Research Catalog

Title

Music and wonder at the Medici court : the 1589 interludes for La pellegrina / Nina Treadwell.

Author

Treadwell, Nina

Publication

Bloomington ; Indianapolis : Indiana University Press, c2008.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xviii, 277 p., [28] p. of plates : ill. (some col.), music; 25 cm.

Summary

"On May 2, 1589, the Medici court staged the most costly and elaborate entertainment yet produced at Florence. In the Uffizi theater, the intermedi (interludes) performed between the acts of Girolamo Bargagli's comedy La pellegrina were the high point of a series of celebrations mobilized by the newly proclaimed Grand Duke of Florence - Ferdinando I de' Medici - for his wedding to Christine of Lorraine." "These interludes were one of the major cultural events of their time and were central to the activities of the Florentine Camerata and the development of early opera. In a new approach to these works Nina Treadwell addresses directly the "ineffability" of the listener's experience and the sometimes contradictory accounts of the event as recorded by diarists and chroniclers. She takes these varied impressions as part of the meaning-making process surrounding these extraordinary performances, exploring in particular the role of musical sound in the creation of meraviglia, or wonder - an important aspect of Florentine politics. Treadwell also considers the bodily practices of musico-theatrical performance and how these influenced the audience's spatial and temporal perception to further convey the "mystery of the state" as proclaimed by Florentine absolutism. Finally, she uses the many first-hand accounts of the event to reveal how meraviglia sometimes functioned in unanticipated ways."--Jacket.

Series Statement

• Music and the early modern imagination
• Musical meaning and interpretation

Uniform Title

• Musical meaning and interpretation
• Music and the early modern imagination

Alternative Title

Pellegrina project : a companion to Music and wonder at the Medici court

Subject

• Cavalieri, Emilio de', approximately 1550-1602
• Ferdinando I, Grand-Duke of Tuscany, 1549-1609 > Marriage
• Christine, of Lorraine, Grand Duchess, consort of Ferdinand I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, 1565-1636 > Marriage
• Bargagli, Girolamo, 1537-1586
• 1500-1599
• Intermedi > Italy > Florence > 16th century > History and criticism
• Music > Italy > Florence > 16th century

Genre/Form

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Note

• Accompanying compact disc contains musical examples, performend by the Pellegrina Project, of pieces discussed in the book.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. [259]-270) and index.

Contents

• The politics of dynasty -- The aesthetic of wonder -- Court intermedi at Florence -- Marshalling meraviglia : manipulating time, delineating space (Intermedio one) -- Scenic metamorphosis and musical warfare (Intermedi two and three) -- Diabolical bodies and monstrous machines : a cautionary tale (Intermedio four) -- Singing the marvelous (Intermedio five) -- "O what new wonder" (Intermedio six).
• Contents of accompanying CD: Ò begli anni del oro, Intermedio III / Francesco Corteccia -- Dalle più alte sfere, Intermedio I / Antonio and Vittoria Archilei -- Belle ne fe natura, Intermedio II / Luca Marenzio -- Chi dal delfino, Intermedio II / Luca Marenzio -- Se nelle voci nostre, Intermedio II / Luca Marenzio -- O valoroso dio, Intermedio III / Luca Marenzio -- Io che dal ciel, Intermedio IV / Giulio Caccini -- Io che l'onde raffreno, Intermedio V / Cristofano Malvezzi -- E noi con questa bella diva / Cristofano Malvezzi -- Godi turba mortal, Intermedio VI / Emilio de' Cavalieri -- O che nuovo miracolo, Intermedio VI / Emilio de' Cavalieri.

ISBN

• 9780253352187 (cloth : alk. paper)
• 0253352185 (cloth : alk. paper)

LCCN

^^2008005575

OCLC

• 192045638
• SCSB-10493499

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library