The Evolution of the Ritornello (Part 1)

In spite of an initial rough start with Orfeo, I am a bit sad to see the focus of the class material (and thus this blog) shift to another musical piece. In this post, I am going to cheat a little bit and continue to discuss segments from Orfeo, however, this time I will try to deepen the analysis through a comparison with our latest musical work, Handel's Messiah.

Monteverdi's Italian Opera and Handel's English Oratorio may differ in some aspects, but they share a lot in common. One of these similarities is the appearance of numerous ritornellos. While these two musical pieces share the use of ritornellos, they do not express them in exactly the same way. In fact, by comparing the use of ritornello throughout both Orfeo and the Messiah, we can clearly see that while there still exists many  similarities, the use of ritornellos has somewhat changed and evolved to a new level of sophistication by Handel's time 100-some years later. In this first part, I will discuss the similarities. Part 2 will discusses the differences, and the changes the ritornello has undergone over this time period.

Let us take two examples of the use of a ritornello. The first is the first movement of Act II of Orfeo, the other the second movement of Act I of the Messiah. These two segments are very similar in structure. They are both relatively long (approximately 6 minutes) and are composed of three main parts: the fake-out, the game changer, and the fancy stuff (I obviously don't have a degree in music, but bear with me, it starts to make sense).

The Fake-Out-- This long segment (up to 3:10 in Orfeo, and 2:54 in the Messiah) contains many ritornellos, repetitions, and other markers signaling that it is an actual song (vs. a recitative). It also contains conflicting signals which confuse us and make us wonder if we are truly listening to a song. One of these signals is the odd use of the ritornellos. In the fake-out, although the ritornellos provide structure to the music and punctuate it in specific places and in addition provides a preview of the meter and rhythm of the following vocals, in all other respects it does not feel like a regular ritornello. The rhythm may be there, but it does not give any preview as to the notes and other musical "stuff" that will follow in the songs . Moreover, the ritornello changes throughout the fake-out and introduces the meter and mood for the few verses, thus its name. This segment plays on your expectation for a repetitive song punctuated by a flowery ritornello, makes you believe that you've heard it, and then fakes you out by changing the ritornello, or providing you with an unhelpful ritornello that doesn't really give you an idea of what the upcoming song will sound like.

While I will argue that these are true arias and not merely accompanied recitatives (an argument I will go into more depth in a later post), they clearly play a different role from your standard ritornellos. They act almost more like markers than introductions or teaching tools for the rest of the music.

The Game Changer-- This usually brief segment differs form the fake-out that comes before or the fancy stuff that comes after it. It does not sound like anything you have heard in that piece or that you will hear again. In a way, it signals a transition to the main act everyone is expecting in way that makes sure you notice. In Orfeo the game changer is at 2:56 when for the first and only time a full chorus bursts out in song. It is unexpected, definitely noticeable, and immediately followed by the ritornello associated with the "vi ricorda" sung by Orfeo. In the Messiah, it is at 2:37 when the previously calm and slow "comfort ye my people," which had up to that moment been constantly accompanied by a very mellow instrumentation, suddenly does away with almost all accompaniment with the exception of very short punctuations of string instruments.


The Fancy Stuff--The fancy stuff is... just that, the fancy stuff. It is the very pleasant, unexpected song you have been waiting for. The "vi ricorda" by Orfeo and the "every valley shall be exalted" in the Messiah. A lot of repetition, a steady rhythm, embellished instrumentation, a stable returning ritornello that actually shares many aspects with the vocal music. This "fancy stuff" best represents the standard ritornello at the time, and as we will see in Part 2, it differs in Orfeo and the Messiah.

Not so insightful...

This blog attempts to document my exploration of new, more insightful ways to enjoy music. This week, I realized just how difficult it can be to basically re-learn to listen. I attempted to listen to Monteverdi's "l'Orfeo." I listened to part of the second act focusing on the Mira, deh mira segment. I had listened to the first act of l'Orfeo and I had found it pretty enjoyable. I sat down at my computer, prepared for a few minutes of enjoyable listening and twenty seconds later, I realized that I HATED it. Well, maybe "hated" is a strong word, but definitely disliked.

I feel I disliked my first listening of the piece so much because I did not realize what I was listening to. It's like going to a restaurant and asking for ice cream and getting plain unsweetened yogurt instead. Not bad, just different. After I took the time to look up some information on the piece, understand the context, the story line, and some musical devices and understood that there was a story being told, things began to make more sense. I understood the musical devices for what they were and I could not only move past them and concentrate on simply enjoying the amazingly talented singers' vibratos, I actually enjoyed some of these devices for their own sake and for what they added to my interpretation of the piece.

Long story short,  I was not prepared for my first real attempt at insightful listening. I made some hasty judgments and I missed out on some pretty important aspects of the music. Stay tuned until next time because it is definitely getting better from here!