Recording Tarquinia: Imitation, Parody and Reportage in Ingegneri's 'Hor che 'l ciel e la

terra e'l vento tace'

Author(s): Laurie Stras
Source: Early Music, Vol. 27, No. 3, Laments (Aug., 1999), pp. 358-363+365-370+372-377
Published by: Oxford University Press
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3128653
Accessed: 10-04-2019 18:11 UTC

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 Laurie Stras

Recording Tarquinia: imitation, parody and reportage

in Ingegneri's 'Hor che '1 ciel e la terra e '1vento tace'

N mid-October 1568 a banquet in Modena was intensely chromatic and others tonally ambiguous,
attended by Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, hiswhile the rest reflect a more conventionally modal
wife, Barbara of Austria, and his sister, Lucrezia approach to harmonic organization.
One of the madrigals takes its first line from
d'Este.' A local gentlewoman sang and played for the
duke, and must have created a deep and lasting Petrarch's famous sonnet (no.144) 'Hor che '1 ciel
impression, for some 15 years later she joined the e la terra e '1 vento tace'. The text is at once a
Este court as a professional musician. Remarkably, report and an encomium, describing a rendition
the story of her performance is recorded in two quiteof the sonnet by a beautiful woman, who thereby
different sources-a polyphonic madrigal by Marc' moves the audience (and the poet) in heart and
Antonio Ingegneri and a philosophical treatise by soul (ex.1).
Francesco Patrizi. These sources variously provide Hor che '1 ciel e la terra e '1 vento tace,
compelling evidence of musical practice in the mid- incominci6 colei che l'aria molce
to late 16th-century, and create a representation of a con angelici accenti, e in lingua dolce
performance by Tarquinia Molza, who was to rischiara Secchia con la tosca face.
Sentian gli spirti altrui beata pace;
become one of the most celebrated singers of the
tutto l'amar si trammutava in dolce.
Ferrarese court. Furthermore, the madrigal reveals
E giva al ciel (che pii l'alma soffolce)
the extremes to which a composer could stretch the mio cor, che via da lei morendo giace.
device of imitatio by incorporating musical parody, Che poi se i moti de suoi tersi avori,
textual allusion, expression and reportage into a de' vaghi lumi e del leggiadro viso,
l'occhio vedea ch'or vana vista intrica;
single five-voice work.
che poi s'un di mi spiega i bei tesori,
Ingegneri's Secondo libro de madrigali a cinque voci
o del nome Tiran degn'et nemica,
was published in Venice in autumn 1572. The canto o qua gii cieli aperti, o paradiso.
partbook is now lost, but even the partial score of the
lower voices shows the book to be the work of a 'Hor che '1 ciel e la terra e '1 vento tace', / began she who
soothes the air / with angelic accents, and in sweet tongue /
mature composer whose music combines contra-
illuminates the Secchia with the Tuscan torch [i.e. the words
puntal mastery with rhetorical sophistication. Inof Petrarch]. // The others' souls felt a blessed peace; / all bit-
common with the rest of Ingegneri's madrigal terness transformed into sweetness. / And there rose to
books, it contains a wide variety of textual and
heaven (that comforts the soul still more) / my heart, which
musical genres-elaborate dedicatory sonnet set-
parted from her lies dying. // What, then, if the movements
of her polished ivories, / of her beautiful eyes and charming
tings, canzone francese-inspired ottava rima settings,
face, I the eye could see, which is now snared by empty
madrigali spirituali, largely homorhythmic madri- visions; // what, then, if one day she reveals her beautiful
gals showing the influence of the madrigale arioso, treasures to me, / o she who is worthy of but opposed to the
and an expansive yet structurally cohesive sestina. Its
tyrant's name, / o heavens opened to us below on earth, o
paradise?
musical language is similarly diverse; some works are

Laurie Stras is Lecturer in Performance Studies at the University of Southampton.

358 EARLY MUSIC AUGUST 1999

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Ex.i Marc'Antonio Ingegneri, 'Hor che '1 ciel e la terra e '1 vento tace' (1572), bars 1-13. The canto partbook is now lost.
C

Hor che'l ciel e la ter - ra e'l yen - to ta - ce, hor che'l

Q
S i
UP!
e%I IwI
AII-I
Hor che'l ciel e la ter - ra el

Hor che'l ciel__ e la ter - rael yen - to ta - ce,

T~

Hor chel ciel e la ter - ra el

ciel, che'l ciel e la ter ra e'l ven to ta ce, In

ven to ta ce, In co -min - cib co lei,

el yen - to ta - ce,

8
ven - to ta - ce, In- co- min- ci6 co - lei,
J ' ~r r r
-co- min- ci6 co- lei, co- lei che l'a - ria mol - ce

