Richard Wistreich

Whosingsthe cantus?Children as performers of secular musicinthe earlymodernperiod

Sometimearound1488, thepoet Angelo PolizianowrotefromRome(in Latin) to thephilosopher Pico della Mirandolaabout abanquethehad at- tended givenbythe nobleman,Paolo Orsini, during whichthe guests were entertainedbythe host’s 11 year-oldson, Fabio: No soonerwereweseatedatthe table than [Fabio]was orderedtosing, to- gether with some other experts,certain songswhich areput into writing with thoselittlesigns of musicand immediately he filledour ears,orratherour hearts,withavoicesosweet,that as formyself (I do notknow aboutthe others),Iwasalmosttransportedout of my senseand wastouchedbeyond doubt by theunspokenfeelingofanaltogetherdivinepleasure.1 This famous lettercontinueswithanevenmoreecstaticaccount of Fabio’s solo rendition of aself-composedmonodyonaheroic themethatfollowed hisperformance in theensemblesongs,inwhich Polizianopraised theboy’s perfectoratorical styleofdelivery,likeninghim to thegreat Romanactor, Roscius.2 Setting asidefor amoment Poliziano’sratherself-conscious citation

1Ascited in Nino Pirrotta andElena Povoledo, Music andTheatre from PolizianotoMonteverdi, trans. KarenEales (Cambridge, 1982),p.36. (»Vt ergo discubuimus, canere quædam iussus notata Musicisaccentiunculis carmina simulcum peritisalijs statim suauißimaquadamuoce sicinauresnostras illapsus, imòveròinpræcordia est, ut me quidem(cæterosnescio) penè extramerapuerit, certèsensu tacito diuinæ prorsuscuiusdam uoluptatis affecerit.« Angeli Politiani operum: Epistolarium libros XII. ac Miscellaneorum Centuriam I. complectens,Paris: SébastienGryphius, 1550,p.351). 2Ibid.:»He then performedanheroicsongwhich he hadhimself recently composed in praise of ourown Pierodei Medici …His voicewas notentirelythatofsomeone reading, norentirelythatofsomeone singing: both couldbeheard, andyet neitherseparated one from theother:itwas,inany case,evenormodulated, andnow restrained,now calm and nowvehement, nowslowing down andnow quickening itspace, butalwaysitwas precise, always clear andalwayspleasant; andhis gestures were notindifferent or sluggish,but not posturing or affected either. Youmight have thoughtthatanadolescentRosciuswas act- ingonthe stage.«(»Pronuntiauitheroicumdeindecarmen, quod ipsemetnuper in Petri Medicis…Voxipsanec quasi legentis,nec quasi canentis,sed in quatamen utrunq[ue] sentires,neutrum discerneres: uariè tamenprout locusposceret, autæqualis, autinflexa, nunc distincta, nunc perpetua,nuncsublata,nuncdeducta,nu[n]cremissa,nunc contenta nunc lenta, nunc incitata,semperemendata, semperclara,semperdulcis, gestusnon oti-

157 RichardWistreich

of generic elementsofrhetoricinsupport of hispraise forthe boy’sperformance, thehabituatedhistoricalperformance-practitioner in me will immediately notethatthisappearstohavebeen aperformance of secularpolyphony;that the »other experts« were probablyalsosingers (althoughthisisnot definite); andthatthischild waspresumably singing thesuperius part in chansons in hisunbrokenvoiceinthe soprano range. Ergo,thisliterarydescription yields up aset of useful informationthatmight well be extrapolated to future per- formancesoflatefifteenth-century secularsongfromRome, andquite possiblyafarwider geographical area –particularlywelcome in aperiod of history that is so rich in vocalrepertoire andyet so extraordinarilyshort of eye-witnessaccountsofvocal performance:all in all, apretty promising way to beginanessay thatasksthe question »Who singsthe cantus part in secu- larmusic?« Theculturalhistorianofmusic in me,meanwhile,isdrawn to thesingu- larity of theoccasion: thephysicaland social spacethe performance occupied –private, yetsemi-formal;anaudienceoffamilyand guests,seated at tablebut notyet eating, theirconversation interrupted or delayedby complexmusic;anensembleconsisting of ayoung family member collabo- rating with »experts«; Poliziano’sselectiveness of detail –focussedonsound, musical textureand personalemotion,but no hint of thewordcontent or meaning of thesongs(something reversedinhis subsequentaccount of the monody);and finally (for now), returning to themainfocus of thewriter’s attention:thisboy,Fabio.His ability: outstanding,asweexpectfromason of thearistocraticand humanistelite;his specific skills:apparentlymusically literate andcreative, able to hold hisown with expert musicians, indeed, to outshinethem; achild with theconfidenceand bearingofayoung adult, yet, as Polizianonotes alittlelater,»not posturing or affected either«.But even if Irestrictmyselftoconsidering this source solelyintermsofmychosen job-in-hand –investigating sopranosinging,and,specifically,the role of chil- dren in theperformanceofsixteenth-century polyphonic secular music –and going behind thewriter’shighlyrhetorical style(we mightwellaccuse Polizianohimself of posturing andaffectation!),itisclear that this account cannot be treated simplyasadescriptive portrait of »a singer«, »a boy-soprano«, even »the cantus«, anymore than we wouldremotelydojustice to,say, the Lamentod’Arianna by describing it as »a piecefor mezzosoprano«orto

osus,non somniculosus,sed necuultuosus tamen, ac molestus: Rosciolumprorsusali- quem diceresinscena uersari.«Ibid.,pp. 151–52).

