Musica Reservata
Musica reservata (also musica secreta) is generally understood as a central style / way of performing music that emerged out of the late Renaissance and early Baroque period that is affiliated with being performed for private, noble audiences. As a style, it employed the use of compositional techniques often used in seconda pratica, such as chromaticism, rhythm, expressionism, etc. It was also largely influenced by the Italian madrigal and Ancient Greek music traditions, although the academies were unsure of what music in the Ancient Greek actually sounded like.
Since the term’s discovery at the end of the 19th century, its exact definition has been up for debate by numerous scholars, therefore leading to slightly broad/vague interpretations/explanations as there is rare original documentation/context of the term.
While some of the sources are contradictory, four aspects seem clear:
musica reservata involved the use of chromatic progressions and voice-leading, a manner of composing which became fashionable in the 1550s, both in madrigals and motets;
it involved a style of performance, perhaps with extra ornamentation or other emotive methods;
it used word-painting, i.e. use of specific and recognizable musical figures to illuminate specific words in the text; and
the music was designed to be performed by, and appreciated by, small groups of connoisseurs.
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