j j .L j j .jf -.L I
co - lei che la - ria mol - ce Con

In - co- min - cib co lei che la - ria mol - ce Con

- -r F -FF
in - co- min -ci6 co -lei che la - ria mol -ce
11

Con an - ge h- lici ac- cen - ti, cofl an - ge - liCa-e

an - ge - li-ciac- cen - - ti, einm lin - gua dol - - ce

an - ge - li- ci ac - cen - ti, e in lin - gua dol - ce e in

Con an - ge - -ci ac-cen ti, e in lin -

EARLY MUSIC AUGUST 1999 359

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 It seems reasonable to assume that the perfor-
mance was musical, given the reference to 'accenti'
in the third line. The word is used in many contem-
porary sources to denote musical sound, especially
vocally produced sound, such as song or birdsong. It
also acquired a more specific meaning towards the
end of the century in reference to musical ornamen-
tation. This is the likely connotation of the word in
Ingegneri's text, for the setting is unusually florid,
with many instances of motivic, descriptive and vir-
tuoso diminution in all voices. It is clearly implied
that the singer was decorating her vocal line with
ornaments and passaggi.
Other details may be gleaned from more oblique
references in the text. The 'tersi avori' ('polished
ivories') in line 9 could refer to the singer's teeth-a
common metaphor in poetic invocations of female
beauty-implying here that the movements of her
lips were enthralling. But it is also possible that the
poet is referring to her hands or fingers.2 As there is
no mention of or allusion to other performers, per-
haps the singer's hands were occupied in providing
accompaniment on an instrument.
Although the singer is not named, there are three
clues to the woman's identity worked into the text.
This must be the Modenese musician and poet, Tar-
quinia Molza ('molce'; line 2),3 who bore the name
of a Roman tyrant, Tarquinius ('del nome tiran'; line
13), and through whose birthplace runs the River
Secchia, a tributary of the Po. And, indeed, a perfor-
mance in Modena by Molza of a musical setting of
Petrarch's 'Hor che '1 ciel e la terra e '1 vento tace' is
also described by the distinguished philosopher and
Neoplatonist Francesco Patrizi in his manuscript
treatise L'amorosafilosofia (1577).4 The following pas-
sage describes Molza singing and playing the lute
during a state visit to Modena by Alfonso d'Este and
Barbara of Austria:
With this singing [Molza] so amazed Duke Alfonso and the
duchess ... that as proof of this and as reward for her virtues,
during the civic feasts that were being held in Modena, he
always allowed her to sit at an equal station to their high-
nesses, with much envy, as is obvious, both from all the
noble ladies and from all the gentlemen present. Of this
singing that was of various things, the Duke's most favourite
remained Petrarch's sonnet 'Hor che '1 ciel e la terra e '1
vento tace', that for the wonder that the Duke had from it, it
was repeated at least four and six times ...5
360 EARLY MUSIC AUGUST 1999
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Tarquinia Molza and Francesco Patrizi
Tarquinia Molza Porrina was born in Modena on 1
November 1542, the eldest daughter of Cavaliere
Camillo Molza and Isabella Colomba Molza, and
granddaughter of the celebrated poet Francesco
Maria Molza.6 Much of what is known of her early
life is drawn from Patrizi, who taught her Greek. His
treatise consists of four dialogues all concerning
Molza, who acts as muse for the exposition of a new
philosophy of love. The first dialogue is a series of
nine orations from a group of musicians, poets, cler-
ics and gentlemen extolling Molza's many virtues
and accomplishments. The second and third are
conversations between Patrizi and Molza about love.
The fourth, left unfinished, is an exchange on the
nature of marriage between Molza and her husband,
Paolo Porrino.
The first dialogue (nearly half of the manuscript)
reports a gathering held at the house of Patrizio
Patrizi in Rome, probably in autumn 1576. Each of
the interlocutors compares Molza to one of the nine
Muses, presenting her as the consummate Renais-
sance woman, a paragon of beauty, piety, modesty,
grace, wit, intelligence and obedience, familiar with
the Classics and learned in all the liberal arts, the
mathematical disciplines and the physical sciences.7
All nine orations refer to her unparalleled abilities as
singer and instrumentalist:
there has never been, nor can there ever be in the future, a
woman who in all things could compare with our Signora
Tarquinia ... she would not have a voice so sweet and round
in singing, nor such a happy disposition for all manner of
trills, runs and diminutions [o non dispositione cosi felice ad
ogni maniera di trillo, di moto e di diminutione], or such secu-
rity in all difficult compositions, nor would she sing angeli-
cally to the lute, nor would she play the bass on the viol [il
basso della viuola] and sing soprano at the same time, nor
would she understand counterpoint, nor so completely all
the art [of music].8
But much of the more detailed information about
musical performance is offered by one particular
interlocutor, Fabrizio Dentice, a Neapolitan musi-
cian resident at the Farnese court in the late 1560s.9
Dentice frequently compares Molza's skills with
those of other living male musicians and consistently
deems her superior, which is all the more remark-
able because women were not normally educated in
sight-singing, extemporization and composition.1o
He tells of her having sung several difficult madrigals
by Pietro Vinci in company with the chief musicians
of Duke Alfonso's cappella, and having been the only
one to have sung without error.11 In describing her
singing and accompanying herself on the viol at
sight, he compares her to Alfonso Ferrabosco the
elder, whose performances had been considered
unsurpassable but who could not always keep track
of two partbooks as the art required and thus
resorted to simplification and improvisation:
Ferrabosco, in the difficult parts and in the fast passages
where the eye could no longer fulfil the need to see each of
the notes individually, would have recourse to counterpoint
and would fill the spaces that the eye would wish to leave
untouched. But the lady, committing herself to all the notes
individually whether they be minims or semiminims, and to
all the words, conquers also this so great difficulty, to the
amazement of whomever sees and hears her do it.12
1 Artist unknown, Tarquinia Molza as a young girl
(reproduced by kind permission of Contessa Giovanna
Molza)
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In one long passage, Dentice also speaks of the dif-
ferences in technique and timbre between Molza's
voice and that of the Spanish castrato Hernando
Bustamente, reputedly the finest soprano in Italy.13
Bustamente was a member of Alfonso II's house-
hold, and so may have been one of the musicians
humbled by Molza's performance of the Vinci
madrigals. For all the lesser power of her voice, by
virtue of her feminine physique, Dentice notes its
effortless quality and suggests that her emotive
power also comes from her physical fragility (a para-
dox also hinted at in Ingegneri's text). Although her
voice is equally developed in all registers, she does
not, or cannot, conceal the timbral differences
between her chest and head voices, but she has a
remarkable ability to inflect the intonation of acci-
dentals, and to negotiate with ease passaggi on one
syllable:
2 Artist unknown, Tarquinia Molza as a young woman;
oil on canvas (reproduced by kind permission of Contessa
Giovanna Molza)
EARLY MUSIC AUGUST 1999 361
 So her voice is a soprano not dark, not suppressed, not
forced, but very clear, open, very delicate, soft, even, very
sweet; in sum, if one may say it without sinning, more than
angelic; and what musicians usually call round, of the same
worth in the lower registers, as in the middle, and in the top,
which is something very rarely found. [excised: But in
ascending and in descending it has certain places that the dis-
position of the chest [la dispositione del petto] does not allow
her to pass over.] So among all the sopranos in Italy Her-
nando, a eunuch of the Duke of Ferrara, is admired. And yet
his greater excellence is in the upper register only, because in
the lower he does not come close to her, and even in the
upper register he does not have the clarity, nor even the
sweetness, that is in that of our lady; it happens that he, with
0-1 NOR
the greater and stronger disposition of the chest, with more
[strength] takes the voice higher, and can ornament more
intricately [col pii~ inalzarla et gorgheggiar piih minuto], and so
he helps and obscures those two defects that can be recog-
nized by one who has knowledge of these things. And he
Y'M
,Mg ?m
would be greatly excelled by our lady even in this matter if
.. . ....... ..
her disposition were equivalent to his. But her sex and her
delicate temperament take it away from her, so that this can-
not appear to be a weakness or an imperfection. Indeed, with
the same strength and disposition, I have not seen nor heard
any singer nowadays that can come close to her, nor in the
NER aforesaid elements of the beauty of her voice, nor in the dis-
cretion and judgement [discretione e giudicio] with which she
carries it. Since this is something most certainly not only by
.mm

gg
MWO,

my judgement, but also by that of many valiant and worthy

ou"
musicians, there is not today anyone who sings who intones
Ii V-P
N the notes better, nor so correctly without any force and with-
out any halts [puntamenti; i.e. bumps] that are heard in the
igg

?'N

majority of singers with loathing and nearly hate from him

-M "R".
PH that hears and has musical taste. But she does everything
with a soft sliding [uno sdrucciolamento piano] and with such
evenness falling or rising that it appears that in it one hears
no break at all. Such a thing is very rare, so that it is marvel-
gm?.,
lous in her. It is even rarer to find with singers that they
gj
express the flats and the sharps [i sollevamenti e le diesis] with
that pallid sweetness that they desire. And [he] who does it
by chance or who gets near it is justly held in esteem. But to
IN MORM
immamm IEIS tell the truth, there is no man who knows how to do it better
than her. And one can give her this truest praise, that in this
g
no man is her equal. But in singing the crome and semicrome
in the empty spaces of the words underneath [i.e. melismas
MR.
on a single syllable], whether down low or up high, with such
evenness of intonation [intonatura] and with such clear dis-
tinction [spiccatura] of each one that it is a marvellous thing,
so that I can well say that my ears never have heard, nor will
01
hear, a thing that can ever equal it.14