158 Whosings the cantus?

Virginia Ramponi, whofirst performeditin1608,byconsidering hermere- ly as »a female theatre singer«. Andyet theseexamplesinmanywaysencapsulate thekindsofhistorio- graphicalproblemsthatunderlie and, Iwould argue, canundermine the validity of systematic approaches to thestudy of thesingingpractices of Renaissancevocal music,especially thosewhose principalaim is the›re- covery‹ofvocal practicesinorder somehowtoreviveearlymodernmusic in thecontemporary world. Thepreoccupation of the›historical performance movement‹withsuchrecovery hasinevitablymeant that thekinds of ques- tions whichtheyask of sources arenaturally liable very much to shapethe kindsofanswersthose sourcesare askedtoyieldup, openingupbroader problems of historical method not alwaysrecognised as suchbymusicolo- gistsworking in thesamearea, butperhaps to differentends. When we look foranswers to even such apparently innocuous questionsas»Didwomen perform fifteenth-centurymotets?«or»DidMonteverdiwritethe SixthBook of Madrigalsintending thesoprano partstobesungbycastratos?«–questions that performancepracticescholarshavebeeninvestigating anddebatingfor awhile now–we caneasilyimagine that allweneedtofindisthatone elu- sivedescriptioninaletterorpicture that willprovidethe evidenceweneed.3 Images of actual singers, especially when they are›caught in theact‹ of mak- ing musicare,naturally,highlyprivilegedsources, seemingtopromise exclusive›first-hand‹knowledge. Butwhether they arefamousvirtuosi or elite amateurs,rank-and-file professionals, or thecountless andusually name- less figureswho,inletters, reportsand pictures, briefly break intosong and out again(andoften onceonly),individualsingers caneasilybeforcedto become expert witnesses, calledtotestifyinenquiries intendedeithertoes- tablishsweepingly broadgeneralisations aboutentiregenresofmusic,or, in culturalhistorical studies, to carry theburdenof›speaking on behalf of‹ sometimeshugesocial groups,suchas»nuns«, »courtiers«, or even an entire gender.But thereisaninherent danger that in making generalisations from individualcases we cancreatedistortionsthatthenbecomeestablishedas ›truths‹.

3See forexample,HowardMayer Brown, »Women Singersand Women’sSongs in Fifteenth- Century Italy«, WomenMakingMusic:The WesternArt Tradition 1150–1950,ed. Jane Bowers andJudithTick(Urbana,1986),pp. 62–89; RichardWistreich,»Monteverdi in Perfor- mance«, TheCambridge CompaniontoMonteverdi,ed. John Whenham andRichard Wistreich (Cambridge, 2007), pp.261–279,296–298.

159 RichardWistreich

Thus,inarecent companionarticle to this one, in whichIfocussed on adultsoprano singinginthe sixteenthcentury,4 Inoted howthe relatively richliteraryrecordofprofessionalvocal performancethatisnow fore- groundedinmostdiscussions of ensemblevocal performanceinthe sixteenthcentury –and especially thecopiousknowledgewehaveofthe famous concerti delle donne –has been appropriatedtounderpin what is now awell-entrenchedtruismaboutthe compositionalhistoryofthe Italian madrigal.Thisteleological modelstates, in briefand in thewords of Antho- ny New-comb, that in thecourse of thesixteenth century, madrigal scorings changed, from »the low, male-dominated (probablyoften all-male)ensemble of theRore generation, to thebright,female-dominated oneofthe last quarter of thecentury«.5 This highly questionableassociation of thevocal colour and pitch level of thesoprano voicewiththe gender of itssingersisbased on an anachro-nisticassumptionthatitispossible to identify anddifferentiate spe- cifically»female sopranomusic«fromother cantus or superius parts, on the grounds of ahigherpitch range. In fact,perhaps themostinteresting fact aboutthe soprano voiceand itsmusic in sixteenth-centurysecular music, is theinter-exchangeabilityofthe soprano parts, howevernamed,among all those whowerebothcapable of singing in thesamevocal range–adult women, adultmen, both castratos and falsettistsand,ofcourse, children, both girlsand boys.But theimplications of Newcomb’sstatement givesriseto thefurtherproposal that,inthe wordsofanotherinfluential scholar, »the latersixteenth-centuryItalian madrigal is«,therefore, »possibly thefirst mu- sical genreinmodernhistorytowhich thefemalevoiceiscrucial«.6 Butcareful consideration of theevidenceabout theparticipation of adult male sopranos(bothfalsettistsand castratos) as well as womeninthe perfor- manceofmadrigalsand otherpartsongs throughout thecourseofthe cen- tury,shows that mixedgenderensembles wherewomen sing together with men, arenomore prevalentthanthose by allmalegroups, whetherinwhat we todaydistinguish as amateur, or in professionalperformances. In fact, evidencefor anyprofessionalmixed gender vocalensembles fornon-

4RichardWistreich,»Sopranos, Castratosand thePerformanceofLate-RenaissanceSecular Music«, DerCountertenor. Diemännliche Falsettstimmevom Mittelalterzur Gegenwart,ed. Corinna Herr,ArnoldJacobshagen andKai Wessel (Mainz,2012),pp. 71–85. 5Anthony Newcomb, »Secular Polyphonyinthe 16th Century«, Performance Practice:Music before 1600,ed. Howard MayerBrown andStanley Sadie(London,1989),pp. 222–239: p. 234. 6Laura W. Macy,»Women’sHistory andEarly Music«, CompaniontoMedievaland Renaissance Music,ed. Tess Knighton andDavid Fallows(NewYork, 1992), pp.93–98: p. 94.

160 Whosings the cantus?

liturgical music anywhere in thesixteenthorearly seventeenthcenturiesis, despitewhatisoften assumed, extremelyrare. Moreover, when malesare de- picted taking on singingthe cantus part,itseems to happenwithout further comment,suggesting that it was quitenormal foradult mentosing soprano in theirfalsetto voices,oratleast notamajorissue.7 To illustrate thepoint,Ipresent three shortexamplesfrom fictionalliter- ature.In1543AntonfrancescoDoni’sfamous Dialogo della musica gathers together an all-male group of musicalfriends,members of theAcademiadegli Ortolana in Piacenza, to sing throughaselection of madrigalsand motets.8 When it comestodistributingthe partsfor afour-part madrigal by Claudio Veggio, theorganizer,Bargo(Bartolomeo Gottifredi, alternating secretary of theOrtolani),retains thetenorbookfor himself, andhands aroundthe others to hiscolleagueswithnoapparentneed fordiscussionaboutwhich onewillgotowhom: »Grullonepigliateilvostro basso.Michele l’alto,et l’Hosteilcanto (Grullone,takeyourbass, Michelethe alto andHoste, the canto)«. It is probable that Grullone hasthe lowest voice(»your« bass)and also clear that Hostewillpresumably sing the canto in hisfalsetto voice; there is no suggestionthatheisaboy with an unbrokenvoice,which any- waywould be highly anomalous in this adultcompany;nor as an amateur singer wouldhehavebeenacastrato.9 There is neitherdiscussionofHoste’s vocalproduction either in this piecenor in anyofthe othermadrigalsand motets that thecompany singslater in theevening, whichsimilarly requirea singer to coverthe topvoice.The designation »canto«,asinmost sixteenth- centurywrittenmusic,isusedhereinits role as a»musical-theoretical« la- belfor thehighest-soundingpartinthe polyphonyand this is,presumably, howitappearswrittenorprinted on thepart-book; this designation neither specifies aparticular absolutepitch register (which remains fully negotiable between the four singers to choose to suit theirown capabilities)nor apar-

