Italy Music

Biblical psalms are some of the earliest known songs of both Italian and Western culture. Roman and Ambrosian rites (Italy’s medieval liturgies), which originated in Jewish liturgy, were characterized by monophonic vocal plainchan t, also known as plainsong. Although the Ambrosian chant can still be heard in Milan, it is the Roman Gregorian chant that prevails. The Gregorian Chant, named for Pope Gregory I (c. 540-609) is characterized by a repeated reciting note, interrupted only by periodic deviations. Further advancements were made by Italian monk Guido d’Arezzo (c. 995-1050), who came up with the modern system of staff-notation and explored the emerging concept of polyphony. Blind organist and composer Francesco Landini (c. 1335-97) made significant contributions to the development of the song during the 14th century Ars Nova period. This era also brought madrigales, musical poems, and caccia, musical and poetic narratives describing hunting scenes.

Opera Lirica: The Fat Lady Sings

Italy’s most cherished musical art form was born in Florence in the mid-1590s, nurtured in Venice and Naples, and popularized in Milan’s famed Teatro alla Scala . Conceived by the Camerat a, a circle of Florentine writers, noblemen, and musicians including Vincenzo Galilei (famed music theorist and father of Galileo, c. 1525-91), opera lirica originated as an attempt to recreate the dramas of ancient Greece by setting lengthy poems to music. The earliest surviving opera is Euridice (1600), a collage of compositions by Jacobo Peri (1561-1633), Ottavio Rinuccini (1562-1621), and Giulio Caccini (c. 1550-1618). Opera found a perfect equilibrium between music and poetry for the first time in L’Orfeo (1607), a breakthrough piece by Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643), who drew freely from history and juxtaposed high drama, love scenes, and uncouth humor (see Cremona). Still-popular Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) was arguably the most talented composer of Italian operas, pioneering advances in the overture during the 17th century. Meanwhile, the simple and toneful aria became the dominant form of opera, and castrated men the singers of choice. These castrati, thanks to their masculine strength of voice and feminine tone, became the most celebrated and envied group of singers in all of Europe.

Baroque: The Birth Of Vivaldi And The Violin

The Baroque period, known for its heavy ornamentation and emphasis on musical contrasts, saw the birth of the string orchestra. The violin’s modern form was perfected by Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737) and became popular in pieces by fellow Cremonese Monteverdi and his contemporaries (visit the Museo Stradivariano). In 1698, Florentine Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655-1731) invented the pianoforte. The work of violinist Antonio Vivaldi (1675-1741), who composed over 600 concertos, continues to awe contemporary audiences, with innovative works like The Four Seasons (1725). Vivaldi established the concerto’s present form, in which an orchestra accompanies a soloist through three movements.

Viva Verdi!

Laying The Groundwork. Despite its convoluted plots and powerful, dramatic music, 19th-century Italian opera had not yet adopted the French tradition of visual spectacle. A famous composer of tragedies and comedies and a master of the light, flexible bel canto (beautiful song), Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868) composed Cinderella in 1817. Rossini’s rough contemporary, Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924), helped further the reputation of Italian opera with his brilliant orchestral works and world-famous operas, including La Bohème (1896), Tosca (1900), and Madama Butterfly (1904).

And, Of Course, The Man Himself. Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901), whose lyrical half-century domination of Italian opera emphasized human themes and the human voice, remains the crowning musical figure of 19th-century Italy and, along with his German contemporary Wagner, of all of opera. Nabucco (1842), a pointed and powerful bel canto, typifies Verdi’s early works. The opera’s chorus, Va pensiero, became the hymn of Italian freedom and unity during the Risorgimento. Verdi also produced the touching, personal dramas and memorable melodies of Rigoletto (1851), La Traviata (1853), and Il Trovatore (1853) in mid-career. His later work brought the grand and heroic conflicts of Aïda (1871), the dramatic thrust of Otello (1887), and the mercurial comedy Falstaff (1893). Verdi’s support of the Risorgimento in the 1850s encouraged patriots to invoke his name—a convenient acronym for “Vittorio Emanuele, Re d’Italia ” (King of Italy)—as their popular battle cry: “Viva Verdi!”

Twentieth-Century Opera. In the 20th century, Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936) explored his fascination with orchestral color in the popular Roman Trilogy (1924-29). The Italian-American composer, Gian Carlo Menotti (1911-2007) wrote Pulitzer Prize-winning operas The Consul (1950) and The Saint of Bleecker Street (1954). Luigi Dallapiccola (1904-75) achieved success with surrealist choral works, including Canti di prigionia ( Songs of Prison, 1941), which protested fascism. His student, avant-garde composer Luciano Berio (1925-2003), pioneered the composition of electronic music. Grammy-winning tenor Luciano Pavarotti (1935-2007) made his world debut in the 60s and helped bring opera into mainstream popular culture with his televised operas in the 1990s. Andrea Bocelli (b. 1958) has continued to bridge the expanse between opera and pop with chart-topping songs such as “Con Te Partirò” in 19995. Visitors looking to experience Italian opera firsthand can visit Milan’s Teatro alla Scala , Rome’s Teatro dell’Opera , and Palermo’s Teatro Massimo , or one of Italy’s countless other opulent opera houses.

Arrivederci, Verdi

More recent Italian music has reversed its centuries-long role as a groundbreaker, drawing inspiration instead from American pop culture. Melodic rockers of the 60s included Enzo Iannacc i, a dentist-turned-musician; the crooning, politically-minded, Genoese Fabrizio De Andre , and Adriano Celentano , whose career spanned 40 years. Emerging in the 60s and 70s, Lucio Battisti now enjoys a popularity rivalling that of the Beatles in his own country. In the 70s and 80s, Eduardo Bennato used rock to spread a progressive political message; his successor Vasco Ross i, drew an unprecedented 300,000-member crowd to a free concert he gave in 2004. Eros Ramazzotti gained universal appeal by recording every album in Spanish as well as Italian, often teaming up with Cher and Tina Turner. Italians Laura Pausi ni, Elisa, and L’Aura followed suit by recording English albums. More recently, Jovanotti’s rap has entered the global scene, along with socially conscious Frankie-Hi-NRG and 99 Posse. For a more relaxed beat, try Lucio Dalla ’s internationally popular Caruso.