---- ----- - --
Dentice makes it quite clear that Molza's tech-
3 Artist unknown, detail from a tapestry showing nical skill in ornamentation, while superior, is not
Tarquinia Molza (with roses in her hair) attending uncommon among female singers. But so far as
Margherita Farnese, Duchess of Ferrara (reproduced by he and Patrizi are concerned, it is not her ability
kind permission of Contessa Giovanna Molza) that sets her apart from them but her intelligence,

362 EARLY MUSIC AUGUST 1999

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sensitivity, musicality and (most important) her
learning:

But what shall I say of grace? I am not speaking of the grace

that is an aspect of her beauty ... but of the grace that
belongs to the voice and to singing ... And she does all these
things with such excellence not just for pure technique's
sake, nor because her masters have shown her all of them, as
Pr LoadnLddnoSW
happens with the ladies that sing these days (but little has Int *nflna
come of it); but from a marvellous, extraordinary ear that
she has, with which she hears every tiniest defect and excel-
lence, and from a complete knowledge of counterpoint that
she possesses. Proof of this is the counterpoint I saw made
[fatto; i.e. improvised] by her on 'Ancor che col partire', the
famous madrigal by Cipriano.15

And when Dentice describes Molza playing the viol,

he remarks on the beauty of her movements (sup-
porting the notion that Ingegneri's 'tersi avori' refers
to her hands):

She has taken up the viol, and on it plays the bass and the
soprano securely together [in compagnia; perhaps 'in con-
sort'], accompanying this playing with very beautiful move-
ments of her arms, hands and fingers, without force or any
Friday 29th October
distortion of the head or the body. And in diminutions in the
soprano it is a delightful thing to see her move the fingers of
her left hand on the frets [in su' tasti] in their places, that one
could never see a more graceful thing with the eyes.16

This vision of a feminine ideal of both vocal and I * . * m - 6.00p

instrumental performance pervades Dentice's
account; his arguments, although not specifically
Sunday31**i Octoer
gendered, align her excellence with her sex, perhaps
suggesting that her combination of feminine virtues
with masculine knowledge render her a being supe-
rior both to men and to other women. And like Inge-
gneri's madrigal, Dentice attributes to her the super-
natural power to affect the souls of the listeners.
Exhibition weekendmw
Given that an Orphic analogy is inappropriate, he
invokes a female sub-deity, the muse Melpomene:
'her very sweet and superhuman voice together with
all its elements, while she is singing, come to the ears
of all that hear her, but penetrate into the ears and
into the marrow of the soul of only those that under-
stand the art and the perfection of music'. Just as the
music of the spheres-made up of the 'accenti' of the
Muses-rains down on the world creating all the
things that give it beauty, so Molza's voice rains on
the souls of her listeners, giving rise to thoughts,
words and deeds that create within them 'a beautiful
and sweet springtime'. 17

EARLY MUSIC AUGUST 1999 363

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 emperor's sons, who were by all accounts very taken
Ingegneri's setting with the musical performances they attended.21 But
We do not know exactly why Ingegneri should have of course Ingegneri and Molza need not have met;
chosen to set a text about Molza. At the time of the the composer could have given the text by a third
1568 banquet, he had been employed in Cremona for party, or had the story of the Modena performance
at least two years,'8 and there is nothing to suggest related to him. Patrizi reports that Duke Alfonso
that he had any contact with the Este court at Ferrara commanded his secretary, the poet Giambattista
after the banquet but before the madrigal was pub- Pigna, to write four laudatory sonnets (now lost) for
lished (1572). Both Molza and Ingegneri had connec- Molza as a result of hearing her sing in Modena; one
tions with the Farnese court at Parma during the could have been the text set by Ingegneri.23 Never-
156os and 1570s, but no evidence exists to suggest theless, the extraordinary nature of the musical re-
that they actually met there. There is, however, portage in his madrigal makes it hard to believe that
another possible scenario. In August 1571, in honour Ingegneri did not witness Molza's singing himself.
of the visit of two of Emperor Maximilian II's sons, This madrigal embodies the full range of what is
the Ferrarese and Mantuan courts met at Brescello, a variously described in 16th-century literary and
settlement on the southern bank of the Po on the musical theory as 'imitation': metaphor, parody,
border between Farnese and Este lands some 20 kilo-
homage, contrapuntal process, and representation.
metres west of Parma. Both Guglielmo Gonzaga and With the weaving together of these strands, Inge-
Alfonso d'Este were married to sisters of Maximil- gneri creates a commentary on Molza's perfor-
ian, so the young men were nephews to both rulers. mance, leading his listeners through the event by
At this meeting, the first documented performance describing the circumstances and the surroundings,
resembling those of the later Ferrarese concerto dithe actions of the singer and the effect on the specta-
donne took place: the Florentine ambassador Ber- tors. He is sparing in his use of 'original' material
nardo Canigiani reported that the sisters Lucrezia from the performance; although both text and set-
and Isabella Bendidio sang with Luzzasco Luzzaschi ting are revealed in the opening bars, further refer-
accompanying them on the harpsichord. In a letter ences are scant and heavily veiled. The strategy
to Cardinal Luigi d'Este, the Ferrarese cavaliero might at first seem curious; on reflection, however, it
Giacomo Grana mentions a page of 'la Signora Tar- makes perfect sense, but only if he is trying to
quinia' who lavished attention on Lucrezia Ben- describe an event and not recreate it. Using language
didio.19 If Molza herself was there, she would almost from a variety of diverse lexicons-the musical
certainly have been prevailed upon by Duke Alfonso source, the textual source, elements of Molza's
to sing. singing style, emotive and figurative subjectivity,
In addition to the regular court musicians and straightforward narrative-Ingegneri's madrigal
the dilettante noblewomen, performers from other functions as a metaphor for the whole performance,
regions were involved in the entertainment; for for it cannot be the performance itself.
example, the Milanese dancing-master, Cesare The sonnet has little in common with Petrarch's
Negri, who accompanied the two princes on their apart from its first line (and therefore the corre-
river trip from Genoa, danced for Duke Alfonso on sponding rhyme-words '(s)face', 'pace' and 'giace',
his barge.2o Might Ingegneri also have been at Bres- if not in Petrarch's order). Petrarch's sonnet con-
cello, among the 6o musicians playing and singing at cerns the bitter-sweet torments of the lover unable
the festivities? His Secondo libro de madrigali a cinque to sleep, wounded by grief and yet healed by his
voci, which contains the Molza madrigal, is dedi- lady's hand. Conventionally, his troubled state is
cated to Maximilian II, while another of the madri- contrasted with the calmness of nature. The sonnet
gals in this volume, 'Sirena, se sapeste', refers to a set by Ingegneri works somewhat differently,
Barbara, presumably the emperor's sister, Barbara, although it is full of similar Petrarchan dualities-
Duchess of Ferrara. The Molza madrigal, then, sweet/bitter, mundane/celestial, presence/absence,
might have recalled something witnessed by the beloved/tyrant-and key words, and the central

EARLY MUSIC AUGUST 1999 365

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Ex.2 The openings of five settings of 'Hor che '1 ciel' by (a) Jacques Arcadelt (1539), (b) Cipriano de Rore (1542),
(c) Francesco Menta (1560), (d) Stefano Rossetto (1560), (e) Hippolito Chamater6 (1569)
(a) Hor che'l ciel e _ la ter - ra e'l yen - to ta - - - ce, E