7See R. Wistreich, Sopranos,Castratos (cf. fn. 4),for furtherelucidationofthispoint. 8Antonfranceso Doni, Dialogodella musica (Venice: Girolamo Scotto,1544;repr. Cremo- na,1967).See JamesHaar, »Notes on the Dialogodella musica of Antonfranceso Doni«, Musicand Letters 47 (1966),pp. 198–224; seealsoR.Wistreich,Sopranos,Castratos (cf. fn. 4),p.76. 9The absenceofchildrenisprobablyconfirmedwhenearly on in theevening,asthe friends are deciding howtopasstheir time together,Grullone responds to asuggestionthattheyshould dance, by proposingsomething that canbedonewhile seated,suchastelling stories, gam- ingorsinging.Michele objects to telling stories: »Ilnovellare non mi pare al propositio, peressercosapiù tostodafemine, òfanciulli«(»telling storiesseemstometobesome- thingbettersuitedtowomen or children«.)A.Doni, Dialogodella musica,ibid.,p.3v.

161 RichardWistreich

ticulartypeofvocal production. However, thepossibility of singingthe musiclow enough forHostetoperform hispartentirelyinhis chest voiceis almost certainlyruled outbythe fact that it wouldtakeGrullone toolow for anyvoice.10 My secondexample is set in thecontextofafictionalisedAcademy.Lodo- vico Agostini, poet and courtiertoGuidobaldo II, Duke of Urbino, wrote his GiornateSoriane sometime around 1561.11 Thenovel describesten days during whichsix courtiers travel around thehills of Pesaro in theDuchy of Urbino,staying in country palazzi anddiscussing awiderange of topics as they go,ranging from religion to beauty –asort of peripateticversion of a popular form of literature about theupper classes pioneeredinIl Cortegiano. Themaincharactersare membersofanimaginary Academywithnames like »ilStupido«, »ilContrario« or »ilVano«,representing,infact, differentfac- etsofAgostini’sown personality.12 Each daytheystoptoeat sumptuous meals, followedbyrelaxation –playing chess, cards, andbilliards,after which they move on to music-making.13 Sometimes oneofthe courtiers takesalute or lira andsingsone or more of Agostini’sown love poems(presumably im- provising to an aria formula),ortheytakeupavarietyofdifferentstringed and wind instrumentsthatthe servants carrywiththemand play dancemusic together,probably ›busking‹ratherthanreading from writtenmusic (which wouldrendertheir activity inappropriately artisanal).Their collaborationsin singing polyphonic music, however, aremorehighbrow.Onthe firstday, they sing madrigalsbythe duke’s maestrodicapella,Paolo Animucciaand on another, motets by AdrianWillaert.14 Anothertimetheycallthe servants to

10 ThemusicisreproducedA.Doni, Dialogodella musica (cf. fn. 8),pp. 1–11; thelowest noteofthe bassusand thehighest of thecantusare A,and d’,respectively. 11 Lodovico Agostini, Le giornateSoriane.Testi edocumenti di letteraturaedi lingua,23, ed. LauraSalvettiFirpo (Rome, 2004). 12 SeeFrancoPiperno, L’immagine delduca: musica espettacoloallacorte di Guidobaldo II duca d’Urbino. Historiaemusicescultores, 89 (Florence, 2001), pp.135–7. 13 »Finitoche fu il desinare,egiàlevateletavole, chiascacchi, chiatarocchie chiabiardi,ci trettenemmotutti pergrand’ispazio di tempo; poscia,levatosi‘lSventato, propose(così com’eral’ordinedato) chefar si dovesseunpuoco di musica.Laqualcosa, confirmando sua eccellenza,fusubito.«(»Supperbeing finishedand thetable cleared,theyall relaxedfor along time,someplaying chess, others cardsand some at billiards.Presently,ilSvenato (it beinghis turn)proposedthattheyshouldmakealittle music. This was agreed to by His Excellency andimmediately begun.«L.Agostini, Le giornate,cf. fn.11, pp.13–14). 14 Although when theirvoicesbecometired from singingWillaert, they turn to fly-fishing: »si cantaronoalcunimotetti di Adriano, equandocui parvetempo da riposarlevoci, demmo mano alllororetidapesce chetrattesichiamano« (»they sang some motets by Adriano

162 Whosings the cantus?

bring musicbooks,from whichtheysang »conmolto piacer di tutti,molti e diversimadrigali di diversiautori« (»to thegreatpleasureofall, many and variousmadrigalsbydifferentcomposers«).15 They areall men, yetthey clearly have no difficulty coping with allthe parts, including,presumably, thecantus: but,unlikethe allocation of instrumentsfor theirjam session, there is neverany mention of whosings what. Thefinal examplecomes from Claudius Hollyband’s TheFrenchSchoole- maister of 1573, apopular parallelphrase book forlearning French, reprinted many timesovermorethan50years.16 Thesecondhalfofthe book consists of aloosely-constructed storyabout aday in thelifeofamiddle-class family in London,for studentstopractisebasic andusefulFrench phrases.Inthe eveningtheysit down to dinner andoncethe cheese is on thetable andthe companyhas hadplentytodrink,the host callshis servanttogotohis closet andbring themusic books containing »fairsongsatfourparts«. »Who shall sing with me?«,asksRoland,the guest. »You shallhavecompany enough«, re-plies hishost,calling members of hishousehold (eitherhis sons or servants): »David shallmakethe bass,Johnthe tenorand Jamesthe treble«.17 This time, the treble is surelysung by ayounger boywithanunbroken voice. Theword »treble«,althoughalsoused in musictheoryasanalternate to discantus or to denote thehighest-soundingpartingeneral (including,for example, in con- sortsofinstrumentssuchasviols), hadstrongassociationswithboy singers in Englishusage. Thereisahiatus as thegrouptry to startthe song andthe host is impatient with thechild,but Jamesshows he is reading hispartcare- fully:»Begin, James! Forwhatdoyou tarry?«,»Ihavebut arest«,isthe child’sspeedyreply(incidentally confirming hismusical literacy). Iknowofnoother comparable literary descriptionsofmixed gender en- sembleperformances of madrigalsbeforethe seventeenthcentury. When the famous ladies of the concerto delle donne chosetoreadmadrigalsfrom part- books, it seemsthattheynormally didsowithout having to call on mento join them.One of Duke Alfonsod’EsteII’scourtiers recorded on 8Septem- ber1582:

[Willaert] andwhenitseemed time to rest theirvoice,theytook up theirrodstofly-fish as it’s called.« L. Agostini,Legiornate, ibid., p. 157). 15 L. Agostini,Legiornate, ibid., p. 63. 16 Claudius Hollyband, TheFrench Schoolemaister (London: William Howfor AbrahamVeale, 1573). 17 C. Hollyband, TheFrenchSchoolemaister, ibid., p. 128.For more detailed discussionofthis and otherscenesofmusic-makinginthe book, seeRichard Wistreich, »Music Booksand Sociability«, Il Saggiatore musicale 18 (2011),forthcoming.

163 RichardWistreich

Wednesday afterhavingdined,the Duke passedagood deal of time listening to thoseladiessinging from ordinarymusic [i.e., published repertoire].Even in that kind of singingthe ladies arebeautiful to hear, becausetheysingthe lowparts an octave higher.18 However, that menand womendid sing ensemblemusic together with men, andpresumably took the cantus parts, is certainlybetterrepresentedinthe pictorial record.Well-knownimagesinclude Luca vanValckenborch’s Früh- lingslandschaft (1587), an idealisedvisionofcourtly outdoormusic-making in which menand womenare representedsinging from part-books (whileatthe same time,others dancetoanensembleofshawmsand trombone, confirming the scene’sfictionalisation).19 Anotheroften-reproduced imagewhichmay show amaleand female courtier (thatis, amateurs)sharing apart-book andmak- ing music alongside professional musiciansisHansVredeman de Vries’s Palastarchitektur mitMuzierenden (1596).20 It is interesting, then, to compare these with others,inwhich thegroup is allmaleand in eachthere is a younger manorboy,who we canprobablyassumetobesinging thetop line. Allthese images have,ofcourse,toberead with allthe care that mod- ern music-iconological studieshavetaughtus, especially aboutthe prevalenceoftropes or models.Thuswemight notethe similarities between Hieronymus Höltzel’s and Jost Amman’sdepictionsofensembles performing outdoors (figures 1and 2). In theearlierillustration, what we assume to be the superius part is being sung by theboy in theforegroundand he is beinginstructedbythe tea-cher with hisstick,onthe right; in Amman’s group, eachcouple appearstoshare apart-book, whilethe bassus booklies on thetable,perhaps inviting theviewer

18 Letter from Cavalier GiacomoGrana to Cardinal Luigid’Este, 8September 1582: »Mer- cori doppodisnare, il Sig. Duca stette un gran pezzoapassareiltempo asentircantare quelle Dame conLibri hordinarii di musica,lequali essercitandosi in quelmodofanoan- cora belsentire perche le partigrosselecantano al’ottavadisopra«. Elio Duranteand Anna Martellotti, Cronistoria delconcertodelle dameprincipalissimediMargheritaGonzaga d’Este (Florence, 1979, rev. 1989),p.283;texttranslatedinAnthony Newcomb, TheMadri- galatFerrara, 1579–1597 (Princeton, 1980),vol.1,p.67. 19 Wien,Kunsthistorisches Museum,Inv.-Nr.GG_1065.Detailshowing singersinWalter Salmen, Musiklebenim16. Jahrhundert.MusikgeschichteinBildern,3.9 (Leipzig,1961), fig. 68. On-lineimage at http://tiny.cc/xrzuh (accessed09.08.2012). 20 Wien,KunsthistorischesMuseum,Inv.-Nr.GG_2336;on-line imageathttp://tiny.cc/blg4y (accessed09.08.2012).The male andfemalesingers areshown at thebottomlefthand corner.See also R. Wistreich, MusicBooks(cf.fn. 17), wherethe image is also repro- duced.

164 Whosings the cantus?

Figure1(left):HieronymusHöltzel, »SingendeScholaren«: ?woodcut forEobanus Hesse, De generibus ebriosorum (Nürnberg, 1516)21 Figure2(right): Jost Amman, »Die Singer«: illustrationfor Hans Sachs, Eygentliche Beschreibung Aller Stände auff Erden, Hoher vndNidriger,Geistlichervnd Weltli- cher,Aller Künsten, Handwercken vndHändeln, [et]c. vomgrösten biß zum kleinesten Auch vonjremVrsprung, Erfindungvnd gebreuchen (Frankfurt am Main: GeorgRabeninverlegung Sigmund Feyerabents, 1568),sig.c[iv]22

21 Theattribution was originally proposed by Emil Reicke, Lehrer und Unterrichtsweseninder deutschenVergangenheit mit130 Abbildungen undBeilagennachOriginalenaus demfünf- zehntenbis achtzehntenJahrhundert (Leipzig,1901, 2nd ed.Düsseldorf,1924, RasMagister und Scholaren. Illustrierte Geschichte desUnterrichtswesens,Düsseldorf, 1971),p.59; however, this attributionmay be spurious,asthe illustration does notoccurinany survivingedition of EobanusHesse’s De generibus… 22 WoodcutreproducedinAndreaLindmayr-Brandl, »The Role of MusicinSixteeth-Century German City Life:ACloseLook at theIconographyofHansSachs’s andJostAmman’sStän- debuch«, Essays on Renaissance Music in HonourofDavidFallows.Bon jour,bon mois,etbonne estrenne,ed. Fabrice Fitchand Jacobijn Kiel (Woodbridge, 2011), pp.349–360: p. 350.

