E-grāmata: Monteverdi and his Contemporaries

This is the second volume published by Variorum of reprinted essays by the prolific writer and historian. Carter (music history, Royal Holloway, U. of London, England) is familiar, it seems, with every aspect of the composer's world; this group of essays represents several aspects, including music publishing in Italy, c.1580-1625; essays on works by Caccini and Guarini; the concept of "aria" in the period; innovative aspects in Monteverdi's repertoire; and the historical and critical contexts of his work. The essays show a vast knowledge of archival sources and Monteverdi's writings, and include detailed references to the historical milieu. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

This collection of reprinted essays takes the trends of the author's Music, Patronage and Printing in Late Renaissance Florence (also in the 'Variorum' series) in a somewhat different direction. If the focus there was primarily on archival documents, here it is on the actual music. The starting-point is similar - the rise of the 'new music' for solo voice and basso continuo in late sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century Florence, in particular the songs of Giulio Caccini. But it moves on to broader aesthetic issues crystallized in contemporary theoretical debate and musical practice - not least the rise of aria-based styles - and concludes with a series of studies of Claudio Monteverdi's works for the theatre, including the operas Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (1640) and the ever-problematic L'incoronazione di Poppea (1643).