Claudio Monteverdi's Fifth Madrigal Book

Claudio Monteverdi's Fifth Madrigal Book represents the musical innovation for which the composer was known. The Fifth Madigral Book is a dramatic madrigal, part drama and part musical performance. Monteverdi's compositions generated considerable artistic and literary comment, and the Fifth Book was no exception. Although derided by traditionalists, the Fifth Madrigal Book was received enthusiasticly by Monteverdi's public and his colleagues who valued its harmony and dramatic expression.

Monteverdi's 5th Madigral Book was written when the composer was employed in the court of Vincenzo (I) Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua. Monteverdi's original position in court was a string player; he first arrived in Mantua around the age of 22. The precise year of his employment is unknown, but by January 1590, Monteverdi's dedication of his Second Book of Madrigals refers to his rise to favor in court: "that day, Most Serene Prince, when to my rare good fortune I came to serve Your Highness . . . with the most noble practice of the viola which opened the fortunate gate of your service." In Monteverdi's letters, the composer recalls having spent between 19 and 22 continuous years at court. Duke Vincenzo was a true patron of the arts. His fervent desire was to establish his court's preeminence in all things artistic, and toward this end, Vincenzo recruited prominent architects, artists, and musicians. As one visitor to the city described the environs: "For its wealth of many beautifu

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minor composers, some of whom he may have known personally: "Scattered throughout his letters, prefaces, and the documents relating to his life, there are references to no fewer than three dozen composers." The Artusi-Monteverdi controversy is important to music history because it serves to clarify the artistic profile of the younger composer. Monteverdi distinguished between styles of music known as the first practice and the second practice. In the first practice, harmony is the mistress of the text, in the second practice the text is the mistress of harmony. Monteverdi further divided his secular music into the following categories: music for the theater, the chamber, and for the dance. Marco Scacchi built upon this base by classification by distinguishing three styles of the modern or second practice: the church style, the chamber style, and the theatrical style. Madrigals were of the chamber style, and further subdivided into madrigals da tavolino (a cappella), madrigals with basso continuo, and madrigals for voices and instruments. Monteverdi's Fifth Book of Madrigals was published in 1605. The original title reads, "The fifth book of madrigals for five voices, by Claudio Monteverde, music master of His Grace

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