CHAPTER XI
THE EXPANSION OF DRAMATIC MUSIC
83. In General.—Although the rise of the Italian opera under
Monteverdi, Cavalli, Carissimi and Cesti has unique historic
importance, the story of the early opera was by no means confined
to Italy. Italian musicians visited other countries or migrated
to them, carrying with them the styles to which they
were wonted. The Italian opera thus came into contact with
native styles of drama that were on the verge of a definite
musical development and that needed only a slight impulse to
advance to national types. The Italian dramma per musica, with
its accent on grandiose recitative, was but one of several forms
that were capable either of independent evolution or of varied
combination. Prominent among these were the French ballet,
the German singspiel and the English masque—all secular
derivatives in some way of the mediæval Mysteries and Miracle-Plays,
but with differences of traditional treatment. With these
the Italian opera either competed or coalesced, and out of their
varied interactions were gradually shaped the types of opera
found in the 18th century. The age was eager to adopt or
create the musical drama in any available form. The strong
influence upon musical progress of the later opera is clearly
due to the intricate blending of several tendencies that first
attracted attention in the 17th century. While the works produced
were presently overshadowed by later ones, the interest
of the lines of experiment then initiated is unquestionable.
84. The French Ballet.—The distinctive feature of the ballet
as a dramatic form (to which it owes its name) was its emphasis
upon actual dancing and upon the kinds of structure, action,
verse and song that dancing favored. From at least the 14th
century the trend of French taste in this direction had been
manifest. It showed itself in a liking for pantomimic spectacles,
in which situations and events were illustrated by dance-ensembles,
for dialogue cast in the form of reciprocal verses that
