''Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda'' (''The Combat of Tancredi and Clorinda''), SV 153, is an operatic ''scena'' for three voices by

Claudio Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is consider ...

. The

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major li ...

is drawn from Torquato Tasso's '' La Gerusalemme Liberata''. It was first performed in Venice in 1624, and printed in 1638 in Monteverdi's eighth book of madrigals. Monteverdi used musical features here for the first time to enhance the dramatic depiction of a battle in stile concitato, such as pizzicato and tremolo.

History

The

is 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 The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic ...

, when

Godfrey of Bouillon Godfrey of Bouillon (, , , ; 18 September 1060 – 18 July 1100) was a French nobleman and pre-eminent leader of the First Crusade. First ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1099 to 1100, he avoided the title of king, preferring that of princ ...

conquered

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. Monteverdi composed it for the 1624

carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival t ...

season in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

when it was first performed in the palace of Girolamo Mocenigo. The plot is about a Christian knight, Tancredi, and a Saracen girl, Clorinda, who are lovers, but meet in battle not recognizing each other because their faces are covered by armour. Tancredi hits Clorinda mortally, and realizes only after removing her helmet who she is. He baptizes her before she dies, and she sees Heaven opening. A narrator (''testo'') tells about most of the action, but the combatants should also act. ''Il Combattimento'' was printed in 1638, with several other pieces in Monteverdi's eighth book of madrigals which were written over a period of many years.

Music

In ''Il Combattimento'', the voices and instruments form two separate entities. The strings are divided into four parts instead of the then usual five – an innovation that was not generally adopted by European composers until much later. The music begins with madrigals. Monteverdi tried to created the "agitated" style (''concitato'') which Plato described in his ''Rhetoric'': "Take that harmony that would fittingly imitate the utterances of a brave man who is engaged in warfare". Different sounds convey the battle, such as the trotting of a horse, trumpet fanfares, the combatants circling each other, and the movement of their swords. For the latter, the music has the earliest known use of pizzicato, in which the players are instructed to set down their bows and use two fingers of their right hand to pluck the strings. To illustrate excitement, he arrived at the earliest use of string tremolo, in which a note is played in fast repetition. Monteverdi had difficulties getting the players to perform it correctly.

References

External links

*
Libretto of ''Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda''
opera.stanford.edu
Monteverdi's ''Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda''
operakey.com 2019 {{DEFAULTSORT:Combattimento Di Tancredi E Clorinda, Il Compositions by Claudio Monteverdi Operas based on works by Torquato Tasso 1624 operas Operas Cultural depictions of Godfrey of Bouillon

History

Music

References

Further reading

External links