of Christoph
Bernhard, Music Forum, vol3, Mitchell, William J (Ed). 1973. New York: Colombia University
Press.
Bianconi, Lorenzo. Gesualdo, Carlo, Prince of Venasa, CountofConza. Grove Music Online.
Oxford Music Online. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.fsubscriber/article/grove/
music/l0994. Accessed October 1, 2010.
Bianconi, Lorenzo. 1987. Music in the 17th Century. Bryant, David (Tr), Cambridge University
Press.
Bologna, Giovanni da. 1580.11 Mercuria Volante. The Web Gallery of Art.
http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/g/giovanni/bologna/mercure1.html. Accessed 13
September 2010.
- 365 -
Bowers, Jane and Tick, Judith.1987. Women making music: the Western art tradition 1150-1950.
University of Illinois Press.
Bowers, Roger. Proportional notation. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://O-
www.oxfordmusiconline.com.wagtail.uovs.ac.zajsubscriberjarticlejgrovejmusicj22424
(accessed December 18, 2011).
Boyer, Abel. 1771. The Royal Dictionary. Prieur, JC (Ed). Thirteenth edition 1771 from the
original of 1699. London: Bathurst. Digitised by Google 2009.
Bridgman, Nanie. Maffei, Giovanni Camillo. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://O-
www.oxfordmusiconline.com.wagtail.ufs.ac.zajsubscriber jarticlejgrovej music j17426
(accessed February 21,2012.)
Bronzino, Angelo. 1540j45. Allegoria del trionfo di Venere. Wikimedia commons.
http:j jcommons.wikimedia.orgjwikijFile:Angelo_Bronzino_OO1.jpg. Accessed 14 September
2010.
Brossard, Sébastien de. c. 1708. Dictionaire de Musique, Contenant une Explication Des Termes
Grecs, Latins, ltaliens et Francois les plus usitez dans la Musique, Troisieme Edition. Amsterdam:
Estienne Roger. Facsimile edition 1992. Géneve: Minkoff.
Buelow, George. 2010. Figures, theory of musical. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online,
http:j jwww.oxfordmusiconline.com.jsubscriberjarticlejgrovejmusicj09625. Accessed
October 1, 2010.
Burchmore, Bruce. Fleury, Charles, Sieur de Blancrocher. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music
Online. http:j jwww.oxfordmusiconline.com.fsubscriber jarticlejgrovejmusicj 44206.
Accessed December 2, 2010.
Bussy Rabutin, Roger de. 1754. Histoire Amoureuse des Gaules. Reprinted Paris 1857.
Caccini, Francesca. 1618.11 Primo Libro della Musiche a una e due voci. Florence: Zanobi Pignoni.
IMSLP Website. http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Composers. Accessed 27 July 2009.
Caccini, Giulio. 1600. Euridice. Eitner, Robert (Ed). 1881. Publikation Aelterer Praktischer und
Theoretischer Musikweke. Leipzig: Breitkopf & Hartel.
Caccini, Giulio. 1601j2. Le Nuove Musiche. Hitchcock, HWiley (Ed) 1978. Recent Researches in
the music of the Baroque Era, Volume 9. Yale: AR Editions.
Caccini, Giulio. 1601j2. Le Nuove Musiche. Marescotti: Florence 1601j2. IMSLP Website.
http://imslp.org/wiki. Accessed 23 September 2010.
Caccini, Giulio. 1614. Nuove musiche e nuova maniera di scriverle. Knuth J (Ed) 1952. The
Werner Icking Music Archive website. http.Z/icktng-mustc-archive.org. Accessed 23 2010.
CaldweIl, John. 2010. Toccata. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
http:j jwww.oxfordmusiconline.com.jsubscriberjarticlejgrovejmusicj28035. Accessed
October 1, 2010.
CaldweIl, John. Sources of keyboard music to 1660. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online,
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/ grove jmusicj26298 (accessed
December 29, 2011).
Capricornus, Samuel. Geistliche Harmonien. Walker, Paul (Ed). 1997. Collegium Musicum
(Second series, Vol. 13). Yale University: AR Editions.
- 366-
Caravaggio. 1607. Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:
The_Flagellation_of_Christ_by_Caravaggio. Accessed 22 April 2011.
Carissirni, Giacomo. Jl Ciarlatano. Torchi, Luigi (Ed). 1899. L'Arte Musicale in Italia. Volume 5.
Composizioni ad una e piu voci, secoio XVII. Milan: G Ricordi & C. IMSLP Website.
http.y /Imslp.org/wiki. Accessed 30 May 2011.
Carissimi, Giacomo. Lamento di Maria Stuarda. Callon, G (Ed) 1996. Acadiau website.
http://www.acadiau.ca. Accessed 21 September 2010.
Carissimi, Giacomo. Partition de plusieurs airs Italiens. MS Res F935. IMSLP Website.
http://imslp.org/wiki. Accessed 22 September 2010.
Carr, Thomas M Jr. 1985. Voltaire's Fables of Discretion. The Conte Philosophique in le Taureau
Blanc. Studies in Eighteenth Century Culture, Vol15 pp 47-65. Conway. John (Ed). American
Society of Eighteenth Century Studies.
Carréras. Juan [osé and Garcia, Bernado Garcia, (Eds). 2005. The Royal Chapel in the Time of the
Habsburgs: Music and ceremony in early modern European Courts. Acker, Yolanda (Tr). English
edition: Knighton, Tess. Woodbridge: Boydell Press.
Carter, Tim and Butt, John (Eds). 2005. The Cambridge History of 17th Century Music. Cambridge
University Press.
Carter, Tim and Chew, Geoffrey. Monteverdi, Claudio. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.j subscriber/article / grove /rnusic/ 44352 Accessed
February 6, 2012.
Carter, Tim. 1984. On the Composition and Performance ofCaccini's Le Nuove Musiche. Early
Music Journal. Vol.12 (2) pp 208-217.
Carter, Tim. 2010. Word-painting. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com./subscriber/article/grove/music/30568. Accessed
October 1, 2010.
Carter, Tim. 2000. Printing and the New Music. Article in Music and the Cultures of the Past, Van
Orden, Kate (Ed). New York: Garland Publishing.
Cartwright Ady, Julia Mary. 2009. Baldassare Castiglione. General Books LLC.
Castello, Dario. 1644. Sonate Coneertate in stil moderno per sonar nel organo overo c1avicembalo
con diversi instrumenti. A 1.2.3 e 4 voci. Libra Secondo. Venezia. SPES (Studio per edizioni Scelle)
1981. Number 44, Florence.
Castiglione, Baldassare 1528, reprinted 1854. Jl Cortegiano. Le Monnier. Florence.
Chambonniêres, Jacques Champion de. 1670. Les Pieces de Clavecin, livre premier. Paris: Chez
[ollain. IMSLP Website. http.Z/Imslp.org/wiki. Accessed 13 December 2011.
Chambonnieres, Jacques Champion de. 1670. Les Pieces de Claveein. livre second. Paris: Chez
[ollain, IMSLP Website. http://imslp.org/wiki. Accessed 13 December 2011.
Chambonnieres, Jacques Champion de. 1670. Les Pieces de Claveein. livre premier. Wiberg, Steve
(Ed). 2008. Due West Editions. Creative Commons Attribution Sharealike.
Charnbonniêres, Jacques Champion de. 1670. Les Pieces de Claveein. livre second. Wiberg, Steve
(Ed). 2008. Due West Editions. Creative Commons Attribution Sharealike.
- 367-
.)
Clausing Susette. Erben, Balthasar. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://O-
www.oxfordmusiconline.com.wagtail.uovs.ac.zajsubscriberjarticlejgrovejmusicj08915
Il
(accessed March 24, 2011).
Clayton, Anthony and Russell, Alan. 2001. Dresden, a City Reborn. Berg. Oxford.
Collins, Paul. 2005. The Stylus Phantasticus and Free Keyboard Music of the North German
Baroque. Cornwall: Ashgate Publishing Company.
Couperin Francois. 1716. L'Art de toucher le Clavecin. Paris: Foucault. Facsimile, Fuzeau
editions, Courlay, 2003.
Couperin, Louis. Pieces de Claveein. Moroney, Davitt (Ed). 1985. Monaco: L'Oiseau-Lyre.
Couperin, Louis. Pieces de Claveein vols I and Il. Curtis, Alan (Ed), 1970. Paris: Le Pupitre.
Cypess, Rebecca. 2010. Esprimere la voce humana. Connections between vocal and instrumental
music by Italian composers of the early seventeenth century. Journal of Musicology Vol 27 j2 pp
~\ 181-223.
Dahlhaus, Carl. 1990. Studies on the Origin of Harmonic Tonality. Gjerdingen, Robert (Trans.)
Princeton University Press.
Dahlhaus, Carl, et al. Harmony. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://O-
www.oxfordmusiconline.com.wagtail.uovs.ac.zaj su bscriber j article j grove j music j 50818
(accessed December 22, 2011).
D'Anglebert, Jean-Henry. Pieces de Clavecin. Gilbert, Kenneth (Ed). 1975. Paris: Le Pupitre.
D'India, Sigismondo. 1623. Le musiche ... !ibro V.Callon, G. (Ed) 1992. Acadiau website.
http://www.acadiau.ca. Accessed 21 September 2010.
D'India, Sigismondo. 1621. Le musiche, con alcune arie, con l'alfabetto per la chitarra ... libro IV.
Callon, Gordon 1992. Acadiau website. http.y/www.acadiau.ca. Accessed 21 September 2010.
Damschroder, David and Russel Williams, David. 1990. Music Theory from Zarlino to Schenker.
Pendragon Press.
Dart, Thurston. Eye music. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
http:j jwww.oxfordmusiconline.com.jsubscriberjarticlejgrovejmusicj09152. Accessed
October 1, 2010.
De Rore, Cipriano. 1577. Tutti i Madrigali de Cipriano di Rore a Quattro Voci spartite et
accommodati per sonar d'ogniforte d'istrumento perfetto. Venice: Angelo Gardano. IMSLP
Website. http://imslp.org/wiki. Accessed 18 December 2011.
Debard, Jean-Marc. 1991. Le Grand musieien et compositeur baroque j.j. Froberger a Héricourt
(1664-1667). Bulletin de la Societe d'Emulation de Montbéliard 86:113.
I!!) Delmasse, Felix. 1859. Lajeunesse de Moliere. Hachette. Paris.
DeMachy. 1683. Pieces de viole en musique et en Tablature. Facsimile edition. Paris: Ballard.
Denis, Arnold. Ricerear. The Oxford Companion to Music, Latham, A (ed). Oxford Music Online,
http:j jO-www.oxfordmusiconline.com.wagtail.uovs.ac.zajsubscriberjarticlejoprjtl14je5640
(accessed August 20,2011).
Denis, Jean. 1650. Traite de l'accord de l'espinette. Paris: Ballard. Facsimile, Fuzeau editions.
~J Courlay, 2003.
- 368-
Deschamps, David. 1997. Notes to a programme of Monteverdi's music played by Cerddorion. New
York.
Dirksen, Pieter and Rasch, Rudolf. 2001. Eine neue Quelle zu Frobergers Cemba/osuiten. Musik in
Baden-Wilrttemberg - [ahrbuch 2001. Stuttgart.
Diruta, Girolamo. 1622. II Transilvano, dia/ogo sopra i/ vero modo di sonar organi & istromenti da
penna. Venice: Alessandro Vincenti. IMSLPWebsite. http://imslp.org/wiki. Accessed 23
September 2010.
;t.
Dugot, Joel and Ledbetter, David. Dufout. Francois. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
http:j jwww.oxfordmusiconline.com.jsubscriberjarticlejgrovejmusicj08267. Accessed
October 2, 2010.
Ecole nationale de musique de Montbéliard. 1998.].]. Froberger, musieien européen: colloque
organisé par la ville et I'Ecole nationale de musique de Montbéliard, Montbéliard, 2-4 novembre
,.,. 1990. Domaine musicologique, Vol 20, Klincksieck.
Einstein, A (Ed). 1929. Publicationen Alterer Musik. VoI1-4. Leipzig. Reprint Hildesheim 1967.
Fabbri, Paolo. 1994. Monteverdi. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Fallows, David. Adagio. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
http:j jwww.oxfordmusiconline.com.jsubscriberjarticlejgrovejmusicJ00149. Accessed
October 7, 2010.
Ferguson, Howard.1998. Keyboard Interpretation:from the 14th to the 19th century. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Findien, Paula. 2004. Athanasius Kircher: The Last Man Who Knew Everything. New York:
Routledge.
Fischer, Kurt von, et al. Madrigal. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com./subscriber/article j grovejmusicj 40075. Accessed
October 1, 2010.
Fortune, Nigel and Carter, Tim. Monody. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com./subscriber/article/ grove jmusicj18977. Accessed
October 1, 2010.
Fortune, Nigel. Sprezzatura. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
http:j jwww.oxfordmusiconline.com.jsubscriberjarticlejgrovejmusicj26468. Accessed
October 1, 2010.
Frescobaldi, Girolamo. 1630. Secondo Libro d'arie musicali. Florence. Callon, Gordon 1994.
Acadiau website. http://www.acadiau.ca. Accessed 21 September 2010.
Frescobaldi, Girolamo. 1637. II Secondo Libro di Toccate, Canzone, Versi d'Hinni Magnificat,
Gagliarde, Correnti et A/tre Partite D'Intavo/atura di Cimba/o et Organo. Facsimile edition,
Archivum Musicum 1980. Florence: SPES.
Frescobaldi, Girolamo. 1637. The First Book of Toccatas, Partitas ete (originally printed in 1615).
Pidoux, Pierre (Ed). 1949. Kassei: Barenreiter. KasseI.
Frescobaldi, Girolamo. 1637. The Second Book of Toccatas, Canzone etc. Pidoux, Pierre (Ed).
1949. Kassei: Barenreiter.
- 369-
.'
Frescobaldi, Girolamo. 1637. Toccate d'lntavolatura di Cimbalo et Organo Partite di Diverse Arie
i e Corrente, Balletti, Cioccone, Passaghagli. Libra Primo. Facsimile edition, Archivum Musicum
1980. Florence: SPES.
Frescobaldi, Girolamo. Fantasien (1608), Canzoni alla Francese (1645). Pidoux, Pierre (Ed).
1950. Kassei: Barenreiter. KasseI.
Proberger. Johann Jacob. 1649. Libra Secondo. Rampe, Siegbert (Ed). 1993. Neue Ausgabe
samtlicher Clavier- und Orgelwerke. Volume 1. Kassei: Barenreiter.
Proberger. Johann Jacob. 1656 & 1658. Libra Quarto (1656). Libra di Capricci e Ricercati (ca.
1658). Rampe, Siegbert (Ed). 1995. Neue Ausgabe samtlicher Clavier- und Orgelwerke. Volume Il.
Kassei: Barenreiter.
Froberger, Johann Jacob. Rampe, Siegbert (Ed). 2005. Neue Ausgabe samtlicher C1avier- und
Orgelwerke. Volume 111.1.Kassei: Barenreiter .
• ' Proberger. Johann Jacob. Rampe, Siegbert (Ed). 2005. Neue Ausgabe samtlicher Clavier- und
Orgelwerke. Volume 111.2.Kassei: Barenreiter.
Froberger, Johann Jacob. Rampe, Siegbert (Ed). 2003. Neue Ausgabe samtlicher Clavier- und
Orgelwerke. Volume IV.1. Kassei: Barenreiter.
Froberger, Johann Jacob. Rampe, Siegbert (Ed). 2003. Neue Ausgabe samtlicher C1avier- und
'. Orgelwerke. Volume IV.2. Kassei: Barenreiter.Froberger, Johann Jacob. Rampe, Siegbert (Ed). 2011. Neue Ausgabe samtlicher Clavier- und
Orgelwerke. Volume V.l. Kassei: Barenreiter.
Froberger, Johann Jacob. Rampe, Siegbert (Ed). 2010. Neue Ausgabe samtlicher Clavier- und
Orgelwerke. Volume VI.1. Kassei: Barenreiter.
Froberger, Johann Jacob. Rampe, Siegbert (Ed). 2010. Neue Ausgabe samtlicher Clavier- und
Orgelwerke. Volume V1.2.Kassei: Barenreiter.
Froberger, Johann Jacob. Toccaten, Suiten, Lamenti. Die handschirft SA 4450 der Sing-Akademie
zu Berlin. Faksimile und Ubertragung. Wollny, Peter (Ed). 2006. Kassie: Barenreiter.
Froberger, Johann Jacob. Orgel und Klavierwerke. Adler, Guido (Ed). 1899. Vienna: Denkmaler
der Tonkunst in Osterreich. Reprinted by Akademische Druck und Verlagsanstalt. Graz, 1959.
Froberger, Johann Jacob. Oeuvres Completes pour Clavecin. Schott, Howard (Ed.). 1979/1989.
Vols I and II. Le Pupitre, Collection de Musique Ancienne. Paris: Heugel.
Fuller, David, et al. Couperin. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://O-
www.oxfordmusiconline.com.wagtail.uovs.ac.za/subscriber/article/grove/music/40182pg2.
Accessed June 6, 2011.
Fuller, David. Charnbonnieres, Jacques Champion, Sieur de. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music
Online, http://O-www.oxfordmusiconline.com.wagtail.uovs.ac.za/subscriber larticle/grovel
music/05386 (accessed June 6, 2011).
Fuller, David. Notes inégales. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://O-
www.oxfordmusiconline.com.wagtail.uovs.ac.za/su bscri ber Iarticle Igrove /rnusic 120126.
Accessed December 14, 2011.
- 370-
I'_' __'
iii
Furetiere, Antoine. 1690. Dictionaire Universel. Rotterdam: Arnout et Reinier Leers. Internet
Archive Digital Library of Free Books. http.y/www.archive.org/. Accessed 15 October
2010.
Gagliane. Marco da. 1602.11 Primo libro de'Madriqali a einque voci. Venice. Strainchamps,
Edmond (Ed). 2003. Wisconsin: AE Editions Inc.
Gagllano. Marco da. 1617.11 Sesto Libro de' Madrigali. Torchi L (Ed). 1899. L'Arte Musicale in
Italia. Volume 4. Composizioni a piu voci, secoio XVII. Milan: G Ricordi & C. IMSLP Website.
~. http://imslp.org/wiki. Accessed 30 September 2009.
Garden. Greer and Donington. Robert. Diminution. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online,
http://O-www.oxfordmusiconline.com.wagtail.uovs.ac.za/subscriber /article/
grove/music/42071 (accessed December 19, 2011).
Gesualdo, Carlo. 1594. Madrigali a einque voci. Libro secondo. Ferrar: Vittorio Baldini. IMSLP
Website. http://imslp.org/wikifCategory:Composers. Accessed 30 September 2009.
Gesualdo, Carlo. 1611. Madrigali a einque voci. Libro Quinto. CPDL 2009. Choral Wiki Website.
http://www2.cpdl.org/wiki. Accessed 21 September 2010.
Gesualdo, Carlo. 1611. Madrigals Book V.Weissmann, Wilhelm (Ed). 1958. Leipzig: VEB
Deutscher Verlag fur Musik.
Gesualdo, Carlo. 1613. Partitura delli sei libri de Madrigali a einque voci. Books 1-6. Simone
.~ Molinaro. Genoa: Giuseppe Pavoni. IMSLP Website. http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Composers.
Accessed 26 September 2009.
Gillespie. John. 1972. Five Centuries of Keyboard Music. New York: Dover Publications.
Gordon-Seifert, Catherine. 2010. The Allemandes of Louis Couperin: Songs without
Words. 2010. In Fiori Musicali. liber amicorum Alexander Silbiger. Fontijn Claire (Ed).
Michegan: Har,monie Park Press.
