Editing Claudio Monteverdi (section)

====Court musician====
[[File:Vincenzo I Gonzaga nel giorno dell%E2%80%99incoronazione.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Duke Vincenzo I Gonzaga in his coronation robes (1587, by {{ill|Jeannin Bahuet|it}})]]

In the dedication of his second book of madrigals, Monteverdi had described himself as a player of the ''vivuola'' (which could mean either [[viola da gamba]] or viola da braccio).<ref name=Arnold515 /><ref>Bates (2002), p. 53</ref>{{refn|The viola da gamba (literally 'violin on the leg'), was held upright between the knees; the viola da braccio ('violin on the arm'), like the modern violin, was held beneath the chin.<ref>Holman (n.d.)</ref>|group=n}} In 1590 or 1591 he entered the service of Duke [[Vincenzo I Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua|Vincenzo I Gonzaga]] of Mantua; he recalled in his dedication to the Duke of his third book of madrigals (Venice, 1592) that "the most noble exercise of the ''vivuola'' opened to me the fortunate way into your service."<ref>Holman (1993), p. 577</ref> In the same dedication he compares his instrumental playing to "flowers" and his compositions as "fruit" which as it matures "can more worthily and more perfectly serve you", indicating his intentions to establish himself as a composer.<ref>Fabbri (1994), pp. 27–28</ref>

Duke Vincenzo was keen to establish his court as a musical centre, and sought to recruit leading musicians. When Monteverdi arrived in Mantua, the ''maestro di capella'' at the court was the [[Flanders|Flemish]] musician [[Giaches de Wert]]. Other notable musicians at the court during this period included the composer and violinist [[Salomone Rossi]], Rossi's sister, the singer [[Madama Europa]], and [[Francesco Rasi]].<ref>Stevens (1995), p. 20</ref> Monteverdi married the court singer Claudia de Cattaneis in 1599; they were to have three children, two sons (Francesco, b. 1601 and Massimiliano, b. 1604), and a daughter who died soon after birth in 1603.<ref name=Arnold515 /> Monteverdi's brother Giulio Cesare joined the court musicians in 1602.<ref name = Ab534>Arnold (1980b), pp. 534–535</ref>

When Wert died in 1596, his post was given to [[Benedetto Pallavicino]], but Monteverdi was clearly highly regarded by Vincenzo and accompanied him on his military campaigns in Hungary (1595) and also on a visit to Flanders in 1599.<ref name=Arnold515 /> Here at the town of Spa he is reported by his brother Giulio Cesare as encountering, and bringing back to Italy, the ''canto alla francese''. (The meaning of this, literally "song in the French style", is debatable, but may refer to the French-influenced poetry of [[Gabriello Chiabrera]], some of which was set by Monteverdi in his ''Scherzi musicali'', and which departs from the traditional Italian style of lines of 9 or 11 syllables).<ref name=Carter2 /><ref>Vartolo, Sergio (n.d.), [https://www.naxos.com/mainsite/blurbs_reviews.asp?item_code=8.553317&catNum=553317&filetype=About%20this%20Recording&language=English# "About this recording"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809024457/https://www.naxos.com/mainsite/blurbs_reviews.asp?item_code=8.553317&catNum=553317&filetype=About%20this%20Recording&language=English |date=9 August 2017 }}, liner notes, ''Monteverdi: Scherzi Musicali a Tre Voci'', [[Naxos Records]], Catalogue number 8.553317</ref> Monteverdi may possibly have been a member of Vincenzo's entourage at [[Florence]] in 1600 for the marriage of [[Marie de' Medici|Maria de' Medici]] and [[Henry IV of France]], at which celebrations [[Jacopo Peri]]'s opera ''[[Euridice (Peri)|Euridice]]'' (the earliest surviving opera) was premiered. On the death of Pallavicino in 1601, Monteverdi was confirmed as the new ''maestro di capella''.<ref name=Carter2>Carter and Chew (n.d.), §2 "Mantua"</ref>