165 RichardWistreich

to join in theperformance.23 What mightthiskindofevidenceoffer us as a meansofinvestigating theperformanceofnon-religious music by chil-dren in general,asopposed to glimpsesofindividualchildren, such as young Fa- bio Orsini? If thebodyofevidenceabout thesingingofsoprano in secularmusic in the sixteenth century, whetherbywomen, male falsettistsorcastratos is smalland oftenproblematic, then reliableevidenceabout children’sparticipation, by comparison,can onlybedescribed as miniscule. By farthe majorityofwrit- tenrecords of performance specifically by achild or children in anyway,let alone in aspecific pieceofmusic,whether polyphonic or solo, are(perhaps not surprisingly)overwhelmingly about sacred music. Similarly,tofindrec- ordsofeventhe namesofthe boys (orinavery fewcases,girls)employed as professionalsingersofsecular musicininstitutions, is unusual.And yet, professionalchild singerswere afamiliarfeature of some of themost ambi- tious musical experimentsofthe period:for example, in theveryfirst public performance of athrough-sung play,OttavioRinccini’s andJacopoPeri’s Euridice at the palazzoPitti in Florenceon6October, 1600,the role of Dafne was played by Jacopo Giusti, fanciuletto Lucchese.But apartfrom his name, we know absolutelynothing more about him.24 However, 20 yearsago, TimothyMcGee discovered that at thesecond performance, thepartof Tragedia (the Prologue)was sung by an adolescent girl,GinevraMazziere.25 During therehearsal period, she wasseduced by anothercast member, Giu- lioCaccini’sbastard son, Pompilio,whomshe then hadtomarry. Therole of Venere,meanwhile wassung by a»castrato delEmiliode’ Cavalieri«:thus there were threedifferent kindsof»soprano« on stagetogether. Acompari- sonofPeri’smusic forlaTragedia, Dafneand Venere,however,provides no clue that each wasintendedfor a›different‹kindofsoprano. In fact,incontrast to sources of sacred music wherethere areoccasional specific specifications of »puer«,asDavid Fallowshas notedfor exampleinsomepieces by Jos- quin, thedesignationofsoprano partsfor onekindoranother, is extremely

23 SeeR.Wistreich,Music Books(cf.fn. 17). 24 Jacopo Peri, Le Musiche di Sig. Jacopo Peri sopraL’Euridicedel Sig. OttavioRinuccini,(Flor- ence:Marescotti,1600),»ALetori«.Inanannotated copy of thelibrettonow at the University of Illinois, whichreferstoaperformance subsequent to thepremiere, hisnameis givenas»Jacopino Lucchese«. SeeClaude V. Palisca, »The FirstPerformance of Euridice«, Studiesinthe HistoryofItalian Music andMusic Theory Oxford,1994), pp. 437–446: p. 445, Table16.1. 25 Timothy J. McGee, »PompeoCaccini andEuridice: NewBiographicalNotes«, Renaissance andReformation /RenaissanceetRéforme 26 =N.S.14(1990),pp. 81–99.

166 Whosings the cantus?

rare.26 Indeed,the onlyexample that hassofar come to lightinprinted poly- phonicsecular musicisEnglish:ThomasWhythorne’s didactic song»Prefer not great bewtie before vertue«isfor four voices,notated in twoC2and twoC3clefs andmarkedatthe topofthe page »For children«.27

Figure3:Thomas Whythorne,»Prefernot great bewtiebeforevertue«, à4, (Primus Triplex) in Songes, forThree,Fower,and Five Voices (London: John Day, 1571), PrimusTriplex, »For children«

That children participated in theperformance of »art«music at thesame leveland oftentogetherwithadults, throughout theRenaissance period and in allparts of Europeisnot in dispute; northatfrom at least thefifteenth

26 DavidFallows,»ThePerformingEnsembles in Josquin’sSacredMusic«, Tijdschrift van de Vereniging voor NederlandseMuziekgeschiedenis 35 (1985),pp. 32–66: p. 44. 27 CitedinJaneFlynn, »ThomasMulliner: An ApprenticeofJohnHeywood?«, YoungChor- isters 650–1700,ed. SusanBoynton andEricRice(Woodbridge, 2008), pp.173–94: p. 178.

167 RichardWistreich

centuryonwards,boys, either alone, or together with adultmen singinginfal- setto, performedthe toplineorlines of polyphonic music,inmany(although not all) largehousehold chapel,major churchand cathedralchoirsinEurope. Pictorial images (whichmay well be schematic ratherthannumericallyaccu- rate) suggest nevertheless ensemblesinwhich thenumberofboysis relativelysmall andproportionatetothe adultmen,who presumably per- formed thelower voiceparts.28 This is borneout by thefar more abundant andobjective evidence collated by scholarssuchasFrank D’Accone,David Fallows, Roger Bowers,Noel O’Regan, Ruth Lightbourneand Christelle Ca- zauxabout sixteenth-centurychoirsinmajor institutions in Italy, theLow Countries, England andFrance, in whichthroughoutthe sixteenthcentury there arerarelymorethansix boys,and sometimes as fewastwo.29 In the otherwiseapparentlyclosely-observedimage of an ensemble performing po- lyphony in S. Frediano,Lucca,c.1490, it looksasifthe boyissinging his

