ee173xed@sdcc3.UUCP ({|stu) (11/29/84)
_A _C_o_m_p_a_r_i_s_o_n _o_f _t_h_e _M_u_s_i_c _o_f _J_u_a_n _H_i_d_a_l_g_o, _C_l_a_u_d_i_o _M_o_n_t_e_v_e_r_d_i,
_a_n_d _A_l_e_s_s_a_n_d_r_o _S_c_a_r_l_a_t_t_i
Juan Hidalgo was probably the most important Spanish
composer of the mid-seventeenth century. Although the
majority of his music was destroyed in a fateful palace fire
(1734), it is useful to compare what music remains with the
styles in Italy of the time because the two countries were
so closely allied politically, religiously, and culturally.
This article will compare and contrast the music of Juan
Hidalgo with an earlier seventeenth century opera of Claudio
Monteverdi, "L'incoronazione di Poppea," and with an early
eighteenth-century opera by Alessandro Scarlatti, "Il
Trionfo dell'Onore."
The only complete opera by Juan Hidalgo that is extant,
"Celos aun del aire matan," in three acts, was first per-
formed in 1660. Its libretto, by the famed Pedro Calder'on
de la Barca, is on a Greek mythological theme. The music to
another work by Hidalgo, "Los celos hacen estrellas," per-
formed in 1672, exists only in fragments, but the text by
Juan V'elez de Guevara is complete and is also mythological.
"L'incoronazione di Poppea," an opera in two acts performed
in Venice in 1642, is from Roman history as the title sug-
gests, and was Monteverdi's last opera. "Il Trionfo
dell'Onore," performed in Naples in 1718, is a comedy in
three acts with a plot closely resembling Mozart's "Don
Giovanni," except that the hero repents of his evil ways in
the end without any supernatural interference.
All three composers used the recitative style that was
pioneered by Monteverdi and his contemporaries. Monteverdi
went to great lengths to instruct the performer in the
correct manner of executing the musical passages. He wrote
numerous letters about the new musical style. Monteverdi,
Peri, Rinuccini, Caccini, and other early seventeenth-
century Italian composers and amateurs advocated a recita-
tive style reminiscent of Sprechstimme in which the per-
former was to sing each phrase with speechlike rhythm, not
adhering exactly to the written rhythm, but placing emphasis
on the needs of each syllable. Pietro de'Bardi, in a letter
to G. B. Doni in 1634, described a performance of a work
similar to Monteverdi's as follows: "The first poem to be
sung on the stage in 'stile rappresentativo' was the story
of _D_a_f_n_e, by Signor Ottavio Rinuccini, set to music by Peri
in a few numbers and short scenes and _r_e_c_i_t_e_d _a_n_d _s_u_n_g
privately in a small room." In "L'incoronazione di Poppea,"
with the instructions to the second soldier, Monteverdi
requests that the music be sung "quasi sotto voce" (example
1 at rehearsal mark 15). The recitative earlier in this
example is of the secco type, placing emphasis on the text,
and is to be sung freely in a declamatory style. Example 2
is a passage of recitative with very slow harmonic movement,
leaving all action to the singer.
The first Spanish librettist to write true opera was
Felix Lope de Vega. Nevertheless, he classified his work,
"La selva sin amor," as a "pastoral eclogue," for the word
"opera" did not become part of the Spanish vocabulary until
the end of the seventeenth century. Its performance in 1629
introduced to Spain not only opera, but Italianate staging,
complete with machinery and artificial lighting. Lope de
Vega mentions in the dedication to "La selva sin amor" that
"it was performed, sung to their majesties and highnesses, a
new thing in Spain." He also remarks that his verses were
the least significant part of the festial. His modesty
underscores the importance of the music. It is unclear,
however, if the "new thing" which Lope mentions is the fact
that the work was sung throughout with no spoken dialog, or
if the elaborate machinery played a greater role. In any
event, thirty years passed before another opera was composed
for the Spanish court. The opera in one act by Calder'on and
Hidalgo, "La p'urpura de la rosa," was performed in 1660.
