At this period, we must consider the vaudeville plays which were plays interspersed with song. "Li gieus de Robin et de Marion", given at the court of Charles d'Artois in Naples in 1285, was an operatic symptom and was divided into songs, spoken dialogue, dialogue songs in which two voices alternated, and popular ballad tunes, although the music was not appropriate since it consisted of such complex counterpoint. The Madrigal plays, although comic in character, influenced in the introduction of village gossip related by chorus. The "Ballet de la Reine" was a brilliant ballet with elaborate scenery, costumes, music, etc. It contained solos, duets, choruses and instrumental interludes. The melody, however, was only loosely associated with the play. In 1554 "Il Sagrifigio", a pastoral drama, arose, in which the priest sang solos, accompanied by lyre and the chorus. The first solo singing was in the Madrigal of Corteccia in 1539. In "Aminta", 1573, the choruses separated acts, and introduced the action danced to the chorus behind the scenes. There was no attempt at the complete setting of the text in these plays, and no union of the lyrics by any sort of recitative. In "Decameron" one or another of the personages sang to the company, and they all sang and danced. The lyric solo resembled somewhat the dramatic recitative of Peri and Caccini. The vocal melody was simple in melodic structure. Cecchi's "Esaltazione delle Croce", 1589, a sacred representation, had an orchestra of viols, lutes, horns and the orchestra played an interlude with special music. There was an accompanied solo allotted to the Deity and a dance of David. The orchestras were composed of lutes, trombones, which accomapnied the dancing, etc., but were usually silent after the entrance of the various characters, excepting the lyres. In the English masque the words and song were written for an actor but sung behind the scenes by a chorus.
The Madrigal dramas became comedies which exhibited a variety of style and expressive power. When a single character spoke, the chorus sang in madrigals, while the actors were on the stage. The music was from behind the curtain. These Madrigal dramas began to degenerate, however, as the spectacle disappeared, and the comic element became preeminent.
Then came the band of Florentine nobles who were not originators, but merely revived certain musical practices and traditions of the 14th century and modeled these on the early Greek tragedies. "Eurydice" was accompanied by a large orchestra for those days consisting of a chitarone, viola di gamba, theorba, three flutes and smaller trombones. There was a brief entr'acte, and a trio of two sopranos and a tenor. The chorus was in five parts. Previous to this the solo without harmony or harmonic support was unknown. The instrumental music was of course in its infancy and expressive melody was out of the question. This first operatic orchestra was concealed—perhaps this suggested the idea to Wagner—perhaps not. There were no set tunes, nor any sort of formal melody divided into periods, balancing each other symmetrically, but a sort of recitative which observed the inflection of the spoken words was created.
Peri developed this principle to a great extent. He expressed soft gentle speech by half spoken, half sung tones on a sustained instrumental bass. Feelings of deeper emotional kind, he expressed by melody with greater intervals and a lively tempo, accompanied by instrumental harmonies changing frequently, sometimes using dissonance. His prologue was in verse and he gave short metrical passages for the chorus which were rich in harmony. An instrumental episode in the first act and dancing in the end are effective.
Vecchi's "L'Amfiparnasso" and "Commedia Armonica" are really only a series of madrigals for five voices. There was no overture, no orchestral accompaniment, nor ritornello of any kind. When the stage was occupied by a single character, four voices were made to sing behind the scenes, foretelling the modern orchestra. In "Orfeo" the accompaniment was a figured bass. "Dafne" and "Arianna" were written in this newly invented "Stilo rappresentatino" with a larger orchestra. "Dafne" consisted of an imitation of speech, a sort of melodious recitative accompanied only with a sustained bass. The instruments were really so contrasted and combined as to invest each character and scene with marked individuality. The introductory toccata (founded on a single chord) was followed by a ritornello, the recitative was accompanied by a figured bass, sometimes by two or more instruments indicated at the beginning.
These reformers really resuscitated a style of musical declamation, and their music better expressed passion and the like. There was a monodic exchanging of contrapuntal richness for the simplest of melodies, confined to a single part, and accompanied by bass of the rudest type and construction. The melodies were destitute of figure and the composers really aimed at exact oratorical rendering of the words. The possibilities of orchestral coloring were limited and the dry style of recitative really dramatically untruthful. There was little variety of contrast. This weakened the true power of the drama by the introduction of measured melody and formally constructed movements. The libbrettos were carefully considered at first, but finally declined, and more and more attention was paid to the aria and the various concerted music introduced without regard to the dramatic tendencies. The rules became strict, and it is not difficult to see how the operas became a concert in costume. We find a quotation of the rules:—
1. A woman always took a man's part.
2. Characters were stereotyped.
3. Position of the aria was determined to give entrance impressiveness.