Between Cyprus and Venice: Giandomenico Martoretta’s Greek madrigal as a symbol of double cultural affiliation

Abstract

In 1554 the Calabrian composer Giandomenico Martoretta published in Venice his third book of madrigals. It was dedicated to Pietro Singlitico, a member of one of the most important and wealthiest Greek aristocratic families of Venetian-dominated Cyprus. One particular madrigal in this collection catches the attention of the reader: O pothos isdjio/in mezz’a due vermigl’e fresche rose. This madrigal, containing a double Greek and Italian text and a double clef for the music, provokes the question of its presence in the book. By means of a thorough literary and musical analysis of the madrigal, this article interprets it as a symbol of the double cultural affiliation of the family, torn between the loyalty to the Venetian rulers and the necessity of affirming its Greek identity.