1.
Music of Italy
–
The music of Italy ranges across a broad spectrum of opera and instrumental classical music and a body of popular music drawn from both native and imported sources. Music has traditionally one of the cultural markers of Italian national and ethnic identity and holds an important position in society. Instrumental and vocal music is an iconic part of Italian identity, spanning experimental art music and international fusions to symphonic music. Opera is integral to Italian musical culture, and has become a segment of popular music. Italian folk music is an important part of the musical heritage. Italian music has held up in high esteem in history. More than other elements of Italian culture, Italian music is generally eclectic, No parochial protectionist movement has ever attempted to keep Italian music pure and free from foreign influence, except briefly under the Fascist regime of the 1920s and 30s. As a result, Italian music has elements of the many peoples that have dominated or influenced the country, including French, German. The countrys historical contributions to music are also an important part of national pride, Italy has a strong sense of national identity through distinctive culture - a sense of an appreciation of beauty and emotionality, which is strongly evidenced in the music. Cultural, political and social issues are also expressed through music in Italy. Allegiance to music is integrally woven into the identity of Italians. Most folk musics are localized, and unique to a region or city. The musical output of Italy remains characterized by diversity and creative independence a rich variety of types of expression. With the growing industrialization that accelerated during the 20th and 21st century, Italian society gradually moved from a base to an urban. Immigration from North Africa, Asia, and other European countries led to diversification of Italian music. Traditional music came to exist only in pockets, especially as part of dedicated campaigns to retain local musical identities. Music and politics have been intertwined for centuries in Italy, composers who strayed ran certain risks. Among the best known of such cases was the Neapolitan composer Domenico Cimarosa, when the republic fell, he was tried for treason along with other revolutionaries
2.
Italian opera houses
–
This is a list of notable opera houses listed by continent, then by country with the name of the opera house and city. The opera company is named for clarity. ISBN 0-86565-978-8 Lynn, Karyl Charna, Opera, the Guide to Western Europes Great Houses, Santa Fe, New Mexico, ISBN 0-945465-81-5 Lynn, Karyl Charna, Italian Opera Houses and Festivals, Lanham, Maryland, The Scarecrow Press, Inc.2005. ISBN 0-8108-5359-0 Plantamura, Carol, The Opera Lovers Guide to Europe, Citadel Press,1996, ISBN 0-8065-1842-1
3.
Glossary of Italian music
–
This is an article on the terminology used to describe the music of Italy. There is also an article on Italian musical terms used in English, Italian music terminology consists of words and phrases used in the discussion of the music of Italy. Some Italian music terms are derived from the common Italian language, others come from Spanish, or Neapolitan, Sicilian, Sardinian or other regional languages of Italy. The terms listed here describe a genre, song form, dance, instrument, style, quality of music, technique or other important aspect of Italian music
4.
Italian classical music
–
More specific terms such as Gregorian chant, Ambrosian chant, Gallican chant are also found. Generally speaking, they all refer to a style of monophonic, unaccompanied, early Christian singing performed by monks, the differences may be marginal—or even great, in some cases. These differences reflect the ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversity that existed after the fall of the Roman Empire on the Italian peninsula. Different monastic traditions arose within the Roman Catholic Church throughout Italy, yet, in spite of the differences, the similarities are great. Obviously, where Greek rites were practiced, the chants were sung in the Greek language and not in Latin, the Trecento, from about 1300 to 1420, was a period of vigorous activity in Italy in the arts, including painting, architecture, literature, and music. The music of the Trecento pioneered new forms of expression, especially in secular song and in the use of vernacular language, secular music before the year 1500 was largely the work of jongleurs, troubadours and mimes. Thus, Dante showed with the Divine Comedy in 1300 that the language could be a vehicle for fine literature. Logically, that extended to the lyrics of the songs that people sang, two points are worth mentioning in this regard, we know much more about the words of songs than we know about the actual sound of the music. Words were written down much more ease than melodies were notated. We only know that southern French folk music, today, sounds quite a bit different from Sicilian folk music, most people do not think of music when they hear the term Renaissance. The years between 1500 and 1600 are the most revolutionary period in European musical history, it is the century in which harmony was developed and the century that gave birth to opera. Readers will have noted the move from the monophony of Gregorian chants to the complicated polyphonies of madrigals, the desire—perhaps need—for homophonic music arose from a number of factors. Thus, if you generate notes at 400,600,800, the important city in Italy in this development of music in the 16th century was Florence. Besides Florence, two other Italian cities are particularly worthy of mention in the period around 1600, there is somewhat of a friendly rivalry between advocates of the two cities as to which one is more important in the history of the development of music in Italy. The period from about 1600 to 1750 encompasses the musical Baroque, many important things happened in this period. This latter element is an extension of the concept of homophonic music, instrumental forms include such things as the sonata and fugue. Important names in music within this period in Italy are Alessandro Scarlatti, from the early 18th century to the end of that century encompasses what historians call classical music. The term classical is appropriate for this period of music in that it marks the standardization of forms such as the symphony
5.
Italian opera
–
Italian opera is both the art of opera in Italy and opera in the Italian language. Opera was born in Italy around the year 1600 and Italian opera has continued to play a dominant role in the history of the form until the present day, many famous operas in Italian were written by foreign composers, including Handel, Gluck and Mozart. Dafne by Jacopo Peri was the earliest composition considered opera, as understood today, peris works, however, did not arise out of a creative vacuum in the area of sung drama. An underlying prerequisite for the creation of opera proper was the practice of monody, from this, it was only a small step to fully-fledged monody. Such spectacles were staged to commemorate significant state events, weddings, military victories, and the like. They were lavishly staged, and led the scenography of the half of the 16th century. Another popular court entertainment at this time was the madrigal comedy and this consisted of a series of madrigals strung together to suggest a dramatic narrative, but not staged. There were also two staged musical pastorals, Il Satiro and La Disperazione di Fileno, both produced in 1590 and written by Emilio de Cavalieri. Other pastoral plays had long included some musical numbers, one of the earliest, the music of Dafne is now lost. The first opera for which music has survived was performed in 1600 at the wedding of Henry IV of France, the opera, Euridice, with a libretto by Rinuccini, set to music by Peri and Giulio Caccini, recounted the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. The style of singing favored by Peri and Caccini was a form of natural speech. Recitative thus preceded the development of arias, though it became the custom to include separate songs. Both Dafne and Euridice also included choruses commenting on the action at the end of each act in the manner of Greek tragedy. The theme of Orpheus, the demi-god of music, was popular and attracted Claudio Monteverdi who wrote his first opera, La Favola dOrfeo. Monteverdi insisted on a relationship between the words and music. When Orfeo was performed in Mantua, an orchestra of 38 instruments, Opera had revealed its first stage of maturity in the hands of Monteverdi. LOrfeo also has the distinction of being the earliest surviving opera that is regularly performed today. Within a few decades opera had spread throughout Italy, in Rome, it found an advocate in the prelate and librettist Giulio Rospigliosi
