Virtuosic Venetian monody from 1625 - “O Maria” by Giovanni Rovetta

[@donna30044]

Perrine Devillers' voice is startlingly pure, clear, and bright . . . and sublimely beautiful.

[@mwnyc3976]

*And* she maneuvers that marvelous voice through gusts and flurries of notes with amazing skill.

[@cocolisodude]

One of the most beautiful that I have heard. Brava!

[@silviomp]

0:32 "We chose it just because we like it and think it's beautiful." Agreed!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@AlexandraZernerRocks]

This is divine! Thank you for digging out, analysing, performing, and presenting such wonderful gems for us!!!

[@pablocandido2421]

These are the best videos about early music on the internet

[@nixonkutz3018]

Dude, it's supposed to be titled like "Scholar Breaks Down Most Iconic Motets in History" or something. Nevertheless - thanks to Elam and Perrine for the breathtakingly beautiful performance, it literally brought tears to my eyes

[@valtteripennanen4043]

It should be that, or even better: "A guy with a beard and a degree that isn't really useful outside of music, explain a motet"

[@mathyys]

The tone of the vocals + organ with the reverb is insane.

[@thomashughes4859]

This was absolutely divine, and you should be allowed into heaven both of you just for having poured your hearts out to Our Blessed Mother in this video. Perrine, you have the voice of an angel, and you, Elam, have the touch of Midas! Godspeed! And the academic part was très cool as well, thanks for that! Just touched by the music!

[@kaybrown4010]

Hello Thomas! Wasn’t that absolutely sublime? Hope all is well with you. 😊

[@thomashughes4859]

@@kaybrown4010 Yes! Absolutely! Very well, thank you! I hope all is well with you! 🙏❤️

[@namets]

Coooooo ooooo ooooo nsiderareeeee🎼🎼🎼🎶🎼🎶🎶👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@xisailuo]

7:10 I love the dialogue between Zarlino and Monteverdi. Beautiful performance and interesting analysis!

[@silviomp]

You guys deserve a Grammy for best virtuosic venetian monody from 1625. I'm in love with you guys!! ❤️❤️

[@sandnerdaniel]

Oh, it is an almost four hundred years old song! Time just flies when you are having fun...

[@fredhoupt4078]

Wow, fabulous music. What a voice she has. Exceptionally beautiful music. Bravo.

[@baxter5431]

My most favorite period, the early Baroque. Thanks!!!

[@staceyhelley3806]

Loved it! Perrine Devillers crushed it! And that killer final cadence was gorgeous!

[@baudolinonarrator]

I'm convinced now that you can read minds: this is the second time I want to know more about a piece before learning it, and lo and behold, it happens again. Perrine Devillers is really amazing to listen to.

[@silviomp]

I'm speechless and I can't thank you guys enough for what you did in this video. This is heaven on Earth.

[@merseyviking]

Beautiful signing, playing, and breakdown. Also I love Elam's t-shirt :)

[@hoblogbicycling]

Beautiful voice, beautiful singing, beautiful playing, clear explanation. Loved it. Thank you!

[@jean-yvesPrax]

Merci Elam pour ces super analyses, je m'en mettrais presque à aimer le solfège... et merci aussi à Perrine Devillers pour ce moment de grâce, quelle voix magnifique ! Tellement juste pour cette musique. Vive la Schola Cantorum de Bâle, toujours au top !!!

[@marilynmelzian7370]

Stunning! Both the Oregon invoice were so beautiful

[@marilynmelzian7370]

I apologize for the typos. I am dictating and the program does weird things. I meant the organ and voice.

[@j.lavenus6627]

Absolutely beautiful and very interesting ! Thanks !

[@picksalot1]

Beautifully sung, free from the defects of excessive vibrato - so pure and ethereal. It makes sense to me that "considerare" would have many notes and take some time, as that is what real consideration often requires. Thanks

[@KorKhan89]

Beautiful singing! And such a wonderful explanation! Happy new year everyone!

[@agogobell28]

We’re very firmly in the Baroque period now - this is already giving me serious Purcell/Händel vibes.

