Some scholars think the word madrigal derives from the Latin matricalis, or “mother,” as in mother tongue. Others think it may be related to mandrialis, which means “pastoral.” Whatever the etymological truth, most madrigals are secular Italian vocal pieces that often have to do with love or pastoral settings or both. The first madrigals date from the fourteenth century, but these days the term most often refers to sixteenth-century madrigals, also known as Renaissance madrigals. The Renaissance madrigal was a kind of musical laboratory, one in which composers tried out the latest styles and techniques and invented new ones, all in an effort to give the most compelling musical expression to the heightened emotions of poetry. English composers wrote madrigals, too, but the so-called “classic” Renaissance madrigal was Italian, and most often featured five voices woven together in a complex fabric of sound, with contrasting rhythms between and among them, and imitated melodies passed from voice to voice.
A Minute with Miles - a production of ETV Radio made possible by the JM Smith Corporation.
