Introduction
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Front Matter
Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-88521-8 - Portrait of a Castrato: Politics, Patronage, and Music in the Life of Atto Melani Roger Freitas Frontmatter More information Portrait of a Castrato This book explores the fascinating life of the most documented musician of the seventeenth century. Born in 1626 into a bourgeois family in Pistoia, Italy, Atto Melani was castrated to preserve his singing voice and soon rose to both artistic and social prominence. His extant letters not only depict the musical activities of several European centers, they reveal the real-life context of music and the musician: how a singer related to patrons and colleagues, what he thought about his profession, and the role music played in his life. Whether Atto was singing, spying, having sex, composing, or even rejecting his art, his life illustrates how music-making was always also a negotiation for power. Providing a rare glimpse of the social and political contexts of seventeenth-century music, Roger Freitas sheds light on the mechanisms that generated meaning for music, clarifying what music at this time actually was. Roger Freitas is Associate Professor in the Department of Musicology, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester. His writing has appeared in journals including the Journal of Musicology, Music and Letters, and Opera News. This is his first book. © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-88521-8 - Portrait of a Castrato: Politics, Patronage, and Music in the Life of Atto Melani Roger Freitas Frontmatter More information New perspectives in music history and criticism General editors: Jeffrey Kallberg, Anthony Newcomb and Ruth Solie This series explores the conceptual frameworks that shape or have shaped the ways in which we understand music and its history, and aims to elaborate structures of explanation, interpretation, commentary, and criticism which make music intelligible and which provide a basis for argument about judgements of value. -
Virginia Ramponi Andreini (1583–1631) Dal Suocero Al Marito
How to reference this article Besutti, P. (2019). Storie di emancipazione: Virginia Ramponi Andreini (1583–1631) dal suocero al marito. Italica Wratislaviensia, 10(2), 65–83. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15804/IW.2019.10.1.17 Paola Besutti Università degli Studi di Teramo [email protected] ORCID: 0000-0002-5346-973X STORIE DI EMANCIPAZIONE: VIRGINIA RAMPONI ANDREINI (1583–1631) DAL SUOCERO AL MARITO EMANCIPATION STORIES: VIRGINIA RAMPONI ANDREINI (1583–1631) FROM HER FATHER-IN-LAW TO HER HUSBAND Abstract: Numerous notarial deeds are kept in the State Archive of Mantua, involving some of the most famous comedians of the 17th century. Piermaria Cecchini (Frittellino); Francesco Andreini and his sons Domenico and Giacinto; Giovan Battista (Lelio) with his son Pietro Enrico; Tristano Martinelli; and others used notaries for wills, sales contracts, debt reduction, inventories of assets, and dowries. Some of these documents also involve the women of the Andreini family: Lavinia (sister Fulvia), Caterina (perhaps sister Clarastella), Virginia Ramponi Andreini (Florinda). In particular, an emancipation deed (1620) indirectly affected Virginia (Genoa, 1583? – before 17 November 1631), the first wife of Giovan Battista Andreini. On the basis of document analysis, two perspectives are explored: Virginia’s peculiar contribution to the activities of the family, also from an economic point of view; and the status of women with regards to emancipation, which must be understood from a legal point of view that was patriarchal and defensive of property. The article thus becomes an opportunity to reflect, starting from Virginia but gazing even beyond, on the condition of women who were active in the theatrical and musical world between jurisprudence, artistic professions, economic heritage, and daily life. -
Field Dissertation 4
OUTLANDISH AUTHORS: INNOCENZO FEDE AND MUSICAL PATRONAGE AT THE STUART COURT IN LONDON AND IN EXILE by Nicholas Ezra Field A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Music: Musicology) in the University of Michigan 2013 Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Stefano Mengozzi, Co-Chair Associate Professor Mark Clague, Co-Chair Professor Linda K. Gregerson Associate Professor George Hoffmann ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In writing this dissertation I have benefited from the assistance, encouragement, and guidance of many people. I am deeply grateful to my thesis advisors and committee co-chairs, Professor Stefano Mengozzi and Professor Mark Clague for their unwavering support as this project unfolded. I would also like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to my dissertation committee members, Professor Linda Gregerson and Professor George Hoffmann—thank you both for your interest, insights, and support. Additional and special thanks are due to my family: my parents Larry and Tamara, my wife Yunju and her parents, my brother Sean, and especially my beloved children Lydian and Evan. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................................................ ii LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................ v ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................... vi CHAPTER ONE: Introduction -
