VPMA93H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Der Ring Des Nibelungen, Cardinal Mazarin, Francesco Cavalli
Document Summary
French opera in the time of louis xiv jean-baptiste lully. Learned from cardinal mazarin and the events of his childhood the importance of centralizing state control. The political reason was he could act out aristocracy. Opera first introduced to france through cardinal mazarin"s commissions of italian composers didn"t really catch on. (luigi rossi and francesco cavalli) Opera in italy and tragedy in france. Made the gar on de chamber of madamoiselle de montpensier, an important courtier. She took him home to france to teach him italian. In 1661, when louis xiv was made absolute ruler of france, lully was made the most important court composer. Was able to create a musical style for opera which appealed to louis xiv and the french. French overture: a two part form with each part repeated. The first part is a slower processional featuring the heavy use of double dotting. The second is a faster section featuring lots of fugal counterpoint.
