of this, its leaders appealed, at once, to the hearts of their hearers. If they did not, themselves, attain to the expression of deep pathos, or grand dramatic truth, they led the way to both. And, in this new feature, lay the secret, not only of their own immediate success, in Florence, but, of the amazing rapidity with which their principles gained ground, elsewhere, and the avidity with which they were received by the most talented writers of the period. In spite of its monotony, its crudeness, its poverty, its faults of every conceivable kind, the Monodic School of Florence, dowered with this one virtue, was enabled, even in its infancy, to make an impression upon Art which has never yet been obliterated: and nowhere is that impression more clearly traceable than upon the latest productions of our own enlightened age.
XIX. Of The School of Mantua, Monteverde was the beginning, and the end.[1] Though he did not originate the idea of the Opera, he won for it such high distinction, at the Court of Vincenzo Gonzaga, that the efforts of its Florentine parents attracted, thenceforward, but very little notice. In presence of his 'Orfeo' it was impossible that Peri's 'Euridice' could continue to live. Neither in dramatic power, nor in command of the heterogeneous orchestra of the period, did any contemporaneous writer approach him; and to this circumstance he was mainly indebted for his most brilliant successes. He seemed to have been created for the age, and the age for him. Since the Florentine Masters had shown that dramatic effect was possible, Artists saw a new world open to them; and, in their eagerness to enter it, were ready to cast down and destroy every obstacle that lay in their way. Monteverde had wisdom enough to seize the opportunity, and genius enough to use it splendidly. He wrote with growing appreciation of the capabilities of the Stage; and introduced new ideas into every new work. And therefore it is, that, though the School of Mantua boasts only a very few achievements, and these all by one Composer, we look upon it as one of the most important Schools that have ever existed.
XX. The Venetian Dramatic School was founded, in the year 1637, by Benedetto Ferrari, and Francesco Manelli, whose labours were crowned, from the first, with abundant success, though the merits of their Compositions were eclipsed in 1639 by the triumphant reception of Monteverde's 'L'Adone,' and an almost equally popular work, 'Le Nozze di Peleo e di Tetide,' by his pupil Cavalli.[2] The veteran Monteverde, then Maestro di Cappella at S. Mark's, won scarcely less honour in Venice than he had already earned at Mantua. Cavalli proved himself a worthy disciple of so distinguished a Master; and, though he found a formidable rival in Marc Antonio Cesti, one of Carissimi's most talented pupils, he secured to himself a long-enduring fame. Monteverde died in 1643; but under Cesti and Cavalli, and a long line of successors fully capable of carrying on their work, the School retained, for many years, the prestige of its early successes, and was long regarded as the best in Italy. During its reign, a more flowing style of Melody gradually replaced the monotonous Recitative of Caccini and Peri. The Ritornello[3] was accepted as an adjunct to the Aria. And many other improvements were added, from time to time, until, by the close of the century, the Lyric Drama had attained a position in Venice which excited the envy of every rival School in Europe.
XXI. The early records of The Neapolitan Dramatic School are very imperfect; but, our ignorance of the work effected by its older Masters is of little importance, in the presence of its most brilliant ornament, Alessandro Scarlatti, who, though he laboured so long in Rome, is justly claimed by the Neapolitans as their own inalienable property. The vocal works of this great genius are known, to most of us, only through a few fragmentary Songs, which, though they delight all who hear them, have not yet tempted any publisher to issue a more extended selection from his works, very few of which were printed, even during his own lifetime. It is only by a very rare chance that one is fortunate enough, nowadays, to meet with an Opera by Scarlatti, even in MS. We have, however, a few trustworthy Scores, in some of our public libraries. A complete copy of 'Il Prigioniero fortunato' will be found among the Dragonetti MSS. in the British Museum; and the Library of Christ Church, Oxford, possesses a Serenata, 12 Cantatas, and three perfect Operas—'Gerone' (dated '1692 e scritta 1693'), 'Il Flavio Cuniberto,' and 'La Teodora Augusta,' all deeply interesting to the student, and rich, not only in fine Songs, but also in charming Ritornelli, for the Stringed Band, interposed between the various Scenes of the Drama. 'Il Flavio Cuniberto' begins with a regular Overture, called 'Sinfonia avanti l'Opera,' and consisting of a Fugue, on two Subjects, in B Minor, and a Minuet, in 6–8 Time, in the same key. 'Gerone,' and 'La Teodora Augusta,' both contain Airs, for Soprano, with Trumpet Obbligato, exhibiting more than the germ of that Art-form which afterwards culminated in 'Hor la tromba,' and 'Let the bright Seraphim.' 'La Teodora' contains a Sinfonia, with an Obbligato Trumpet. The following extract is from the Trumpet Air in 'Gerone.'
- ↑ See Monteverde. Also, vol. ii. pp. 500–501.
- ↑ See vol. ii. pp. 502–504.
- ↑ See vol. iii. p. 137.
