August 5, 2019.More on the Music in Ferrara.Today we’ll continue exploring the music at the court of the dukes of Ferrara at the end of the 16th century and its famous ensemble, Concerto delle donne.Last week we mentioned the name of Laura Peverara, the lead singer, and said that it doesn’t tell us much.Turns out that with very little effort one can find a lot about this fascinating musician.Laura Peverara (her last name is sometimes spelled “Peperara”) was born in Mantua in the summer of 1563.Her mother, Margherita Costanzi, was a lady-in-waiting to Margherita Paleologa, the wife of Federico II, Duke of Mantua.Her father, Vincenzo Peveraro, was a scholar at the service of the Gonzaga family.Laura received a good education in Latin and music, probably studying with the children of Duke Guglielmo Gonzaga, a big patron of arts and composer himself.Giaches de Wert was then the maestro di cappella in Mantua, so it’s likely that he heard the young Laura singing and maybe even taught her. Laura was also known as an exceptional harp player. It’s clear that by 1580 Peverara was already famous: the poet Muzio Manfredi dedicated a sonnet to her.Later that year a remarkable collection of sonnets and madrigals was dedicated to her; among the composers who wrote the music for this collection were such luminaries as Orlando di Lasso, Luca Marenzio, Claudio Merulo andGiovanni Gabrieli (in one of the sonnets Laura is praised as “the second, after Virgil, most famous citizen of Mantua”).Alfonoso II, Duke of Ferrara, visited Mantua in 1580 and, taken by Laura’s beauty and singing, asked his wife (!), Margherita Gonzaga to write to her father, Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, asking for his permission to hire Laura Peverara.The permission was given, and Laura, accompanied by her father, moved to Ferrara, to the consternation of the ladies of the court.In Ferrara, she found success immediately: Giovanni Battista Guarini, a poet and father of Anna Guarini, who would later join Peverara in Concerto delle donne, wrote a sonnet in which he praised her singing.Duke Alfonso had wanted to have an ensemble of female singers since he heard Tarquinia Molza, the famous singer and composer, in Modena in 1568.
He already had two fine amateur singers,noblewomen Lucrezia Bendidio (the lover of the poet Torquato Tasso and then, later, of Cardinal Luigi d'Este) and her sister Isabella; with the addition of Laura Peverara and Anna Guarini, who was trained by Luzzasco Luzzaschi, the duke had a talented vocal group.Alfonso also hired Giulio Cesare Brancaccio, a soldier, adventurer and a fine bass.More singers joined the Concerto later.Luzzaschi usually accompanied the singers on the clavicembalo, a light, 16th century Italian version of the harpsichord.Laura played the harp while Brancaccio – the lute.
As we mentioned last week, Concerto delle donne was disbanded in 1597, after the death of Duke Alfonso II.Laura Peverara didn’t outlive the ensemble by long: she died in 1600 at the age of 37.Here’s a madrigal Misera, Che Faro by Giaches De Wert, one of the composers that thrived in Ferrara.It’s performed by the Consort of Musicke.We can think of Dame Emma Kirkby, the lead singer of the Concort, as performing the part Laura Peverara would’ve sung almost 450 years ago.
Concerto delle donne II
August 5, 2019. More on the Music in Ferrara. Today we’ll continue exploring the music at the court of the dukes of Ferrara at the end of the 16th century and its famous ensemble, Concerto
delle donne. Last week we mentioned the name of Laura Peverara, the lead singer, and said that it doesn’t tell us much. Turns out that with very little effort one can find a lot about this fascinating musician. Laura Peverara (her last name is sometimes spelled “Peperara”) was born in Mantua in the summer of 1563. Her mother, Margherita Costanzi, was a lady-in-waiting to Margherita Paleologa, the wife of Federico II, Duke of Mantua. Her father, Vincenzo Peveraro, was a scholar at the service of the Gonzaga family. Laura received a good education in Latin and music, probably studying with the children of Duke Guglielmo Gonzaga, a big patron of arts and composer himself. Giaches de Wert was then the maestro di cappella in Mantua, so it’s likely that he heard the young Laura singing and maybe even taught her. Laura was also known as an exceptional harp player. It’s clear that by 1580 Peverara was already famous: the poet Muzio Manfredi dedicated a sonnet to her. Later that year a remarkable collection of sonnets and madrigals was dedicated to her; among the composers who wrote the music for this collection were such luminaries as Orlando di Lasso, Luca Marenzio, Claudio Merulo and Giovanni Gabrieli (in one of the sonnets Laura is praised as “the second, after Virgil, most famous citizen of Mantua”). Alfonoso II, Duke of Ferrara, visited Mantua in 1580 and, taken by Laura’s beauty and singing, asked his wife (!), Margherita Gonzaga to write to her father, Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, asking for his permission to hire Laura Peverara. The permission was given, and Laura, accompanied by her father, moved to Ferrara, to the consternation of the ladies of the court. In Ferrara, she found success immediately: Giovanni Battista Guarini, a poet and father of Anna Guarini, who would later join Peverara in Concerto delle donne, wrote a sonnet in which he praised her singing. Duke Alfonso had wanted to have an ensemble of female singers since he heard Tarquinia Molza, the famous singer and composer, in Modena in 1568.
He already had two fine amateur singers,noblewomen Lucrezia Bendidio (the lover of the poet Torquato Tasso and then, later, of Cardinal Luigi d'Este) and her sister Isabella; with the addition of Laura Peverara and Anna Guarini, who was trained by Luzzasco Luzzaschi, the duke had a talented vocal group. Alfonso also hired Giulio Cesare Brancaccio, a soldier, adventurer and a fine bass. More singers joined the Concerto later. Luzzaschi usually accompanied the singers on the clavicembalo, a light, 16th century Italian version of the harpsichord. Laura played the harp while Brancaccio – the lute.
As we mentioned last week, Concerto delle donne was disbanded in 1597, after the death of Duke Alfonso II. Laura Peverara didn’t outlive the ensemble by long: she died in 1600 at the age of 37. Here’s a madrigal Misera, Che Faro by Giaches De Wert, one of the composers that thrived in Ferrara. It’s performed by the Consort of Musicke. We can think of Dame Emma Kirkby, the lead singer of the Concort, as performing the part Laura Peverara would’ve sung almost 450 years ago.