28 See, forexample,imagesreproducedinEdmund Bowles, Musiklebenim15. Jahrhundert. MusikgeschichteinBildern,3.8 (Leipzig,1977):p.113, from thelatefourteenth-century codex, Tacuinum sanitatisinmedicina,showing twoboysand twoadults singingfrom what maybeachoir book andp.118 (cf. thecontributionbyBjörn Tammen in this vol- ume, p. 73,for areproduction of theminiature), alate-fifteenthcentury wood cutofsix men(includingamagister)and twoboyssinging from achoirbook;etc. 29 See, forexample:Frank d’Accone,»TheSingersofSan Giovanni in Florence duringthe 15thCentury«, Journal of theAmericanMusicological Society 14 (1961),pp. 307–51: p. 328, where (in 1478) thechoir of S. Giovanni consistedof»five adultsingersand four soprano choristers«; D. Fallows, ThePerformingEnsembles (cf. fn.27),especially pp. 43–6, Fallowsarguesthatthe toplines of Franco-Flemish polyphony mightbesung by falsettists or boys;Roger Bowers,»VocalScoring,ChoralBalance andPerforming PitchofLatin ChurchMusic in England, c. 1500–58«, Journalofthe RoyalMusical Association 112 (1986–1987),pp. 38–76, detailsthe dispositions of anumberofcathedral choirs in Eng- land in thefirst half of thesixteenth century, noting (p.54) that »Inthe majority of major choirs, thenumberofmen at leastavailable to sing polyphonyconsiderably exceededthat of theboys« andalsothatthe Duke of Northumberland’s householdchapelchoir around the turn of thecentury had aboutfiveboyswho dividedintotrebles andmeans (i. e.,first and second sopranos); Noel O’Regan,»ChoirboysinEarly Modern Rome«, YoungChoristers 650–1700,ed. SusanBoynton andEricRice(Woodbridge, 2008),pp. 216–40,notes the »doi nostri putti checantano sopranoinS.Lorenzo«(»two of ourlittleboyswho sing sopranoinSan Lorenzo«)providedbythe confraternityfor orphans, S. Mariadella Visi- tazione degliOrfani; Ruth Lightbourne, »AnnibaleStabile andPerformancePracticeattwo Roman institutions«, EarlyMusic 32 (2004),pp. 271–85 notes(p. 282) that at S. Giovanni in Laterano andS.Maria Maggiore in Romeinthe early 1590s,»thenumberofboysvaried, with S. Giovanni averagingtwo andS.Maria four«; Christelle Cazaux, La musiqueàla cour de Francois Ier.Mémoiresetdocuments de l’Écoledes Chartes, 65 (Paris,2002),anex- haustive studyofthe musical recordsofthe householdofFrançois1,gives detailed insight into thebalance of boys to meninthe variousvocal ensembles(seebelow).

168 Whosings the cantus?

part alone(althoughitisalsopossibleeitherthatone of theadults is dou- bling himinthe soprano register or that thegroup is singing monody).30 Themanyim-ages depictingangel choirs needtobetreatedwithextreme scepticism, butinMichiel Coxcie’swell-knownportraitofS.Cecilia,the putto holdsapart-booklabelled»Superius«, from whichheappearsready to sing alone.31 What littledocumentary evidencethere is forthe professional engagement of boys in secularmusic-making, is,not surprisingly from majorcourts, where not onlyweresingers employed in quitelarge numbers, but,ofcourse, the records survive. Allofthese sources suggest that professional boysingers learnedtheir art in church choirs underthe tutelage of maîtrises before mov- ing intochamber music. In many cases, it seemslikelythatboysweredrawn directly from the capella when needed forsecular music,especially enter- tainments.For example, in 1527, when King François Iwas entertainedby King HenryVIII at Greenwich eight boys of theChapelRoyal,almost cer- tainlyunder thedirection of thesinger andEnglish playwright,John Heywood,took part in a»pageantofthe father of heaven (Jupiter)inwhich four young choristers of theChapelRoyal supported ›Riches‹ andanother four supported›Love‹inadebate concerning whetherthe former were bet- terthanthe latter«.32 Heywood went on to writeplays forStPaul’sBoys, who together with their›rival‹ boys’theatre troupe theChildrenofthe Chapel (Royal)and their successor companies, such as TheKing’s Revels,werere- nownedduring thesecondhalfofthe sixteenthcentury, among otherthings, fortheir singing andinstrumental music.33 Theroleofboy singersinthe mainstream professional theatre in late Elizabethanand Jacobean London was amajor feature of theall-male companiesofWilliam Shakespeareand hiscontemporaries,where theparts notonlyofchildrenbut also of women were alwaystaken by boys.34

30 AmicoAspertini, Transportation of theVolto Sancto (fresco) in S. Frediano,Lucca (1508–09). E. Bowles,Musikleben (cf. fn.29),p.119,shows adetailofthe singers; on-lineimage of thewhole fresco at http://tinyurl.com/8bgl23k(accessed 09.08.2012).The singerscan be seen walkingjustbeyondthe twooxen. 31 Milan, MuseoPrado, MichielCoxcie, »S.Cecilia«(1569); on-line image at http:// tinyurl.com/9272pue(accessed31.08.2012). 32 J. Flynn, Thomas Mulliner (cf. fn.28),p.178. 33 See LindaPhyllis Austern, Music in English Children’s Dramaofthe Late Renaissance (Phila- delphia, 1992). 34 Edward K. Chambers, TheElizabethan Stage (Oxford, 1923),vol.2,pp. 1–77.

169 RichardWistreich

However, it is from François 1’scourt that we have themost compelling evidence forthe migration of boysfrom the chapelle into paid positions as cham- bermusicians,and thus professional performersofsecular music.Christelle Cazaux’sworkonthe recordsofcourt music hasrevealed that at thetimeof François’s visittoGreenwichin1527,there were already two paiges chantres listed among the Chantres de la Chambre.Bythe mid-1530s thechamber mu- sic ensembleincludedfivesingers andthree petits chantres, althoughatthe time of theking’s deathin1547, there is only one petitchantre listed,and without a name.35 Theboyswere oftenalsomembers of thechapel, wheretheyalmost certainly learned theircraft under thedirection of a maîtrise; otherchapelsing- ers went on to join theChambre aftertheir voices broke.36 The petits chantres travelledwiththe court,whichwas almost constantlyonthe move.For ex- ample, Cazauxlists apayment forbootsfor JacquesColombeau, »l’undesd. petizchantres, pour sonservice quantilvaaux champs et parpayssuyvant le roy«(»the said member of the petitchantres forhis servicewhenheisinthe field[?onmilitarycampaign] andonprogresswiththe king«),who clearly enjoyed specialfavour:the same boywas latergiven acoataspartofhis settlement when theking paid forhim to go to University afterhis voice broke.37 It seems then,prettylikelythatthe Chantres de la Chambre per- formed polyphonic chansons,and that theboysmusttherefore have sung the dessus parts. It is interesting,then, to see theengravinginTilmanSusato’s Vingt et six chansons musicales &nouvellesàcincqparties (Antwerp,1543) which appearstodepictanensemble with adisposition notatall dissimilar to the Chantres de la Chambre apparently performing before an importantperson (althoughnot theking) (figure 4). Anotherboy singerwho made themovefrom professional ecclesiastical service intosecular musicinagreat householdwent on to become oneofthe most famous andinfluential singers of hisage –Giulio Caccini. Thefulldetails of hisrecruitment to Florencefrom theCapella Giulia in Rome to come to Florence to play theroleofPsycheinthe intermedii to thecomedy La Co- fanaria at thewedding of PrinceFrancesco de’MedicitoJoannaofAustriain December1565 are told in asequenceofletters betweenDukeCosimode’

35 Seethe tables in Ch.Cazaux, La musique(cf.fn. 30),p.315, showing»Lespetitschantres de la chambre«in1527, 1533–36, 1536–37, 1541 and1547, andonp.144,which shows thedisposition of the»Groupe de la chambre«atthe deathofthe king in 1547. 36 Ibid.,p.145. 37 Ibid.,p.147.

