Essay On Barbara Strozzi

The Italian composer Chiara Margarita Cozzolani was one of the few women who could compose well known music during the Baroque Era. Religious wars were raging on across Europe, and many of Cozzolani’s musical pieces focus on religion and musical dialogues, which portrayed notable religious scenes from the bible (Forney, Dell'Antonio, & Machlis 111). One of Cozzolani’s pieces, Magnificat, was focused on in our textbook. After listening to the piece and reading some history about Cozzolani and her music, I felt like I could really understand what was happening during that time in history and how she wanted to make people feel with her music. Chiara Margarita Cozzolani’s music relates to the Baroque Era of music for several reasons. First of all,

Through the study of the records of courts, both secular and ecclesiastical, which exists in thousands of European and American archives and libraries, a patient and careful researcher can reconstruct particular images of “the world we have lost” and of the people who inhabited that world. From this vast, largely untapped repository of judicial records, Gene Brucker uses the notarial protocols of Ser Filippo Mazzei, which contains the transcripts of the litigation in the archiepiscopal court and the catasto records, which provides information about Florentine households, to piece together the dossier of Giovanni and Lusanna. The story of Giovanni and Lusanna explores the love and marriage in renaissance Florence and uncovers the gradation of the city’s social hierarchy and the role of women in society.

Alessandra Strozzi wrote many letters to her children which can convey to us the importance of family in Florence during the Renaissance. Alessandra’s husband Matteo died, and so these letters are written from the perspective of a widow, not a married woman. In Women of the Renaissance by Margaret L. King, it states that widows of the Renaissance could dispose of the family wealth themselves and were also able to carry on their husband’s trade. In this case, Alessandra took on the responsibility of finding spouses for her children. The following letter is written from Alessandra to her son Filippo concerning finding him a wife and shows how much thought was put

5. Smart, Mary Ann. Mimomania : music and gesture in nineteenth-century opera. Berkeley : University of California Press, 2004.

The question “Why have there been no great women artists?” has been debated since the 1970’s, when historian Linda Nochlin released her book of a similar name. In the decades that have followed, the number of women pursuing education and

Giovanni and Lusanna: Love and Marriage in Renaissance Florence by Gene Brucker provides a unique look into the life of commoners in the 15th century. This book follows the 1455 court case surrounding the alleged marriage between Giovanni della Casa and Lusanna, the daughter of Maestro Benedetto di Girolamo. Throughout this trial testimonies, from witnesses with a vast array of socioeconomic backgrounds are presented. These were people whose voices would likely have never been heard if not for this case. This particular cross-section of people creates a very clear picture of the hierarchical system in place during the renaissance. Throughout this book, it becomes clear that each person had his or her place within society.

The 19th century was an era of change. There were lots of progression in technology, science, and philosophy that gradually turned European society away from the past centuries. Women’s status in the 19th century Europe also changed. Many of the 19th century women were able to have a profession as they received higher and wider education, and also allowed to have more participation in society. In the musical life of 19th century Europe, numbers of women were able to perform and compose as good and men.

Women’s music came from radical, grassroots origins in the 1970s thanks to contributions by brave women, mostly lesbians (Mosbacher, 2002). These women used non-violent, peaceful force to forge their own way into the music industry. It was a peaceful yet political revolution of togetherness and liberation. It brought together women of different backgrounds who produced easy-listening, mellow harmonies played with lyrics filled with tumultuous

Ralph P. Locke’s theory of musical exoticism takes form through a spectrum that ranges from pure musical exoticism to transcultural composing. However the main requirement of exoticism is the notion of conjuring up a specific place or group of people as being perceived as different from the audience culture. In terms of pure exoticism, the composer willingly incorporates exotic sounding elements in order to mark a specific group or place as foreign. Transcultural composing is the other facet of exoticism. It is different in that it is not intended to marginalize any exotic group, rather it is a mix of Western and non-western styles. While both George Bizet’s Carmen and Benjamin Britten’s Death In Venice incorporate exoticism, they each take on an opposite form of exoticism. Bizet’s use of stereotypical gypsy music, as well as the portrayal of Carmen, explicitly marginalize and construct Carmen as different. Carmen’s lack of Spanish descent and her Gypsy ethnicity are constructed as different via musical and performative aspects of the opera. Within the exoticism framework, Bizet’s carmen is an example of pure exoticism. In contrast, Britten's Death In Venice is an example of transcultural composing because the “other” being marginalized is homosexuality, which is an identity that Britten is apart of and is not exclusive to any one group.

Florence Price is an essential figure in the musical world as well as in the history of African-Americans and females. Having published her first work by age 11, Ms. Price proceeded to create beautiful music and influence the world

"The world of classical music - particularly in its European home - was until very recently the persevere of white men" (Gladwel 248). The idea that a woman was not capable of performing the same job designated for men is simply discrimination. Instead, it was a fact in defending the reasons for which a woman could not perform this task, that men produced better music than a woman. In the society, that we live each person has something different; when we see a strange we develop an impression of the personality, abilities, and skills of this person relying solely on past experiences we have. Gladwel says, "music is music" and "the only true way to listen is with your ears and your heart" (251). The ability of a woman when playing a musical instrument is the same as a man, without making a difference in the physical appearance. Not understand how much of that prejudice is clouding our approach is a mistake, that we have to understand and take responsibility. In order to, not repeat the same injustices committed in the past.

Elisabeth liked italian style when it came to her music. She was one of the most excellent baroque women

Like the previous eras, Opera continued to be one of the most important music genre is the 19th century, especially in Italy, German and France. Opera served as a form of entertainment for the people of higher social class. Opera music was also popular among the people of other social classes due to the availability of transcribed opera music for them to enjoy in salons or homes of the middle class. This genre was extensively explored and developed by the Italians and Germans. This paper will discuss how Italian and German opera were developed by comparing each composer’s distinctive compositional traits.

Abramovic’s performances can be read as feminist works, even though she has expressed that she “was not particularly concerning herself with ‘womens’ issues” (Richards, 2010:19). This could be due to her upbringing in Yugoslavia, where as a Communist country, there is less gender inequality than that which is experienced by many women in the Western world (Richards, 2010:19). Also, as a woman, Abramovic was given the freedom to perform pieces such as her Rhythm series, as she was seen as less of a threat than other artists in the 1970’s (Richards, 2010:2). This is problematic in itself, as it shows that as a female artist, Abramovic was not expected to create much of an impact on the political world, perhaps suggesting that even in a country where women have more gender equality with men, they are still subjected to the ideologies that women belong in the private sphere, whereas men are thought to belong in the public sphere, meaning that they are taken more seriously in political issues and are thought to have more influence in these.

Chapter one presents an overviewing of Italian opera in the nineteenth century known as "the romantic era". Verdi`s contribution to the development of opera as a genre will be discussed and also a short biography is added before examining his political intention through the composer operatic compositions.