“READING BETWEEN THE BRIDES”: LUCREZIA VIZZANA’S COMPONIMENTI MUSICALI IN TEXTUAL AND MUSICAL CONTEXT BY Copyright 2011 KATRINA MITCHELL Submitted to the graduate degree program in the School of Music and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. _________________________________ Chairperson, Dr. Paul Laird _________________________________ Dr. Charles Freeman _________________________________ Dr. Thomas Heilke _________________________________ Dr. Deron McGee _________________________________ Dr. Roberta Freund Schwartz Date Defended: 9 June 2011 The Dissertation Committee for Katrina Mitchell certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: “READING BETWEEN THE BRIDES”: LUCREZIA VIZZANA’S COMPONIMENTI MUSICALI IN TEXTUAL AND MUSICAL CONTEXT _________________________________ Chairperson, Dr. Paul Laird Date approved: 9 June 2011 ii ABSTRACT “Reading Between the Brides”: Lucrezia Vizzana’s Componimenti musicali in Textual and Musical Context There had never been a Bolognese nun known to have published her music when Lucrezia Vizzana’s Componimenti musicali was printed in 1623, nor has there been any since then. This set of twenty motets became a window into the musical world of cloistered nuns in the seventeenth century. Following the research of Craig Monson in Disembodied Voices: Music and Culture in an Early Modern Italian Convent (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995), this project identifies similarities and differences present in Vizzana’s motets using a number of clarifying means not yet explored. Looking at each work in detail, we are able to surmise some favorite musical devices of Vizzana and how they fit in with other monodists of the day. This project fills a specific lacuna in that ten of the twenty motets are not known to be published in modern notation and are available here for the first time in that form. The texts of Vizzana’s collection are rich in imagery and in their display of faithfulness to Christ. In this project, Vizzana’s texts are examined and compared with other secular and sacred poetry including works by St. Teresa of Avila, George Herbert, Henry Vaughn, Richard Crashaw, and Giovanni Battista Guarini. The compositions are also explored with regards to some of her musical contemporaries. How could a cloistered nun, allegedly having no exposure to music outside the convent walls, write music very much in line with both sacred and secular monody of the time? In light of this, Vizzana’s music is compared to works by iii Alessandro Grandi, Francesca Caccini, and Claudio Monteverdi. While Vizzana maintains her own musical style, there are some prominent similarities between them. Lastly, the role of Mary Magdalene is examined by looking at the background of Mary Magdalene, her historical legend associated with music and with nuns, as well as her material presence in the outer church. The analyses of the motets of Componimenti musicali, as well as their texts, along with the musical comparisons of Vizzana’s contemporaries, are filters through which her works can pass and provide us with new insight into these works. iv To my Project Manager v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS As I come to the end of this process, I find there are many people to thank, far more than I ever imagined, and there are far more paths crossed than I ever would have dreamed. I first want to thank my family and friends for their love, support, and prayers, and for always respecting music as a vital part of my life. I especially thank my colleagues at the University of Kansas for their support and friendship as we made our way through course work, exams, lunches, grading, visits, labs, and life, specifically Tom Becker, Jessie Fillerup, and William Harvill. I also want to thank Andrea Ramsey and Lisa Neher for their expert help in setting my transcriptions and a good number of the musical examples in this document. They were incredibly efficient and knowledable, and made the transcriptions and examples look infinitely better. The library staff at the Gorton Library at the University of Kansas, as well as the library staff at the University of Kansas Edwards Campus library, was exceedingly helpful in finding and receiving materials, especially interlibrary loan items, necessary for this work. I want to thank JoAnna Traxler and the Interlibrary Loan office at the University of Kansas in particular for providing vouchers for me to receive a copy of the Componimenti musicali print housed in the University Library in Wrocław, Poland; Marek Romanczuk was of great