170 Whosings the cantus?

Figure4:Vingt et six chansons musicales& nouvelles acincqparties convenablestantala voix comme aussi propices a jouer de diversinstruments (Antwerp: Tilman Susato, 1543),frontispiece38

Medici andhis ambassador in Rome,Averado Serristori, whichwerediscov- eredand publishedbyTim Carter in 1987.39 Psyche was writtentobe performedby»ayouthof15or16years« andPsyche’sroleculminatesinthe fifth intermedio,when he/she singsalament in Hadesafter having been aban- doned by Cupid. Themusic forthe lament,»Fuggespeme mia«,composed by Alessandro Striggio, wasclearlybothunusualand extremelydemanding, as no Florentine singer wasapparentlyconsidered suitabletosing it.The process of recruitment of Giulio reveals something bothofthe way that Romanchoirboysmight be obtainedfrom the maestri to whom,asNoel O’Regan’srecentresearch hasshown,theywereusually indentured as ap- prentices.40 Duke Cosimo de’Medici’sletterconcerning thesearchfor a suitable boy singer forthe intermedio reveals much aboutthe generalbiolog- ical problemsofdealingwithboysofacertain ageand thedistinctpreference

38 ReproductioninWalterSalmen, Musikder Neuzeit: Haus-und Kammermusik. Musikgeschich- te in Bildern,4.3 (Leipzig,1961),p.17. 39 Tim Carter,»Giulio Caccini (1551–1618): NewFacts,New Music«, Studimusicali 16 (1987), pp.13–31.See also Warren Kirkendale, TheCourt Musicians in Florence During thePrin- cipate of theMedici, with aReconstructionofthe Artistic Establishment (Florence, 1993), p. 121. 40 N. O’Regan, Choirboys(cf.fn. 30).

171 RichardWistreich

foreitheraboywithanunbrokenvoiceoracastrato rather than an adultfal- settist,which,asfar as thedukewas con-cerned,simplywould notdo. CosimowotetoSerristoriinearly October: Thereisneed of aboy’s voiceasasoprano.For this it is intended to usea certain boy called Pavolino, whom ourcardinal Ferdinando de’Medici had obtainedfromCardinal Orsini and broughtfromRome. Buteitherbecause hisvoice hasbrokenorbecauseofthe air, we find he cannot do it.Therefore we askthat youshouldhave afew wordstherewiththose musiciansofthe Pope or with GiovanniAnimuccia, maestrodicappella of St Peter’sand seewhether they mightaccommodateuswitheither aboy or acastratofromthose chapels that mightbejudgedsuitabletothisend …the boywillhavetorepresenta youthof15or16years,wewouldlikehim to haveabeautiful voiceand a good graceinsinging with embellishmentsinthe Neapolitan manner, and thevoice shouldbenatural notfalsetto …Wetell youthathehas to sing alone in company with four violini and four trombones.41 Among theimportant information aboutthe mechanics, politicsand organi- sation of expert singing andtheatre in Italyaround mid-centurythatthis shortexcerpt reveals,the point whichstrikes me most forcefully is thesheer levelofdetailedexpertise that Duke Cosimo manifests;evenifhewas per- haps acting on thedictation of Striggiowhenitcametospecifying there- quirementsofthe song theboy was to sing,his determination to getexactly theright solution to theproblem is arresting andrecalls thesimilar levelof detailed interest on thepartofFrancesco Gonzagafortyyears laterwhenhe was negotiating procurementofacastrato to sing in thefirst performance of Monteverdi’s Orfeo.42 HadCaccini been ›borrowed‹ from thePapal chapel, he wouldmostlikelyhavebeen returnedassoon as thefestivitieswereover. Butfor awhole rangeofreasons, includingperhaps theexceptionalimpres- sionthatthe boymadeonall whoheard himsing; Cosimo’sand Striggio’s ambitionsfor thedevelopment of the»Neapolitan«style of ornamented singing –Cosimo sentthe young Caccini to studywiththe greatest veteran of thestyle,Scipionedel Palle,shortly before themaster’sdeathin1569and theresult, as onemight say, is history. The apprenticingofchild singerstomasters outsideofthe church, andthus potentially at least, preparingthemfor careersinthe secular domain,be- came more typical in thecourseofthe sixteenth-century –indeed,Giulio Caccini himselflater becamefamousasthe most sought-after teacherfor both

41 T. Carter,GiulioCaccini (cf. fn. 40), pp.14–15. 42 SeeIainFenlon, »The Mantuan Orfeo«, ClaudioMonteverdi: Orfeo, ed.JohnWhenham, (Cambridge, 1986), pp.1–19.

