Thursday 7 November 2013

The Florentine Camerata Invent Opera


( Shadow Play )

* * * The Florentine Camerata at table * * *

To be sung to Part 3 of "Pitman's Gramophone Course of Typewriter Keyboard Instruction"




Nowadays the noise around
resembles nothing more, I've found,
than visiting the Dentist chair
with bits of your teeth everywhere.
Such racket! And the pay-off,
of this polyphonic chaos,
is a banging head, and bleeding ear,
Such music's not for me, my dear.

As they say, “Well, when in Rome...”
but here in Florence we're at home.
Might I suggest, we go antique
and style our music like the Greeks,
a ringing voice, a clear tone,
continuo, and monotone,
and put with music actors
and what images attract us.

Clarity and monody,
the essences of poetry.
Apollo smiles and recompiles
the Muses who, awash with smiles,
will shower us with graces
from their singing, tender faces,
Because music should be proper-er
we've just invented opera.


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