Recruting a Virtuoso Singer in Early Seventeenth
RECRUITING A VIRTUOSO SINGER IN EARLY SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ITALY: ADRIANA BASILE, «LA SIRENA DI POSILLIPO» Kathryn Bosi The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies (Emeritus) Reception Date: November 2017 Acceptance Date: January 2018 ABSTRACT The article concerns one of most renowned women performers of the early Italian Baroque: the star of the musical establishment of the Gonzaga family from 1610 until 1624: Adriana Basile, «la Sirena di Posillipo». Adriana is employed at Naples when word of her extraordinary abilities as singer and harpist reaches the ears of Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga of Mantua. Vincenzo I, who maintained a fine musical establishment at his court, wished to employ her, and after prolongued and difficult negotiations, involving also Vincenzo’s son, Cardinal Ferdinando Gonzaga in Rome, Adriana at last agrees to come to Mantua and enter the service of the Gonzaga. The article offers an epistolary account of Adriana’s recruitment, her voyage north with brief residences in Rome and Florence, and her brilliant early career at Mantua, recounted through archival documents transcribed by the historian Alessandro Ademollo, supplemented by documents from the Gonzaga archives transcribed by the present writer and other scholars. These documents, translated here for the use of English readers, offer a unique picture of the recruitment of a famed musician by one of the most brilliant Italian courts. Keywords Adriana Basile, Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga I, Cardinal Ferdinando Gongaga, Baroque musicians, Recruitment of Baroque musicians ActaLauris, n.º 4, 2018, pp. 78-103 78 ISSN: 2255-2820 Recruiting a Virtuoso Singer in Early Seventeenth Century Italy: Adriana Basile, «La Sirena di Posillipo» My relationship with Barbara Sparti dates from my early years as Music Librarian of the Biblioteca Berenson, Villa I Tatti –the Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies– Florence. -
'Obtained by Peculiar Favour, & Much Diiculty of the Singer': Vincenzo
Journal of the Royal Musical Association, 2018 Vol. 143, No. 2, 325–359, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02690403.2018.1507116 ‘Obtained by peculiar favour, & much diiculty of the Singer’: Vincenzo Albrici and the Function of Charles II’s Italian Ensemble at the English Restoration Court ESTER LEBEDINSKI Posterity’s view of Charles II’s musical tastes has forever been coloured by Roger North’s claim that ‘during the irst years of Charles II all musick afected by the beau- mond run[s] into the French way’.1 Consequently, studies of English Restoration court music have named France as the chief source of musical inspiration at the English court in the 1660s and 1670s.2 While there can be no doubt about the efects of his French sojourn in the late 1640s and early 1650s on many of Charles’s tastes and habits, North’s explanation for the French fad reveals a more complex web of European musical exchanges: Because at that time the master of the Court musick in France, whose name was Baptista,3 (an Italian frenchifyed), had inluenced the French style by infusing a great portion of the Italian harmony into it, whereby the Ayre was exceedingly improved.4 Email: [email protected] Several people have contributed to this article by reading drafts and discussing Albrici with me in all levels of detail. I am grateful to Lars Berglund, Samantha Blickhan, Mary Frandsen, Matthew Laube, Matteo Messori, Stephen Rose, Maria Schildt, Colin Timms and Jonathan Wainwright, and to the two anonymous reviewers of the journal, whose generous feedback has greatly improved the article. -
The Eroticism of Emasculation: Confronting the Baroque Body of the Castrato Author(S): Roger Freitas Freitas Source: the Journal of Musicology, Vol
The Eroticism of Emasculation: Confronting the Baroque Body of the Castrato Author(s): Roger Freitas Freitas Source: The Journal of Musicology, Vol. 20, No. 2 (Spring 2003), pp. 196-249 Published by: University of California Press Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/jm.2003.20.2.196 Accessed: 03-10-2018 15:00 UTC JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at https://about.jstor.org/terms University of California Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Journal of Musicology This content downloaded from 146.57.3.25 on Wed, 03 Oct 2018 15:00:19 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms The Eroticism of Emasculation: Confronting the Baroque Body of the Castrato ROGER FREITAS A nyone who has taught a survey of baroque music knows the special challenge of explaining the castrato singer. A presentation on the finer points of Monteverdi’s or Handel’s art can rapidly narrow to an explanation of the castrato tradition, a justification 196 for substituting women or countertenors, and a general plea for the dramatic viability of baroque opera. As much as one tries to rationalize the historical practice, a treble Nero or Julius Caesar can still derail ap- preciation of the music drama. -
