INTERMEDII

'Florentine Intermedii'
Intermedii were the first form to mix theatre and music before
the development of opera
in the late sixteenth century.
The first intermedii were not in Florence but in Ferrara at the
end of the fifteenth century between the five acts of plays
by the classical authors Plautus and Terence. (A five act play would
therefore require FOUR intermedii, the concept of an overture being
a vulgar breaking of the classical symmetry and magic number proportions.)
It was for Florentine public celebrations that Intermedii came into their own.
Several were organised by Machievelli when he was effectively Chief Executive
of the Florentine state in the early 1500s.
The best known intermede were performed during the royal weddings
in 1539 and 1589, during the plays Il Commodo and La Pellegrina.
In 1539 most of the pieces are in four and five parts so quite a bit of this
music is suitable for domestic music making. The 1589 music is very different
being largely big set pieces for 6, 12, 18 or even 30 parts.
Smaller scale pieces are often difficult florid monody of the Caccini
new music variety.
Of the surviving intermedii only two numbers were a cappella,
(not counting the madrigals which were sung at the banquet in 1539
which of course are not intermedii). This means we have surviving descriptions
of precise instrumentation.
Classical humanist dramatic theory says a play should have action taking
place during 1 entire day. In 1539 a sun moved across the stage heavens during
the course of the performance so each intermedio marks an
appropriate time of day.
These intermedii do not follow classical instructions, having an
overture item, Vattene almo riposo, and a night time ending for tenor
voice accompanied by four sackbuts and an extra coda the bacchanale,
Baccho, Baccho, E U O E.
By this time, much to literary theorists resentment, the music had become
as or more important than the play.
Intermedii were even performed with totally different plays from the one
they were composed for.
Regrettably both the D. P. Walker and, Minor and Mitchell, editions are out of print.

Contents

Bibliography

Discography

Bibliography

Andrew C. Minor and Bonner Mitchell,
A Renaissance Entertainment, (Univ. Missouri Press, 1968).
Martin Grayson, George and Rosemary Bate, Music for a Medici Wedding,
(Modern playing edition of 1539 Intermedio),
http://www.alfredston-music.co.uk (1994).
D. P. Walker, Musique des Intermedes de "La Pellegrina", (CNRS, Paris),
(1963, reprinted 1986).
New Grove Dictionary entries under INTERMEDIO and INTERMEDE,
(there were also intermedes at the French court).
Howard Mayer Brown, Sixteenth-century instrumentation:
the music for the Florentine intermedii,
(American Institute of Musicology, 1973).
Warren Kirkendale, Emilio De' Cavalieri Gentiluomo
Romano, (Florence,2001). 551pp.

Discography

La Pellegrina - Music for the Wedding of Ferdinando De Medici and Christine de Lorraine, Florence 1589 ,
conducted by Andrew Parrot, (EMI).
La Pellegrina - Music for the Wedding of Ferdinando De Medici and
Christine de Lorraine, Princess of France, Florence 1589 , conducted by Paul van Nevel,
singers: Katelijne Van Laethem, Pascal Bertin, et al..
(Sony/Columbia - 63362, 1998). 2 CDs.