Hor che'l ciel e la ter - rae'l ven - to ta ce, e'l ven- to ta- ce, E

Hor che'l ciel e la ter - rae'l ven -to ta - ce, e'l ven - to ta ce, E

B L 341 --------- ---

--_------------

Hor che'l ciel e la ter - - ra el yen-to ta - - ce, E

(b)

Hor che'l ciel e la ter - rae'1 yen - to ta - ce, E le fe - ree gliau-

Hor che'l ciel e la ter - rae'l ven - - to ta - ce, E le fe-

A

Q__

Hor che'l ciel e la ter

Hor che'l ciel e la ter - - rae'l ven- to ta - ce, E le fe-

TB "e _ '-----" _ _/ ,_, _

Hor _ che'l ciel e la ter - ra e'l yen - to ta-

(C) Hor che'l ciel e la terr' el yen - - to ta - - ce,

CHe

Hor che'l ciel e la terr' el en - to t ta - ce,

Hor che'l ciel e la terr e'l en - to ta - ce,e

Hor che'l ciel e la terr' el yen- to ta - ce, E

(d) Hor che'l ciel e la ter - ra e'l yen - - to ta - - ce, e'l

Hor che'l ciel e la ter - ra e'l yen - to ta e- ce, e'

()Hor che'lde ' ci el e la ter - ra e'lyentta - t

Ho H or ce' el e la ter r l vn - t r a e'lven - et

366 EARLY MUSIC AUGUST 1999

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concetto remains of the detached or unattainable terpoint. Clearly Ingegneri's madrigal belongs to this
woman whose hands (one reading of 'tersi avori')group, but while Rossetto's and Chamater6's initial
soothe the heart. points of imitation are quite overtly modelled on
There were at least five different settings of Rore's, Ingegneri's is a much more subtle modifica-
Petrarch's 'Hor che '1 ciel' circulating in print in the tion that unites two melodic strands-the species-
and mode-defining 5th of Rore's canto and the
late 156os. Molza may not have sung any of them; she
could have improvised, used a standard aria di octave leap of his tenor.
sonetto, sung a setting which no longer survives, or The careers of both Rore and Chamater6 have an
even set the text herself. But regardless of precisely attenuated geographical and social correspondence
what Molza performed-and whether or not Inge- with those of Molza and Ingegneri. (Although Ros-
gneri heard her-it seems plausible to examine these setto's setting appears in a volume dedicated to a
settings to see which, if any, of them might have been Veronese gentleman, his sphere of activity was
parodied by the composer. The earliest extant setting generally concentrated south of the Apennines, so it
is one for four voices by Jacques Arcadelt published is less likely that his setting was familiar to Molza.)
in 1539 (ex.2a); Cipriano de Rore's five-voice setting Chamater6's madrigal is printed in a volume dedi-
appeared three years later in 1542 (ex.2b); the Roman cated to the much admired Barbara Sanseverina,
Francesco Menta published a four-voice parody of Countess of Sala, whose presence is recorded at the
Arcadelt's setting in 1560 (ex.2c); in the same year courts of Parma and Ferrara (Ottavio Farnese,
Stefano Rossetto issued a four-voice madrigale arioso Alfonso d'Este and Vincenzo Gonzaga were much
parodying Rore (ex.2d); and Hippolito Chamater6's taken with her), and Rore worked at both courts. In
four-voice setting, which also parodies Rore's, the dedication of his book of six-voice madrigals,
appeared in 1569 (ex.2e).24 Assuming that Ingegneri's Ingegneri claimed to have received tuition from
setting involves musical parody, Menta's and Arca- Rore at Parma, and Ingegneri and Chamater6 were
delt's works can be eliminated by virtue of modal contemporaries whose careers crossed paths more
characteristics and compositional strategy: they are than once during the 156os and 70s, most notably at
mode 5/6 pieces with predominantly homorhythmic Cremona between 1569 and 1574. Ingegneri had par-
openings. Rore's setting and its imitators, however, odied Chamater6's madrigals before, and although
are mode 1/2 pieces which open with imitative coun- Chamater6's madrigal is itself an imitation of Rore's,

(e) Hor che'l ciel e la ter - ra el yen - to ta - ce, hor che'l ciel e la

;d o r F r ';-5

Hor che'l ciel e la ter - ra, hor che'l ciel

Hor che'l ciel e la ter - ra el

B
4 ter - ra el yen- to ta - - ce, Hor che'l ciel -
e la ter - rae'l ven- to ta - ce, E le

ven - to ta - ce, el yen- to ta - ce,

e la ter - ra e'1 yen - to ta - ce,

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 Ex.3 Hypothetical reconstruction of the opening of Ingegneri's 'Hor che '1 ciel' with Rore's canto part added

Hor che'l ciel e la ter - - ra e'l yen - to ta - ce,

Hor che'l ciel e la terr' el yen - - to ta - - ce, hor che'l

A IL I' v iI
Hor che'l ciel e la terr' el

Hor che'l ciel e la terr' el yen - to ta - ce,

TH 'e e
B I- i I

Hor che'l ciel e la terr' el

works-rather
this would not preclude Ingegneri's than one
having by the
used it less
as esteemed
a model, given that it is not uncommon to find
Chamater6-exquisitely a sec-
performed might receive so
enthusiastic
ond-generation parody, a work that a reception,
takes especially
materialfrom his former
both from a parent madrigal employer,
and from whose public appreciation of the near-
its immediate
divine Cipriano
successor.25 On the other hand, would haveInge-
even though reinforced Duke
Alfonso's image
gneri was an enthusiastic exponent as a dilettante
of the and a man of high
techniques
culture. And
of parody and imitatio, he never even if Ingegneri
openly parodies was aignorant of
Molza's
secular work by Rore; in fact, he choice
seemshe would likely have wanted
positively to to select
the most obvious
avoid doing so, for in his published and prestigious
output setting for his lis-
of nearly
200 madrigals, there is only one
teners text
so that also or
his reporting, set by
story-telling, was as
effective
Rore.26 One might conclude that as possible.
his esteem for Rore
prevented him from ever making Ingegnerioneconcentrates
of his onown
only the broadest
works open to direct comparison structural characteristics
with and the tiniest details for
his teacher.
But there is good reason to his points ofRore's
prefer reference in the musical parody. Per-
madrigal
for Ingegneri's model and hence,
haps he intended perhaps, for of his lis-
only to tease the intellects
Molza's choice. The musical canonization of Rore teners, recalling just enough of the work to suggest
(in terms both of reputation and as a model reper-its identity. The loss of Ingegneri's canto complicates
tory) during the years immediately after his deathmatters, but we have already seen that his opening
(1565) would make it highly plausible that one of point
his appears to combine two elements of Rore's,

Ex.4 The end of the prima parte of Rore's 'Hor che '1 ciel', bars 34-37

qual - che pa - ce, ho qual - che pa - - ce.

pen-san - do ho qual che pa - - ce, ho qual-che pa - ce.

A A I .--."w . . - o I . . o

- che pa - ce, e sol di lei pen- san - do ho qual - che pa - ce.

e sol di lei pen-san - - do ho qual-che pa - - ce.

