Since there were Ceteroni in that time period, and because of the fact
that Monteverdi made clear his continuo colors (though this is a
documentation, not a recommendation), I would opt for real Ceteroni.
Since the colors of the Underworld are very different, I would rule out
the "et cetera".
Am 04.02.2018 um 03:54 schrieb howard posner:
On Feb 1, 2018, at 11:09 AM, Nancy Carlin <[email protected]>
wrote:
Several years back there was an interview with Peter Forrester in the LSA
Quarterly that included a picture of that type of cittern, which I believe is
also called for in some Monteverdi. When I was studying musicology back c1970 I
took a class on Montederdi and the professor had no idea what a theorbo really
was and assumed that the theorboed cittern was just a mis-spelled chitarrone.
Your prof may have been half right.
Page 88 of the printed score of L’Orfeo, the last page of Act 4, says, “Tacciono li [?] Cornetti,
Tromboni & Regali, & entrano a sonare il presente Ritornelli, le viole da braccio, Organi,
Clauicembani [sic], contrabasso, & Arpe, & Chitaroni, & Ceteroni, & si muta la Sena.”
So, in this ritornello that covers the scene change from the underworld to ours, the
brass and regals that played in the underworld scenes are gone, replaced by the strings,
wood organs, harpsichords, harp, theorbos and “ceteroni.” This is the only mention of
the ceterone in a score that has unusually specific instructions about continuo
instrumentation: the next page specifies “Duoi Organi di legno, & duoi
Chitaroni" accompanying Orfeo’s recitative. The list of instruments at the front
of the score does not mention any ceteroni. The ritornello on page 88 has already been
heard at the beginning of Act 1 and the end of Act 2, and there’s no obvious reason why
there should be a different sound on page 88. So there’s some question about whether
Monteverdi really wanted ceteroni.
One theory is that the printer misinterpreted “& Cetera” by which Monteverdi
might have meant recorders and a pair of “violini piccoli alla Francese” that play
elsewhere.
Another theory might be that he really meant ceteroni, and the printer,
compiling the instrument list, missed the sole mention. The instrument list
also has two chitarroni where the score in one place mentions three.
Or it could be that the ceteroni were intended for the original Act 5, in which
the Baccanti tear Orfeo apart.
It’s highly improbable that “Ceteroni” on page 88 would be a misspelled
“Chitaroni,” coming right after a correctly spelled “Chitaroni” on the same
line.
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