Zieg ⦁ Monteverdi’s Orfeo 46 including instruments of different timbres, for different purposes.35 Monteverdi also specifically notated which instruments he wanted to play during the opera, which was a new concept to the Renaissance era. However, as musicologist Charles Hamm detailed, “Despite the size of the orchestra, solo singers (singing alone, or in duets or trios) are accompanied only by a basso continuo.”36 This put an emphasis on the libretto, or text of the opera, while also highlighting the emotions Monteverdi wanted the audience to feel through a rich, instrumental texture. Monteverdi was keenly aware of the effect that the orchestra and specific instrumentation could have on the emotions of the audience.37 For example, the instrumentation of the pastoral scenes include flutes, and other lighter instruments, which are known as bas, or soft instruments. This makes the pastoral scenes very light, happy, and joyful. In contrast, the scenes that take place in the underworld contain dark instrumentation, with instruments known as haut, or loud, such as the trombone.38 This adds to the stress, pain, and agony that Orpheus is feeling. There is only one time that Monteverdi uses heavy instrumentation and solo voice together, and this is in Orpheus's aria “Possente spirto.” Even then, the voice and instruments do not compete, but the instruments play in between the soloist to add extra emphasis, or lightly play underneath the soloist. The instruments also serve as an echo figure, making them secondary. The echo figure in the instrumentation serves to portray the loneliness and fear Orpheus was feeling as he entered into the underworld. All of these musical elements work together to clearly portray the emotion and human struggles involved in Orfeo. Along with the philosophy of humanism, Monteverdi adapted Orfeo as a whole from Greco-Roman drama. While ancient Greek music was not directly influential to Renaissance composers such as Monteverdi, their dramas did impact his writings.39 The ancient Greeks celebrated an art form known as the Greek tragedy, and through this, they were effective in portraying human emotions on the stage. Greek tragedies were simply a dramatic form of art and were similar to what one would consider a play today. Greek tragedies were based on the ideas of Greek mythology and Greek gods and goddesses, making the story of Orpheus who was a legendary musician in Greek mythology a prime candidate for early opera. These Greek dramas became the basis for the idea of opera as 35 Hamm, 127. 36 Hamm, 128. 37 Hamm, 130. 38 Hamm, 130. 39 Brown, 4.
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