help in getting it to me. The staff at the Museo Internazionale e Biblioteca della Musica di Bologna was kind and gracious to me and provided the print of Componimenti musicali fundamental to this project. vi The financial support I received from the Melik Graduate Scholarship as well as the University of Kansas through a Graduate Teaching Assistantship greatly aided me while completing my course work and exams. I publically thank my father-in-law, Brad Mitchell, for his financial support that allowed me to travel to Bologna for research at the beginning of this project. His generosity also provided means to attend the National Early Music Associaiton’s international conference in York, United Kingdom to present a portion of this research. My heartfelt gratitude also goes to Dr. Craig Monson. His research and writings on Lucrezia Vizzana and the convent at Santa Cristina were the springboard for this project. He never failed to respond enthusiastically to my many questions and offered support and guidance on numerous occasions. I also extend my deep appreciation to the members of my dissertation committee: Dr. Charles Freeman, Dr. Thomas Heilke, Dr.Deron McGee, and Dr. Roberta Freund Schwartz. They greeted my work in a positive manner at a time when most professors are beginning to enjoy their summer break. Their consideration and comments are invaluable. My advisor, Dr. Paul Laird, deserves special recognition and gratitude for his unfailing support and infinite patience with me as I completed this work. His trust and faith in me enabled me at long last to finally see this study come to fruition. Without exception, he reviewed my work with extensive comments and insights, and gave time that he did not have to give. I also thank him for the training I have received while studying at the University of Kansas. His concern for my family and me in matters vii beyond this document has endeared him to me as an exceptional mentor and treasured friend. My deepest gratitude, love, and admiration unequivocally go to my husband Shane. He has given me the space to pursue my dreams. I thank him for all of the sacrifices he has made during this process, and for serving as both mom and dad to our three children on many occasions. I thank him for a strength that has been unwavering and a resolve that is bigger than my fears. He is my strong tower and truly one of the best life-pedagoues I know. To Jude, Ezra, and Eden, all of whom were born during the writing of this document, I express my love and thankfulness that they are a part of our lives. You inspire me beyond measure. Thanks be to God 6 July 2011 viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acceptance . .ii Abstract . .iii Dedication . v Acknowledgments . vi Table of Contents . ix List of Musical Examples . xiii List of Tables . .xxiii Introduction . 1 The History of the Convent of Santa Cristina della Fondazza . 7 Chapter One: The Motets of Componimenti musicali . .14 Solos “Exsurgat Deus” . 15 “Sonet vox tua” . .19 “Ave stella matutina” . 25 “O si sciret stultus mundus” . 29 “Domine, ne in furore” . 34 “Praebe mihi” . .40 “Usquequo oblivisceris me in finem?” . 44 “O magnum mysterium” . .48 “Confiteantur tibi” . .52 ix “Veni, dulcissime Domine” . 56 Duets “Omnes gentes, cantate Domino” . .61 “Amo Christum” . .67 “Omnes gentes, plaudite manibus” . .73 “Ornaverunt faciem templi” . 78 “Domine, quid multiplicanti sunt” . 81 “Paratum cor meum” . .88 “Filii Syon, exultate” . .95 “O Invictissima Christi Martyr” . 99 Trio “Domine Dominus noster, quam admirabile” . .101 Quartet “Protector noster” . 105 Chapter Two: The Texts of Componimenti musicali . .114 Comparisons St. Teresa of Ávila . 123 George Herbert . .130 Henry Vaughn . 138 Richard Crashaw . .144 Giovanni Battista Guarini . .153 Chapter Three: Comparing the Music of Lucrezia Vizzana and Alessandro Grandi . .168 Comparisons “Amo Christum” . .169 “O quam tu pulchra es” . .178 x “O vos omnes” . 187 “Ave Regina coelorum” . 195 “Spine care e soavi” . 202 Chapter Four: Comparing the Music of Lucrezia Vizzana and Francesca Caccini . 217 Comparisons “Jesu corona Virginum” . .221 “Lascíatemí quí solo” . .232 “Regina caeli” . 242 “O vive rose” . 252 “Per la più vaga” . .262 Chapter Five: Comparing the Music of Lucrezia Vizzana and Claudio Monteverdi . .285 Comparisons “Nigra sum” . 290 “Audi coelum” . 301 “Gloria tua” . .315 “Iesu, dum te contemplor” . 328 “Dice la mia bellissima Licori” . .349 Chapter Six: The Role of Mary Magdalene in the Convent of Santa Cristina . .369 Conclusions . .384 Bibliography . 397 Scores . ..