About This Item
Following the publication of the collection Parnassus Musicus Ferdinandaeus in 1615; all kinds of compiled collections of sacred music started to appear; often featuring music for smaller ensembles and of course; in the new early-Baroque style; music scored for voice; instruments and basso continuo. The compiler; usually a composer himself; gathered works from his colleagues; added some of his own work and had the collection published. Nowadays because of copyright this would be unimaginable; particularly if publishing the compositions of one's own contemporaries. We do not actually know exactly how and why editors and composers actually compiled these collections. Sometimes self-interest played a role; because if a somewhat less-lauded composer provided his volume with a work by Monteverdi; it added to the status of the collection. After all; Monteverdi was the highly esteemed Maestro di Capella from Venice at the time; who moreover composed operas commissioned by quite a few courts in what we now call northern Italy. It may also have been a statement by including the music of others; appreciation was expressed for the work of colleagues. It may also have been that the compiler thought it important to publish a volume that gave a representative sample of what was being written in a particular period and region. We unfortunately do not know whether Monteverdi received any compensation for lending his work to these tomes; either. People discovered; edited; watched and listened to what others were doing; then took advantage of it. In any case; we can be grateful that; thanks to these collections; we have more of Monteverdi's music at our disposal. His letters show that his responsibilities organising the religious music for Venice constituted an enormous task; and that he was also required to work for other patrons. The fact that he requested an assistant for a long ti
