Rahul Sharma (Editor)

Battaglia (music)

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A battaglia is a form of renaissance and baroque programme music imitating a battle. The renaissance form is typically in the form of a madrigal for four or more voices where cannons, fanfares, cries, drum rolls, and other noises of a battle are imitated by voices. The baroque form is more often an instrumental depiction of a battle.

Contents

Vocal battaglia works

  • Janequin La Guerre or 'La Bataille' - chanson written to commemorate the Battle of Marignano in 1515, first printed in 1529,
  • Matthias Werrecore La Battaglia Taliana or Die Schlacht vor Pavia 1544, for 4 voices - after the Battle of Pavia 1525.
  • Orazio Vecchi Battaglia d'Amor e Dispetto - an extended madrigal dialogue - allegorical and not related to any battle. But closer to the original battaglia genre than Monteverdi's amor versus guerra, contrasts in that composer's 8th Book of Madrigals.
  • Mateo Flecha La Guerra - an ensalada (music) in Spanish
  • Claudio Monteverdi Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda (1624)

    • Instrumental battaglia works

  • Andrea Gabrieli Battaglia à 8 per strumenti da fiato
  • William Byrd "The Battell", for keyboard
  • Annibale Padovano Battaglia à 8 per strumenti da fiato
  • Heinrich Biber: Battalia à 10 for solo violin, strings, and continuo

    • Later battle music not called battaglia

  • Franz Christoph Neubauer: Sinfonie 'La Bataille' - Battle of Focșani 1789
  • Beethoven: Wellington's Victory - requiring muskets and cannons. To be contrasted with Haydn's tribute Battle of the Nile which does not sonically attempt to depict the battle.
  • Tchaikovsky: 1812 Ouverture
  • Prokofiev: Battle on the ice from Alexander Nevsky - Battle of Lake Peipus, 1242
  • Shostakovich: first movement of Leningrad Symphony, despite Shostakovich's disclaimers

    • References

    Battaglia (music) Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA