Which composer, after an earlier dismissal, gained prestige by composing in the concerted style at St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice around 1613?

Which composer, after an earlier dismissal, gained prestige by composing in the concerted style at St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice around 1613?

• A. Giulio Caccini
• B. Jacopo Peri
• C. Claudio Monteverdi
• D. Henry Purcell

Answer: (C)

The idea being tested is how the early Baroque practice of combining voices and instruments—the concerted or stile concertato—shaped a composer’s standing, especially in Venice where St. Mark’s Cathedral became a showcase for this approach. Monteverdi had fallen out of favor at Mantua, where a dismissal had damaged his position. He then moved to Venice and, around 1613, took the prestigious post at St. Mark’s, where he fully embraced the concerted style—writing sacred works that exploited the expressive dialog between vocal lines and instrumental forces in the Cathedral’s spatial, polychoral context. This pivotal move restored his prestige and solidified his reputation as a master of the new Baroque sound. The other composers came from different centers or times—Florentine origins focused on early Baroque experiments, or English late Baroque—without the same immediate connection to St. Mark’s Venice in that exact period.

The idea being tested is how the early Baroque practice of combining voices and instruments—the concerted or stile concertato—shaped a composer’s standing, especially in Venice where St. Mark’s Cathedral became a showcase for this approach. Monteverdi had fallen out of favor at Mantua, where a dismissal had damaged his position. He then moved to Venice and, around 1613, took the prestigious post at St. Mark’s, where he fully embraced the concerted style—writing sacred works that exploited the expressive dialog between vocal lines and instrumental forces in the Cathedral’s spatial, polychoral context. This pivotal move restored his prestige and solidified his reputation as a master of the new Baroque sound. The other composers came from different centers or times—Florentine origins focused on early Baroque experiments, or English late Baroque—without the same immediate connection to St. Mark’s Venice in that exact period.