The Birth of the Orchestra in Rome -- An Iconographic Study

Author(s): John Spitzer

Source: Early Music , Feb., 1991, Vol. 19, No. 1 (Feb., 1991), pp. 9-13+15+17+19-24+26-27
Published by: Oxford University Press

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3127950

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John Spitzer
The birth of the orchestra in Rome an
iconographic study
In his Early Music article 'When is an Orchestra not an with none or few of the characteristics on Zaslaw's list,
Orchestra?', Neal Zaslaw attempted to define the orches-and then just a few years later we find that they have
turned
tra as it emerged during the 17th and 18th centuries.' He into or have been replaced by ensembles with
most of the characteristics of an 'orchestra'. Rome in the
proposed a list of characteristics that he considered
adequate to distinguish instrumental ensembles that second half of the 17th century was one such place and
were orchestras from ensembles that were not orchestras.
time. Roman instrumental ensembles of the 165os and
Orchestras, Zaslaw said, were: (a) based on instruments
166os looked nothing like orchestras: they were not
based on violin-family instruments; parts were seldom
of the violin family; (b) the stringed instruments played
more than one to a part, with violins doubled more doubled; instrumentation was very flexible, and so on.
heavily than the others; (c) the instrumentation wasBy the 169os instrumental ensembles in Rome had many
'orchestral' characteristics: they were composed primar-
relatively stable for a given time, place and repertory; (d)
a chordal continuo instrument like a harpsichord was
ily of violin-family instruments; parts were heavily
usually present; and (e) the bass line was usually doubleddoubled, with violins multiplied considerably more than
at the 16-foot register. Finally, an orchestra usually had:the other instruments; contrabasses had become com-
(f) a fixed identity and continuity of personnel; and (g) mon
a and instrumentation was relatively stable.
significant degree of leadership and discipline. At the The development of Roman instrumental ensembles
beginning of the 17th century, Zaslaw pointed out, into 'orchestras' is documented in several different types
instrumental ensembles with all or most of these charac- of sources: in musical scores and parts, in pay records for
teristics did not exist; he used Monteverdi's ensemble for
musicians, and in accounts of performances. The change
is also documented in iconographic sources. When we
Orfeo in 1607 as an example of an orchestra that was not
an orchestra. By the end of the 18th century, he said, arrange paintings and engravings of Roman instrumen-
ensembles with all of these characteristics had become tal ensembles in a chronological series from 1650 to 1700
common. we see a transformation so thorough and so rapid that it
If the orchestra did not exist in 1600, and
really if like
seems it had
we are witnessing the birth of the
become the norm by 1800, then it mustorchestra-or
have been at least one of the births of the orchestra.
'born'
at some point in between. If we could identify Illus.i is an oil first
the painting by Filippo Lauri and Filippo
ensemble that combined all of the features on Zaslaw's Gagliardi depicting the 'Giostra delle caroselle' at the
list, then that ensemble would mark the 'birth of the Palazzo Barberini in 1656.4 This spectacular, pseudo-
orchestra' as an institution. When we look at instru- medieval joust was put on by the Barberini family to
mental ensembles of the 17th and 18th centuries, how- honour Queen Christina of Sweden, who had just
ever, we find the characteristics on Zaslaw's list arrived in Rome. On the facade of the palace we see a
appearing sporadically, partially and in varying combi- balcony constructed for the Queen. In the right fore-
nations from the early 16oos all the way into the 19th ground is a fire-breathing dragon, which has just been
century. Already in 16th-century Paris, violin-based conquered by Hercules. In the centre we see Don Matteo
ensembles played dance music with two and three play- Barberini and two other Roman noblemen dressed as
ers to a part.2 In 19th-century Italy orchestral discipline Amazons. Behind them is a parade float drawn by the
was still sufficiently lax that wind players often orna- three Graces and carrying a Cupid. Further back are a
mented their parts in orchestral solos.3 The 'birth of the float depicting the sun and the seasons and another float,
orchestra' was not a single event but a drawn-out process which is drawn by the Furies and features the figure of
which occupied the better part of two centuries. 'Wrath' (sdegno).5
Occasionally, however, the process moved remarkably A contemporary account describes the music for this
fast. In some places and at some times, we see ensembles gala occasion as follows:

EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1991 9

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1 Filippo Lauri
and Filippo
Gagliardi, Giostra
delle caroselle
(Rome, 1656), oil
painting (Museo di
Roma)

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 EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1991 11

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 a--?-.1mm- - ·
2 Vincenzo Mariotti, Public cele-
bration for the recovery of Louis XIV
(Rome, 1687), engraving (Paris, Biblio-
I *~~~~~~~~~~~r
theque Nationale, Imp. fo. Ld 176 525)

In the festivities put on in the Piazza di Spagna

great by the French
cour
spacious grandsta
Ambassador to celebrate the recovery of Louis XIV from
persons. In
a severe illness in 1687. Wherebetwe
the Spanish steps are now,
tone] adorned ...
a wooded path leads up to the Trinita dei Monti, whose
arms her of
maje
facade is decorated with an elaborate apparato erected
the musicians [u
for the occasion. Above the church burst fireworks. This
four large wind
time the musicians are easier to find-they are right in
variety of instrum
the middle of the picture on a large platform, labelled
Indeed, if
with the letter we
K. The accompanying legend informs us lo
hand side
in both French and Italian that K indicates the 'stageth
of for
band of instrum
the instrumentalists and singers, where they performed
lute. A
a great little fu
concerto and cantata.'s Again there is a contem-
describes
porary account: the
festivities:
All these things I have described had a great effect on the
... from time to time this choir of musicians [ Coro di Musici]
onlookers, when all of a sudden, there rang out the beginning
... played harmonious symphonies. Then they gave way to the
of a superb serenade, accompanied by timpani, trumpets and
sound of the trumpets, which roused the participants to
cornetts [cornette] along with a great number of stringed
battle . . ..
instruments. The music lasted three-quarters of an hour. The
Illus.2, an engraving by Vincenzo Mariotti, depicts the platform [palco] for the instrumentalists was constructed like a

12 EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1991

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 I ;a

'

I.i

3 Pierre Paul Sevin, Concert (Rome, c.166o), pen and ink with watercolour (Stockholm, National Museum,
THC 3628)

EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1991 13

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4 Detail of illus.2

theatre at the foot of the hill . . . and draped with the finest Just what piece they could have been playing is an
Arras and Damas cloth .. .9
intriguing question. Perhaps they are playing one of the
concerti grossi from Opus 6, which Georg Muffat leads
The trumpets and drums were not located with the other
instruments, but placed in structures on top of twous to believe were performed by Corelli in Rome long
before they were published." Perhaps they are playing
neighbouring buildings. They can be seen above the tile-
one of the trio sonatas from Opus i or Opus 3; there is
roofed houses on the left and right sides of the engrav-
ing, again with labels (P). Another contemporary considerable evidence to suggest that sonate da chiesa
account furnishes further information: could be played with several performers on a part.'2 Per-
haps they are playing some lost work.'3
The fireworks were accompanied by the sound of drums,
The contrasts between the instrumental ensembles in
trumpets and pipers [Tamburri, Timbali, Trombette e Pifferi].
Opposite [dirimpetto] the two galleries where those instru-
these two pictures and in the accompanying reports are
striking.
ments were placed, there was a large platform for the singers
and instrumentalists, who started out with a beautiful sym- The first contrast is in size: the 1687 ensemble is much
larger than the 1656 ensemble. A detail (illus.4) shows
phony [sinfonia] of concerted instruments by the famous
Arcangelo Bolognese [i.e. Arcangelo Corelli], who hadabout 34 players in Corelli's band. In the little ensemble
assembled together all the best string players [violoni] in Rome.
on top of the gate in the 'Giostra' picture there are only
Then two vocalists, accompanied by the orchestra [sinfonia]
ten musicians at most (illus.5)-five to the left of the
sang a poem in praise of the King [Louis XIV]. The audience
vertical bar, five to the right. The account of the 1656 per-
listened in profound silence.'°
formance mentions musicians 'stationed at four large
Illus.2 thus depicts a performance by Corelli and anwindows', so we might expect to find more performers at
ensemble under his direction. According to the second
the window on the right facing the centre of the picture,
but this window is empty.14
account above they are playing one of his compositions.

EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1991 15

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5 Detail of illus.i
How could ten musicians playing outdoors to a crowd
of several thousand possibly make themselves heard?
Perhaps there were actually many more musicians on
top of that gate in 1656, but the artist-for reasons of
composition-chose to portray only a few of them. In
this case, however, we are not just interested in how big
or small a given Roman ensemble was in fact, but also in
how people in the late 17th century conceived of an
instrumental ensemble, how big or small they thought
an instrumental ensemble should be. However big or
small these two ensembles may have been in actuality,
the artists who painted the 'Giostra' picture thought that
ten players was a good size for an ensemble to be in a
painting, that ten players represented an ensemble
adequately and appropriately. The engraver of the Piazza
di Spagna picture, on the other hand, thought that an
instrumental ensemble could be or should be quite a bit
larger.
The second contrast between the two pictures is in
instrumentation.1 The instrument that can be seen most
clearly in the earlier ensemble is a large archlute or the-
orbo in the left-hand window. Its neck stretches up into
the space above the window shutters, where it meets the
neck of another similar instrument. Following the
second neck down, we find another lutenist on the far
right. His back is to the painter, but his left hand can be
seen fingering the instrument. In the centre of the win-
dow on the right a violinist can be seen with his bow on
the strings. To the left of the violinist a man plays a
curved cornetto. The six remaining musicians do not
seem to be holding instruments at all. Perhaps their
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instruments are obscured by bodies; perhaps the artist
did not have room to depict the instruments; perhaps
these people are singers.'6 In any case, the ensemble con-
tains instruments from three different families: plucked
strings, bowed strings and winds. The visual emphasis is
on the plucked strings, and there may be singers mixed
in with the instrumentalists.
Corelli's band, on the other hand, is composed
entirely of instruments of the violin family. About 18 vio-
lins and/or violas and three or four cellos or violoni can
be discerned. The rest are not clear enough to make out.
The figure in the front row just to the right of centre may
be a lutenist, but no other plucked strings or keyboards
are depicted. The report specifies that Corelli has
assembled the best 'violoni' in Rome, by which the
author almost certainly means 'violins' or 'violin family
instruments'. The 'timpani, trumpets and drums' which
the report says accompanied the opening serenade are
not seen. Presumably they played from their rooftop gal-
leries. The figure at the front of the platform in the very
centre does not seem to be holding an instrument. This
may be one of the two singers mentioned in the report. If
this is indeed a singer, he or she is visibly separated from
the instrumentalists, not intermingled with them as in
the earlier picture.
A third contrast is that the instrumental ensemble in
the earlier picture is peripheral, while in the later picture
it is central. That is, the instrumentalists in the picture of
the 'Giostra' are at the edge of the picture, and they are
not easy to see. Clearly the artists do not intend to call
attention to the musicians. In the Piazza di Spagna pic-
EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1991 17
ture, on the other hand, the instrumental ensemble is
placed dead centre, and the artist marks it with a letter as
a significant component of the depicted event. The two
pictures differ also in the relation they portray between
the instrumental ensembles and the listeners. In the 1656
picture the ensemble is placed far above most of the
listeners, and it is oriented at right angles both to the
bulk of the audience and to the Queen on the balcony.
Corelli's band, on the other hand, is face to face with its
audience. Indeed, the listeners in the foreground, whom
the legend identifies as 'emminentissimi Signori Card-
inale' have their backs to the engraver, preferring, it
seems, to listen to Corelli's music rather than to show
themselves off to posterity.17
In the descriptions, too, the instrumental ensemble is
much more central to the later event than to the earlier
one. At the 'Giostra' the instrumentalists play 'from time
to time', and then the trumpets and drums announce the
main event, that is, the battle. The ensemble's function
in the event is introductory and marginal. In the cel-
ebration for Louis XIV, the symphony comes after the
fireworks, and the ensemble plays for a much longer
time-the chronicler specifies three-quarters of an hour.
He also emphasizes that people listened in silence. Here
the orchestra is the show-or at least an important part
of the show.
Finally, Corelli's band is organized as a single unit,
with everyone in the same place, facing the same direc-
tion, holding their instruments in the same plane and
