il Divino Cipriano’: New Perspectives of Cipriano de Rore

Jessie Ann Owens
Music
UC Davis

Flemish composer Cipriano de Rore (1515/16-1565) played a pivotal role in transforming the Italian madrigal and finding novel ways for music to represent human emotion. He was often called ‘il divino Cipriano’ in the decades after his death, and yet, despite his prominence in his own time, a substantial repertory of his music has yet to enjoy any modern performances. To highlight the works of this important composer on the 500th anniversary of his birth, UC Davis engaged the Orlando Consort to present a concert of his music. We hosted a conference about the music of Cipriano de Rore organized around this concert. The repertory was drawn from music discussed by conference participants, and the Consort performed examples during the conference. This collaboration between performers and scholars offered an unusual opportunity to turn what too often are just words about music into music itself.