Monteverdi, from Paul to the count and counting

Yeeeeeeet another article about Monteverdi… and then what ? Anyone can look up Monteverdi on websites galore, be it about his life and works, or about individual works, so Qobuz will not insult its beloved subscribers by performing one of these unfortunately ubiquitous cut, copy and paste robberies and then just change a couple of words for the larceny to look less obvious. Furthermore, recordings of his works abound, including on Qobuz, considering that the composer is one of the most recorded in the Renaissance-turning-baroque repertoire, in particular historically informed performances of all kinds, each one of them begging for recognition as the only really historical reading – forgetting, by the way, that even in Monteverdi’s time, there was no such thing as a definitive version, what with diverse manuscripts, copies, copies from copies, each printed or manuscript version being the expression of what had been done at a very precise moment, with this or that available instruments and voices. Admittedly, some scores from the 18th century seem quite precise, but even then, they just are snapshots.

Yes, snapshots. To illustrate this state of things, we will focus on a work in particular whose score answers as many questions as it leaves many others unanswered : L’Orfeo, written in 1607 for a court performance during the annual Carnival at Mantua ; after its initial performance the work was staged again in that same town, and possibly in other Italian centres over the next few years. Its score was published by Monteverdi in 1609 and again in 1615, and the original print lists 41 instruments to be deployed : ten viole da brazzo (divided in two five-part ensembles, each comprising two violins, two violas and a cello), two double basses (contrabassi de viola), two small violins (violini piccoli alla francese), four trombones (sackbuts), three trumpets and two cornets, that’s for the « regular » orchestra. Continuo forces include two harpsichords (duoi gravicembani), a double harp (arpa doppia), two chitarroni, two pipe organs (organi di legno), three bass viola da gamba, and a regal or small reed organ. Outside of these groupings are two recorders (flautini alla vigesima secunda), and possibly one or more citterns—unlisted by Monteverdi, but included in instructions relating to the end of Act 4. Easy pie ? Nowhere near to that. Yes, this is the list printed on the first page of the publication, but when you open the score, sure, the first page of the overture does attribute some instruments (just five, in fact) to this or that particular instrumental line, but from then on the performers are in the dark from beginning to end. All sung solos are adorned with nothing but a mere bass line, so that the continuo must be extemporized with whatever instruments hits the fancy. In the choral parts, vocal lines are written out, but as far as instruments are concerned, the score just lets you know that “this choir was sung accompanied by all instruments” or “this balletto was sung to the sound of five viole da braccio, three chittaroni, two clavicembali, one double harp, one contrabass viola, one flautino alla vigesima secunda (i.e. the third octave, thus the sopranino recorder)”, but with no further detail as to who plays what and when. These indications are a testimony to a particular performance a given day, the way it was played on this or that occasion, but it seems obvious that further performances may have used radically different orchestral forces and instrumentations. Playing L’Orfeo nowadays with just these 41 instruments would merely perpetuate one given performance at a given time, but would not do justice to the great flexibility of the score. What’s more, it may easily be imagined that for the solo arias, systematically limited to the sung voice and a bass line – and never, ever anything else playing together with the sung line – individual instrumentalists may well have improvised along. But modern performances and recordings do not dare cross that line ; a few very timid extra contrapuntal or ornamental lines on the harpsichord may appear from time to time, but never anything on melodic instruments. A pity… but of course, performers don’t want to take the risk of adding something too audible that is not written, beyond a mere plink-plonk on the harpsichord. A big historical mistake ? As for the vocal lines, they are often written in a minimal script, on which singers might have improvised ornamentations. As regards that point, Orfeo’s aria “Possente spirto” is highly informative as the 1609 score proposes two lines, one very simple and strict with long notes, one with extremely developed ornamentation – and Monteverdi just points out that the singer may choose whichever he pleases. But the differences between both are so great that it might be easily imagined that the ornamented line is a relatively faithful transcription of what tenor Francesco Rasi (1574-1621) extemporized back in 1607 for the works premiere. Few other passages in the score offer this choice, which does not mean singers would not ornament to their tastes and whims.