- whether the different modal attributions of Gombert’s motet and Monteverdi’s Mass has consequences on the tonal organisation of the former;
- whether and to what extent, for Monteverdi, modality is (still) a compositional tool at work in the interpretation of the intoned text as well as of the parodied piece.
Le 29 juin 2017
de 16h00 à 16h30
Le Patio (université de Strasbourg)
22 rue René Descartes, 67000 Strasbourg
salle 3208
Pré-acte / Acte
Auteur : Marco Mangani et Daniele Sabaino
The Mass for six voices that opens Monteverdi’s Vespro della Beata Vergine (1610) is, already in its author’s intention, an expert essay in prima pratica compositional style. This intention was well understood by p. Martini, who wrote that a comparison of the Agnus Dei from this Mass with the madrigals by the same author clearly reveals how in the former counterpoint stands out much more than expression of words («Vedrassi chiaramente che in esso più tosto che l’espressione delle parole risalta l’arte del contrappunto»: Esemplare, 1774).
The Mass is a parody of Nicolas Gombert’s motet In illo tempore loquente Iesu (1539). As far as tonal organization is concerned, Gombert’s motet and Monteverdi’s Mass are both written in the tonal type g2 [natural] C, whose modal representation, in an emic perspective, is anything but straightforward. In fact, if there are no reasons to suppose that Gombert could have adhered to the 12-mode system (which had not yet been theorised when he composed the motet), such an adherence is sure and well documented in the case of Monteverdi.
Facing this discrepancy between the modal points of reference of the two composers, the paper aims therefore to investigate:
