Le nuove musiche

Abstract

Caccini's Le nuove musiche of 1602—a collection of twelve madrigals, ten airs, and a setting of the final chorus from Chiabrera's Il rapimento di Cefalo—has come to be the very symbol of the new musical era of the seventeenth century. His prefatory discourse “to the readers,” a meaty essay on the ideals and techniques of early baroque song and singing style, is included here in an annotated English translation. This second edition, prepared with the blessing of the late Dr. Hitchcock, not only corrects the few infelicities found in the first edition, but also includes more dramatic revisions to a few aspects of the editorial methodology (especially pertaining to the basso continuo line and the treatment of accidentals). The attributions for the poetic texts of the madrigals and airs have also been updated based on current scholarship, and there are many superficial changes to the book design and layout.