Musical Offerings ⦁ 2021 ⦁ Volume 12 ⦁ Number 2 41 chords over top.11 The use of the bass was the foundation of instrumental music in the Renaissance. In his orchestra, Monteverdi had plenty of chord-playing instruments that could realize the figured bass, such as harps, lutes, harpsichords, and organs.12 These instruments playing the basso continuo were present in almost every song during Orfeo. Monteverdi wrote for a variety of soloists and a richly varied orchestra, but not for both together. For him, as for the members of the Camerata, or the Italian society of poets and musicians, the solo voice was to be supported as lightly as possible, with continuo only.13 For example, Orfeo’s aria “Scorto da te mio nume” at the beginning of Act III is accompanied simply by a basso continuo.14 Plucking the bass line on stringed instruments allowed for adequate text declamation (Example 1). Example 1: “Scorto da te mio nume,” mm. 1–5.15 Another development of late Renaissance music present in Monteverdi’s Orfeo is the use of purely instrumental music such as the toccata. Instrumental music and instruments accompanying soloists and singers were on the rise during the Renaissance. There were several common instrumental genres throughout this period such as the ricercare, the 11 Hamm, 126. 12 Hamm, 128. 13 Hamm, 129. 14 Monteverdi, 72. 15 Monteverdi, 77, https://imslp.org/wiki/Special:ReverseLookup/310353.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM4ODY=