Gagliano and Ghizzolo

Abstract

That the dawn of the 17th century was a key moment in the history of vocal chamber music is undeniable; the diversity of the songs from the time, including solo, two- and five-part madrigals as well as strophic duets, is amply demonstrated by two of the latest volumes in the series Recent Researches in the Music of the Baroque Era: a collection of five-part madrigals by Gagliano and a set of monodies by Ghizzolo. Marco da Gagliano is perhaps best known to posterity as the composer of the opera Dafne (Mantua, 1608) and for holding the posts of maestro di cappella at both Florence Cathedral and the Medici court from 1608/9 until his death in 1643. However, he also made a significant contribution to the five-part polyphonic madrigal in Florence, publishing more than 100 examples in six volumes between 1602 and 1617. Alfred Einstein, in his monumental study The Italian madrigal (Eng. trans. 1949), described Gagliano as ‘one of the great virtuosi’, ranking him alongside Marenzio, Gesualdo and Monteverdi; yet his works are far less well known than those of his contemporaries. Although Edmond Strainchamps has been writing about his madrigals for several decades, until very recently only a few had been edited, appearing as appendices to studies of the works. The present Gagliano volume is the second book edited by Strainchamps to appear in the Recent Researches series (for a review of Madrigals part 1 see Early Music, xxxi (2003), pp.624–5): one assumes that the remaining four volumes are to follow.