Abstract
This study explores the life and music of seventeenth-century composer Barbara Strozzi, and the changing cultural representations and understandings of these over time. Despite a modest growth of interest in Strozzi since Rosand’s 1978 “rediscovery,” gaps in the research remain. Broader cultural representations of Strozzi pose troubling questions of accuracy and stereotyping. The objectives of this study are fourfold: to discover more of Strozzi’s life in context; to consider the ways in which she has been represented; to analyse her music; and to explore the relationship between performer and composer, researcher and research subject, linked through voice and gendered reception.A review of discussions of Strozzi throughout the musical literature is undertaken, supported by a literature review of the major works of feminist
musicology. A new translation of one of the major contemporary texts discussing Strozzi, Satire, et altre raccolte per l'Academia de gl'Unisoni in casa di Giulio Strozzi, supports an investigation into Strozzi’s social position, comparing the historical data with later cultural representation. Musical analysis of thirty-three of Strozzi’s works illuminates the hallmarks of her style, and comparative analysis of her music alongside relevant examples from Monteverdi, Cavalli, and Bembo shows how Strozzi responded to and developed the musical language of seicento vocal music. This musical analysis proceeds from a foundation of practical musicking and embodied understanding. As the basis for my engagement with this study, and as critical factor in understanding Strozzi’s music, performance features in two ways: as recordings to develop and support the musical analysis, and as a live performance to highlight the reality of the relationship between myself and Strozzi, and to demonstrate the importance of display and rhetoric in her work. The autoethnography emerges from this musicking relationship and examines the personal re-evaluation of the self provoked by engagement with the research subject.
On the basis of these investigations, this thesis makes five claims. First, that the majority of representations of Barbara Strozzi are at best incomplete and at worst inaccurate. Second, that the ways in which Strozzi has been represented are emblematic of broader trends in the representation of women musicians. Third, that rather than repeatedly situating Strozzi through the unanswerable asking of whether or not she was a courtesan, it is more fruitful to consider her family relationships through the seicento practice of concubinage. Fourth, that Strozzi’s compositions prove a vital step in the development of seicento vocal music. Fifth, that through an examined involvement, insights as to the supposed neutrality of the researcher may be revealed, and possibilities for further scholarly and performance development found.
| Date of Award | 1 Mar 2021 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Supervisor | Lisa Colton (Main Supervisor) & Catherine Haworth (Co-Supervisor) |