MUS267 – Reading Guide Week 8: Brown, “Women Singers and Women’s Songs in 15 th-Century Italy,”

Bembo, Doni, Stampa, Casulana, Isabella d’Este

Name: Clara Eddleman-Hunley

Date: 11/19/21
GE and section: Annie Liu
To receive full credit on your reading guide you need only provide a thorough answer to the bolded
questions. Other questions are meant to help you navigate the reading(s). If you struggle with readings, I
highly suggest using the reading guides to help with comprehension.

Questions to consider:

- Brown, “Women Singers and Women’s Songs in 15th-Century Italy”

o Begin by reading page 79, Brown’s summary of the article, then read the article from
beginning to end and consider the following:
 How does Brown support the conclusions he outlines on page 79?

 Overall, what is the picture Brown paints of women’s participation in

musical culture in fifteenth-century Italy?

Brown seems to essentially be saying that while women did participate in music
making, it was quite limited as compared to men of the time. He concludes his
writing by mentioning that Italians still believed that the home was the place of a
woman. He peppers his articles with phrases like “may have” and “had some
part”, leading the reader to believe that women did not pay a substantial role in
music making. He does mention certain women that were outliers of the time, but
makes sure to paint them as unique to the situation.

 Brown omits a very important subgroup of women from his study. Who is
he missing? In what way do you think a survey of these women’s musical
activities might alter the tone of Brown’s chapter?
This is a bit difficult to answer, because the article he writes is more focused on a
subgroup (upper class, courtly women) rather than women as a whole. But if we
are zeroed in on the secular court, Brown fails to mention the role of courtesans.
These women existed in courts as high-class companions that were extensively
trained in the arts as a means of entertainment, so they were, as a part of their
profession, paid musicians. He only mentions the names of two women who were
courtesans briefly. Because these women were essentially professional music
makers, he wouldn’t be able to make the claim that it wasn’t something women
did to make money. Brown’s final sentence also claims that there is no evidence
 that women resented their place in society, a claim that would be refuted by the
mentioning of professional female musicians in the form of courtesans.

- Bembo
o Summarize briefly who Pietro Bembo was, who he was writing to, and what was the
purpose of his letter.

o What request did Bembo’s daughter make of him?

She wanted his blessing for her to start learning to play the monochord.
o What is Bembo’s response to her request?
He tells his daughter that it isn’t something she should pursue as a woman, calling it a
“vain and frivolous thing”. He tells her that it would take far too much time to learn how
to play properly, and that if she played casually it would cause her great embarrassment.
Bembo tells his daughter to focus on writing and cooking instead, and to be chaste,
humble, and obedient.
o Based on the introduction, why do you think Bimbo gave the response that he did?

- Doni
o Who was Doni, and what is his dedication describing? Whose music does Doni say he
heard performed?

o How does Doni describe Polissena Pecorina? In what way does she engage in music
making?

o In a few short sentences, describe the differences between how Bembo and Doni
seem to feel about women participating in music making.
Bembo seems very oppositional toward women making music in the letter to his
daughter. Doni, on the other hand, praises a woman he sees making music highly. The
adjectives alone that the authors use to describe women making music is indicative
enough of their opinions: Bembo calls it “vain and frivolous” while Doni describes the
female performer as “virtuous and gentle”.

- Stampa
o Who was Gaspara Stampa and why are her activities of interest to scholars? Based
on what you have read about Bembo’s and Doni’s perspectives of women
participating in the arts, do you find Stampa’s successes notable? Why or why not?

Gaspara Stampa was a poet who captured scholar’s attention because of her reversed
perspective on traditional love poems. I certainly think, from both these readings and the
lectures from class, that the deck was stacked against female artists in this time period, so
it was a significant feat for Stampa to reach that amount of fame. There was a
 multifaceted view to women’s involvement in the arts, where you would be viewed as a
courtesan if you were too good and an embarrassment if you weren’t good enough. There
wasn’t nearly as many prejudices placed on male artists of the time.

o In 2-3 sentences summarize for yourself one of Stampa’s poems.

 He Sings With Sweetest Harmony

 On the Same Theme

This poem talks begins with hoping that a man come across a great woman. This
woman would be able to recognize how incredible his voice is. This man’s voice is
so powerful that it would stop the forces of nature, and this woman would witness his
gift.

- Casulana
o What is remarkable about Casulana’s publications?
It was already rare for a woman to be a musician at the time, but even rarer, Casulana
wrote and published works as a professional. To add another layer of remarkability, she
wrote counterpoint in the form of polyphonic madrigals.

o To whom does Casulana dedicate her first book of madrigals?

o Casulana boldly confronts accepted stigmas against women. What is her argument?

She essentially says that men and women are of the same intellect, and that it is a “vain
error” when men consider themselves intellectually superior to women.
- Isabella d’Este, Letters (no. 112, 183, 186-188, 270) NOTE: #186 includes a description of
domestic violence. If needed, please skip this letter.
o You have been given 7 short letters written by Isabella d’Este, marchesa of Mantua.
Isabella was regarded as one of the leading drivers of fashion (in clothing, art,
music, literature, etc.), a frequent patroness of the arts, and a political support to
her husband, Francesco II Gonzaga. Based on her letters, how would you
characterize Isabella d’Este? Who was she? What was important to her? How does
she compare to the women that we have read about previously?
From what I have gathered from these letters, Isabella was a patroness with many connections
that was passionate about the arts and wanted access to as much of it as she could. She valued
her and her family’s musical education and wanted the best instruments for herself and
themselves. She seemed to deeply value the music of Tromboncino, and mentions his skill
many times, and goes so far as to defend his murder of his wife so he could continue to make
music. Isabella d’Este claims a kind of authority that few other women we’ve read about
seem to possess. Others, like Hildegard von Bingen, claimed this authority through the voice
of God, or pandered to the men in their immediate circle to get what they wanted. Isabella
didn’t go through that kind of trouble, and instead went after what she wanted and had the
power and connections to do so.