Studying at York
Monteverdi - MUS00029I
- Department: Music
- Module co-ordinator: Prof. Jo Wainwright
- Credit value: 20 credits
- Credit level: I
- Academic year of delivery: 2023-24
Module summary
This module examines the life and works of Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) as a case study in Italian musical patronage.
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 1 2023-24 |
Module aims
The life and works of Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) are ideal as a case study in Italian musical patronage: Not only does Monteverdi’s career exemplify the main modes of musical patronage in the late Renaissance and early Baroque—these being the courts, the Church and, after 1637, the new ‘public’ patronage of the opera houses—but, as a composer in the vanguard of current musical developments, his music provides us with the full range of genres and styles for a representative study of the period 1580–1650. This is the period of transition from—what music historians have labelled—the ‘Renaissance’ to the ‘Baroque’ and, using Monteverdi’s music, the important musical developments will be examined. These changes—we should remember—were always subject to, and a result of, the patronage systems in which a composer worked. Monteverdi was undoubtedly a great composer but he could not possibly have functioned as a musician in an individual capacity; his musical experiences, compositions and performances were all directly related to the whims of his employers. Thus, the wider cultural and historical context will be important when examining Monteverdi’s church music, madrigals and operas.
Module learning outcomes
By the end of the taught part of the module, you should have:
- developed an overview of music by Monteverdi and his contemporaries set within an historical and cultural context;
- an understanding of the patronage systems in which composers worked in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries;
- more detailed knowledge of individual works;
- gained deeper insight into selected topics (see Content);
- an understanding of recent academic research in aspects of Monteverdi's music;
- an understanding of historiographical issues relating to the period;
- an understanding of performance practice relating to music by Monteverdi and his contemporaries.
Second years: On completion of the module, in their independent work, you should demonstrate Learning Outcomes B1-B6, B9
Assessment
| Task | Length | % of module mark |
|---|---|---|
| Essay/coursework Essay |
N/A | 100 |
Special assessment rules
None
Additional assessment information
An essay of approximately 4000 words on a topic of the student’s choice agreed in tutorial (100%)
Reassessment
| Task | Length | % of module mark |
|---|---|---|
| Essay/coursework Essay |
N/A | 100 |
Module feedback
You will receive written feedback in line with standard University turnaround times.
Indicative reading
Books
- D. Arnold & N. Fortune ed., (1985) The New Monteverdi Companion, London.
- D. Arnold, (3/1990) Monteverdi Master Musicians, London.
- T. Carter, (2002) Monteverdi's Musical Theatre, New Haven & London.
- J. Kurtzman, (1999) The Monteverdi Vespers of 1610: Music, Context, Performance, OUP, New York.
- S. Leopold, (1991) Monteverdi: Music in Transition, Oxford.
- C. Price ed., (1993) The Early Baroque Era, Man & Music Series, London.
- E. Rosand, (1992) Opera in Seventeenth-Century Venice: The Creation of a Genre, Berkeley.
- J. Whenham (1986) ed., Claudio Monteverdi Orfeo, Cambridge.
- J. Whenham & R. Wistreich eds. (2007) The Cambridge Companion to Monteverdi, Cambridge.
Listening & Useful Scores
- Claudio Monteverdi, Vespers (1610), ed. Clifford Bartlett (Kings Music, Huntingdon, rev. ed. 1990) or ed. Jerome Roche (Eulenburg, London, 1994) or ed. Jeffrey Kurtzman (OUP, Oxford, 1999)
- Claudio Monteverdi, L'Orfeo, ed. Clifford Bartlett (Kings Music, Huntingdon, 1993)
- Claudio Monteverdi, Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria, ed. Alan Curtis (Novello, London, 2002)
- Claudio Monteverdi, L'incoronazione di Poppea, ed. Alan Curtis (Novello, London, 1989)