Social Context of Italian Madrigals
Social Context of 16th-century Italian Madrigals
In the 16th-century, Italy influenced the Renaissance music throughout Western Europe.
The most influential musical genre was the Italian madrigal, and “about 1,200 madrigal
volumes. . . were printed between 1520 and 1630”.1
of the madrigal, but the genre contains elements of the frottola, ballata, chanson, and
Musicologists debate about the exact origins
Madrigals were mostly secular songs that were primarily intended to be performed by
amateur musicians.3
the singers' own enjoyment. There were four primary performance settings. The most prominent
setting was social gatherings for the upper middle class and nobility where the guests performed
madrigals for their own private entertainment.4
would gather to sing madrigals. The academies became common settings for the performance of
dramatic madrigals5
included plot or character development.6
narration before or between songs, but they were never staged and the “visual” aspects of the
songs were imagined, rather than acted, by the performers.7
rather than private, entertainment and were often intermedi between acts of theatrical comedies.
As such, they were relatively simple compositions and were performed for
Similarly, amateur musicians at Italian academies
that consisted of a collection of songs that were related by subject, but rarely
Occasionally, these madrigals contained spoken
Some madrigals served as public,
James Haar, “Madrigal”, in European Music 1520-1640, ed. James Haar (Woodbridge, UK: The Boydell Press,
4 Giulio Ongaro, Music of the Renaissance (Westport, CN: Greenwood Press, 2003), 83.
5 Jerome Roche, The Madrigal (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1972), 71.
6 Martha Farahat, “On the Staging of Madrigal Comedies”, Early Music History 10. (1991): 124.
7 Roche, The Madrigal, 70.
The madrigals performed were not necessarily related to the productions,
In the 16th-century, Italy influenced the Renaissance music throughout Western Europe.
The most influential musical genre was the Italian madrigal, and “about 1,200 madrigal
volumes. . . were printed between 1520 and 1630”.1
of the madrigal, but the genre contains elements of the frottola, ballata, chanson, and
Musicologists debate about the exact origins
Madrigals were mostly secular songs that were primarily intended to be performed by
amateur musicians.3
the singers' own enjoyment. There were four primary performance settings. The most prominent
setting was social gatherings for the upper middle class and nobility where the guests performed
madrigals for their own private entertainment.4
would gather to sing madrigals. The academies became common settings for the performance of
dramatic madrigals5
included plot or character development.6
narration before or between songs, but they were never staged and the “visual” aspects of the
songs were imagined, rather than acted, by the performers.7
rather than private, entertainment and were often intermedi between acts of theatrical comedies.
As such, they were relatively simple compositions and were performed for
Similarly, amateur musicians at Italian academies
that consisted of a collection of songs that were related by subject, but rarely
Occasionally, these madrigals contained spoken
Some madrigals served as public,
James Haar, “Madrigal”, in European Music 1520-1640, ed. James Haar (Woodbridge, UK: The Boydell Press,
4 Giulio Ongaro, Music of the Renaissance (Westport, CN: Greenwood Press, 2003), 83.
5 Jerome Roche, The Madrigal (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1972), 71.
6 Martha Farahat, “On the Staging of Madrigal Comedies”, Early Music History 10. (1991): 124.
7 Roche, The Madrigal, 70.
The madrigals performed were not necessarily related to the productions,
Cited: Farahat, Martha. “On the Staging of Madrigal Comedies.” Early Music History 10 (1991): 123- 143. JSTOR Haar, James. “Madrigal”. In European Music 1520-1640, edited by James Haar, 225-245. Woodbridge, UK: The Boydell Press, 2006. Ongaro, Giulio. Music of the Renaissance. Westport, CN: Greenwood Press, 2003. Palisca, Claude V. Music and Ideas in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. Urbana and Chicago, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2006. Roche, Jerome. The Madrigal. New York: Charles Scribner 's Sons, 1972.