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      • Jan. 17 - A Statement of Belief - Amanda McFadden
      • Jan. 24 - Hector Berlioz, L’Enfance du Christ - Dan Solter
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      • Jan. 13th - Swimming with Claudio
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  • Virtual Offerings
    • The Choir Loft >
      • Jan. 3 - Climbing the Musical Stairway to Heaven - Bob Worth
      • Jan. 10 - The Passion of Yeshua - Steve Osborn
      • Jan. 17 - A Statement of Belief - Amanda McFadden
      • Jan. 24 - Hector Berlioz, L’Enfance du Christ - Dan Solter
    • Virtual BachTalk >
      • Jan. 13th - Swimming with Claudio
    • Madrigal Mondays
    • Chorale Wednesdays
    • Motet Fridays
    • Parliamo Italiano! Language Workshop
  • Virtual Concerts
    • Live Oak Baroque Orchestra
    • Music for these Distracted Times - Barefoot All-Stars
    • Agave Baroque American Originals
    • Bach's Long Walk to Lübeck - Anne Laver, organ
  • Who we are and What we do
    • Mission Statement
    • Pandemic Mission Statement
  • Our Ensembles
    • Sonoma Bach Choir
    • Circa 1600
    • Green Mountain Consort
    • Live Oak Baroque Orchestra
  • Support
    • Donate
    • Escrip & Amazon Smile
  • Resources
    • Concert Programs
    • Scores & Parts
  • Contact
  • Join our Mailing List!
Madrigal Mondays
Some people claim that they don't like madrigals. I've found that in most instances, this is because they think of them as a light, fa-la-la kind of ditty. But these aren't really madrigals at all. They're fun, but not deep. The real thing started in Italy in the first quarter of the 16th-century, joining substantive poetry with serious music, a true art-form which blossomed over the course of the century to be an expressive language of incredible range and capacity to express human emotion on a variety of levels and subjects.

At the beginning of each week, we will update our website with a new madrigal and we will try to include a few notes about each piece and why we think it's great--worthy of study and listening and singing.  Then (as with the Chorales and Motets) it'll be up to you to learn your part and sing along, thus absorbing and internalizing and--in a sense--​becoming part of each piece.
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Dieu! Qu'il la fait bon regarder by Claude Debussy
Since this thing (the pandemic) looks to last a while longer, I am going to take a few liberties with some of my project categories. For instance, Monday Madrigals may also include songs from countries other than Italy and England; songs from centuries other than the 16th and early 17th; and songs in various languages.

Today's song is a chanson by Claude Debussy. It's called 'Dieu! Qu'il la fait bon regarder', and it's from  'Trois Chansons'.

Debussy was interested in history and in art from the past, and often used older material directly or made allusions to past events, styles, etc. For the 'Trois Chansons' he reaches all the way back to Charles d'Orleans (1394-1465). The song texts--and thus the songs, for Debussy was very attentive to his texts--are quite different from each other.

Here the protagonist speaks (sings) of an idealized young lady (clearly he is stricken). The imagery and overall sensual feel of the text is heightened by Debussy's sensitive setting. The a cappella choir speaks generally as one in homophony, but takes off into more independent counterpoint at certain passages.
As is Debussy's wont, the harmonies are rich and super-expressive.

In addition, we get something here we don't get in early music: Detailed dynamic and articulation markings.

I sang this chanson when I was a student at SSU. I was coming from a folk-jazz-rock background, and this is one of the pieces which really hooked me into classical music--somehow there was a bridge there and I crossed it--strangely, another piece which served this function was (gasp!) 'Carmina Burana'.

'Dieu! Qui'il la fait' is a beautiful piece. I searched for a while before I came up with a truly worthy performance.
Hope you like it!

Look forward to seeing some or many of you on Wednesday evening for 'Swimming with Claudio',
​a session built around the works of Monteverdi. It oughta be a good time.
Click here to download learning materials
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Archive
Click below for learning materials
As Vesta was - Thomas Weelkes
Basciami mille volte - Luca Marenzio
Come Blessed Bird - Edward Johnson
Con che soavità - Claudio Monteverdi
Cruda Amarilli - Giaches de Wert
Dieu! Qu'il la fait bon regarder - Claude Debussy
El Grillo - Josquin Deprez
Feritevi - Heinrich Schütz
Hark ye lovely saints above - Thomas Weelkes
Hor che'l ciel e la terra - Claudio Monteverdi
Il bianco e dolce cigno by Jacob Arcadelt
Introit - Requiem - Duruflé
La Bomba By Mateo Flecha el Viejo
Like Two Proud Armies - Thomas Weelkes
Lirum bililirum - Rossino Mantovano
Mein Schifflein - Johann Hermann Schein
Non più guerra - Claudio Monteverdi
Non Vidi Mai - Luca Marenzio
O Primavera - Claudio Monteverdi
O voi che sospirate - Luca Marenzio
Qual Mormorio Soave - Luca Marenzio
Qual vive salamandra - Luca Marenzio - Sweelinck
Rutilante in Nocte - Aquilino Coppini
Sestina - Claudio Monteverdi
si ch'io vorrei morire - Claudio Monteverdi
Strana Armonia - Sigismondo d'india
Ut, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La - Peter Philips
Vergine pura - palestrina
Vezzosi Augelli - Giaches de Wert
Volgea L'anima mia - Claudio Monteverdi
Zefiro Torna - Luca Marenzio
Zefiro Torna - Claudio Monteverdi
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