A Tale of Two Nations' Histories the Application of Literary Fairy Tales As a Firsthand Account of History
Wayne State University Honors College Theses Irvin D. Reid Honors College Fall 12-22-2020 A Tale of Two Nations’ Histories The Application of Literary Fairy Tales as a Firsthand Account of History Nicholas Gottlob Wayne State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/honorstheses Part of the European History Commons, European Languages and Societies Commons, French and Francophone Literature Commons, and the Italian Literature Commons Recommended Citation Gottlob, Nicholas, "A Tale of Two Nations’ Histories The Application of Literary Fairy Tales as a Firsthand Account of History" (2020). Honors College Theses. 67. https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/honorstheses/67 This Open Access Honors Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Irvin D. Reid Honors College at DigitalCommons@WayneState. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors College Theses by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@WayneState. A Tale of Two Nations’ Histories The Application of Literary Fairy Tales as a Firsthand Account of History Wayne State University By Nicholas Gottlob Detroit, Michigan 14 December 2020 Gottlob 2 Introduction Fairy tales are often thought to be solely for children as a means of education and entertainment. This has not always been the case as literary fairy tales have been utilized as political instruments by authors and intended for a highly educated audience. Using fairy tales as a facade provided protection for authors, as outright criticisms against those in power usually resulted in dire consequences such as imprisonment or even death for the objector. The literary fairy tale provided a medium that allowed authors to express their opinions under the guise of a story. -
UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Witches
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Witches, Whores, and Virgin Martyrs: Female Roles in Seventeenth Century Opera A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Musical Arts in Music by Terri Lynn Richter 2017 Copyright by Terri Lynn Richter 2017 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Witches, Whores, and Virgin Martyrs: Female Opera Roles in Seventeenth Century Opera by Terri Lynn Richter Doctor of Musical Arts in Music University of California, Los Angeles, 2017 Professor Juliana K. Gondek, Chair The fictional women presented to the public on the opera stages and in the noble houses of Italy during the seventeenth century did not resemble the societal feminine ideal of chastity, silence, obedience, and humility; on the contrary, they were strong-willed, eloquent, powerful, and sexually sentient. This dissertation will examine a few of the principal female characters from a selected number of early seventeenth-century operas and explore what these women represented in context of the patriarchal, highly misogynistic societies in which they were constructed. Furthermore, I will consider the implications of this information for issues of modern performance practice, and for the representation of these female characters in modern reproductions of the operas. Finally, I will discuss the influences of this research on my final DMA recital, a program of seventeenth-century arias and songs which personified the female stereotypes presented in this dissertation. ii The dissertation of Terri Lynn Richter -
'Obtained by Peculiar Favour, & Much Difficulty of the Singer': Vincenzo Albrici and the Function of Charles II's Ital
Journal of the Royal Musical Association ISSN: 0269-0403 (Print) 1471-6933 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rrma20 ‘Obtained by peculiar favour, & much difficulty of the Singer’: Vincenzo Albrici and the Function of Charles II’s Italian Ensemble at the English Restoration Court Ester Lebedinski To cite this article: Ester Lebedinski (2018) ‘Obtained by peculiar favour, & much difficulty of the Singer’: Vincenzo Albrici and the Function of Charles II’s Italian Ensemble at the English Restoration Court, Journal of the Royal Musical Association, 143:2, 325-359, DOI: 10.1080/02690403.2018.1507116 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/02690403.2018.1507116 © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Published online: 05 Oct 2018. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 66 View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rrma20 Journal of the Royal Musical Association, 2018 Vol. 143, No. 2, 325–359, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02690403.2018.1507116 ‘Obtained by peculiar favour, & much difficulty of the Singer’: Vincenzo Albrici and the Function of Charles II’s Italian Ensemble at the English Restoration Court ESTER LEBEDINSKI Posterity’s view of Charles II’s musical tastes has forever been coloured by Roger North’s claim that ‘during the first years of Charles II all musick affected by the beau- mond run[s] into the French way’.1 Consequently, studies of English -
7 X 11 Long.P65
Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-88521-8 - Portrait of a Castrato: Politics, Patronage, and Music in the Life of Atto Melani Roger Freitas Excerpt More information Introduction In an age that prized extravagance, Atto Melani led a life that may itself seem an object of wonder. Born in 1626 into a bourgeois family in the Tuscan town of Pistoia, northwest of Florence, Atto was the second of seven brothers, all to become musicians, and the first of four to be castrated for the sake of his beautiful voice.1 By the age of fifteen he seems already to have been working for Prince Mattias de’ Medici, brother of the grand duke of Tuscany. Within a few years, Mattias loaned his singer to the court of France, where in the 1640s Atto first rose to prominence. On the one hand, his singing won him the favor of the queen regent Anne of Austria, mother of the young Louis XIV; on the other, his taste for political intrigue attracted the attention of Cardinal Mazarin, the queen’s formidable first minister. This blend of music and politics set the tone for much of Atto’s career. Over the next fifteen years Atto in fact engineered a remarkable self- metamorphosis, from professional singer to gentleman diplomat. Early in his career, he performed whatever was commanded of him, from the title role of Luigi Rossi’s historic Orfeo to the tiny female part of La Primavera in a one-off Mantuan spectacular. But as his ambitions grew, he became increasingly concerned about prestige. He realized that, as long as he continued to sing, especially publicly, he limited his social standing. -
Unknown Senesino: Francesco Bernardi's Vocal Profile and Dramatic Portrayal, 1700-1740 Randall Scotting Submitted in Fulfilmen
Unknown Senesino: Francesco Bernardi’s Vocal Profile and Dramatic Portrayal, 1700-1740 Randall Scotting Submitted in fulfilment of degree requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy at the Royal College of Music, London March 2018 Abstract Francesco Bernardi (known as Senesino: 1686-1759) is recognised as one of the most prominent singers of the eighteenth century. With performing credits throughout Europe, he was viewed as a contralto castrato of incredible technical accomplishment in voice and dramatic portrayal. Yet, even considering his fame, success, and frequent and prominent scandals, Senesino has remained little-researched today. The eighteen operas newly composed by George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) for him have been the primary reference sources which define current views of Senesino’s voice.1 For example, regarding the singer’s vocal range, Winton Dean states the following based on Charles Burney’s account of Senesino: ‘His compass in Handel was narrow (g to e″ at its widest, but the g appears very rarely, and many of his parts, especially in later years, do not go above d″) [… ] Quantz’s statement that he had ‘a low mezzo-soprano voice, which seldom went higher than f ″’ probably refers to his earliest years.’2 Dean’s assessment is incomplete and provides an inaccurate sense of Senesino’s actual vocal range, which, in fact, extended beyond his cited range to g''. The upper reaches of Senesino’s voice were not only utilised in his ‘earliest years’ but throughout the entirety of his career. Operas such as Giulio Cesare, Rodelinda, and Orlando account for only a small portion of the 112 operatic works in which the singer is known to have performed during his forty years on stage.3 This thesis expands perceptions of Senesino’s vocal range and aspects of technical skill in vocal and dramatic portrayal to provide an informed sense of the singer from the time of his operatic début to his final years performing. -
7 X 11 Long.P65
Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-88521-8 - Portrait of a Castrato: Politics, Patronage, and Music in the Life of Atto Melani Roger Freitas Index More information Index Page numbers in italics refer to tables, figures, and plates. Page numbers in parentheses refer to material in appendices. Acciaioli, Filippo, 292 n. 23 Arrest contre les chastrez, 138–39 Accorsi, Maria Grazia, 212, 213 n. 43, 213 asceticism, religious, 29 Acton, Harold, 113 n. 44 Astalli, Camillo, cardinal, 66 Ademollo, Alessandro, 2, 4, 24, 48–49, 167 n. 62, Augustinians (Paris), Church and Convent of the, (383) 197 n. 170, 284 n. 167, 298 n. 46, 325 Augustus II (Wettin), king of Poland, elector of Saxony, Adler, Guido, 6 298 n. 46, 298–99 Albret, Emmanuel-Théodose d’. See Bouillon, Aureli, Aurelio, 170 n. 70 Emmanuel-Théodose d’Albret, (later) cardinal Austern, Linda, 110 n. 33, 110, 144 Alessandro vincitor di se stesso. See under Cesti, Antonio Averna, Francesco, 313–14 Alexander VII (Fabio Chigi), pope, 9, 93, 176–77, 185, Azelini, Rafaello, 31 188, 214,(361) Azzolini, Decio, cardinal, 188 n. 126, 194, 195, Alexander VIII (Pietro Ottoboni), pope, 10, 299 n. 49 197 n. 168 (351), (388) Alidoro il costante. See under Anglesi, Domenico Baggiani, Franco, 291 n. 19, 296, 297 n. 40 Altieri degli Albertoni, Paluzzo Paluzzi. See Paluzzi Baglioni, G., 68 n. 124 Altieri degli Albertoni, Paluzzo Baldini, Sebastiano, 178–79, 202, 212 n. 42, 213 n. 45, 213, Amadis de Gaule, 116–17. See also Montalvo, Garci 235 n. 111, 235–38, 239–40, 241, 271,(357), Ordóñez de (368–71), (372–73) Amati-Cellesi, Marcella, countess, 20 n.