Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo Lives On
Looking at what we know as the brilliant composition of Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo”, we acknowledge its complexity and originality that stems from its operatic and madrigal like music mixed with the complex emotions and acting of each character. Yet, it is most interesting once we find out that it lived through a patronizing era of transitioning from the original classical music of the 17th to 19th century to the modern classical music we know and love today.
When looking for more information on how we came to know Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo” so in-depth and detailed, other than the description of it’s first Premiere in Kelly’s First Nights, an article from The Times (London, England) caught my attention. Titled “Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo: The Composer and His Problems”, this article from 1923 covers the talented and advanced skill of Signor Francesco Malipiero in bringing justice to the original score of “L’Orfeo” and writing it in a score that can successfully be read today. Yet, it also covers how there was a generation of “moderns” prior to those of the early 20th century that were very judgmental of what we know as the original composers, such as Bach and Mozart. What really strikes me as interesting is that it acknowledges that those “moderns” believed that those composers were “incapable” of composing good music rather than what we’ve realized today, in which they composed in a way that looks different to the scores we read in the present.
I think it is amazing how Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo”, in addition to the classical and baroque music of Bach/Mozart/Beethoven, has managed to live through an era where people judged their compositions as inadequate and were able to be refurnished into the beauty that they were when they first premiered. The music written in the score of “L’Orfeo” looks very empty compared to the scores we know today that are filled with dynamic markings and articulations. This can be seen in the score of “Tu Sei Morta” within Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo” where there is only the music notes and the words written for the performer. Yet while we might depend on dynamic markings written out, the words given to the performer allowed for them to know how to add color and phrasing, which is incredibly impressive.
I think this article opened up a conversation on how composers from centuries ago were wronged in a way for the biased judgment bestowed on their compositions. I am not sure if this was one of the first acknowledgements on how amazing it is that pieces are able to live on for centuries, yet I think it the use of Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo” was a great example on how great original compositions from earlier centuries were. I think it also shines a light on how exactly Monteverdi’s piece lived through a multitude of eras. In my personal opinion, I think that with the help of composers such as Signor Malipiero, who understand exactly what the original composer was trying to portray, the pieces are able to be brought justice in the modern ways we perform today. This is what I believed allows Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo” to live on.
Sources:
(BY OUR MUSIC CRITIC.). “Monteverdi’s ‘Orfeo.’.” Times, 26 May 1923, p. 8. The Times Digital Archive, link-gale-com.ezproxy2.library.arizona.edu/apps/doc/CS134419642/TTDA?u=uarizona_main&sid=TTDA&xid=0e2b64f4. Accessed 16 Mar. 2021.
“Tu Sei Morta” score from Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo”
