The Renaissance Madrigal

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  

1. A famous madrigal by English composer Thomas Morley begins "April is in my mistress' face/ And July in her eyes hath place/ Within her bosom is September". Which month is in her heart? January June August December

2. A madrigal by German composer Heinrich Isaac is a lament by someone who must leave this Austrian city. Linz Krems Gras Innsbruck

3. "Mon couer se recommande a vous" is a lovely French madrigal frequently attributed to the Flemish composer Orlando di Lasso. In fact, though, its authorship is uncertain. True False

4. "El Grillo" is a comic madrigal by French-born composer Josquin des Pres about this creature. (Think English sport) Frog Cuckoo Cricket Bumblebee

5. "The Silver Swan" is the best-known madrigal by this English composer. Robert Ramsey Michael East Thomas Morley Orlando Gibbons

6. In 1601, Thomas Morley produced the great collection of madrigals entitled "The Triumphs of Orianna", which included works by several great madrigalists. What illustrious lady, who gave her name to an era in English history, was it composed in honor of? Lady Jane Grey Anne of Cleves Elizabeth I Mary Tudor

7. An Italian madrigal by the Flemish composer Jacques Arcadelt has a text similar to that of "The Silver Swan". Which of these is it? Nous Voyons Que Les hommes Mon Plaint Sont Entendu Margot, Labourez la Vignes Il Bianco e Dolce Cigno

8. This madrigal by Italian opera composer Claudio Monteverdi is a choral arrangement of a famous lament from his opera "Arianna", based on the story of Ariadne and Theseus. In this aria, the abandoned heroine asks for death to relieve her despair. O Come sei Gentile Zeffiro Torna Lasciatemi Morire! Ecco, Mormorar l'Onde

9. This madrigal by Thomas Morley is used in Shakespeare's play "As You Like It" (the refrain ends with "Sweet lovers love the spring"). April is in my Mistress' Face Now is the Month of Maying My Bonny Lass, She Smileth It Was a Lover and His Lass

10. These two French composers wrote an epic madrigal describing a battle entitled "La Guerre" ("The War"). Jean Mouton and Clement Jannequin Phillipe Verdelot and Claude le Jeune Claude le Jeune and Loyset Compere Clement Jannequin and Phillipe Verdelot

11. Another descriptive piece is the Spanish madrigal "La Bomba" which describes the crew of a sinking ship trying desperately to keep it from taking on water. What does the title "La Bomba" refer to? The mast The sail The sea The ship's pump

12. The madrigal "Das Glaut zu Speyer", by the German composer Senfl, describes the following activity in a village on a church feast day: Dancing around a Maypole. The beating of drums. The clapping of hands. The ringing of church bells.

13. English composer Orlando Gibbons wrote a madrigal evoking this beloved and, by the mid 1600s, already long established London tradition. The street criers of London. The pigeons of St. Paul's Cathedral. The changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. The ravens of the Tower of London.

14. Two of English composer John Wilbye's most famous madrigals are about ladies with these names. Bess and Mary Flora and Amaryllis Julia and Diana Alice and Hebe

15. Not all madrigals were af a secular nature. Certain composers, most notably Palestrina, wrote so-called "spiritual madrigals" ("madrigali spirituali") which used a religious, though not liturgical text. True False

16. Musical settings of the Catholic Mass were sometimes based on madrigals or secular songs. True False

17. French composer Pierre Passereau's famous madrigal "Il est Bel et Bon", in which a woman boasts of cuckolding her husband while he is hard at work tending the farm, has the singers imitate the sounds of these barnyard animals. Sheep Oxen Pigs Chickens

18. A remarkable madrigal by Johannes Ockeghem entitled "S'elle M'amera /Petite Cammusette" mentions this legendary couple (hint- they are described as going "...off to the green wood"). Arthur and Guenevere Robin Hood and Maid Marian Romeo and Juliet Aucassin and Nicolette

19. "La Tricotea", an anonymous Spanish madrigal, and "Vitrum Nostrum Gloriosum", an anonymous German madrigal, are examples of what type of song? Drinking songs Love songs Dancing songs Narrative songs

20. Another famous madrigal by Thomas Morley celebrates the month when "Spring, clad all in gladness, doth laugh at winter's sadness." Which month is it? May March April June

21. "Come Again, Sweet Love Doth Now Invite", "Fine Knacks for Ladies", "Flow, my Teares", and "I Saw My Lady Weep" are by this composer of English/Irish ancestry. Thomas Tallis John Bull Christopher Tye John Dowland

22. There are also madrigals of mourning, written usually in memory of some departed loved one or famous personage. Which of these is NOT an example of this type of madrigal, despite its mournful title? "Flow, Crystal Teares" by John Dowland "Nymphes des Bois" by Josquin des Pres "Sleep, Fleshly Birth" by Robert Ramsey "Lagrime D'amante all Sepolto degli Amata" by Monteverdi

23. The famous Spanish composer Tomas Luis de Victoria, best known for his motet "O Magnum Mysterium" and "Missa pro Defunctis", is notable for having written not a single madrigal; his entire output consists of sacred choral music. True False

24. "Fa a una canzona" is one of the most famous Italian madrigals, widely performed by high school and college choirs as well as professional choruses. Which of these Italian composers wrote it? (His last name means "old") Orazio Vecchi Giovanni Gastoldi Luca Marenzio Andrea Gabrieli

25. The Italian nobleman Don Carlo Gesualdo wrote some of the most harmonically daring and inventive madrigals, as well as sacred music. Gesualdo's music reflects, to a degree, his rather turbulent psyche. What, besides his music, is he famous (or infamous) for? He was a devil worshipper. He was tried for heresy by the Catholic Church. He comitted suicide. He had his wife and her lover killed after finding them together.