Gorman. Michael John and Wilding, Nick. 2003. The Correspondence of Athanasius Kircher. The
World of a 17th Century Jesuit. Stanford University. The Athanasius Kircher Correspondence
Project. http.y/archtmede.Irnss.fl.it/klrcher /#3.
Gosman. Macdonald, Vanderjagt et al. 2003. Princes and Princely Culture 1450-1650. Leiden:
Brill.
Grout, Donald and Palisca, Claude. 2001. A History of Western Music. New York: WW Norton &
Company.
Haar, James. 1998. The Science and Art of Renaissance Music. Corneilson, Paul (Ed). Princeton:
Princeton University Press.
James Haar. 2009. Cosimo Bartoli on Music. Article in Early Music History: Studies in Medieval
and Early Modern Music. Fenlon, lain (Ed). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Haines, John and Rosenfeld, Randall (Eds). 2004. Music and MedievalManuscripts. Aldershot:
Ashgate publishing.
Hammond, Frederick and Silbiger, Alexander. Frescobaldi, Girolamo Alessandro. Grove Music
Online. Oxford Music Online, http://O-www.oxfordmusiconline.com.wagtail.uovs.ac.za/
subscriber/article/grove/music/l0219 (accessed August 3,2011).
- 371-
Hanning, Barbara et al. Caccini. The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Sadie, Stanley (Ed). Grove
Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.
jsubscriberjarticlejgrovejmusicj0004719pgl. Accessed October 4,2010.
Harris, C. David and Giebler, Albert. Kerll,johann Caspar. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music
Online, http:j jO-www.oxfordmusiconline.com.wagtail.uovs.ac.zajsubscriber jarticlejgrovej
musicj14913. Accessed August 16, 201l.
Harris, Ellen. Cercar della nota. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
~ http:j jwww.oxfordmusiconline.com.fsubscriber jarticlejgrovejmusicjOS292. Accessed
October 1, 2010.
Hiley, David. Bar. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://O-
www.oxfordmusiconline.com.wagtail.uovs.ac.zaj su bscri ber j article j grove j music j 01972.
Accessed December 16, 2011.
Hilton, Lisa. 2002. A then ais, the Real Queen of France. London: Little Brown.
~.
Holford, Margery (Ed). 1974. Couperin. CArt de Toucher le Clavecin. Van Nuys, CA:Alfred
Publishing Company Inc.
Holzer, Robert. Giustiniani, Vincenzo. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com./subscriber/article/ grove jmusicjl1242. Accessed
October 1, 2010 .
._. Hudson, Barton. Strozzi, Gregorio. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
http:j jwww.oxfordmusiconline.com.jsubscriberjarticlejgrovejmusicj26989. Accessed
October 1, 2010.
Huygens, Constantijn. Brieven Constantijn Huygens 1608-1687. Huysman ECM, Project leader.
Koninklijke Bibliotheek and Briefwisseling van Constantijn Huygens 1608-1687. J.A.Worp.
Instituut voor Nederlandse Geschiedenis. http.Z/www.inghist.nl/. Accessed 29 October 2010.
Hyer, Brian. Tonality. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://O-
www.oxfordmusiconline.com.wagtail.uovs.ac.zajsubscriberjarticlejgrovejmusicj28102
(accessed December 22, 2011).
Ingrao, Charles W. 2000. The Habsburg Monarchy 1618-1815. Second edition, Cambridge
University Press.
Issherwood, Robert M. 1973. Music in the Service of the King. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
[ackson, Roland John. 200S. Performance Practice: a dictionary guide for musicians. London:
Routledge.
[ackson, Roland. vatente. Antonio. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://O-
www.oxfordmusiconline.com.wagtail.uovs.ac.zaj su bscri ber j article j grove jm usic j2891 O.
Accessed December 18, 2011.
Jones, Andrewand Crutchfield, Will. Ornamentation (ii). The New Grove Dictionary of Opera,
Stanley Sadie (ed). Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
http:j jwww.oxfordmusiconline.com.jsubscriberjarticlejgrovejmusicj0903603 (accessed
October 1, 2010).
Joyce, John and Watkins, Glenn. D'India, Sigismondo. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
http:j jwww.oxfordmusiconline.com.jsubscriberjarticlejgrovejmusicj13761 (accessed
October 1, 2010).
- 372-
Kaufmann, Henry and Kendrick, Robert. Yicentino, Nicola. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music
Online, http://O-www.oxfordmusiconline.com.wagtail.uovs.ac.za/subscriber larticlel
grove/music/29293 (accessed December 14, 2011).
Kennedy, Michael (Ed). The Oxford Dictionary of Music, 2nd ed. Oxford Music Online.
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.fsubscriber larticle/opr It237 le91 (accessed October 1,
2010).
Kircher, Athanasius. 1650. Musurgia Universalis. Rome. Glasgow University Library, Special
,.. Collections, Volumes 1 and 2. Bibliotheca Alexandriae. http://www.sergeisterung.de/faksimile.
European Cultural Heritage Online (ECHO).
Kircher. The correspondence. http://archimede.imss.fi.it/kircher/#3: Stanford University.
Kreitner, Kenneth, et al. Ornaments. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online,.
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com·/ subscriber Iarticle Igrove/music/ 49928 (accessed
October 1, 2010 and May 2,2011).
• Larson, Keith. Dentice. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://O-
www.oxfordmusiconline.com.wagtail.ufs.ac.za/su bscri ber I arti cle I grove Im usic I 07575pgl
(accessed February 21,2012).
Latham, Alison (Ed). 2002. The Oxford Companion to Music. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ledbetter, David. 1987. Harpsichord and Lute Music in 17th century France. Hampshire: Palgrave,
"" Macmillan.
Ledbetter, Steven et al. Marenzio, Luca. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. http://O-
www.oxfordmusiconline.com.wagtail.uovs.ac.za/su bscri ber I article I grove Imusi cI 40081.
(Accessed 28 September 2009.)
Lederer, Josef-Horst. Ferdinand Ill. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://O-
www.oxfordmusiconline.com.wagtail.uovs.ac.za/su bscri ber I article I grove Imusi cl 094 77
(accessed March 23, 2011).
Lesure, Francois (Ed). 1977. Bauyn Manuscript. Facsimile edition. Geneva: Minkoff.
Little, Meredith Ellis. Gigue (i). Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online,.
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com./subscriber /article/grove/rnusic/Ll l.Zd (accessed
October 2, 2010).
Loret, Jean. 1857. La Muze Historique; ou Recueil des lettres en vers contenant les nouvelles du
temps. Tome 1.1650-1654. Paris; Guiraudet et [ouaust.
Luzzaschi, Luzzascho. 1601.0 Primavera. Morin, Yann (Ed). The Werner Icking Music Archive
website. http://icking-music-archive.org. Accessed 9 November 2010.
Luzzaschi, Luzzasco. 1601. Madriqali a uno, due e tre Soprani. Callon, Gordon 1994. Acadiau
website. http://www.acadiau.ca. Accessed 21 September 2010.
Luzzaschi, Luzzasco. Complete unaccompanied Madrigals. Newcomb, Anthony. 2007. University
of Michegan: AR Editions Inc.
Mabbett, Margaret. 1989. The Italian Madrigal 1620-1655. Kings College, University of London.
(PhD thesis).
MacClintock, Carol. 1961. The Monodies of Francesco Rasi. Journal of the American Musicological
., Society, Vo114, no 1 pp 31-36. University of California Press.
- 373-
Macque, G de. Consonanze Stravanganti. Gouin P (Ed). Les Editions Outremontaises 2009. The
Werner Icking Music Archive website. http://icking-music-archive.org. Accessed 22 September
2010.
Maguire, Simon. 2006. johann jacob Froberger. A hitherto unrecorded autograph manuscript.
London. http:j jsscm-jscm.press.uiuc.edujv13jno1jmaguire.html#edn15
Maniates, Maria. 1979. Mannerism in Italian Music and Culture 1530-1630. Manchester
University Press.
Mann, Brian. 2002. The Madrigals of Michelangelo Rossi. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Marenzio, Luca. 1587./1 quarto libro delle villanelle. Venice. Knuth, Jurgen (Ed) 2009. The
Werner Icking Music Archive website. http://icking-music-archive.org. Accessed 19 September
2009.
Marenzio, Luca. 1593. Madrigali a einque voci. Antwerp. Phalesio &Bellero. IMSLP Website.
http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Composers. Accessed 28 March 201l.
Marenzio, Luca. 1595. Cruda AmariIIi. /I settimo libro de Madrigali. Grow, Pand Satterthwaite, R
(Eds). CPDL 2009. Choral Wiki Website. http://www2.cpdl.org/wiki. Accessed 21 September
2010.
Marenzio, Luca. 1599. /I nono libro de Madrigali. Venice. Torchi, L (Ed). 1897. L'Arte Musicale in
Italia. Volume 2. Composizioni sacre e profane a piu voci, secoio XVI.Milan: G Ricordi & C. IMSLP
~: Website. http.y/imslp.org/wild. Accessed 22 September 2010.
Martin, William. vecchi, Orazio. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
http:j jwww.oxfordmusiconline.com.jsubscriberjartielejgrovejmusicj29102 (accessed
October 1, 2010).
Massip, Catherine. 1998. Froberger et la France. j. j. Froberger: Musieien européen. Domaine
musicologique, Vol 20. Klincksieck.
Mattheson, Johann. 1740. Grundlage einer Ehren-Pforte. Hamburg. Internet Archive
Digital Library. http://www.archive.orgj. Accessed 30 September 2010.
Mattheson, Johann. 1739. Der Vollkommene Capellmeister. Bavarian State Library.
Digitised by Google 2010.
Mayer Brown, Howard and Bockmaier, Claus. Tactus. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online,
http:// O-www.oxfordmusiconline.com.wagtail.uovs.ac.zaj su bscri ber j arti eie j grove
jmusicj27354. Accessed April 28, 2011.
McClary, Susan. 2004. Modal Subjectives: Self Fashioning in the Italian Madrigal. California:
University of California Press, California.
.. McClary, Susan. 1976. The Transition from Modal to Tonal Organization in the works ofMonteverdi. Harvard University .
McKinney, Timothy. 1998. Hearing in the Sixth Sense. Musical Quarterly, Vol. 82: 517-536.
Meier, Bernhard. 1988. The Modes of Classical Vocal Polyphony described according to the
sources. Beebe, Ellen (trans.) New York: Broude Brothers.
Meilers, Wilfrid. 1968. Francois Couperin and the French Classical Tradition. Reprint of 1950
• London Edition. New York: Dover .
- 374-
Mersenne, Marin. 1636. Harmonie Universelle contenant la Theorie et la practique de la musique.
Paris: S Cramoisy, Paris. Facsimile, Fuzeau editions, Courlay, 2003.
Monteverdi, Claudio. 1592. II Terzo Libra di Madrigali a einque voci. Venice: Ricciardo Amadino.
Venice. IMSLP Website. http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Composers. Accessed 3 October 2009.
Monteverdi, Claudio. 1587. II Primo Libra de Madrigali. Gouin, P (Ed) 2006. WIMA website.
http://icking-music-archive.org. Accessed 21 September 2010.
.. Monteverdi, Claudio. 1607. II Primo Libra di Madrigali a einque voci. Venice: Alesandro Raverij .
IMSLPWebsite. http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Composers. Accessed 25 September 2009.
Monteverdi, Claudio. 1607. II Secondo Libra di Madrigali a einque voci. Venice: Alesandro
Raverij. IMSLP Website. http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Composers. Accessed 4 October 2009.
Monteverdi, Claudio. 1608. II Quinto Libra di Madrigali a einque voci. Venice: Ricciardo Amadino.
IMSLPWebsite. http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Composers. Accessed 30 September 2009.
,.' Monteverdi, Claudio. 1609. L'Orfeo fa vola in musica. First edition. Venice: Ricciardo Amadino.
Urtext edition 2007. Zanette D (Ed). The Werner Icking Music Archive website. http://icking-
music-archive.org. Accessed 22 September 2010.
Monteverdi, Claudio. 1614. II Sesto Libra di Madrigali a einque voci. Venice: Ricciardo Amadino.
IMSLP Website. http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Composers. Accessed 26 September 2009.
Monteverdi, Claudio. 1615. II Quarto Libra di Madrigali a einque voci. Venice: Ricciardo
Amadino. IMSLP Website. http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Composers. Accessed 30 September
2009.
Monteverdi, Claudio. 1615. L'Orfeo favola in musica. Second edition. Venice: Ricciardo Amadino.
IMSLP Website. http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Composers. Accessed 26 September 2009.
Monteverdi, Claudio. 1615. Quel Augellin Che Canta. II quarto libro di Madrigali. Bhaskoro Dwi
Widhianto (Ed). CPDL 2008. Choral Wiki Website. http://www2.cpdl.org/wiki. Accessed 21
September 2010.
Monteverdi, Claudio. 1619. Concerto Settimo Libra di Madrigali a einque voci. Venice:
Bartolomeo Magni. IMSLPWebsite. http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Composers. Accessed 30
September 2009.
Monteverdi, Claudio. 1619. II Settimo libro di Madrigali. Venice. Creative Commons ShareAlike
2009. Choral Wiki Web site. http://www2.cpdl.org/wiki. Accessed 21 September 2010.
Monteverdi, Claudio. 1638. Madrigali Guerrieri et Amorosi, Libra Ottavo. Venice: Alessandro
Vincenti. IMSLP Website. http://imslp.org/wikiiCategory:Composers. Accessed 30 September
2009.