According to the loa, the production would be ". . .
entirely music, that intends to introduce this style,
because other nations see their rival beauty." The poet
Calder'on gives some insight into his view of opera. In the
first scene Tristeza argues that the audiences would not
endure a completely sung comedia. Another character
responds that this will not be a long three-act comedia, but
a short one-act piece. Later in the scene, "Flora, Cintia,
Clori, [and] Libia start to leave, each one singing in
estilo recitativo, looking toward the vestry."
The only instructions that remain in Hidalgo's works
are simple stage directions, telling the actors when and
where to position themselves. However, the following lines
from "Los celos hacen estrellas" seem to indicate a singing
style similar to that of Monteverdi: (loa, line 337) "y
represenntando todos los que cantan" (and speaking all those
who are singing), (act 1, line 808) "y representen, aunque
canten" (and they speak, even though they sing), (act 2,
line 1377, "Cantando y representando todos de fin la fiesta"
(Everyone singing and speaking through the end of the
fiesta). It is the opinon of some musicologists that since
"representar" means to speak or portray, that there was much
spoken dialog and little singing in the works of Hidalgo and
Calder'on. However, the fact that the Spanish verb "represen-
tar" is cognate with the Italian "rappresentare" cannot be
ignored. In these lines, reciting and singing seem to go
together, probably in the manner of "stile rappresentativo."
But Hidalgo's recitative is often more songlike or arioso
(example 3) than Monteverdi's even though the harmonic
rhythm of the continuo is at a near standstill.
By the time of Scarlatti, the recitative style in Italy
was well ingrained in the repertoire and was well understood
by the performers. Scarlatti wrote both secco (example 4)
and accompanied recitative (example 5). The melody of the
recitative was meant to be ornamented by the performer, with
the continuo following and supporting the singer. The 'C'
common-time signature was used in recitative by convention,
and the rhythmic accent or pulse could fall practically any-
where in the measure.
The orchestra for Monteverdi's Venetian opera consisted
of strings, continuo, and two trumpets. The continuo was
large, with two harpsichords, harp, lute, guitar, flue and
reed organs, along with cello and double bass. Scarlatti,
in the following century, had a similar ensemble, with two
trumpets, strings, two oboes, and continuo. His continuo
was not as elaborate, however, relying primarily on the
clavicembalo and bassoon. Both Italians also included
orchestral overtures which had little in common thematically
with the remainder of the operas. Because only the continuo
and vocal parts for "Celos aun del aire matan" have sur-
vived, it is unknown if an overture was provided. Hidalgo's
instrumentation most likely consisted of seven violins, two
bassoons, a tenor bassoon, three harps, two bass viols, two
vihuels, and an unknown number of shawms and coronettos.
This is the ensemble of the Royal Chapel, and the same per-
formers were used in the theatrical productions. Also
included would be various traditional percussion instru-
ments.
Hidalgo used no figured bass in the continuo, the har-
mony being readily discernible from the bass and vocal
lines. Monteverdi and Scarlatti included figured bass in
their manuscripts, but the modern editions have printed a
realization intended for piano. Example 5, from "Il
Trionfo dell'Onore," shows the modern edition but with the
original figured bass (from the manuscript). Scarlatti also
left out the key signatures which the modern edition has
supplied. With all three composers even when key signatures
were provided originally, modern notation would eliminate
the need for many of the accidentals placed in the
manuscript. Note the use of chords in other than root posi-
tion in Scarlatti's music. Monteverdi's harmonies were cri-
ticized by the adherents of the older styles of the day, yet
they are not too unusual for the Baroque. He, as well as
Scarlatti, used chords in inversions, including the third
inversion dominant-seventh chord in the second measure and
again in the first measure of the third line of example 6.
Monteverdi, nevertheless, stayed in the more common key
areas, venturing as far as A or E on the sharp side, and to
E flat and G minor on the flat side. Hidalgo's writing is
more conservative harmonically, preferring root position
with an occasional first inversion (example 7). Key areas
range from B flat and G minor to A and A minor. Scarlatti,
while not a chromaticist of the earlier Gesualdo school, had
a much wider harmonic vocabulary. He would sometimes become
entangled in unusual keys such as the C sharp minor at the
end of scene 2 (example 8). Scarlatti, writing at Naples,
also used the Neapolitan sixth chord, but not often in "Il
Trionfo dell'Onore" (example 9, two measures before rehear-
sal mark C). Scarlatti would often flat the third or sixth
in major keys near cadences. He used chords of the flat
side such as C minor, and sometimes F minor in more intense
episodes, for scenes of a grievous nature. All three com-
posers wrote suspensions of the 4-3 variety, especially
before cadences. Most cadences written by these men were the
authentic V-I type.
