Portrait of a Castrato

Politics, Patronage, and Music in the Life of Atto Melani
Erscheinungsjahr 2013
ISBN: 978-1-107-69610-5
Verlag: Cambridge University Press

Buch, Englisch, Band 19, 452 Seiten, Format (B × H): 178 mm x 254 mm, Gewicht: 844 g

Reihe: New Perspectives in Music History and Criticism

This book explores the fascinating life of the most documented musician of the seventeenth century. Born in 1626 into a bourgeois family in Pistoia, Italy, Atto Melani was castrated to preserve his singing voice and soon rose to both artistic and social prominence. His extant letters not only depict the musical activities of several European centers, they reveal the real-life context of music and the musician: how a singer related to patrons and colleagues, what he thought about his profession, and the role music played in his life. Whether Atto was singing, spying, having sex, composing, or even rejecting his art, his life illustrates how music-making was always also a negotiation for power. Providing a rare glimpse of the social and political contexts of seventeenth-century music, Roger Freitas sheds light on the mechanisms that generated meaning for music, clarifying what music at this time actually was.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Freitas, Roger

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Kultur- und Ideengeschichte
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Musikwissenschaft Musikwissenschaft Allgemein Einzelne Komponisten und Musiker
• Geisteswissenschaften Musikwissenschaft Geschichte der Musik Geschichte der Musik: Barock (ca. 1600-1750)
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Einzelne Autoren: Monographien & Biographien
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Romanische Literaturen Italienische Literatur

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction; 1. Creating a castrato; 2. The politics of patronage: 1638–53; 3. In pursuit of prestige: 1653–5; 4. The sexuality of the castrato; 5. Disgrace and transformation: 1656–71; 6. Atto Melani and the cantata; 7. Completing the portrait: 1671–1714; Appendices: A. The letters of Atto Melani; B. Letters addressed to or concerning Atto Melani; C. Satires: Sopra Atto Melani musico and Al Signor Atto Melani; D. Excerpt from the Receuil des défenses of Nicolas Fouquet; E. Biographical sketch from Tommaso Trenta's Memorie; F. The cantata texts of Atto Melani, with analyses and translations; G. The Wills: For Italy; For France; H. The cabinet in the 'Salotto dell'Abbate Melani', from the inventory of 1782.

Über Autor(innen)

Freitas, Roger
Roger Freitas is Associate Professor in the Department of Musicology, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester.