Guarini’s Il pastor fido and Monteverdi’s Madrigals from the Fourth and Fifth books

Abstract

Il pastor fido is the pastoral tragicomedy written by G. B. Guarini. It became immensely popular at courts of Italy at the turn of XVI–XVII centuries. It had brought particular interest at the court of Duke of Mantua, Vincenzo I Gonzaga, who had several times tried to adapt it to stage. Il pastor fido has also inspired most of composers of Mantuan court of the time to create madrigals upon the lyrics of the piece. This article tries to analyze such madrigals written by the most widely known Mantuan composer of the time, Claudio Monteverdi, published in the Fourth and Fifth Books of madrigals. The analysis shows autor’s intention behind each of the books, and his discoveries in ways of expression in the genre of madrigal.