THE “MONODIC REVOLUTION”
ex. 19-1b From the intermedii of 1589, main ritornello of closing ballo (Aria di Fiorenza)
ex. 19-1c From the intermedii of 1589, Giulio Caccini, Io che dal ciel cader, beginning
The arias by Caccini and Peri were the only moves toward “monodic insurgency” (in the words of music historian Piero Weiss) in the 1589 intermedii.6 The expression is a witty one, because historians have fallen into the habit of calling what happened scarcely a dozen years later the great “monodic revolution,” and because many of the same names as took part in the 1589 festivities—Rinuccini, Peri, Caccini, Cavalieri—are to be found among the turn-of-the-century monodic “revolutionaries.” Yet what actually happened around 1600 was no sudden musical revolution, but only the emergence into print of musical practices that had been in the process of formation over the whole preceding century. These practices had been given an additional impetus by the recent humanist revival with all its attendant neoclassical theorizing, and by the backing of prestigious patrons. They emerged into print in four famous books, as follows.
- Citation (MLA):
- Richard Taruskin. "Chapter 19 Pressure of Radical Humanism." The Oxford History of Western Music. Oxford University Press. New York, USA. n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2025. <https://www.oxfordwesternmusic.com/view/Volume1/actrade-9780195384819-div1-019005.xml>.
- Citation (APA):
- Taruskin, R. (n.d.). Chapter 19 Pressure of Radical Humanism. In Oxford University Press, Music from the Earliest Notations to the Sixteenth Century. New York, USA. Retrieved 27 Apr. 2025, from https://www.oxfordwesternmusic.com/view/Volume1/actrade-9780195384819-div1-019005.xml
- Citation (Chicago):
- Richard Taruskin. "Chapter 19 Pressure of Radical Humanism." In Music from the Earliest Notations to the Sixteenth Century, Oxford University Press. (New York, USA, n.d.). Retrieved 27 Apr. 2025, from https://www.oxfordwesternmusic.com/view/Volume1/actrade-9780195384819-div1-019005.xml