[@viviannecaragea5801]

this video made my Monday so much better !

[@rolfedrengen]

I play and create music, and this is fantastic! Thanks, you've pushed to my perception of music a bit! Thanks!

[@RandolphCrane]

The soprano is stunning! She really gives life to the music! However, I would pose that the piece is not sad, melancholic, miserable etc., but rather of Mary, how she "considers" her own fate, her entire story. It would be a lot to think about when you suddenly become the Mother of God, and certainly a lot has happened in her lifetime. So maybe she sits in her chamber and tries to make sense of all her thoughts. She isn't happy or excited, but deeply moved, which may come off as "sad". Just like when someone is lost in their thoughts, it might seem they are sad, when in reality, they are just "in their head". This might also explain why the "considerare" is so ponounced. She is considering her life, and we are to consider it together with her. The "sadness" of "decoloravit me" might be explained similarly. It doesn't have to be sadness, but rather Mary pondering this major event when her entire life changed. She bore the Sun of Justice, so the Sun literally touched her and left her forever changed. Frodo comes to mind who, after his journey to Mordor, has become a different person. He is still Frodo, but something inside him has forever changed. It's not a sad or miserable thing, but merely a bittersweet realization that comes with every big change in a life.

[@danielbell8231]

Again a Stellar performance of this twosome, Demi-God like musicians!

[@SethWatersVlogs]

This explains so much about so many other pieces I've performed and loved but never understood. The trio section reminds of Beatus Vir by Monteverdi. The opening reminds me of Dowland songs. I just feel such a profound connection and understanding to music when I get the concepts and connections behind the theory and history. Also, I cannot read music in 3/1. What the fuck - my brain is broke

[@electric7487]

The reason that the transcription was in 3/1 time was because the person who created it did not reduce the note values; they just substituted everything in directly. They did: - Breve = Double whole note - Semibreve = whole note - Minima = Half note - Semiminima = Quarter note _et cetera._ You see this quite a bit nowadays. Maximæ and longæ fell out of favour since they representing exceptionally long notes (a maxima would be equal to _eight_ whole notes and a longa would be equal to _four_ whole notes) and you rarely see them nowadays. Hell, you rarely even see breves nowadays.

[@shaoniodettesarabia2933]

Perrine, I love your voice and acting. Bravi! Thank you, Elam Rotem for sharing your knowledge.

[@estudiomonteverdi]

this channel is my favorite on all KZbin

[@victotronics]

Lovely performance. And your explanations are really sharpening my understanding of the sublteties of this music.

[@dmitrysofronov8624]

What a brilliant analysis of a rich text and what a stunning performance. Thank you so much for the video.

[@adrianocastaldini]

Bellissimo! Ma bellissimo anche il video!!!

[@madisont3123]

this is insanely beautiful

[@justyna.skatulnik]

Great, great, great!!!!! Love it!

[@jordanfriedman2739]

What a gem of a piece! Also, unsurprisingly noble and breathtaking performance. Soulful singing and brilliant continuo realization--not too little, not too much. You guys should do a special video just about that new organ!

[@truBador2]

Thank you.

[@grocheo1]

Wonderfully done, as usual. Thank you very much guys, I love you.

[@cesarandresleivavalverde8612]

J'ai bien aimé cette vidéo. Merci, j'ai adoré le motete.

[@marcduhamel-guitar1985]

Old churches have such awesome acoustics and reverb... Thanks so much for the beautiful performance and lucid explanations! :)

[@ornleifs]

Beautiful singing - great voice and wonderful piece.

[@Bladavia]

A formosa piece indeed

[@mturunen002]

Brilliant clearing up of the rubble to show the platonic texture of the Rovetta piece. A delight!

[@EElgar1857]

This is brilliant, and the singing is very beautiful!

[@edinburghrock6052]

Fascinating insight into the realisation of the piece. Amazing musicianship by both performers. Brava! Bravo!

[@Marcus-ym2kg]

I didn't follow all the theory, but what a beautiful piece and performance by the soprano and organist 🙏🏻👏🏻

[@smihca]

Loved it

[@maniak1768]

Wonderful music.