B rb
T Dsol eI sol
d dii lei
p pen-san
s - d- h l - - ch '' ce
doho qual - che pa - ce.

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and matching the citation of Petrarch's opening
verse, Rore's original canto fits with only slight
modification over Ingegneri's opening (ex.3). If In-
gegneri's strategy was to announce both text and set-
ting unequivocally in the initial few breves, the rest
needed only to provide gentle reminders of the work
being performed, allowing the audience to concen-
trate instead on the description of the performance.
Thus just before the end of the prima parte Ingegneri
again refers to Rore's setting, using a single-note
declamation figure introduced in the alto for the
final words 'morendo giace'. This mirrors exactly
Rore's setting of the final words of his prima parte,
'ho qualche pace' (ex.4). Using the same reconstruc-
tion process seen in ex.3, the borrowed figure may be
inserted in the canto at the same point (relative to
the closing longa in the bass) over Ingegneri's surviv-
ing four parts (ex.5). The slightly unusual cadential

30 Ex.5 Hypothetical reconstruction of the end of the prima parte of Ingegneri's 'Hor che '1 ciel', bars 30-38

- ce Mio cor, che via da lei mo - ren - do gia - - ce, mio cor,

- ce Mio cor, che via da lei mo - ren - do gia - ce, mio cor,

- ce Mio cor, che via da lei mo - ren - do gia - ce, mio

BA

- ce Mio cor, che via da lei mo - ren- do gia - ce, mio cor,
33

mo -

_che via da lei mo - ren - do gia- ce, mo-ren -

I I !R

mio cor, che via da lei mo - ren - do, mo - ren - do gia -

cor, che via da lei mo-ren - do, mo- ren- do gia -

mio cor, che via da lei mo - ren - do gia - ce,

36

-ren - do, mo - ren - do gia - - ce.

- do, mo - ren - do, mo - ren - do gia - ce.

- ce, mo - ren - do gia - ce, mo - ren - do gia - ce.

- ce, mo - ren do, mo - ren - do, mo - ren - do gia - ce.

mo-ren - do, mo - ren - do gia - - e.

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construction of the original is also echoed by Inge- croma figure heard at the end of the second line
gneri. In both cases the final cadence of the prima (ex.6). The two fragments are presented in Inge-
parte is extended, making it appear to close with a gneri's quinto part within the opening few breves
cadenza in mi. However, neither present the full (ex.1, bar 5); thereafter they are frequently incorpor-
cadence which would normally generate the exten- ated into the contrapuntal texture, providing a con-
sion: Ingegneri makes do with a weak 'perfect' stant, if faint, reminder of the parent work.
cadence, probably in four voices (ex.5, bar 35), while In terms of yet another facet of imitatio, Ingegneri
Rore entirely ignores the obligation (ex.4). employs a number of more localized devices that, for
Ingegneri continues his recollection of Rore's all their conventionality, seem intended to comple-
madrigal in the opening of the seconda parte, but ment and enhance the reportage: textural and har-
again the reminder is fleeting and subtle. Rore's monic juxtaposition, modal deviation and illustra-
opening is quasi-homorhythmic, with a bass pattern tive word-painting. The juxtaposition of imitative
of rising 4ths beginning on the fourth degree from counterpoint and (quasi-)homorhythmic passages is
the final. Ingegneri takes the rising 4th and uses it as a common enough feature of the mid-century
a point of contrapuntal imitation, while retaining madrigal. In Ingegneri's prima parte, however, the
the quasi-homorhythm of the original. The brief device lends verisimilitude to the polyphonic locu-
rhythmic stasis is followed immediately by the rapid tion of the text as it alternates between different nar-
diminution setting the word 'moti' (see ex.7 below), rative modes. The opening point reveals the parody,
at once highlighting the reference through contrast, but its exposition is followed immediately by a
and obscuring it through swift eradication. The sig- declamatory 'incomincib' which begins the narra-
nificance of the gesture is confirmed when the ris- tion; this structure is mapped in the modified repeat
ing-4th pattern returns later in the setting; this time, of the point. The middle section begins with a
Ingegneri allows the imitative exposition to develop, homorhythmic passage describing the effect on the
freed of parodic function. listeners ('Sentian gli spirti altrui'), then imitative
These few structural and melodic references pro- counterpoint returns as the poet waxes metaphysical
vide an immediate aural link between the two about the transformation of bitterness and visions of
madrigals, but Ingegneri further ties his work heaven,
to his while homorhythm is reinstated with the
poet's
master's in an even subtler way. Imitation, this timeaside 'che piu l'alma soffolce'. The shifting
understood as an aspect of contrapuntal process,
registers of the poem in this middle section are fur-
permeates Ingegneri's work. His principal imitative
ther highlighted by harmonic or hexachordal inflec-
points have already been shown to derive fromtion from b-fa to b-mi ('tutto l'amar') and back to
Rore.
Ingegneri constructs both parti along similarb-fa; this is in addition to the more usual appropria-
lines,
tion of mi-fa juxtapositions to portray the bitter/
whereby after its initial statement and contrapuntal
exposition, the opening point is modified andoxymoron.
sweet
reworked in a subsequent section; this is one ofThe
histense of the text then changes; the narration
of com-
most favoured structural strategies in madrigal past events finishes and the poet begins to specu-
late. The final ten breves of the prima parte neither
position. As a result, much of the formal contra-
introduce
puntal fabric of the madrigal is directly related to an imitative inventione nor are they
Rore's setting. Moreover, the most significant
homorhythmic. They contain instead four main
melodic fragments unifying Ingegneri's twomotifs, parti each less than a breve long, that are woven
come from the initial bars of Rore's tenor: the octave into a dense, static texture. The textural stasis is
leap (ex.2b, bars 1-2) and a short dotted-semiminim/ gradually joined by harmonic stasis, providing a

Ex.6 Rore, 'Hor che '1 ciel', tenor, bars 4-6

%.0 %a %.0 %

E le fe - ree gliau - gel - liil son noaf - fre - na, e le fe -

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 Ex.7 Ingegneri, 'Hor che '1 ciel', opening of the seconda parte, bars 39-54

Che poi sei mo - - - ti, se i mo - ti, che poi

I I

Che poi, che poi sei mo - - -

Che poi, che poi se i mo - - - - ti, se i mo -

T F do~.~~ri
Che poi se i mo - - ti, se i mo -
42

sei mo - ti de suoi ter-sia- vo - ri, De' va - - - ghi lu - mi

- ti de suoi ter - si a - vo - ri, De' va - - ghi lu - mi

. .. . .....-P" I
ti de suoi ter -sia - vo - ri, De' va - ghi, de' va

1 -1j-jI
-ti de suoi ter - siav - vo - - ri, De' va - ghi lu-mi, de' va - - ghi
45

e del leg-gia-dro vi - so, L'oc-chio ve-dea, l'oc - chio ve-dea ch'or

_orI? r R"P ri
e del leg - gia-dro vi - so, L'oc-chio ve-dea, l'oc-chio ve - dea ch'or va -na vi- sta in-

