Early Opera

Early opera presents another attempt to convey emotions through music. Do you find that you "feel" Orfeo more than the other pieces we have studied? If so, how, and why might that be the case?

The Madrigal

In the pieces for today - the madrigals of Monteverdi. We are seeing in action the newfound appreciation for both proper setting of the text and the idea of music setting out to elicit emotional response.
A question that I'd like to look at in class is the following:
Why should music have expression as one of its goals?