[@videosdehistoriadelamusica4484]

Another impressive episode! This channel is a real treat! Thank you for all the invaluable work!

[@notsogoodbassplayer]

Bravi tutti

[@hunterharris4869]

I love how some cadences omit the 5th. It's like cleansing the palate between meals.

[@GoodSneakers]

Very interested. Perhaps the first diminution on “considerare” is a way of word painting wandering thoughts going back and forth, and round and round in the head. The first diminution on “coronavit” with groups of three sounds like a trumpet fanfare that I can easily depict on coronations at the time.

[@brooksiefan]

An exceptional class for an exceptionally beautiful piece.

[@DavidSdeLis]

I cannot add to what the others have said: incredibly interesting analysis, amazing performance from both soprano and organist... Bravo!

[@gradwhan]

This piece is simply beautiful. Even though it has been composed so many hundred years ago and much of the musical knowledge of that time is lost, we can still understand the music and the feelings it encompasses.

[@SoleaGalilei]

Beautiful performance and insightful commentary!

[@roveredam]

Grandi ! Grazie

[@saulg2585]

Great singer!

[@margaritaslepakova9374]

Bravi Perrine and Elam!! So beautifully done and interestingly explained

[@Albagari]

A-ma-zing!! Thanks, super beautiful singing and playing 💖💖

[@AnneKathrynOlsen]

Fantastic, both of you!!!!

[@montego2]

Gorgeous.

[@natullus9489]

highlight of the day

[@zoey7564]

The soprano is stunning! She really gives life to the music! However, I would pose that the piece is not sad, melancholic, miserable etc., but rather of Mary, how she "considers" her own fate, her entire story. It would be a lot to think about when you suddenly become the Mother of God, and certainly a lot has happened in her lifetime. So maybe she sits in her chamber and tries to make sense of all her thoughts. She isn't happy or excited, but deeply moved, which may come off as "sad". Just like when someone is lost in their thoughts, it might seem they are sad, when in reality, they are just "in their head". This might also explain why the "considerare" is so ponounced. She is considering her life, and we are to consider it together with her. The "sadness" of "decoloravit me" might be explained similarly. It doesn't have to be sadness, but rather Mary pondering this major event when her entire life changed. She bore the Sun of Justice, so the Sun literally touched her and left her forever changed. Frodo comes to mind who, after his journey to Mordor, has become a different person. He is still Frodo, but something inside him has forever changed. It's not a sad or miserable thing, but merely a bittersweet realization that comes with every big change in a life.

[@dlevi67]

I think you should have used the Black Madonna of Częstochowa to illustrate some of the points... Sassoferrato's Madonnas are lovely to look at, but definitely very very white. Thank you for another lovely video, Elam!

[@aureliano1952]

Thanks, your post are always a pleasure.

[@edgarcattaneo7629]

I love this channel! Thank you Elam...

[@yzhkkhzy]

Beautiful

[@pirminfrisch4901]

Elam! Bravo, bravo! Such a great and profound work. It's always a special pleasure to here you and your magnificient musicians, such as Perrine in this case. Bravissimo!

[@cafiarelli]

Bravi!!!

[@vicentesaiz1670]

Thank you for a great performance and a great video!

[@cliveso]

Naughty naughty diminished chord at the end!

[@EarlyMusicSources]

It's just like what a describe in the beginning: addition of 6 and #4 on plagal cadences 🤓

[@nixonkutz3018]

@@EarlyMusicSources I've seen a bunch of jazz videos talking about diminished passing chords - like those guys invented it. Quick rewind to the 17th century, let's check that ...

[@andreazorzutti6752]

I love your videoooos!

[@joelrodriguez4354]

What a amazing work! You inspired a lot of people to learn and improve their musical knowledges! Bravo!

[@TheDescendre]

Beautiful, as always,thanks

[@andreamundt]

How beautiful !!! Nice that you made sure there is an animal to be seen ! haha : ))

[@brendanward2991]

Such beautiful music!

