1638: Monteverdi’s Madrigals of Love and War published

Madrigals of Love and War (Madrigali Guerrieri ed Amorosi) Claudio Monteverdi

Composed: 1608 to 1638 Published: 1638 First Performed: ? Peak: -- Sales (in millions): -- Genre: classical > chamber music

Rating: 4.702 out of 5.00 (average of 4 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Work: Monteverdi offered his first book of madrigals in 1587 when “the popularity of the genre of little vocal pieces had just reached its pinnacle.” CG He published six more collections of madrigals through 1619. The “madrigals are an important component of his early operas” CG and “serve as a kind of laboratory in which he can experiment mainly with the building of dramatic tension in music in connection with the text’s dramatic content.” CG However, his best-known book of madrigals, Madrigali guerrieri ed amorosi (Madrigals of Love and War), was published in 1638 when Monteverdi was 71 years old and the music director of Venice’s ducal church of St. Mark’s. “The madrigals of the Eighth Book are for voices and instruments, developing further an Italian form with a hundred years of history.” MB It “was dedicated to Ferdinand III, the newly crowned Hapsburg Emperor in Vienna.” MB “The texts repeatedly expound the interlocking themes of love and war – the warrior as lover, the lover as warrior and the war between the sexes.” MB This was “the final collection of his secular music to be issued in his lifetime.” MB “This is an extensive collection of diverse compositions ranging from solo laments to vast eight-voice compositions with instrumental accompaniment.” CG It brought “together music written as early as 1608, and including one large work from 1624 and a variety of other compositions whose origins are unknown but which probably span the entire period 1619-1638.” MB The work “transformed a venerable genre – the Renaissance part song – into dramatic scenes that rival the flamboyant art of Caravaggio or Bernini. By updating an old musical form, Monteverdi created a repertoire that is both timeless and singular: few madrigals from any age hold a candle to these masterworks for multiple voices and instruments.” LH

Reviews: CG Collegium1704.com by Čeněk Svoboda, translated by Mark Newkirk LH arslyricahouston.org MB MagnificatBaroque.com by Jeffrey Kurtzman Related DMDB Links: First posted 2/22/2026.

Today in Music (1789): Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet in A major (Stadler) premiered

Clarinet Quintet in A major (Stadler) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (composer)

Composition completed: September 29, 1789 First Performed: December 22, 1789 Peak: -- Sales (in millions): -- Genre: classical > chamber music

Parts/Movements: I. Allegro II. Larghetto III. Menuetto with Trio I in A minor and Trio II in A major IV. Allegretto con varizioni, A major (Variation III in A minor) Average Duration: 35 minutes

Rating: 4.740 out of 5.00 (average of 4 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Work: “Mozart wrote a number of chamber works for strings and a wind instrument, including the flute, oboe, horn and clarinet. In each case, he managed to showcase the idiomatic character of the featured guest while setting it naturally within a chamber context for a balanced, blended ensemble.” ES He was “often inspired to write for a particular musician.” ES In 1786, he also wrote the – a trio for clarinet, viola, and piano – for Anton Stadler, a talented clarinetist and friend. WK He also wrote his clarinet quintet for Stadler. In an April 1790 letter, Mozart himself referred to the work as the Stadler Quintet. WK Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto was also written for Stadler and shares similarities with the quintet. WK A clarinet quintet is intended for one clarinet with a string quartet. This was originally written with a basset clarinet in mind, but in contemporary performances it is generally played on a clarinet in A. WK It is the only clarinet quintet completed by Mozart. He “crafts a masterfully integrated chamber work for equal partners where the clarinet blends and the individual strings occasionally sing alone from center stage.” ES He “conjures solo arias, duets, dances and choruses from an ample cast of five.” ES The work is viewed as “one of the earliest and best-known works that was written especially for the instrument” WK and “one of the most admired of the composer’s works.” WK “In a single work, Mozart combines his gifts for three genres in which he was supreme: opera, the concerto, and the string quartet.” ES Musicologist Alfred Einstein called the piece “chamber music work of the finest kind.” WK

Reviews: ES EarSense.org by Kai Christiansen and Music at Kohl Mansion WK Wikipedia Related DMDB Links: First posted 2/22/2026.