At 10:48 PM -0400 5/26/07, Aaron Rabushka wrote:
Hmm--I never heard of Charles Whittenberg, but if he sounds like me he must have something on the ball! And yes, there was chromaticism before Wagner (late Gesualdo madrigals, anyone?). Or Lasso's Sybillene Prophecy music? (remember those, John H?)
Oh yes!! And not only them, but De Rore, Marenzio, Luzzeschi, and that young whippersnapper, Monteverdi, each in his own way. It was in the air. (Or maybe the water!) Only Claudio went more for unexpected dissonance than for temporarily shifting or temporarily unclear tonal centers. But Lasso sure showed that he could do it, if he felt like it! (Mostly he didn't feel like it.) The challenge in performing the late Italian madrigalists is not just the chromaticism, but figuring out how to adjust the intervals to keep them pure in the midst of meandering tonal centers. Equal temperament need not apply!!!
John -- John & Susie Howell Virginia Tech Department of Music Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A 24061-0240 Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034 (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]) http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
