Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda
Encyclopedia
Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda (SV
153) is an operatic scena for three voices by Claudio Monteverdi
, although many dispute how the piece should be classified. The piece has a libretto drawn from Torquato Tasso
's La Gerusalemme Liberata ("Jerusalem Delivered
", Canto XII, 52-62, 64-68), a Romance
set against the backdrop of the First Crusade
. Il Combattimento was first produced in 1624 but not printed until 1638, when it appeared with several other pieces in Monteverdi’s eighth book of madrigal
s (written over a period of many years).
In Il Combattimento the orchestra and voices form two separate entities. The strings
are divided into four independent parts instead of the usual five – an innovation that was not generally adopted by European composers until the 18th century.
Il combattimento contains one of the earliest known uses of pizzicato
in baroque
music, in which the players are instructed to set down their bows
and use two fingers of their right hand to pluck the strings. It also contains one of the earliest uses of the string tremolo
, in which a particular note is reiterated as a means of generating excitement. This latter device was so revolutionary that Monteverdi had considerable difficulty getting the players of his day to perform it correctly. These innovations, like the fourfold division of the strings, were not taken up by Monteverdi’s contemporaries or immediate successors.
Stattkus-Verzeichnis
The Stattkus-Verzeichnis is a catalogue of the musical compositions of the Italian Baroque composer Claudio Monteverdi. The catalogue was published in 1985 by Manfred H. Stattkus ; a second, new, revised and enlarged edition is due to appear in 2007. A free online version is already accessible....
153) is an operatic scena for three voices by Claudio Monteverdi
Claudio Monteverdi
Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, gambist, and singer.Monteverdi's work, often regarded as revolutionary, marked the transition from the Renaissance style of music to that of the Baroque period. He developed two individual styles of composition – the...
, although many dispute how the piece should be classified. The piece has a libretto drawn from Torquato Tasso
Torquato Tasso
Torquato Tasso was an Italian poet of the 16th century, best known for his poem La Gerusalemme liberata , in which he depicts a highly imaginative version of the combats between Christians and Muslims at the end of the First Crusade, during the siege of Jerusalem...
's La Gerusalemme Liberata ("Jerusalem Delivered
Jerusalem Delivered
Jerusalem Delivered is an epic poem by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso first published in 1581, which tells a largely mythified version of the First Crusade in which Catholic knights, led by Godfrey of Bouillon, battle Muslims in order to take Jerusalem...
", Canto XII, 52-62, 64-68), a Romance
Romance (genre)
As a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight errant portrayed as...
set against the backdrop of the First Crusade
First Crusade
The First Crusade was a military expedition by Western Christianity to regain the Holy Lands taken in the Muslim conquest of the Levant, ultimately resulting in the recapture of Jerusalem...
. Il Combattimento was first produced in 1624 but not printed until 1638, when it appeared with several other pieces in Monteverdi’s eighth book of madrigal
Madrigal (music)
A madrigal is a secular vocal music composition, usually a partsong, of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Traditionally, polyphonic madrigals are unaccompanied; the number of voices varies from two to eight, and most frequently from three to six....
s (written over a period of many years).
In Il Combattimento the orchestra and voices form two separate entities. The strings
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
are divided into four independent parts instead of the usual five – an innovation that was not generally adopted by European composers until the 18th century.
Il combattimento contains one of the earliest known uses of pizzicato
Pizzicato
Pizzicato is a playing technique that involves plucking the strings of a string instrument. The exact technique varies somewhat depending on the type of stringed instrument....
in baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
music, in which the players are instructed to set down their bows
Bow (music)
In music, a bow is moved across some part of a musical instrument, causing vibration which the instrument emits as sound. The vast majority of bows are used with string instruments, although some bows are used with musical saws and other bowed idiophones....
and use two fingers of their right hand to pluck the strings. It also contains one of the earliest uses of the string tremolo
Tremolo
Tremolo, or tremolando, is a musical term that describes various trembling effects, falling roughly into two types. The first is a rapid reiteration...
, in which a particular note is reiterated as a means of generating excitement. This latter device was so revolutionary that Monteverdi had considerable difficulty getting the players of his day to perform it correctly. These innovations, like the fourfold division of the strings, were not taken up by Monteverdi’s contemporaries or immediate successors.