- ghi lu - mi e del leg-gia-dro vi - so, L'oc-chio ve - dea, l'oc-chio ve-dea

: r _ r ' rI r-r r
lu - mi e del leg- gia-dro vi - so, L'oc - chio ve-dea, I'oc - chio ve-dea r - ' r
49

va na vi - sta in - tri - - ca; Che poi,

A _I rI % ' =d L=i I I-
VV
- tri - ca, ch'or va - na vi - sta in -tri - ca; Che poi s'un

ch'or va - na vi - sta in - tri - ca; Che poi s'un di mi spie -

ch'or va - na vi - sta in- tri - ca; Che poi, che

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perfect frame for the words 'morendo giace'. Thus, clear picture of Molza's performance practice, if only
by the end of the prima parte the work is completely as it relates to one work. It is true that Patrizi's text is,

suspended in a parenthetical no man's land between by its encomiastic nature, not necessarily totally reli-
narration and elaboration, as the poet withdraws able, but he does seem to have wanted to provide as
to muse on the outcome of a hypothetical close accurate a record as possible.27 We can guess what
encounter with the singer. Molza sang, we know more or less how she sang it,
In the seconda parte, the relationship between tex- we are told what effect she had on her audience, and
ture and rhetorical stance is loosened in favour of a we have some indications of the kind of ornamenta-
more literal interpretation of the text, yet the ges- tion she may have used. We know that the registers
tures still reflect more than just incidental word- of her voice were well defined and separate, yet she
painting. The opening section, describing Molza's negotiated passaggi with ease. Her intonation was
singing and playing, is strewn with imitative passaggi perfectly controlled, and she used it to manipulate
(ex.7). Each ostensibly illustrates only one word- semitones, making them sharper or flatter according
'moti', 'vaghi', 'intrica', 'spiega'-but their close to her preference. Clearly, she was an effective and
proximity, almost overlapping in some places, expressive singer. Moreover, in the case of 'Hor che
allows the impression of an extraordinarily elaborate '1 ciel', her performance must necessarily have been
solo performance to emerge from otherwise tightly ungestured if she was playing an instrument. The
controlled polyphony. Within this section, Ingegneri affective representation would then have been solely
further accentuates the idea of confusion by leading in her vocal production, the manner of her orna-
the voices to cadence twice on E (bars 48, 50), a mentation and in her facial expressions.
cadence normally regarded as foreign, almost for- Martha Feldman speaks of Rore's 'Hor che '1 ciel'
bidden, to the hierarchies of both modes 1 and 2. and its contrapuntal style using terms such as
Then, as abruptly as the diminutions began, they 'weighty', 'the high Venetian manner' and 'vigorous
stop and are replaced by pseudo-declamation as a rhetoric'.28 It hardly seems a candidate for reduction
rhetorical call to attention for 'o del nome Tiran'. from five voices to one, from contrapuntal edifice to
monody, so it comes as something of a surprise to
The close of the seconda parte finds a middle ground
comparable to the no man's land of the end of the find evidence that this dense polyphonic setting
could have been performed as a solo song with ac-
prima parte, but not as harmonically static. It is nei-
companiment. But once reduced, one may see how
ther overtly imitative nor strictly declamatory, as the
text ends in an unresolved, conditional state. easily the madrigal could be adapted. The canto pro-
nounces the complete text, and is melodically self-
Issues of performance practice sufficient, articulating all the important syntactical
By combining the evidence from Ingegneri's madri- caesuras with traditional cadential formulas. Fur-
thermore, the canto does not have the imitative
gal and Patrizi's treatise, we can elicit a reasonably

Ex.7 cont.

che poi s'un di mi spie - ga, s'un di mi spie - - - ga i bei te- so -

dli ml spie - - - - gali bei te- so - ri, 0

S - gai bei te- so - - ri, i bei te- so - ri, i bei te- so -

poi s'un di mi spie - - - gai bei te - so - ri,

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crome seen in the lower parts, leaving the line open more elaborate figure, a suitable setting for the word
for ornamentation. Patrizi's treatise contains an- 'intrica' in the alto (ex.8). The dotted figure appro-
other passage which may refer to the same practice: priated from Rore's setting (ex.6) embellishes both
rising and falling 3rds. Although its downward use
So it happened that one day that good old Pietro Vinci
dropped in while she was singing some of his madrigals. He sometimes simply introduces a nota cattiva between
stopped some distance away from her so that he could not be two syllables, its rising use looks remarkably like an
seen and stood listening with attention. He could not stop esclamazione, an ornament which does not appear in
himself, as was noted by others, from raising his hands to its own right in treatises until Diruta's Il transilvano
heaven as if he were thanking God, nor from tender weeping,
of 1593. Howard Mayer Brown states that, with the
nor, when she finished singing, from running and embracing
trillo, the esclamazione seems 'to have been intro-
her, saying: 'O my daughter, I thank God and you, too, that
you have given me this consolation before I die, that I have duced into music very late in the sixteenth century;
heard my compositions sung as I would never have believed they reflect early Baroque tastes; and ... became
that I should or could hear them', and many other similar standard ornaments in early seventeenth-century
words. And this bears witness to all the elements of her
music' (although he adds that Caccini considered
singing.29
the esclamazione 'rather old hat' by 1601).31 Eight
All this offers food for thought. Ideas about 16th- years may seem insufficient time for an embellish-
century solo repertories have hitherto been based ment to lose its novelty, but if the evidence from
largely on the contents of printed collections of Ingegneri's madrigal is to be believed, the escla-
voice/lute intabulations, and on speculation over the mazione could have been part of the singer's cur-
perceived uniqueness of the arioso repertory. With a rency for nearly 30 years before Diruta's treatise.
few exceptions, the secular printed repertory for solo It should not be forgotten that Ingegneri's testi-
voice with instrumental accompaniment available in mony is that of a distinguished musician. Because so
the mid-century consisted primarily of frottole, can- little is yet known about practical music-making in
zoni alla napolitana and arrangements of three-voice the 16th century, it is all too easy to adopt Einstein's
canzonette and four-voice madrigals. Yet, at least a stance, paraphrased by Brown, of 'insisting on the
decade after Molza's performance, Girolamo dalla fundamental incompatibility of composer and virtu-
Casa printed ornamented versions of a selection of oso, and on the basic conflict between expression
Rore madrigals decorated in the canto only-so and ornamentation'.32 Although the argument is
clearly for performance by a 'soloist'-even if he substantiated by 16th-century writings, it presents
chose works that were either declamatory or textu- only one side of the debate. Accepting that complex
rally very transparent.3o And if my identification of ornamentation, 'authentic' or otherwise, is-and
Ingegneri's model is correct, it seems that a skilled always has been-ultimately unmusical and in poor
singer such as Molza could extract a solo song from taste renders it unnecessary to acquire the technique
even denser polyphony, suggesting that notions of and the music(ologic)al knowledge required for its
the solo repertory derived solely from printed evid- execution. Yet both Patrizi and the author of Inge-
ence reflect only the 16th-century editor's choice or gneri's text imply that such skill need not detract
the musician's expedience. from expression when used with discretion. They
The ornamentation style documented by Inge- insist that Molza was a mesmerizing performer of
gneri's madrigal is typical of that described in remarkable musical and artistic integrity; further-
primary sources that pre-date it: Ganassi, Ortiz, more, she did not sing just frottole or canzonette, but
Finck and Maffei. For the most part it consists of serious works by the century's most revered com-
flowing croma movement, but there is one slightly posers, and she embellished them with dexterity and

Ex.8 Ingegneri, 'Hor che '1 ciel', alto, bars 49-50

va - na vi - stain - tri - - ca

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 sensitivity. Her skill in ornamentation was an essen-
tial part of the expressive palette of a singer 'che l'aria
MI.

molce con angelici accenti'. w;m

Ingegneri's madrigal is only one among many

other mid- to late-century works featuring an identi-
fied or identifiable singer: for example, Luzzaschi
sets texts praising Molza's musical talents, and there `?2

are many other madrigals that celebrate Laura Pev-

erara singing and playing the harp.33 On the whole,
neither these texts nor their settings provide much
information about musical performance per se; they WOf %e

In
are stylized portraits in a musical frame. But Inge- Z na.

gneri's work does not simply eulogize an ideal; it

IRE.