[@aimilios439]

Why do I feel that Italian monodic baroque is closer to Italian romanticism than German baroque? :Ρ Beautiful work as always, thanks!

[@ariadnaratti9299]

Ok. I'm just in love.

[@_PROCLUS]

Lovely to see you playing ...

[@azulyrojo89]

Lovely episode. What a wonderfull piece!

[@servietteverte]

Congratulations for the great video as usual with great features! And what great sound!

[@franarmidazainaab816]

the piece is exceptionally beautiful, Perrine Devillers gifted us with an exquisite performance. Elam are you from Schola Cantorum Basiliensis? it's a dream for me! I love your channel, thanks for the precious lessons :) p.s. Monteverdi with sunglasses is soo cool

[@harryjoseph1802]

You guys are persistent miners tunnelling into archives & prising out such gems! Any reference to the Black Madonna of Montserrat? Such a moving performance It seems to fill an emotional space within me for such pathos. Thank you for the music of this Age.

[@cocolisodude]

Again with the word painting. The descending chromatic passage at 3:15 on "Quia decoloravit me ..." represents the descent of the sun's rays and the languishing in the heat of a day in the fields. One could also say that the long note values represent the disk of the sun itself.

[@KlausMiehling]

Well sung. This might be the amount of vibrato which was in vogue at that time in Italy according to the sources.

[@mwnyc3976]

And many people -- opera fans in particular -- would describe it as no vibrato at all. They'd be wrong, of course. ;-)

[@michaelmajeski4917]

I really LOVE this piece!!! However I wish you had included a printable version of the notation. Now I have spent 3 days going back and forth between my music notation software and the KZbin video ! Oh well good exercise. This also gives me a chance to practice my figured bass! :) Thanks for bringing this out of the museum . I plan on doing this at my church in May splitting the parts between Tenor and Soprano. Much FUN awaits!!

[@EarlyMusicSources]

I made an edition especially for the episode - you should always check the footnote page: www.earlymusicsources.com/youtube/rovetta And here is a direct link to the edition: www.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/O_Maria_(Giovanni_Rovetta)

[@michaelmajeski4917]

Thanks for letting me know about the link. However I can't find the one that takes me to a modern copy of the piece. maybe I'm not seeing it or maybe my eyes are shot from all the little black dots and the Latin ( I'm doing the text now) .

[@michaelmajeski4917]

Thank you VERY much Elam. Thank you also for your patience. It is truly appreciated. Keep up the wonderful work!!!!!

[@RandolphCrane]

The "quam pulchra/quam dulcis" part reminds me a lot of "dum Infans jam dormit" by Francesco Nicola Fago, especially the "venite gaudete/gaudete venite/amici pastores" part.

[@wilmergarcia3906]

BRAVI

[@felixferra840]

"Considerare" - the accent actually IS on the syllable "-RA", despite the diminuiton.

[@sandnerdaniel]

True.

[@crtusr]

I believe he's referring to the fact that the long diminution makes too much emphasis on the syllable "con-"

[@PcCAvioN]

That moment when the hard parts are over, and you can coast on the easy stuff until the end :D

[@Violedegambe]

11:15 funny to diminish a word which begins by "corona" 😜🙈

[@declamatory]

Not too catchy!

[@giankion1212]

oh Perrine Vivaldi want you how Soprano!!

[@jakegearhart]

I think the diminution on _considerare_ makes sense as the piece is breaking to consider where it wants to go.

[@bifeldman]

Sunshine in winter.

[@limpatience]

Beautyfull!!

[@fcouperin]

a curious thing about the text is the change in voice; the first/last part invokes Mary, and in the middle she sings herself

[@jonz.8073]

You should check out the music of Giovanni Valentini (1582/3-1649). His instrumental sonatas are incredibly experimental for his time.

[@davidnewtown8774]

Don't forget to update the year in the description to 2021! ;p

[@peterczipott6854]

Sublime! I would have loved to hear about the choice of ornamentation in both the voice and accompaniment. Was it improvised on the spot, or decided upon in rehearsal? The results seem (to this amateur ear) to be in perfect style and taste -- but what dictates the parameters of style and taste?