In 1921, Curt Sachs attracted Orff’s attention to Monteverdi. The arrangements of several of Monteverdi’s major compositions, beginning with Orpheus in 1923/24, were regarded as a pioneering effort from the aspects of both performance practice and musicology and had a great significance for the development of Orff’s musical language. [2]
»Lamento, the lament, plaint or lamentation, is a genuine term from the Renaissance period and a particularly popular musical form of expression in this era of the dawning of subjectivism. Under the category of lament, I have united the ›Lamento d'Arianna‹, the lamentation of a woman, ›Orfeo‹, the lamentation of a man, and, as a satyr play, the lamentations of the foolish virgins.«[3]
»My apprenticeship years with Monteverdi culminated in 1958 with the publication of the ›Lamenti‹. I had learned from my mistakes and errors. My study of Monteverdi’s works was decisive for me in as much as I was not primarily concerned with historical transcription and adaptation, but more on the search for the development of my own style on the basis of a master work of a past age.«[3]
______________________________________
[1] CO-Dok II,14 ; [2] Thomas Rösch, OZM; [3] CO-Dok II,119
Abb: 1 Faksimile; OZM; 2 CO-Dok II,29; 3 Madeline Winkler-Betzendahl, Deutsches Theatermuseum München
Audio: Ferdinand Leitner - Acanta 44 2099-2