Customer Reviews

City Culture and the Madrigal at Venice

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

I purchased and read this book as a part of a 16th century musicology course. I've had plenty of exposure to madrigals and italinate music in general, but had never considered what was going on sociologically or in other artistic diciplines during the formation of the madrigal before.

That being said, I thought the book had some parts that were clear and profound while other parts were slow. The book is very densely worded, and can take 1 or 2 additional passes before really grasping what she is trying to get across. That's why I'm giving this book 4 stars instead of five.

Hopefully that wouldn't keep you away from this book though, because there is much to be learned about how several distinct artistic diciplines and rituals of the day combined to form one of the most popular choral genres in history. It is an interesting story, and Feldman's arguements make a lot of sense. She doesn't skip any detail and spells everything out in a systematic approach.

Overall, Feldman creates a very complete argument about how and why the madrigal was able to form in Venice, and her book enabled me to learn more about a genre that I find to be very interesting.