Introduction
The “Querelle des Bouffons” ("Quarrel of the Comic Actors") was a cultural war over the comparative merits of French and Italian opera styles. It was divided into two camps; the supporters of Italian music known as the coin de la reine, and the partisans of French music known as the coin du roi. However the querrelle had political and social implications with supporters of the royal establishment championing French opera, they saw as being forged on the principles of French classicism and absolutist ideology, while proponents of Enlightenment saw in Italian opera a vehicle for subversive attacks on that establishment. It may have started over different issues, but the ancien régime was, like before, at the heart of the conflict
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They also believed that ‘people felt oppressed by the stubborn fetters and high seriousness of traditional French opera especially after having been exposed to the gaiety of Italian musical comedy’ (Hirschberg in Charlton, 2013, pp. 34). This was congruent with their specific feelings towards the offerings of the Italian ‘‘buffoons’’ whom they perceived as ‘free of constraint, spontaneous and relevant to daily life, in comparison with the convention-bound, staid offerings of the Opera, which reflected an increasingly irrelevant monarchical culture’(Rosow, 2009, pp. …show more content…
The long standoff between the two theatrical camps must therefore be read in parallel with societal change over the two centuries, especially in the waning of the ancien régime and even the path to revolution. Indeed, the proximity of the Querelle to the revolution perhaps explains the increase in overt attacks observed in the pamphlets. Italian theater was no longer just a means to poke fun at the establishment and drum up good business; here it was being used for a serious political purpose, because of its understood associations. As one of the Querelle pamphlets simply put it: “a minuet can become a dangerous thing’ (Cook, 2005, pp. 157).
References
Journal Articles
Charlton, D 2014, ‘New Light on the Bouffons in Paris (1752–1754)’, Eighteenth Century Music, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 31 – 54.
Downing, T A 2006, ‘Rameau's "Platée" Returns: A Case of Double Identity in the "Querelle des bouffons"’, Cambridge Opera Journal, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 1 – 19.
Everett, L 2008, ‘Jacques Lecoq's Bouffons in Australia’, Australasian Drama Studies, vol. 53, pp. 168 -
Grove, George. The Musical Times Volume 47. United Kingdom: Musical Times Publications Ltd. 1906, Print.
TitleAuthor/ EditorPublisherDate James Galways’ Music in TimeWilliam MannMichael Beazley Publishers1982 The Concise Oxford History of MusicGerald AbrahamOxford University Press1979 Music in Western CivilizationPaul Henry LangW. W. Norton and Company1941 The Ultimate Encyclopaedia of Classical MusicRobert AinsleyCarlton Books Limited1995 The Cambridge Music GuideStanley SadieCambridge University Press1985 School text: Western European Orchestral MusicMary AllenHamilton Girls’ High School1999 History of MusicRoy BennettCambridge University Press1982 Classical Music for DummiesDavid PogueIDG Books Worldwide,Inc1997
John Dowland (1563-1626) was a composer of Renaissance England and considered one of the most prolific and well-known composers of English lute song. A composer and accomplished lutenist, he is probably the most well traveled English composer of his time. Through his travels he was exposed to the musical elements of his Italian, French and German contemporaries. He developed his own musical language, in which he created a unique style for the lute song. As a composer, he focused on the development of melodic material and was able to elegantly blend words and music with a wide range of emotion and technique. For the purpose of this document we will focus on the influence of his Italian travels. John Dowland’s use of chromaticism in his lute songs as can be directly associated with such as “All ye whom love or fortune.” In these pieces, we can see the influence on this genre through his travels to Italy and encounters with such composers as Marenzio.
In his day, Johann Adolph Hasse was at the forefront of Italian opera. Although he composed a fair amount of sacred works, he is best known for his operatic output. He was widely popular throughout Italy and Germany, and was commissioned by courts and opera houses throughout Europe. His performances were attended by cultural figures at the time, as well as some of the biggest names in common-era music today. In his later life, styles changed and so Hasse’s acclaim diminished after his death. But generations later, he was re-established as a figurehead and icon of classic ancient Italian opera, a designation he possesses even today.
Daum, Gary. "Chapter 12 The Baroque Era (1600-1750)." Georgetown Prep. 1994. Georgetown University. 12 July 2005 .
Lemaitre, Alain J., and Erich Lessing. Florence and the renaissance: the quattrocento. paris: Terrail, 1993.
Taruskin, R., & Taruskin, R. (2010). Music in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Christmas and Opera did not merely seem to correlate, but understanding where the two events derived from can help one to understand the similarities and differences between them. The development of Christmas was different from the creation of opera because the working class was controlling the other social classes for profit. Whereas for opera, the different social classes unified to keep opera as entertainment and not a social event. Another difference came within the writing and context throughout the article and the presentation of information conveyed by the author. Yet the events share the similarity of both being refined and reinvented.
For the musical composer essay, I have chosen to write about a man who I felt made the greatest impact on Romantic opera in the 19th century this master of a man was given the name Giuseppe Fortunio Francesco Verdi but was commonly known as Giuseppe Verdi by all who knew and loved him. This great man was born on either October 9, or 10 in the year 1813 in the community of Le Roncole, near a small town called Busseto in the province of Parma, Italy his astrological sign is that of a Libra. His mother and father were both of Italian descent and their names were Carlo and Luigia Verdi respectively. Now this is where it gets complicated Verdi told every person that talked to him about his background that his parents were illiterate peasants. Despite this lie that Verdi told them they later discovered that his parents were not illiterate peasants as he had claimed but were very smart individuals tha...
There are two pieces in our Renaissance Era musical feature this evening, the first by Pierre Phalèse called Passamezzo d'Italye - Reprise – Gaillarde. Phalèse began as a bookseller in 1545 and not long after he set up a publishing house. By 1575 he had around 189 music books. Much of his work was devoted to sacred music but there was a small amount of Flemish songs and instrumental works. Phalèse borrowed work from many composers and did not hesitate to include other composer’s music in his works. The sec...
Rousseau was often in trouble for fighting and stealing. As a result of living this way, he fled to Paris in 1741 seeking fame. He composed an opera called Les Muses galantes, which led to a correspondence with Voltaire, Denis Diderot, and other French philosophers, some of whom were engaged in producing the Encyclopedia. Rousseau contributed several pieces on music to this project. But, it was not unt...
McGee, Timothy J. Medieval and Renaissance Music: A Performer’s Guide. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1985.
A passion for opera and its traditions. (n.d.).Retrieved from http://www.italia.it/en/focus.html?tx_ptispecials_pi1[showUid] = 246. The National Opera Center of America. n.d. - n.d. - n.d. Retrieved from http://www.operaamerica.org/content/education/learningCenter/intro.aspx.
Harr, James. Essays on Italian Poetry and Music in the Renassisance: 1350-1600. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986.
Danson, Lawrence. The Harmonies of The Merchant of Venice. Great Britain: Yale University Press, 1978. Print.