From Modal to Tonal: The Influence of Monteverdi on Musical Development

In efforts to prove the transition from modality to tonality in the late Renaissance era, this paper uses examples from the works of Monteverdi to reveal the shift to tonal music. By examining his background in music theory and his involvement within the church, it is evident that Monteverdi’s upbringing in music later affected his musical compositions. Being raised in Cremona, a city in close proximity with Milan, he was exposed to a wide variety of music and excellent instruction, especially from the church cantor Marc’ Antonio Ingegneri. Through score study and evaluation of Monteverdi’s early madrigals and his famous opera L’Orfeo, one can see the transition that took place from the modal to the tonal system. Early madrigals, typically composed in a mode, uncover the ways in which Monteverdi’s teachers and involvements in the church influenced his compositions. However, later works such as L’Orfeo expose the new tonal system. Tonality, although a slow process, developed in the works of Monteverdi. As observed within this paper, Claudio Monteverdi was a key composer in the transition of music from modality to tonality in the late Renaissance era due to his background in music theory, his use of modality within the early madrigals, and his use of tonality in the opera L’Orfeo