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Il bianco e dolce cigno by Jacob Arcadelt
This week's madrigal is an old favorite of many: Jacob Arcadelt's 1539 classic, 'Il bianco e dolce cigno'. This may have been the most popular madrigal of the 16th century, and judging by the number of recordings and videos out there, it's still at or near the top of the charts. The text plays on the old adage that we learn about also in Gibbons' 'The Silver Swan'--that swans (generally silent) sing before they die. The madrigal's protagonist compares his fate with that of the swan, who 'dies disconsolate'; in contrast, Arcadelt's hero 'dies blessed', and indeed would be happy to die a thousand times a day.

Many of you know about the Renaissance poetic tradition of death being code for orgasm; that reference certainly could be valid here. Call me an innocent, but I feel that the piece resists such an interpretation; the utter sincerity of the music seems to point toward something like 'Having loved you, I need no more out of life'.

In any case, it's a small but wonderful madrigal, extremely responsive to its text, easy and yet very gratifying to sing. I'm including score, midi files, and Cinzia's pronunciation; and here are links to two nice recordings: The four-part version as in your score; and a very expressive arrangement for solo voice and lute.

As a special bonus, for this week only (and only if you send in the coupon on the back of this email), I am including score, recording and midi files for Orazio Vecchi's 1589 reworking of Arcadelt's piece. It's quite wonderful, as you'll see and hear--a re-imagining which incorporates much of the music of the original but expands and extends it to five voices and longer phrases, achieving thereby a wholly different (but related) expressive world.
Arcadelt Practice Materials
Download Score
Italian Pronunciation Track
Midi Practice Tracks
Vecchi Practice Materials
Download Score
Click here to download all practice materials
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