Cipriano de Rore's second book of four-voiced Madrigals, 1557
Date
1991
Authors
Mackenzie, Pierre Henri Parnell
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Abstract
The present study is an investigation of the musical style of Cipriano de Rore's Second Book of Four-voiced Madrigals of 1557. The madrigals of this collection are specifically mentioned by composers and theorists of the late 1500s as being significant to the new emerging styles of composition of this period. The study will use as an analytical resource, Le Istitutioni Harmoniche, 1558 of Gioseffo Zarlino, in an attempt to isolate the musical characteristics which made this collection noteworthy in the eyes of later generations.
Chapter I presents the thesis and the method of organization of the study Chapters II to V analyse the madrigals from the different perspectives of melody, vertical intervals, mode, and text setting Each of the analysis chapters begins by summarizing the guidelines of Zarlino's treatise, then compares these to the musical language of the madrigals. Chapter VI concludes the thesis. This final chapter begins by integrating the various perspectives of the analytical chapters. What may be concluded is that Rore's musical language is the same as Zarlino's, but Rore's use of the elements of the musical language is substantially different. The musical examples and the madrigal texts and their translations form Appendices A and B.