Monteverdi, Claudio. 1651. Madrigali e Canzonette a due e tre voci. Libra Nono. Venice:
• Alessandro Vincenti. IMSLPWebsite. http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Composers. Accessed 30September 2009.
Monteverdi, Claudio. II Lamento d'Arianna. Magagnin Alessandro (Ed). La Stagione Armonica.
CPDL 2006. Choral Wiki Website. http://www2.cpdl.org/wiki. Accessed 7 December 2010
Nanino, Giovanni Maria. Giovanni Maria Nanino: Fourteen Liturgical Works. 1969. Schuier
Richard (Ed). Recent Researches in the Music of the Renaissance. AR Editions
•• 1
- 375-
Nettl, Bruno et al. Improvisation. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
http:j jwww.oxfordmusiconline.com.jsubscriberjarticlejgrovejmusicj13738 (accessed
October 1, 2010).
Neumann, Frederick. 1983. Ornamentation in Baroque and Post-Baroque Music. New Jersey:
Princeton University Press.
Palisca, Claude and Bent, Ian. Theory, theorists. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online,
http:j jO-www.oxfordmusiconline.com.wagtail.uovs.ac.zajsubscriberjarticlejgrovej music/
'oe.. 44944 (accessed December 14, 2011).
Palisca, Claude, (Ed). 2001. Norton Anthology of Western Music. Volume 1:ancient to baroque.
New York: Norton & Company.
Palisca, Claude. 1994. Studies in the history of Italian music and music theory. Oxford University
Press.
Palisca, Claude. Artusi, Giovanni Maria. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com./subscriber/article/ grove jmusicj01383 (accessed
October 1, 2010).
Palisca, Claude. Diruta, Girolamo. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
http:j jwww.oxfordmusiconline.com.jsubscriberjarticlejgrovejmusicj07837 (accessed
October 1, 2010).
'~ Palisca, Claude. Galilei, Vincenzo. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://O-
www.oxfordmusiconline.com.wagtail.uovs.ac.zajsubscriberjarticlejgrovejmusicjl0526
(accessed December 12, 2011.)
Palisca, Claude. Prima Pratica. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
http:j jwww.oxfordmusiconline.com.jsubscriberjarticlejgrovejmusicj22350 (accessed
October 1, 2010).
Palisca, Claude. Zarlino, Gioseffo. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://O-
www.oxfordmusiconline.com.wagtail.uovs.ac.zajsubscriberjarticlejgrovejmusicj30858
(accessed January 9,2012).
Pallavicino, Benedetto. 1597. Il Quinto Libra de Madrigali a Cinque Voci. Venice: Giacomo Vicenti.
Pasquini, Ercole. c. 1608. Partite sopra Ruggiero. Stella, Simone (Ed) 2009. Creative Commons
Attribution 3.0. IMSLPWebsite. http://imslp.org/wikifCategory:Composers. Accessed 23
September 2010.
Pasquini, Ercole. Canzone Franzese. L'Arte Musicale in Italia. Volume 3. 1908. Composizioni per
Organo 0 Cembalo. Secoli XVI,XVII e XVIII. GMilan: Ricordi & C. IMSLP Website.
http.y /imslp.org/wiki. Accessed 10 December 2011.
Peri, [acopo. 1600. Euridice. Mayer Brown, Howard (Ed). 1981. Recent researches in the Music
of the Baroque Era. Volumes XXXVIand XXXVII.Madison: AR Editions Inc.
Peri, [acopo. 1600. Giorgio Marescotti, Florence. IMSLPWebsite. http.r /imslp.org/wiki.
Accessed 12 December 2011.
Pirrotta, Nino and Povoledo, Elena. 1982. Music and Theatre from Poliziano to Monteverdi.
Cambridge studies in music, Cambridge University Press.
Power, Brian, Epp, Maureen and McGee, Timothy. 2009. The Sounds and Sights of Performance in
Early Music. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Ltd.
- 376-
•
Powers, Harold, et al. Mode. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com·/ subscriber Iarticle Igrove /rnusic/ 43718 (accessed
November 16, 2010).
Powers, Harold. 1982. Modal Representation in Polyphonic Offertories. Article in Early Music
History: Studies in Medieval and early Modern Music. Fenion, lain, (Ed). Cambrige: Cambridge
University Press.
Prévost, Paul. 1987. Le Prelude non mesure pour clavecin. Collection d'etudes musicologiques.
'.. Koerner: Baden-Baden and BouxwilIer.
Radojev, [elena (Ed). 2005. Historically Informed Practice for Early Keyboard Instruments.
http://www.meantone.altervista.org. Accessed 7 October 2010.
Rameau, Jean-Philippe. 1722. Traité de I'harmonie. Treatise on Harmony 1971, Gossett, Philip
(trans.) New York: Dover Publications.
Randel, Don Michael. 2003. The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music. Edition four,.
Massachusets: Harvard University Press.
Ranke, von, Leopold. 1866. The Ecclesiastical and Political History of the Popes of Rome during
the 16th and 17th centuries. Austin, Sarah (Tr), Edition 4, J Murray. Digitized, 2006.
Rasch, Rudolf. 2003.johannjacob Froberqer's Travels 1649-1653. The Keyboard in Baroque
Europe, Hogwood, Christopher (Ed), Cambridge University Press.
Rasch, Rudolf. Huygens, Constantijn. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://O-
www.oxfordmusiconline.com.wagtail.uovs.ac.za/subscri ber Iarti cleIgrove Imusi c113632
(accessed March 23, 2011).
Roberday, Francois. 1660. Fugues et Caprices a quatre parties mises en partition pour I'orgue.
Paris. Pirro André (Ed). 1901. Archives des Maitres de I'Orgue des XVle XVIIe et XVIIIe sleeles.
Paris: A Durand et Fils. IMSLP Website. http://imslp.org/wikifCategory:Composers. Accessed
14 December 2009.
Roberts, Deborah. 1992. The Secret Music of Luzzasco Luzzaschi. Arnon Ra Records, Saydisc
Records. http://www.chandos-records.com. Accessed 9 November 2010.
Rollin, Monique. Gautier,jacques. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com./ subscriber Iarticle Igrove /music/L 07 56 (accessed
October 2, 2010).
Rosand, Ellen. Lamento. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com./subscriber /article Igrove/music/15904 (accessed
December 1, 2010).
Rossi, Michelangelo. 1657. Toccate e Corenti d'lntavolatura d'Organo e Cimablo. Rome. Torchi,
. Luigi (Ed). 1899. L'Arte Musicale in Italia. Volume 3. Composizioni per Organo 0 Cembalo. Secoli
XVI,XVII e XVIII. Milan: G Ricordi & C. IMSLP Website. http.y/imslp.org/wiki. Accessed 21
September 2010.
