Madrigal is ... A small musical and poetic work

Delicate lyrics of the Renaissance and today touches fans to the depths of the soul. The genres of poetic miniatures of that time admire connoisseurs with their strict form. And lovers of ancient literature are attracted by the real fiery passion embodied in these verses.

Madrigal and his genre specificity

Madrigal is one of the main genres of the Renaissance. He appeared in the initial period of development of a new style in art. The Madrigals wrote Boccaccio, Petrarch and Franco Sacco. At the same time, composers Francesco Landini and Jacopo Bologna began composing poems by contemporary contemporaries.

Translated from the Italian language, the word "madrigal" means "herd" or "shepherd". Originally this term was called a shepherd's song. In the early Renaissance, the poetic genre of madrigal became a short poem. Its content consisted in praising the beloved. Her beauty, grace and good behavior were often compared by the poet with the images of the legendary queens and princesses of antiquity. And some details of appearance (eyes, lips or hair) were considered in the context of beautiful paintings of nature.

Madrigal in the music

A musical madrigal is a vocal piece. His text was the words of a poetic composition written in this genre. Sometimes, along with the singer's voice, musical instruments also sounded, for example lute or viola. In the Renaissance, madrigal was an analogue of modern song accompanied by a guitar or piano.

The musical and poetic work created in this genre could have different themes. We know intimate songs of love content, comic or household, as well as solemn madrigals, praising a beloved writer.

At the heart of the form of these works is the alternation of the verse and the chorus or refrain. Madrigal's melody is abundantly full of melodies and chanting, reminiscent of the coloratura decorations of the Italian opera, which arose centuries later.

The development of the genre in the period of high Renaissance

A small musical and poetic work continues its development during the so-called classical Renaissance, in the 16th century. At this time, the shape of the madrigal changes. He loses his verse structure and acquires a free composition structure. In the works of this genre, the principle of relaxed expression of the author's thoughts and feelings prevails. Among the composers of this historical period, madrigals were written by Palestrina and Orlando Lasso.

In addition to the flexible structure, the secular song of the High Renaissance is also characterized by the addition of several layers of musical tissue. In the noted era, madrigal is a four- or five-voice work. Composers turn to the work of the outstanding poets Ariosto and Torquato Tasso.

Regional Features

In this historical period, a regional demarcation of the stylistic features of madrigal is planned. Along with the Florentine composer school there are Venetian, Roman and Neapolitan. Polyphonic songs of a secular nature are also written by English and German authors, for example, William Byrd and Heinrich Schutz.

Many genres of high Renaissance music differ in regional features. For example, the Venetian school is characterized by a free building, five-voiced, polyphonic warehouse, the predominance of ancient church modes. The largest representative of this school is the composer Villarth.

In the work of Roman authors, for example Festa, homophonic-harmonic four-voices and a clear structure of the refrain type prevail. The content and character of the madrigals of the high Renaissance can be different. Many works carry an acute conflict between trust and jealousy or love and duty. There are also calm and contemplative plays.

The heyday of the musical madrigal

By the end of the 16th century, the Renaissance entered a new period of its development. At this time, many crisis phenomena in art are clearly indicated. The transition to a new epochal style, called the Baroque, is planned. At this time genres of lyrical works accumulate new means of expressiveness. There are more and more refined rhythms associated with the improvement of notation. A significant place is occupied by chromaticisms and dissonances in harmony. Composers move away from polyphony and continue searching in the homophonic sphere.

The peak of the development of the genre falls at the end of the 16th - the beginning of the 17th century. During this period, composers such as Gesualdo di Venoza and Claudio Monteverdi are working. In their work, a secular song is enriched with theatrical features: there are so-called madrigal comedies, intended for performance on the stage.

The instrumental accompaniment of the singing voice is also developing. Composers add to the score various musical instruments and even create new arrangements of previously written plays. In some writings there are detailed episodes in which the voice does not sound. Thus, madrigals become the harbingers of baroque instrumental culture.

It is this musical genre that is the creative laboratory in which the opera was formed. Within the framework of the searches of Villart, Landini, Plestina, Lasso, and especially Gesualdo di Venoza and Claudio Monteverdi, the homophonic style, the system of functional relations of the new harmony and the features of the vocal writing crystallized. All this was supplemented by the conflict of drama and theatrical scenicism.

Lyrical miniatures in Russian romantic poetry

Poetic genres, which can be considered the heirs of madrigal, have manifested themselves in the era of romanticism. Intimate love poems of this time appeared in the so-called album lyrics. The tradition of dedicating a beloved girlfriend, or just an acquaintance to a girl, short poetic miniatures can be traced in the life of Russian noblemen of the 19th century. These concise verses were recorded in the women's album, decorated with colored drawings and vignettes.

In Russian literature, you can identify some genres that are genetically related to madrigal. This epigram, epithalam and elegy. An important property of all these miniatures is wit. A refined thought, clothed in perfect form, softened the author's passionate feelings for the beautiful lady.

Romantic madrigal in synthesis with other genres

Poetic madrigal revives in the work of the French poet Boileau. Voltaire also gave him tribute, the miniatures of which were translated by the young Pushkin. The literary madrigal is the concentration of the courtesy and worship of the poet before his lady. However, in some works the praise is so exaggerated that it causes an ambiguous effect. The reader begins to doubt the sincerity of the poet's feelings. Under the ingenious brilliance of his pen, the author of the epigram often conceals irony. Instead of genuine feelings, aristocratic etiquette offers a surrogate, a forgery, even if wrapped in a beautiful package.

The early madrigals of Petrarch are like sonnets. These genres bring together the brevity and themes of unhappy love. The gravitation of a poetic miniature to a cold and witty epigram or a sincere and sad elegy highlights the characteristic features of a particular poem.

According to contemporaries, in the Russian madrigal of the nineteenth century, the authors tried to make their poetry utterly depersonalized. Wit gradually replaced individuality. And from this moment begins the decline of the poetry madrigal.

Traditions in modern culture

In modern society, this genre has become a symbol of the past culture of the past. Today, many creative collectives, whose goal is to revive the art of the past eras, choose the word "madrigal" as the name.

This is the name of the famous ensemble of ancient music created by Andrei Volkonsky in the 1960s. The activities of this group initiated the movement of authentic performing in Russia. The long existence of the ensemble left an imprint on the musical art of the whole era. Today books and movies have been written about him.

"Madrigal" was the first Russian performing group, whose activity was aimed at reviving old music. Today there are hundreds of such ensembles. Therefore, the traditions of fine art continue.