172 Whosings the cantus?

Figure5:PaulLautensackd.J., »Organistand Musicians«,1579 (Universitätsbiblio- thek Erlangen, Graphische Sammlung)

173 RichardWistreich

talented boys andgirlsreferred to himbyaristocrats from alloverItaly.A woodcutbyPaulLautensackfrom 1579(figure 5),may show aboy under in- struction as he singssoloaccompanied by theorgan and amutecornetto,and althoughitisnot clear whetherheissinging sacred or secular music, the setting is domestic rather than liturgical.43 Notableisthatheisreadingfrom thebook: musicalliteracywas fundamentaltochildren’straining forthe pro- fession. TheEnglish musician, William Bathe,reported rather hyperbolically in theintroduction to his ABriefeIntroduction to theSkill of Song of 1589 that he had»In amonthand less,…instructed achild aboutthe ageofeight years, to sing agood number of songs, difficult crabbedSongs, to sing at thefirst sight, to be so indifferent forall parts, alterations,clefs,flats,and sharps, that he couldsingapart of that kind,ofwhich he never learned any song«.44 Andit was not just boys: an eleven-year-oldgirladmittedtothe convent of S. Clara, Toledointhe seventeenthcentury »couldalready play theorgan, compose in five parts, realizeaccompaniments from afigured bass,and sight-sing vocal polyphony«.45 If thestories of Giulio Caccini andFrancoisIer’s petits chantres areexam- ples of professional boy singersperforming secularmusic at themost elevated levelbothofmusical sophistication andofthe social scale, it is per- haps importantonceagain to emphasisetheir exceptionality.Inturn, Cosimode’ Medici’s almost pedantic interest in securing theservicesofa boy singer with outstanding vocalskill to personifyPsycheinhis intermedio, andhis subsequentpatronageofthe boy’sfurther development in themost sophisticatedchamber vocalstyle mightbeseenaslying in adirectlinefrom thekindsofidealsthatwerebeing enactedatPaolo Orsino’sdinnerparty, when theproudfathershowedoff the›orphic‹talents of hisson to thesuit- ablyimpressedresponse of ahumanistwritersuchasPoliziano.However,

43 Graphische Sammlung derUniversitätsbibliothek Erlangen,reproducedinElfried Bock, DieZeichnungeninder Universitätsbibliothek Erlangen (Frankfurt am Main,1929),vol.2, fol.152, fig. 534. Lautensack was not only an artist butalsoanorganistatSt. Sebald in Nürnberg from 1571. 44 William Bathe, Abriefeintroduction to theskill of song (London, 1589), »Tothe Reader«. 45 CitedinColleen Reardon, Holy ConcordwithinSacredWalls:Nuns andMusic in Siena, 1575–1700 (New York,2002),p.264. Forfurther informationabout musically-proficient girls gainingadmission to Spanishconventsthrough dowrywaivers in theseventeenth century, seeColleen Baade,»›Hired‹Nun MusiciansinEarly Modern Castille«, MusicalVoicesof EarlyModernWomen,ed. Thomasin LaMay(Ashgate, 2005), pp. 287–310, andColleen Baade, »Two CenturiesofNun MusiciansinSpain’s Imperial City«, Trans: RevistaTrans- culturaldeMúsica/TransculturalMusic Review 15 (2011),pp. 1–22.

174 Whosings the cantus?

farmoretypical were probablythe innumerable professional childsingersof secular musicwhomwenow tend to meet primarilyinthe pictorial, rather than thedocumentary record.Arepresentativecollection of suchimages from thesixteenth andearly seventeenth centuriescentury(listed below) suggestsfirst-ly, that children were ubiquitous as professional soprano singers, almost alwaysworking as membersofotherwiseadultgroups andalso, even when such children arenomore than ›streetmusicians‹, they areshown reading theirsongs from notation,suggesting firstthatmusical literacy was widespreadamong professionals andsecond, that notated music(andthere- foreprobablypolyphony)was likewise typical in their repertoire and performing practice.

–Street musicians in JakobWimpfeling, De fide concubinarum in sacerdotes (Basel, c. 1501), p. 20;on-line imageathttp://tinyurl.com/97n3uzn(accessed 09.08.2012) –Atelier of JacobI.Jordaens (1608–1678),»TheSerenade«,private Collection; on-line imageathttp://tinyurl.com/8h52prt(accessed09.08.2012) –Leonello Spada (1576–1622), »Concerto«(1615), Paris, Louvre;on-line imageat http://tinyurl.com/9r3fd2k (accessed31.08.2012) –Aniello Falcone,»TheConcert« (first half of seventeenth century),Milan,Muséo Prado; on-lineimage at http://tiny.cc/sqgkr (accessed15.02.2012) Finally,though, Ireturn to ›private‹space andaseries of images from the late sixteenth andearly seventeenthcenturies of what we wouldnow call middle classchildrenengaged in music-making in domestic settings(e. g., figure 6).Inall of these very diverse images,whatdraws ourattention is not onlythatineachone, children areseen performing together with theirelders, apparently on equalterms, butalsothe importance that everyartistattaches to theroleofnotationintheir music-making.46 Theresulting association be- tweenchildren’ssinging together with theirmothers andfathers and the humanist celebrationofliteracyand expressiveperformance constructs ano- tion of domestic music-makingasamanifestationofwhatitmeans to aspire to live well in socialand spiritualharmony.

46 Theinclusion of musicbooksorsheetsofmusicinverynearly allearly modern pictorial images of vocalperformance (instrumentalists arefar more oftendepictedplaying appar- ently withoutnotated music) mayinfactbeatypicalartisticmetaphortoshowthe viewer that thepersonistobeunderstoodtobesinging;thishypothesiswould require amajor studybeforeitcouldbesustainedany further.

175 RichardWistreich

–Anonymous,Sir HenryUnton Memorial Painting (c.1596), London,National Portrait Gallery; on-line imageathttp://tinyurl.com/9q77x9v (accessed31.08.12) –JohannTheodordeBry, Emblematasecularia mira et jucunda (Oppenheim, 1611), p. 3. Illustration entitled »Musicamortalesrecreat Divisoq[ue]beatos«;reproduced in Walter Salmen, Musikder Neuzeit: Haus-und Kammermusik. Musikgeschichtein Bildern, 4.4(Leipzig, 1961),p.16 –Jan Brueghel theElder,»TheSensesofHearing, Touchand Taste«(c. 1620), Ma- drid,Muséo Prado; on-line imageathttp://tinyurl.com/95j3nxu(accessed 31.08.12) –Johan Rist, Frommenund Gottseliger Christen AltäglichHausMusik (Lüneberg, 1654),title page;reproducedinWalter Salmen, Musikder Neuzeit: Haus-und Kammermusik. MusikgeschichteinBildern, 4.4(Leipzig, 1961),p.17

Figure6:Thomas Sternhold, Tenor of thewholepsalmes in fourepartes (London: John Day, 1563),p.2

176