AA
11 12".

attempts, through the broadest interpretation of the

W ?eM

concept of imitatio, to convey the essence and sub- ...... .....

K.,

R Offil, IRMO
stance of that performance in the context of an
.--?:?y MX

actual event. The techniques used in Ingegneri's ....... . . . . . . . . .

madrigal contrast with early 17th-century musical "I'll".. 'A

:xw
....... . . . . . ?;

M"AmOg
sources purporting to document 'actual' perfor-
gg
NMI

ml
mances by virtuosos; for instance, Giulio Caccini's p. M? I

report of the passaggi sung in the final chorus of his `1?% . ..... -0v
OR

II rapimento di Cefalo, or the strophic variations of

M

Francesco Rasi's 'Vostro son, vostro fui e sar6

vostro'.34 Ingegneri's metaphorical commentary MW
might seem elusive and frustrating when viewed
against those later, seemingly more literal, transcrip-
..........

tions, but in the sense that each approach in some 4 Tarquinia Molza as a mature woman in Ferrara; oil
way records a performance, they are indeed compar- on wood (reproduced by kind permis ion of Contessa
able. Ingegneri records Tarquinia, but in a way that Giovanna Molza)
acknowledges that her performance cannot be
re-created except in the imagination of his listeners.

Some of the material in this article was
presented as part of a round-table dis-
cussion, '"Con angelici accenti": female
performers and ornamentation in late
sixteenth-century Italy', at the 23rd Con-
ference for Medieval and Renais ance
Music, University of Southampton, 5-9
July 1996. I would like to thank Jeanice
Brooks, Tim Carter, Anthony Newcomb,
Deborah Roberts and Richard Wistreich
for their generous comments; and
Francesca Chiarelli and the members of
the 'italian-studies' discussion list for
their help in unravelling the minutiae of
Ingegneri's text. I would also like to
acknowledge the Humanities Research
Board of the British Academy for its
financial support.
1 See E. Durante and A. Martellotti, MOLCE', in praise of the four women of
Cronistoria del concerto delle dame prin- the Ferrarese concerto di donne, Anna
cipalis ime di Margherita Gonzaga Guarini, Laura Peverara, Livia d'Arco
d'Este (Florence, 1979), p.42. and Tarquinia Molza.
4 Parma, Biblioteca Palatina, cod. Pal.
2 Compare Torquato Tas o: Poesie, ed.
F. Flora, La Letteratura Italiana: Storia 418; see F. Patrizi, L'amorosafilosofia,
ed. J. C. Nelson (Florence, 1963). Sub-
e Testi, xxi (Milan, 1952), p.706: 'Amor
se fia giamai che dolce i' tocchi / il sequent references are to this edition,
to which the reader is referred for the
terso avorio de la bianca mano ...'
Italian; the translations are my own.
('Love, if it should ever be that I should
sweetly touch the polished ivory of her 5 Patrizi, L'amorosafilosofia, p.42.
white hand ...').
6 Molza's date of birth is given by
3 Compare the madrigal in Paolo Domenico Vandelli in Pierantonio
Virchi's Ilprimo libro de madrigali a Serassi's Opuscoli inediti di Tarquinia
cinque voci (Venice, 1584), 'Se GU'A Molza modenese ... (Bergamo, 1750).
RINASCer L'AURA e prenda L'ARCO / See also Durante and Martellotti,
Amore soave e dolce / ch'ogni cor duroCronistoria, pp.37-43; J. M. Riley, The

