Madrigals: Beauty in Sound

Arguably the crest-jewel in the cultural crown of the Renaissance and Early Baroque periods, the Italian madrigal set out to thrill all of the senses. The madrigal’s printed notes delighted the eye, its poetry the mind and sentiments, its sublime music the ear and the heart.

In this course, a group of talented, motivated singer-participants will prepare and perform a concert of madrigals, rediscovering along the way the many pleasures to be found within this incomparable art from.

With a view toward an end-of-course performance, we will learn and rehearse pieces for anything from two to six male and female vocal parts, depending upon the number of participants.

Though the course will focus primarily on Italian madrigals, we will also sing works by English composers to give participants a more immediate feel for the intimate connection between words and music.

The pieces we study will be drawn from the works of such great madrigal-composers as Monteverdi, Marenzio, Arcadelt, Verdelot, Di Lasso, Gesualdo, Vecchi, Banchieri, Morley, Bennet, and Wilbye.

Teacher: Valeria Indice