ABSTRACT
Claudio Monteverdi's contribution was to note that three basic human emotional states–anger, moderation and humility or supplication map onto three musical styles: agitated, 'tempered' and soft and also onto the three pitch ranges of the human voice: high, intermediate and low–of which, more later. More opaquely, Monteverdi further linked these to three basic parameters of performance and to the three main genres of music enjoyed in princely courts. Monteverdi's musical setting is similarly tripartite, and the fact that it is all performed by one singer only emphasizes its innovative impact; indeed his treatment of the second part of Ottavio Rinuccini's poem is unlike anything else in the Eighth Book, in his published work altogether. Critical issue about the voicing of virility is the question of how soldiers can present themselves in musical discourse without compromising their masculine identity. Zarlino restates a standard wisdom: the bass has the function of sustaining and stabilizing, fortifying and giving growth to the other parts.
