oa Earthly Music, Interior Hearing, and Celestial Harmonies: Philippe de Monte’s First Book of Spiritual Madrigals (1581)

This article examines Philippe de Monte’s first book of spiritual madrigals, underlining the pioneering character of this collection in the history of the genre and its relationships with the Jesuits. Two new text attributions, to Vittoria Colonna and Laura Battiferri, are discussed within an overall description of the book, its themes, and its structure. Three madrigals dealing with spiritual themes in terms of musical metaphors and imagery are analyzed in the context of sixteenth-century ideas on music and Christian spirituality, and as an open reflection by Monte on the real value of music beyond the ephemeral appreciation of human judgement.