Monteverdi’s Lamento Della Ninfa – Compositional Techniques to Express Emotion
Monteverdi’s Lamento della ninfa is an excellent example of what a lament should be. A lament is always an expression of grief or sorrow and usually over a loss of love. This loss of love may be due to the death of the loved one or betrayal (such is this case). The lament is not a complaint about unhappy or unrequited love, but it is a manifestation of sadness. In most cases, Lamento della ninfa included, the lamenter is tormented simultaneously by the past, present, and future: the memories of what once was, the current pain of loss, and grievances for the future.
Monteverdi masterfully manipulates the poetry of Ottavio Rinuccini with music that expresses the emotion of the text. In order to do so, he utilizes compositional techniques both old and new in relation to his time period. There exist many examples of madrigalisms throughout the piece. Dissonance is used to call attention to sections of text. For example, at measure 11 in part 1 of Non havea Febo ancora, the opening choral section, harsh half step dissonance is implemented upon the text “suo dolor” (English translation – “her sorrow” or “her grief”).
The tension of the dissonance mirrors the tension of the description of emotional pain. Without knowledge of the translation of the text, this instance may feel unnaturally abrasive. However, with familiarity of the translation, the method as it is composed can be artistically enjoyed and appreciated. Another example of madrigalism is at the beginning at measure 8 of part 2 of Non havea Febo ancora. The text depicts: treading aimlessly on flowers and wandering here and there while lamenting on lost love.
Monteverdi reinforces this text by having the singers tightly stagger their entrances on fairly disjunct melodies, thus creating a more confused or dazed sound in comparison to the music previously presented. His manner of madrigalism is a bit more complex than most of those introduced during the Renaissance. Probably the most traditional form of text painting in the piece occurs at measure 4 of part 2 of Non havea Febo ancora in the text “un gran sospir” (English translation – “a great sigh”). The word “gran” (“great” or “big”) is elongated and is crescendoed to emphasize its intrinsic nature of greatness.
Despite the typicality of this usage, Monteverdi does not overuse the technique, and the overall sound created does not give an impression of staleness. Monteverdi, however, does stray from tradition. At measure 36 of Lamento della ninfa, on the (translated) text “because of him, I long,” the word “him” is sung on an unexpected subtonic instead of the expected leading tone to draw attention to the reason for the longing: “him. ” This particular instance should not be classified as a strict madrigalism, for its use is more subtle than previous traditional musical settings of text painting.
It does, nonetheless, effectively assist in the conveyance of personal emotion in the character the soloist is portraying. At the end of Non havea Febo ancora, dramatic verisimilitude is evident. At measure 14 of part 2 there is a decrescendo, the tempo slows in the music, and the tonality modulates to that of the upcoming section. This all occurs on text roughly translated to “and [she] lamented her lost loves like this:”. Both the text and the music point to and foretell the upcoming central part of Lamento della ninfa.
This example well-expresses the dramatic and theatrical nature of the piece and leans toward opera, as it differs from prior madrigal settings. Lamento della ninfa contains other elements that hint at early Baroque opera as it strays from the stylings of earlier works. Monteverdi’s setting of Rinuccini’s text transforms the text into a theatrical framework. For example, the men’s’ choir frames the soprano’s lament in separate opening and concluding sections. In addition to this, the choir provides comments and narration on the lament throughout her solo.
Whether the parts move separately or in parallel, there are two different layers of music: one laments and the other comments. The role of functioning musically as a background is not carried by one part, but it alternates between the soloist and the choir. The strophic form of the choir is marked by cadences, while the soprano’s voice runs continuously. Throughout the entire middle section, in between the choir framework, an ostinato figure of a stepwise descending tetrachord stands out as the organizing principle for the soprano’s solo and provides a basis her part to knit with the commenting choir.
As a structuring device, the ostinato is also full of emotion in itself unlike earlier ostinato-based forms. It has a clear harmonic direction, as it descends in steady and stepwise motion from tonic to dominant. Together with a distinctly minor mode, this gives the lament its serious and heavy impression. The ostinato is both an meaningful and an organizing figure, thus contributing to its position as the lament’s driving force. At the same time, the tonic of the ostinato functions as the beginning of a new turn of phrase which is a repetition as well as a harmonic conclusion of the previous phrase.
This happens over and over again. Thus, the harmonic movement takes on a circular shape. The soprano’s part prevents the loop’s inevitable conclusion by use of suspensions, syncopations, and other means of irregular movement. The soloist could potentially go on forever in her section of the piece. The poetry she sings and the corresponding music do not give the impression of coming to an end. The conclusion of the section seems almost arbitrary in its placement. The repeated movement of the ostinato is brought to an end and is framed by the choir’s commentary.
The closure is introduced to the lamenter from the outside. This closing commentary creates both stability to the piece as a whole and adds to the theatrical nature of the composition. The lack of restrictions on phrasing is a unique quality included in Lamento della ninfa. The sorrow and the passion in the lament are both unpredictable and irregular aspects of the piece. The result of this is a independence that comes from challenging strict and formal traditional musical patterning. It is this independence from the old that created a new musical frontier.
Monteverdi’s improvements upon text painting are refreshing in comparison to the over-used methods used in the Renaissance. In the middle section where the soloist enters, there is a noticeable musical sadness that can be felt almost before a single word is sung. This section creates an interesting musical space between the choir framework. It constantly moves forward, and it lacks closure through to the end. Its unpredictable and irregular characteristics, both repetitive and open, are preserved throughout. Monteverdi’s innovations helped open a new door in compositional progress for all the writers of music that followed.
