In the Venice of the Seicento – a city suspended between political power, intellectual freedom, theatres and salons – Barbara Strozzi (1619–1677) stands out as one of the most compelling musical voices of her time. Composer, singer, probably violist and almost certainly the author of many of her own texts, she crafted a body of arias and secular cantatas that turn the Baroque language of bel canto into an instrument of acute psychological introspection.
Her music ranges from the desolate laments of L’Eraclito amoroso and L’amante segreto to the restless questioning of Che si può fare?, balancing the rigidity of basso ostinato schemes with an astonishing freedom of melodic invention. Strozzi’s writing exploits the full potential of the voice: intricate lines, rapid passaggi and delicate melismas intertwine with the continuo in a refined dialogue, yet never lose clarity of diction or expressive focus. Her recitatives often carry a strongly rhetorical, almost theatrical charge, while the arias reach a lyrical warmth that surpasses that of many contemporaries.
Equally striking are her texts: unconventional, ironic, allusive and deeply felt, frequently written from a distinctly female perspective and peppered with playful self-reference. In La mia donna perché canta, for instance, she turns the solmisation syllables into a game of double meanings, masking behind wordplay the story of a love that is anything but innocent. Around these vocal portraits, instrumental pieces for theorbo and archlute by Kapsberger and Piccinini frame Strozzi’s world with dissonant surprises and audacious rhythms, echoing the same rebellious energy.
DA VINCI PUBLISHING Scherzi e lacrime, Songs of Desire and Disenchantment in the Venetian Seicento