EARLY MUSIC AUGUST 1999 375

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influence of women on secular vocal
music in sixteenth century Italy: the life
and career of Tarquinia Molza
(1542-1617) (MA diss., Wesleyan U.,
1980); J. M. Riley, 'Tarquinia Molza
(1542-1617): a case study of women,
music, and society in the Renaissance',
The musical woman: an international
perspective, ii, ed. J. Zaimont (New
York, 1986), pp.470-92; http://www.
humanscale.net/molza/index.html.
7 In many ways, she exemplifies
Tasso's 'heroic' woman, possessing all
the female moral and physical virtues
yet with the accomplishments and
intellectual power of a man; see
Torquato Tasso, Discorso della virtfi
feminile, e donnesca (Venice, 1582).
What Molza lacked was a noble lin-
eage, although Patrizi's first speaker is 14 Patrizi, L'amorosafilosofia, pp.39-
at pains to describe the Lombard her-
itage of her family. Tasso admired
Molza; he dedicated many poems to
her and made her the subject of two of sixteenth-century madrigal', Recercare,
his 'Forestiero napolitano' dialogues,
'Il1 Ghirlinzone, overo l'Epitafio' and
'La Molza, overo De l'amore'; see T.
Tasso, Opere, ed. M. Vitale, v (Milan,
1965), pp.201ol-36.
8 Patrizi, L'amorosafilosofia, pp.12-13.
9 See D. Fabris, 'Vite e opera di Fab-
rizio Dentice, nobile napoletano, com-
positore del secondo Cinquecento',
Studi musicali, xxi (1992), pp.61-114.
lo There are, of course, exceptions as
regards highly gifted women permitted
to engage in the arts; compare Molza's
exact contemporary, the actress
Vicenza Armani, known as a poet,
musician and singer (see A. Valerini,
Oratione in morte della Divina Signora
Vicenza Armani, comica eccellentissima
.. (Verona, 1570)), and Isabella
Andreini (see A. MacNeil, Music and
the life and work of Isabella Andreini:
humanistic attitudes toward music,
poetry, and theater in the late sixteenth
and early seventeenth centuries (PhD
diss., U. of Chicago, 1994)). For the
broader issues, see A. Newcomb,
'Courtesans, muses or musicians? Pro-
fessional women musicians in six-
teenth-century Italy', Women making
music: the Western art tradition,
115o-195o, ed. J. Bowers and J. Tick
(Champaign, IL, 1986), pp.90-115.
11 Patrizi, L'amorosa filosofia, p.38: 'On Antonio Ingegneri (PhD diss., U. of
that occasion when her prince, Duke
376 EARLY MUSIC AUGUST 1999
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Alfonso II, went to Modena with Her
Highness [Barbara], his consort, he
wanted to hear her [sing] some diffi-
cult madrigals of Vinci in the company
of the chief musicians [primi musici] of
his chapel. In this test, there was not
one among them who in certain pas-
sages did not succeed, and she was
always firm and sustained it, so that
she was the means for all to get back in. donativi'.
Whence the Duke, with rebuke for his
[musicians], praised her that he had
never heard in any place a more secure Ferdinand of Bavaria, still professed
part than hers'.
12 Patrizi, L'amorosa filosofia, pp.41-2.
13 A. Newcomb, The madrigal at Fer-
rara, 1579-1597 (Princeton, NJ, 1980), i,
p.169.
4o. Don Harrain ('Investigation
through interrogation: the case of
female poets and feminist poetry in the
vii (1995), pp.5-46) draws a link
between the growing use of ornamen-
tation by female singers and the simul-
taneous increase in the number of
treatises which encouraged women to
ornament themselves with elaborate
clothing, jewellery and make-up.
Molza herself eschewed cosmetics of
any kind and refused to bleach her hair
blonde after the current fashion, and
yet she was still considered an excep-
tional beauty; see Patrizi, L'amorosa
filosofia, pp.28-3o.
15 Patrizi, L'amorosafilosofia, p.4o.
16 Patrizi, L'amorosa filosofia, p.41. In
the preceding sentence Dentice states
that she had begun accompanying her-
self on the harpsichord but gave it up
because the action was too noisy: 'I
have already spoken ... of how she
accompanies [her own] singing with
the sound of the lute and the viol,
because that of the harpsichord, given
the noise that the keys made over the
music, caused her distaste, and she
abandoned it.'
17 Patrizi, L'amorosa filosofia, p.36.
18 On Ingegneri, see Marc'Antonio
Ingegneri e la musica a Cremona nel sec-
ondo Cinquecento, ed. A. Delfino and
M. Barezzani (Lucca, 1994); L. Paget
[i.e. Stras], The madrigals of Marc'
London, 1995).
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
19 Both documents are given in
Durante and Martellotti, Cronistoria,
pp.130-31.
20 Cesare Negri, Le gratie d'amore
(Milan, 1602), p.8: 'quindi poi andando
a Brussello, luogo del Serenissimo di
Ferrara, dove stava aspettandoli, nel
viaggio stesso hebbi gratia de ballar nel
bucentoro di S.A. e n'acquistai molti
21 In 1574 one of Maximilian's sons,
admiration for the Bendidio sisters; see
Durante and Martellotti, Cronistoria,
p.131.
22 One of the interlocutors in Patrizi's
dialogue purports to be a musician
from Cremona by the name of Marco
Felino, whom the unreliable Luigi Luc-
chini (Cenni storici sui pi' celebri
musicisti cremonesi ... (Casalmaggiore,
1887), p.36) identifies as an organist at
Cremona cathedral who died in 1579.
23 Patrizi, L'amorosafilosofia, p.42.
Patrizi leaves ten blank lines with
the intention of quoting one of the
sonnets.
24 Jacques Arcadelt, Terzo libro dei
madrigali (Venice, 1539), in Jacobi
Arcadelt: Opera omnia, ed. A. Seay,
Corpus Mensurabilis Musicae, xxxi
(American Institute of Musicology,
1965-70), iv, pp.58-61; Cipriano de
Rore, Madrigali a cinque voci (Venice,
1542), in Cipriani Rore: Opera omnia,
ed. B. Meier, Corpus Mensurabilis
Musicae, xiv (American Institute of
Musicology, 1959-77), ii, PP.4-9;
Francesco Menta, II primo libro de
madrigali a quattro voci (Rome, 156o);
Stefano Rossetto, II primo libro de
madregali ... a quatro voci (Venice,
1560), ed. A. B. Skei, Recent Researches
in the Music of the Renaissance, xxvi
(Madison, WI, 1977), pp.72-7; Hippo-
lito Chamater6, Il secondo libro de
madrigali a quattro voci (Venice, 1569).
25 Ingegneri's settings of 'I' piango, et
ella il volto' and 'Amor, poiche non
vuole' (both from his Primo libro de
madrigali a quattro voci, c.1569) imitate
Chamater6's settings of the same texts;
see Paget [Stras], The madrigals of
Marc'Antonio Ingegneri, pp.264-9.
Also, both Ingegneri's and Cha-
mater6's 'Amor poiche non vuole'
draw material from Giaches de Wert's
setting; for this and other examples, see of the length of the notes. The trilli 31 H. M. Brown, Embellishing six-
ibid., pp.296-8, 306-11. they [also] call lecchi ['licks'], and teenth-century music (Oxford, 1976),
Alfonso della Viola called them ghiot- p.10o.
26 'Come la notte ogni fiammella viva' tonie ['titbits'], and it is a briefwarb-
in his Primo libro de madrigali a quattro
ling in the throat [un brieve gorgheggia- 32 Brown, Embellishing sixteenth-
voci (c.1569). Rore's setting is in his century music, p.75.
mento di gola] that in one stroke is
Quarto libro de madrigali a cinque voci
heard softly and instantly disappears
(Venice, 1557). There is no thematic 33 See A. Newcomb, 'The three
.. [two and a half empty lines] The
relationship between the two settings, anthologies for Laura Peverara,
movimento is a longer ornament [un
and Ingegneri's only very obliquely 1580-1583', Rivista italiana di musicolo-
trillarepii~i lungo] not at [final]
refers to Rore's in the rhythmic cast of gia, x (1975), pp.329-45.
cadences, but at the principal closures
the seventh verse; see Paget [Stras], The in the middle or a little bit after ...
madrigals of Marc'Antonio Ingegneri, 34 Giulio Caccini, Le nuove musiche
[two empty lines] The gorgia ... [seven (16o02), ed. H. W. Hitchcock, Recent
p.270.
empty lines]'. Researches in the Music of the Baroque
27 He certainly intended to include 28 M. Feldman, City culture and the Era, ix (Madison, Wisconsin, 1970);
information that would have had to be Francesco Rasi, Vaghezze di musica per
madrigal at Venice (Berkeley, CA,
obtained from a third party in order to 1995), pp.293-4. una voce sola (Venice, 1608). Compare
supplement his own account: witness the broader discussion in M. Ossi, 'A
the gap left for the insertion of one of
29 Patrizi, L'amorosa filosofia, p.38.
sample problem in seventeenth-
Pigna's sonnets at a later date (see n.23 Riley (The influence of women, p.78) century imitatio: Claudio Monteverdi,
above). In the section of the manu- interprets this as Molza 'improvising Francesco Turini, and Battista Guar-
diminutions within a contrapuntal set-
script that describes Molza's approach ini's "Mentre vaga angioletta"', Music
ting'.
to ornamentation (Patrizi, L'amorosa in Renaissance cities and courts: studies
filosofia, p.40) there are spaces to 30 Girolamo dalla Casa, II vero modo in honor of Lewis Lockwood, ed. J. A.
accommodate technical descriptions di diminuir (Venice, 1584). The madri- Owens and A. Cummings (Warren,
that were never completed: 'Of these, gals by Rore are 'Beato mi direi', MI, 1997), pp.253-69; T. Carter, 'Print-
musicians of our day have made three 'Datemi pace' and 'O sonno' (all dating ing the "New Music"', Music and the
main categories: trilli, movimenti and from 1557), and 'Non gemme' and cultures ofprint, ed. K. van Orden
gorgia, and all of them are diminutions 'Ancor che col partire' (from 1550o). (New York and London, forthcoming).

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