Essay Quiz


1		Listen to some Baroque madrigals. Notice that the texts are often light or silly and frequently include "fa-la-la.'' Listen to Thomas Morley's "My Bonnie Lass, She Smileth''; then listen to P. D. Q. Bach's parody, "My Bonnie Lass, She Smelleth.'' Compare the original version to the parody.



2		List the members of the Florentine Camerata. What might it have been like to be a member of this group and to be a friend of Galileo's father?



3		Did the fact that Gesualdo murdered his wife and her lover affect his compositional style? How would you have felt toward Gesualdo, knowing he had murdered these people? What were the laws like in those days? How would Gesualdo's case be handled in our present judicial system?



4		How would it feel to have complete freedom to write compositions, unconcerned about the consent of patrons and the aristocracy? What type of pressures were composers and performers under in preparing for concerts? for church services?



5		Imagine you are an architect living during the Baroque Period and you have been asked to design St. Mark's in Venice, Italy. What would your work be like? If you ever have the opportunity, travel by train to Venice and look directly across the canal when you come out of the train station; you will see St. Mark's Cathedral. Take time to cross the canal and go inside the church. You may hear an organist or a choir practicing, or see a church service or concert there. Consider how Gabrieli might have felt hearing his antiphonal compositions rehearsed and performed at St. Mark's.

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