- Italian composer,
highly important figure in the transition from Renaissance to baroque
music.
Born in Cremona, he became interested in the experimental musical dramas
of Jacopo Peri, music director at the court of the Medici family.
In 1607 Monteverdi's first opera, Orfeo, was produced. Orfeo surpassed
all previous attempts at musical drama and established opera as a serious
form of musical and dramatic expression. Through skillful use of vocal
inflection, Monteverdi sought to express emotion as it would be expressed
in the speech of an actor. The orchestra, considerably enlarged and
varied, was used not merely as accompaniment but also to establish the
moods of the scenes.
In 1613 Monteverdi was appointed to one of the most important musical
posts in Italy, choirmaster and conductor at Saint Mark's Cathedral
in Venice. From this time on, he wrote numerous operas (many now lost),
motets, madrigals, and masses. In madrigals written between 1614 and
1638 he moved away from the Renaissance ideal of equal-voiced polyphony
toward newer styles emphasizing melody, bass line, and harmonic support.
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