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Madrigali dell'Estate: Mezzo Soprano Voice Book

$75.00 USD
$75.00 USD
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Madrigali dell'Estate Cover Image
Madrigali dell'Estate: Mezzo Soprano Voice Book

Madrigali dell'Estate: Mezzo Soprano Voice Book

Eleven Songs for Mezzo-soprano and Piano

By Stephen McNeff

Item: 98-EP72001
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Description

Beyond the well-known Italian tourist spots there is an earthier, more elemental place. I discovered this by accident when I first went to Abruzzo - at a time when I had to look on the map to find it (on the Adriatic almost opposite Rome). As I got to know the area I discovered many marvellous things about it; the long coast with rickety wooden fishing contraptions like contorted piers (called trabocchi), the rivers with backwaters full in the spring but drying up in summer, the profusion of life in (for an Irishman anyway) exotic forms — and it's poet Gabriele D'Annunzio. D'Annunzio was a First World War hero, a revolutionary and lover of many tastes — including Eleanor le Duse, the great Italian actress. D'Annunzio captured this off-the-beaten-track Italy in much of his verse, but in Madrigali Dell'Estate he particularly evokes the sound, sights and smells of a fading summer in a way that combines pin-sharp observation of natural detail with fantastic symbolism and erotic undertones. He describes, for instance, the grass snake escaping through the weeds (a not unfamiliar sight near the mouth of a river) and the next moment a passionate encounter with 'the savage nymph'. The poems are not madrigals in any normal musical sense — nor was I tempted in that direction, but they are a poetic evocation of the slow passing and death of summer. The poems seem to divide into a rough three part narrative: numbers 1—4, 5—8 and 9—11.

Individual songs or groups of songs may be performed as well the whole cycle.

(Stephen McNeff)



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Additional Details
Publisher: Edition Peters
Page Count: 60
ISBN10: 0-57-702383-7
ISBN13: 979-0-57-702383-0
SKU: 98-EP72001

More about this title

About the Composer: Stephen McNeff

Stephen McNeff is a Scottish composer whose vocal music demonstrates a deep engagement with poetry and literary narrative. His settings of texts by major poets reveal a sophisticated approach to language, combining lyrical invention with structural clarity that serves the dramatic arc of a poem.

Why we love this

McNeff's cycle captures D'Annunzio's sensory intensity through music that never oversimplifies the poems' layered meanings. The mezzo soprano range sits naturally in the voice's power zone, allowing singers to fully inhabit the erotic tension and natural observation that Annunzio layers throughout the text.

What to expect

A slow walk through late summer landscape where every detail catches light and shadow. The music breathes with the pace of observation, moving from immediate sensory moments (the grass snake in the weeds) to larger symbolic gestures (the death of the season) without losing its rootedness in place and physical experience.

Who it's for

Mezzo sopranos preparing art song recitals, especially those seeking repertoire that combines literary significance with contemporary compositional craft. The cycle also works well for advanced vocal students building experience with extended narrative cycles.

How to get the most out of it

  • Attend to the poems as carefully as the music. D'Annunzio's imagery of grass snakes, drying rivers, and savage nymphs creates the real drama; your vocal color and phrasing should unlock rather than decorate these images.
  • The cycle divides into three narrative sections. Mark clear emotional or timbral shifts between sections 1-4, 5-8, and 9-11 so the arc of fading summer emerges across the entire performance.
  • Balance sophistication with directness. These are not decorative madrigals; they are observations. Resist the urge to romanticize. Specificity of tone and clarity of diction will serve the erotic undertones better than lyricism.

How to use it

Perform the cycle as a complete work to honor its narrative structure and D'Annunzio's architectural vision across the three sections. Its literary depth and contemporary voice make it an excellent anchor for a recital that explores twentieth-century art song or poetry in music.

Skills your students will build

  • Sustained legit singing across a full mezzo range without sacrificing text clarity
  • Interpreting layered imagery and erotic subtext through vocal color and phrasing
  • Managing the pacing and emotional architecture of an extended song cycle
  • Connecting musical structure to poetic narrative (three-part form mirroring the seasons' decline)

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