Monteverdi's melodic motion is primarily by single
step, with occasional small skips. Hidalgo, conversely,
uses many more skips, some as large as a sixth being not
uncommon, both ascending and descending (example 3, measures
91 and 92, and example 12, measure 115). Scarlatti's
melodic writing has been described by some critics as
"singer's music," meaning that it is easy to sing, and is
adaptive to the capacity of the performer. His melodies are
also primarily stepwise, but with many small skips and rarer
leaps of an octave. Of particular note is the relatively
wide range and high tessitura of Hidalgo's writing. Mon-
teverdi normally gives his singers a range of a ninth or a
tenth: Amor (high soprano) A above middle C to high A flat,
and Poppea (soprano) E to high G. Scarlatti uses similar
ranges, normal for singers even in the present day. In "Il
Trionfo dell'Onore" only one castratto was used, and his was
a minor role. Hidalgo, on the other hand, wrote for voices
with wide ranges and extremely high tessituras: Diana
(soprano) middle D to high B, Cefalo (tenor) D below middle
C to A above middle C, Aura (soprano) E to high F, and
Pocris (soprano) B flat below middle C to high A. The B
flat (example 10, measure 45), is an obvious example of text
painting on the words "It afflicts me," and is the lowest
solo female note in the opera. It would appear that the
pitch standard was lower in Spain than that which was in use
in Italy. Monteverdi's writing for the character Amor, a
personification intended to be sung by a high soprano (exam-
ple 11) is actually lower than Hidalgo's writing for all of
the female roles in "Celos aun del aire matan." If the
Spanish notation were lowered by three or four semitones,
the music would be more closely aligned with the Italian
style, and would be more easily vocalized. On the other
hand, all but one of the principal performers in "Celos aun
del aire matan" were women, and he was a tenor. Hidalgo and
the court may have liked the high tessitura of the soprano
and tenor voices.
Occasional homophonic choruses of either Nymphs or men
break up the otherwise monodic presentation of "Celos aun
del aire matan." The later work, "Los celos hacen
estrellas," apparently had comparatively more choruses, but
since few examles of the recitative survives, this cannot be
determined precisely. "Los celos hacen estrellas" also con-
tains a number of duets and quartets. Other examples of
text painting abound in the works of Hidalgo. Consider the
crying motive in example 12, measure 115. To illustrate the
opposite emotion, Monteverdi and Scarlatti used a laughing
or giggling pattern in examples 1 and 5. Hidalgo, in a play-
ful mood, was fond of dislocated or hemiola rhythmns (exam-
ple 13, measures 19-30 and 45-58, also example 14).
Dialog takes place in the recitative of Monteverdi
throughout "L'incoronazione di Poppea." In example 1 the
soldiers converse. In example 2 Nerone is speaking to Pop-
pea and some servants. The arias are more of an aside to
the audience than action or dialog. Monteverdi at times has
more than one voice singing in a recitative, rather than
simply alternating between voices. Hidalgo, on the other
hand, alternates singers in the dialog and does not have
them sing together. Duets are reserved for arias. Scar-
latti has up to four people conversing with one another
(example 9).
All three composers used the da capo aria form.
Hidalgo also used strophic variations, rewriting the vocal
lines slightly for each strophe to conform to the words.
The idea of a repeated estribillo (refrain or ritornello)
was a common Spanish device from the preceding century. In
"Celos aun del aire matan" nine different estribillos are
repeated on the average five times each. One is repeated
fourteen times. "Los celos hacen estrellas" contains a good
example of an estribillo chorus repeated almost verbatim
(examples 7 and 15).
The early Spanish opera, as represented in the work of
Juan Hidalgo, exhibits some of the features of the closely
related Italian style. It is, however, less elaborate har-
monically, and melodically there are more large skips than
in the Italian genre. Some features of Hidalgo's style are
typically Spanish, such as the abundant dislocated rhythms,
the high tessitura, and the repeated estribillos. Hidalgo
wrote in a style that reflected the presence of the Italian
ideas while retaining much of the traditional Spanish idiom.
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