By
Tim
Gordon
At
the
beginning
of
the
Baroque
period
(1600-1760),
a
group
of
young
Italians
decided
to
change
the
way
music
was
composed.
Up
until
the
beginning
of
the
17th
Century
the
Europeans
enjoyed
music
consisting
mainly
of
religious
polyphony
(gregorian
chant)
and
madrigals
(short,
unaccompanied
love
songs).
What
these
forms
of
music
seemed
to
lack
was
an
emotional
forcefulness
which
the
world
of
music
hadn't
experienced
since
the
Greeks.
So
at
the
beginning
of
the
baroque,
an
era
ushered
in
by
the
Catholic
church,
a
new
style
of
music
appeared
that
would
change
how,
people
would
listen
to
music
for
centuries
to
come.
We
do
not
recognize
the
innovative
changes
men
like
Ciccini
and
Monteverdi
made
to
music
(such
as
changing
music
from
fifths
to
thirds)
simply
because
the
changes
became
so
ingrained
in
western
music
that
few
knew
there
had
ever
been
anything
else..
Dissatisfied
with
the
standard
of
music,
the
young
Italian
composers
of
the
day
decided
to
ignore
their
northern
influences
ir
3
and
rebuild
their
musical
knowledge
and
repertoire.
The
new
music
was
to
become
Monody.
A
Monody
is
usually
a
lament
where
one
solo
vocal
sings
to
the
accompaniment
of
music.
Peri
and
Ciccini
began
by
modifying
the
madrigals
of
the
middle
ages.
One
of
the
first
successful
attempts
at
this
was
Ciccini's
Le
Nueove
Musiche
which
contained
a
solo
vocal
and
harmonic
bass
(see
example
).
Although
Ciccini
contributed
to
the
development
of
the
monody,
it
took
Claudio
Monteverdi
(1562-1643)
and
Guilio
Frescobaldi
to
"get
it
right".
Monteverdi's
pieces
were
much
more
poetic
with
the
music
matching
the
stresses
of
the
vocal
parts.
This
allows
the
composer
to
place
profound
emotion
on
any
syllable
he
wishes
which
helps
the
audience
(whom
rarely
understood
the
words
because
early
music
was
not
written
in
the
vernacular)
to
understand
the
meaning
and
significance
of
the
events.
So
what
ever
happened
to
this
form
of
music?
Monody
saw
a
CaccimS
(ftfew
Husfc
transformation
under
the
expert
eyes
of
composers
like
Handel
and
Bach
(the
two
most
influential
men
of
the
Baroque),
who
changed
monody
to
what
we
now
think
of
as
Opera.
Also
monody
does
not
translate
well
into
English,
which
means
it
is
only
interesting
to
a
select,
appreciative
audience.
Monody
written
in
English
(see
Purcell)
will
translate
well
to
French,
but
German
Opera,
because
of
the
unique
vowels
sounds
and
larger
vocabulary
etc.,
translates
very
poorly
into
English
and
usually
requires
much
rewriting
which
robs
the
composition
of
its
classical
milieu.
However,
with
the
advent
of
technology,
baroque
opera
is
becoming
more
popular.
The
use
of
surtitles
in
Opera,
usually
displayed
on
monitors,
has
done
wonders
for
opera's
reputation
in
the
States,
and
hopefully
we
might
yet
see
a
resurgence
of
the
pure,
organic
music
of
Monody.
For
interested
parties,
check
out
Monteverdi's
splendid
monody
L'Orfeo
or
Caccini's
Le
Nuove
Musiche,
I
guarantee
you
will
not
be
disappointed.
This
is
an
example
of
early
monody
from
Caccini's
"New
Music".
Note
how
many
syllables
the
English
text
has,
the
original
has
only
six.
I
am
not
a
linguist
so
this
translation
is
rough
at
best.
You
should
be
able
to
see
how
unpoetic
this
would
sound
if
sung
in
English.
The
bass
line
would
in
reality
line
up
with
the
vocal
part,
if
I
had
done
this
better.
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,
,P,
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arts?
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1
Page
06
The
CNC
Free
Press
March
2000
FlEE
P
,
The
Culture
Page
Since
5
O'clock
Monody
Made
Easy
Has
The
Fat
Lady
Sung
for
the
PGS0?
The
Prince
George
Symphony
Orchestra
Society
is
facing
serious
financial
difficulty.
At
a
recent
meeting
of
the
PGSO
Society's
board
of
directors,
the
organization
decided
to
establish
a
task
force
to
overhaul
the
orchestra's
operating
plans
to
remain
viable.
The
task
force
will
consider
all
aspects
of
PGSO
operations,
including
programming,
ticket
pricing
and
venues
for
concerts.
At
the
same
time,
the
society
is
planning
a
major
fundraising
program
as
part
of
its
Save
the
Symphony
campaign.
Entering
its
30th
year
of
offering
fine
symphonic
music
to
the
Central
Interior,
the
PGSO's
ability
to
maintain
a
high
level
of
quality
and
stay
in
the
black
financiali
has
been
seriously
compromised.
The
slumping
regional
economy
of
the
past
several
years
has
cut
into
sponsorship
revenue
and
the
subscriber
base.
For
example,
season
subscriptions
for
Legends
concerts
on
Saturday
nights
declined
from
390
in
the
1997-78
season
to
309
in
1998-99
to
283
this
season.
The
loss
of
more
than
$10,000
in
annual
casino
revenue
this
season
has
also
hurt.
"We
have
exhausted
our
accumulated
resources
from
earlier,
more
prosperous
times
,
says
PGSO
vice-chair
Lee
Keener.
"Besides
appealing
to
the
City
of
Prince
George
for
our
share
of
the
vanished
casino
revenue,
we
will
approach
our
customers,
seeking
cash
donations,
as
well
as
their
uccess
Jennifer
Revel
CNC
Residence
241-3330
22nd
Ave.
Prince
Ceorge.
BC
V2N
1P8
Cell
(250)612-7534
continued
patronage."
Keener
says
the
PGSO
Society
is
working
to
mount
a
team
of
business
supporters,
to
canvass
the
corporate
communitylfor
support.
m
The
not-for-profit
society
continues
a
process
of
realigning
budgets
through
a
combination
of
strategies
to
increase
revenue
and
to
reduce
expenses.
The
PGSO
has
already
reduced
concert
expenses
from
$335,705jin
1995-96
to
$304,454
"this
season.
Prince
George
s
location
is
an
extra
financial
challenge
because
the
PGSO
must
regularly
import
musicians
from
Vancouver.
The
Society
is
solvent
for
the
moment,
and
able
to
meetjts
financial
obligations
for
scheduled
concerts
Marchjll
and
12.
"We're
confident
oui
efforts
and
the
support
of
Prince
George
will
leave
the
PGSC
on
solid
financial
ground
and
able
to
offer
some
of
the
world's
best
music
for
decades
to
come,"
says
Keener.
The
PGSO's'
next
main
presentation
is
Hasta
La
Vista,
Baby,
a
Legends
series
concert
March
11
and
12fat
Vanier
Hall.
Tickets
are
still
available,
through
Studio
2880
The
PGSO
is
also
offering
two
kid's
concerts
March
IOIal
Vanier
for
Schoo
1
District
57
students.
For
more
inlormation,
contact
ontacl
PGSO
vice-chair
Lee
Keener
;ner
al
al
960-5990.
utoring
I
I
ervices
I
m
"helping
students
ocievej
their
academic
goals".
Home
(250)
564-G156
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