Dolcissimo sospiro

Sometimes the “auspicious beginning” being considered goes beyond a single work, instead opening up entire realms of new art. Such is the famous case of Giulio Caccini (1551-1618). Like many of his generation, the young Caccini first began to earn recognition as a singer. Fortunately his talent was so remarkable that no less a figure than Francesco de Medici brought the youth to Florence, already the nexus of innovation in renaissance music. By the early 1580s, Giulio’s reputation at court allowed him to network with other creative artists who were pushing a revival of the neglected riches from ancient Greek art, poetry, and music. Out of these meetings of the Florentine Camerata, Caccini—with his prodigious voice and ability to accompany himself on the lute—helped invent the genre of solo song. This style, also known as monody, offers a much simpler style than previous music. Rather than a complex network of overlapping voices (i.e., polyphony), monody features a single vocal line supported by minimal chords. Consider “Dolcissimo sospiro” from Caccini’s Le nuove musiche, published in 1601. Caccini indicates all pitches and rhythms as well as the text underlay for a single treble voice. He also provides a figured bass part, whose exact chordal realization is left to the discretion the performer. Just over two minutes in duration, the melody is animated but not overly florid, and it carefully responds to the rhythm of the poetry. Only at the final syllable does the older melismatic tradition surface. Everything centers on the words; musical gestures are made subservient to clear expression of thought and feeling. Gradually the monodic style developed into both richly accompanied songs (arias) and sparsely accompanied, speech-like phrases (recitative). At the Camerata, the first experiment in what would become opera took place. It was, indeed, a very auspicious beginning.

(c) Jason Stell