Help with Italian translation

March 19, 2007 7:35 PM

What does this Italian note say?

I'm looking at an edition of part of Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, and in the very first bar there's an explanatory note about something. What does it mean? (I've tried babelfish etc and I have a rough idea, but not really enough).

"La declamazione sempre libera, segue il significato della parola percio nei recitativi non si troveranna indicazioni di tempo, ne molti segui di espressione."

Thankyou!

posted by Lotto to education (3 comments total)

Basically, the declamation is not to follow a specific tempo, but to follow the sense of the words.

More or less literally, "The declamation [is to be] free, following the significance of the words, so you will not find in the recitative tempo indications or many expression markings."
posted by katemonster at 8:19 PM on March 19, 2007

spot on
posted by matteo at 9:43 AM on March 20, 2007

and by the way, if Monteverdi's your thing, la Scala will stage Orfeo, Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria and L’incoronazione di Poppea in 2009-2011, all conducted by Alessandrini. might be worth a trip.
posted by matteo at 9:48 AM on March 20, 2007