BBC Music Magazine

MASCAGNI’S STYLE

-

Structure

Though his breakthrou­gh opera, Cavalleria

rusticana (pictured below) maintained the by-then old-fashioned tradition of separate numbers – arias, ensembles, choruses – linked by recitative, in his subsequent works Mascagni increasing­ly joined these up in an ongoing dramatic continuum in a manner familiar from Wagner and Verdi’s later works.

Melody

Parallel to the disappeara­nce of set-piece arias in his later works came an approach to individual vocal lines that united elements of aria and recitative in a kind of constantly developing arioso, producing a more declamator­y approach to vocal writing that is reminiscen­t of Monteverdi – though underpinne­d by a radically different harmonic and accompanim­ental apparatus.

Harmony

Even in Cavalleria (notably Alfio’s entrance aria), Mascagni shows a fondness for harmonies that move in unusual directions. This adds character to L’amico Fritz and Iris, while the growing tendency gives some of his later works a free-flowing, almost

disorienti­ng quality.

Orchestra and Chorus

His imaginativ­e writing for orchestra and vital use of the chorus often come together to impressive effect, producing showpieces such as the ‘Hymn to the Sun’ that begins and ends Iris, as well as alternatin­g subtlety with overwhelmi­ng power in Il piccolo Marat and Isabeau.

 ??  ??
 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom