#barbara strozzi

Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677) - Arie, Che si può fare?

Bellot Ensemble :

Barbara Strozzi, Cantate, ariette e duetti, Op. 2: L’Amante consolato

Hello my friends and congratulations on surviving another week! It’s me! Dorian! And I’m back with another figure from music history!

Today we’re talking about the baroque composer, Barbara Strozzi!

Hello Barbara!!

Born in 1619 Venice, Barbara would go on to become one of the only women during the baroque period to have her music published in her own name. Her father was the poet, Giulio Strozzi and he encouraged her talents, arranged performances to showcase her work, and he even sent her to study composition with Francesco Cavalli (and you know that Cavalli was serious because he wrote FORTY ONE operas...that’s a lot of operas). That’s what we call being a supportive parent!

It’s unfortunate to me that a lot of her musical accomplishments are overshadowed by claims of her being a courtesan. There isn’t any way to confirm that she was or wasn’t, especially since my seance didn’t work, but a lot of people will point to this famous picture of her with her boobs out.

(Ignore that it’s a zoomed out picture of the one I used at the beginning!!!)

There are other non-courtesan theories out there that explain this picture. However...I’m here to talk about her music and so with that quick note out of the way, let’s get back to the good stuff!

Strozzi’s compositions are known for the impressive care she put into the relationship between the words and the music. That’s probably due to the influence of her father. Her use of harmony is also an exemplary part of her music. I personally love how she plays with dissonance in some of her pieces. For an example, check out L’eraclito Amoroso.

So what type of music did she write? Three words my friends: Secular. Vocal. Music. In fact, she was said to be the most prolific composer of that form of music that century! She wrote almost exclusively secular vocal pieces and she wrote a lot of it, publishing about 125 works. Apparently, she learned a thing or two about writing a lot of music from that opera guy!

Barbara Strozzi is a name I’d heard of plenty while studying music, but I never got the chance to go very in depth about her or her life. I know these are meant to be shallow dives, but perhaps the next time you are procrastinating a very important project, you can spend some time scrolling through good old Barbara’s Wikipedia page or checking out her Sino Alla Morte if you’re looking for more vocal music in your life!

Thanks for reading this edition of Music History Monday! As always, these are meant to be fairly shallow dives into prominent composers and occasionally, musical events, so if I didn’t mention your favorite fact here my apologies!

Sticking with early Baroque for another day, let’s all enjoy this delicious cantata by the incomparable Barbara Strozzi, who said eff you to the 17th century boys’ club by publishing more secular music in print than any other composer of the day—without the support of the church or the wealthy establishment. One example is Sino alla morte from Strozzi’s Diporti di Euterpe, sung here by soprano Roberta Invernizzi with Elena Russo on cello continuo. 

Barbara Strozzi (6 August 1619  – 11 November 1677) was an Italian singer and composer of the Baroque Period. During her lifetime, Strozzi published eight volumes of her own music, having more music in print than any other composer of the era. This was made possible without any support from the Church or consistent patronage of the nobility.