Marianna Martines

by Godt, Irving; Rice, John A.

• ISBN13: 9781580463515
• ISBN10: 1580463517
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-09-15
• Publisher: Univ of Rochester Pr

Summary

Marianna Martines (1744-1813) was one of the most accomplished, prolific, and highly honored female musicians of the eighteenth century. She spent most of her life in a remarkable household that included celebrated librettist Pietro Metastasio, who supervised her education and remained a powerful and supportive mentor. She studied with the young Joseph Haydn, and Vienna knew her as a gifted, aristocratic singer and keyboard player who performed for the pleasure of the Empress Maria Theresa. The regular private concerts she held in her home attracted the presence and participation of some of Vienna's leading musicians; Mozart enjoyed playing keyboard duets with her. She composed prolifically and in a wide variety of genres, vocal and instrumental, writing church music, oratorios, Italian arias, sonatas, and concertos. Much of that music survives, and those who study it, perform it, and listen to it will be impressed today by its craftsmanship and beauty. This book, the first volume fully devoted to Martines, examines her life and compositional oeuvre. Based largely on eighteenth-century printed sources, archival documents, and letters (including several by Martines herself, most of them published here for the first time), the book presents a detailed picture of the small but fascinating world in which she lived and demonstrates the skillfulness and creativity with which she manipulated the conventions of the galant style. Focusing on a limited number of representative works, and using many musical examples, it vividly conveys the nature and extent of her compositional achievement and encourages the future performance of her works. The late Irving Godt was professor of music at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. John A. Rice, independent scholar, is a member of the Akademie für Mozart-Forschung in Salzburg.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. viii
List of Musical Examples	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xv
List of Abbreviations	p. xvii
Introduction	p. 1
The Scene and the Players	p. 9
The Young Musician	p. 22
Early Works	p. 35
The Musical Dramatist	p. 58
Italian Psalms	p. 79
Padre Martini and the Dixit Dominus	p. 133
Family Honors and Private Music Making	p. 154
Isacco Figura del Redentore and the Death of Metastasio	p. 180
"Countless Artistic Pleasures": Martines as Musical Hostess and Teacher	p. 193
Appendixes
The Martines Family	p. 213
Letters to and from Marianna Martines	p. 214
Metastasio's Will and Codicil	p. 244
List of Works	p. 256
Notes	p. 265
Bibliography	p. 287
Index	p. 295
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