Rousseau, [ean-Iacques. 1768. Dictionnaire de Musique. Paris: Chez la Veuve Duchesne.
Rovetta, Giovanni. 1636. Madrigali Concertati. Libra Primo. Venice: Bartolomeo Magni. IMSLP
Website. http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Composers. Accessed 6 October 2009.
- 377-
Ruggeri, Yves. 1998. Froberger a Montbéliard. JJ Froberger, Musieien Européen Ecole nationale
de musique de Montbéliard. Colloque organisé par la ville et I'Ecole nationale de musique de
Montbéliard, Montbéliard, 2-4 novembre 1990. Domaine musicologique, Vol 20, Klincksieck.
Sabatier, Francois. 1998. Miroirs de la musique: la musique et ses correspondances avec la
litterature. Paris: Fayard.
Sadie, Julie Anne and Hogwood, Christopher. 1998. Companion to Baroque Music. Oxford
University Press.
SadIer, Graham. 2010. Charpentier's Void Notation. Article in New Perspectives on Marc-Antoine
Charpentier. Thompson, Shirley (Ed). Farnham: Ashgate Publishing.
Saint-Lambert, Michel de. 1702. Les Principes du Clavecin. Paris: Ballard. Facsimile, Fuzeau
editions, Courlay, 2003.
Sancta Maria, Thomas de. 1565. Libro Llamada. Arte de Taner Fantasia. Valladolid. Translated
• by Aranguren J and Ochse 0, Organ Press, California 1979. The American Organist, vol. 13 no 6.
Saracini, Claudio. 1620. Le Seconde Musiche. Venice: Alessandro Vincenti. IMSLPWebsite .
. http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Composers. Accessed 30 September 2009.
Saracini, Claudio. 1620. Le Terze Musiche. Venice: Alessandro Vincenti. IMSLPWebsite.
http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Composers. Accessed 30 September 2009.
Scheibert, Beverley. 1966.jean-Henry D'Anglebert and the 17th-century Claveein School.
81oomington: Indiana University Press.
Schott, Howard. 1998. Parameters of Interpretation in the Music of Froberger.jj Froberger,
Musieien Européen Ecole nationale de musique de Montbéliard. Colloque organisé par la ville et
l'Ecole nationale de musique de Montbéliard, Montbéliard, 2-4 novembre 1990. Domaine
musicologique, Vol 20, Klincksieck.
Schott, Howard. Froberger, johann jacob. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
http:j jwww.oxfordmusiconline.com.jsubscriberjarticlejgrovejmusicjl0298 (accessed
October 1, 2010).
Schulenberg, David. 2006. Crossing the Rhine with Froberger: his programmatic keyboard pieces
in the light of seventeenth- and eighteenth- century aesthetics.
http://www.wagner.edu/faculty/dschulenberg/si tes jwagner.ed u.facu Ity.dsch ulenbergj f les j d
ownloadjfroberger_ams_exx.pdf. (accessed August 17, 2011)
Schulenberg, David. 2008. Recent Editions and Recordings of Froberger and other 17th Century
Composers. Journal of 17th Century Music, Volume 13jl.
Schulenberg, David. 2010. Crossing the Rhine with Froberger: suites, symbols and seventeenth
century musical autobiography. Fiori Musicali, liber amicorum Alexander Silbiger. Fontijn Claire
(Ed). Michegan: Harmonie Park Press.
Schwandt, Erich. Capriccio (i) Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.jsubscriber/article j grovejmusicj0486 7 (accessed
December 14, 2010).
Seifert, Herbert. 2005. The Institution of the Imperial Court Chapel from Maximilian I to Charles
V. In Careras, Juan [osé and Garcia, Bernado, (Eds). The Royal Chapel in the Time of the
Habsburgs: Music and ceremony in early modern European Courts. Acker, Yolanda (Tr). English
edition: Knighton, Tess, Boydell Press.
- 378-
Sévigné, Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, Marquise de. 1677 onwards. Letters to her daughter and to
her friends. English edition. Volume 5. London 1811. Digitised by Google 2007.
Sharp, GB and Schroder, Dorothea. Steigleder. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online,
http:j jO-www.oxfordmusiconline.com.wagtail.uovs.ac.zajsubscriber jarticle jgrove
jmusicj26627pg3 (accessed March 24, 2011).
Siedentopf, Henning. 1977.johann jakob Froberger, Leben und Werk. Stuttgart: Stuttgarter
Verlagskontor, pp 26-30.
Silbiger, Alexander (ed). 2004. Keyboard music before 1700. New York: Routledge.
Silbiger, Alexander. 1996. Frescobaldi Studies. Durham: Duke University Press.
Silbiger, Alexander. 1983. Michelangelo Rossi and his Toccate e Correnti. Journal of the American
Musicological Society (JSTOR) Vol. 36:1 pp 10-30. University of California Press.
Silbiger, Alexander. 1987 From Madrigal to Toccata: Frescobaldi and the Seconda Prattica.
Article in Critica Musica: Essays in Honour of Paul Brainard. Knowies, John (ed). Amsteldijk,
Holland: Breach Science Publishers.
Snyder, Kerala J and Bush, Douglas. Scheidt, Samuel. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online,
http://O-
www.oxfordmusiconline.com.wagtail.uovs.ac.zaj su bscri ber j arti cle j grove j musi cj24 785
(accessed March 23, 2011).
Solerti, Angelo. 1908. Le Origini del Melodramma. Fratelli Bocca (Eds). Torino. Digitised by
BiblioBazaar 2008.
Spring, Matthew. 2001. The Lute in Britain. New York: Oxford University Press.
Stark, James. 2003. Bel Canto: a History of Vocal Pedagogy. University ofTorronto Press.
Stiefel, Eberhard. Stuttgart. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
http:j jwww.oxfordmusiconline.com.jsubscriberjarticlejgrovejmusicj27040 (accessed
October 1, 2010).
Strainchamps, Edmond. Benedetti, Piero. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
http:j jwww.oxfordmusiconline.com.jsubscriber jarticlejgrovejmusicj02654. Accessed 5 Oct.
2009.
Strainchamps, Edmond. Luzzaschi, Luzzasco. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
http:j jwww.oxfordmusiconline.com.jsubscriber jarticlejgrovejmusicjl7234 (accessed
October 1, 2010).
Strozzi Gregorio. 1687. Capricci da sonare cembali et organi. Naples. Scarpa, [olanda (Ed) 2002.
Musica Restituta Bologna. The Werner Icking Music Archive website. http://icking-music-
archive.org. Accessed 19 September 2010.
Strozzi, Barbara. 1654. Cantate, Ariete a una, due e tre voci. Opus 3. Archer, Gai! (Ed). 1997.
Recent Researches in the Music of the Baroque era, Volume 83. Wisconsin: AR Editions.
Strozzi, Barbara. 1659. Lagrime mi (Diporti di Euterpe ..., Opera settima). Venice. Callon, Gordon
1993. Acadiau website. httpr//www.acadlau.ca. Accessed 21 September 2010.
Tallemant des Réaux, Gédéon. c. 1659. Deuxiême édition 1861. Les Historiettes de Talleamant
des Réaux. Memoires pour server a l'historire de XVlle siêcle. Tome cinquiéme. Paris: Garnier
Freres.
- 379-
Thompson, Shirley. 2002. Once more into the void: Marc-Antoine Charpentier's croches blanches
reconsidered. Early Music 2002 XXX(1): 83-93.
Tilmouth, Michael and Ledbetter, David. Tombeau. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com./subscriber/article/grove/music/28084 (accessed
October 27,2010).
Tilmouth. Michael. Stravaganza. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com./ subscriber / article / grove/music/26923 (accessed
J November 17, 2010).
Tilney, Colin. 1991. The Art of the Unmeasured Prelude for Harpsichord. Volumes 1-3, Schott,
London.
Torchi, Luigi (Ed). 1897. L'Arte Musicale in !talia. Volume 2. Composizioni sacre e profane a piu
voci, secoio XVI.Milan: G Ricordi & c. Milan. IMSLP Website. http://imslp.org/wiki. Accessed 21
September 2010.
Torchi, Luigi (Ed). 1899. L'Arte Musicale in [talia. Volume 3. Composizioni per Organo 0
Cembalo. Secoli XVI,XVII e XVIII.G Milan: Ricordi & C. IMSLP Website. http.Z/imslp.org/wiki.
Accessed 21 September 2010.
Torchi, Luigi (Ed). 1899. L'Arte Musicale in [talia. Volume 4. Composizioni a piu voci, secoio XVII.
Milan: G Ricordi & C. IMSLPWebsite. http://imslp.org/wiki. Accessed September 2010.
\' Torchi, Luigi (Ed). 1899. L'Arte Musicale in [talia. Volume 5. Composizioni ad una e piu voci,
secoio XVII. Milan: G Ricordi & C. IMSLPWebsite. http.y/imslp.org/wiki. Accessed 22
September 2010.
Trabacci, Giovanni Maria. 1603. Componimenti per Organo. Libra Primo. Torchi, Luigi (Ed). 1899.
L'Arte Musicale in Italia. Volume 3. Composizioni per Organo 0 Cembalo. Secoli XYI,XVII e XVIII.
Milan: G Ricordi & C. IMSLPWebsite. http://imslp.org/wiki. Accessed 21 September 2010.
Trout, Andrew. 1996. City on the Seine: Paris in the time of Richelieu and Louis XlV 1614-1715.
New York: Library of Congress Publication.
Tucker, G. M. and Chalmers, Kenneth. Programme music. The Oxford Companion to Music,
edited by Alison Latham. Oxford Music Online, http://O-
www.oxfordmusiconline.com.wagtail.uovs.ac.za/subscriber/article/opr/t114/e5370 (accessed
December 23,2011).
Tunley, David. 2004. Francois Couperin and the Perfection of Music. Aldershot: Ashgate
Publishing.
Van Asperen, Bob. 2008. A New Froberger Manuscript. Journal of 17th Century Music, Volume
13/1.
Van Asperen, Bob. March, 2004: 25-8 and April, 2004: 27-30 Frobergeriana: Neue Erkenntnisse
liber die Allemande,faite en passant le Rhin. Tei/land Teil2. Sonderdruck Concerto.
http://www.concerto-verlag.de/projekte/BvA.pdf.
Vehse, Dr E. 1865. Memoirs of the Court Aristocracy and Diplomacy of Austria. Part one.
Demmler, Franz (translation). London: Longman Brown, Green and Longman. Kessinger
Publishing 2004.
Vecchi, Orazio. 1590. Selva divaria ricreatione. Venezia. CPDL 2009. Choral Wiki Website.
http://www2.cpdl.org/wiki. Accessed 23 September 2010.
- 380-
Vicentino, Nicola. 1555. L 'antica musica ridotta alla moderna prattica. Rome: Antonio Barre.
Original from the University of Michigan. Digitised 28 April 2010.
Walsh, Stephen. 2000. Igor Stravinsky. A Creative Spring. Russia and France 1882-1934. London:
Jonathan Cape.
Walther, Johann Gottfried. 1732. Musicalisches Lexikon oder Musicalische 8ibliothek. Leipzig.
Internet Archive Digital Library of Free Books. http://www.archive.orgf. Accessed 12
December 201l.
Watkins, Glenn and Fabris, Dinko. Molinaro, Simone. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music
Online, http:j jO-www.oxfordmusiconline.com.wagtail.uovs.ac.zajsubscriberjarticlejgrove
jmusicj18883 (accessed December 16, 2011).
Watkins, Glenn and Stravinsky, Igor. 1991. Gesualdo, the man and his music. Oxford University
Press .
• ' Wert, Giaches de. C. 1595. Sovente all'or che su gl'estivi ardori. La Gerusalemme Liberata. Canto
VII. Insula Dulcamara Ensemble (Ed). 2003. Choralwiki. http://www3.cpdl.org/wiki. Accessed
16 November 2010.
Whaley, Joachim. 2011. Germany and the Holy Roman Empire. Volume II: The Peace of West ph alia
to the dissolution of the Reich 1648-1806. Oxford University Press.
Whenham, John and Wistreich, Richard (Eds). 2007. The Cambridge Companion to Monteverdi.
f Cambridge University Press.
Wienpahl, Robert. 1971. Modality, Monality and Tonality in 16th century music. Music & Letters
JSTOR. October. Vol 52. No. 4. Pp 407-417.
Wiering, Frans. 2001. The Language of the Modes. New York: Routledge.
Wilson, Blake, et al. Rhetoric and music. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
~ http:j jwww.oxfordmusiconline.com.fsubscriber jarticlejgrovejmusicj 43166 (accessed
October 8,2010).
Wistreich, Richard. 2007. Warrior, Courtier. Singer. Giulio Cesare 8rancaccio and the
Performance of Identity in the Late Renaissance. Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing Ltd.
Yearsley, David. 2009. Froberqer's Travels. Counterpunch, Sept 25-7 2009.
'.'
- 381-
LIST OF KEYWORDS
Froberger
Madrigal
Harpsichord
Word Painting
Sprezzatura
Vocal Ornaments
Meraviglia
Early Music
Seventeenth Century
uv . UFS
·382· BLOEMFONTEIN
BIBLIOTEEK. LIBRARY