visibly playing together. Also, the musicians are
arranged in tiers so that the audience can see every player
and so that the sound of each performer can project
cearly. The ensemble on top of the tower in 1656 pres-
ents a much less unified image. If, in fact, the musicians
played out of four different windows, as the report
implies (though we do not see this in the picture), then
the instrumentalists would have been separated into
four groups, facing away from one another. Such a div-
ision into four choirs was a common arrangement for
outdoor music in Rome during the mid-17th century,
although the choirs were often placed in separate towers
rather than together."8 In any case, the musicians in the
ensemble that is seen at the window present themselves
to the world not as a unified, regimented band, but as a
collection of individuals, oriented towards one another
rather than towards the audience. To some extent the singers occupy the upper tier and the
The contrasts between these two pictures embody the instruments the lower, but there are several instruments
essential transformations that constituted the 'birth of above-mostly continuo instruments. The singers in the
the orchestra' in Rome. From an earlier instrumental
lofts seem to form pairs with their accompanying vio-
practice of ensembles that were dominated by keyboard
linists. Looking at the main ensemble, a polychoral sub-
and plucked string continuo, that played one or two to a
part, that were loosely organized into separate choirs and
mixed in with singers, there is a rapid shift in the second
half of the 17th century to an ensemble that is based on
instruments of the violin family, that doubles the string
parts, particularly the violins, that is unified as a single
body under centralized leadership, and that is distinct
and independent from singers. These contrasts involve
most of the characteristics mentioned by Zaslaw in his
definition of the orchestra. To his list, we might want to
add that the new, 'orchestral' ensemble often occupies a
central role in the social event in which it functions.
Illus.3 is a watercolour by Pierre Paul Sevin, a French
artist in the entourage of Queen Christina of Sweden. It
depicts a large ensemble of instrumentalists and singers
performing indoors. The date, location and circum-
stances of the performance have not been established.
Clearly it took place in Rome, and probably the sponsor
was Queen Christina. The most likely date is sometime
in the 165os or 166os.19 This picture is interesting because
it seems transitional between the 1656 'Giostra' ensemble
and Corelli's 1687 ensemble in the Piazza di Spagna. The
ensemble here looks 'modern' in several respects: the
musicians are unified in a single body; they are arranged
in tiers; and they are face to face with the audience.
Clearly the performance is the focus of the event, and the
audience is listening attentively. In other ways the
depicted ensemble seems old-fashioned: the instrumen-
tation is mixed and far from violin or violin-family
dominated; singers and instrumentalists are inter-
mingled; and there are still remnants of the old poly-
choral structure.
All this may be seen in illus.6, which is a diagram of
the Sevin painting. In the upper tier are four organs, plus
a violone, a violin and what is probably a chitarrone on
the far left, and a couple more violones or basses on the
right.20 In the lower tier we see (from left to right): a
harp, three trombones, a violin, a violone, another vio-
lin, two cornetts, three more violins (one of them per-
haps a viola), a violone, a transverse flute, two oboes, a
serpent and another violone.21 Finally, there is a singer in
a loft on either side, each accompanied by a violinist. All
in all, the instrumentation is highly diverse and rather
continuo-heavy.
Singers and instrumentalists are not clearly separated.

EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1991 19

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 =).
structure can be discerned, with a group of singers and
I
instrumentalists gathered around each of the four
organs. Some of the singers and some of the instru-
mentalists seem to face one another in little groups and
i
the instruments are arranged into consorts of similar
types and timbres. The dotted lines in illus.6 indicate a
provisional division into choirs. The four choirs are
depicted as playing and singing together, not in alterna-
tion or in sequence."
PKA* 0t, 4
I
This transformation of Roman instrumental ensem-
1
1,14 -;l'-4--, 1 t I bles into an 'orchestra' did not proceed in nearly so
I .. -

)~ .= orderly or so uniform a fashion as this sequence of pic-

tures might seem to imply. Ensembles for some occa-
sions and for some types of music did change rapidly,
0 but ensembles for other events and other musical genres
D\ ^i (K~,
ip //
^fa
\7- i,
remained rather old-fashioned. In general, ensembles
for big, festive, outdoor events like the one in the Piazza
le 4 t \ -

I di Spagna, tended to be more 'orchestra-like'. So did

I
I j, those for serenate and for oratorios. Church music, can-
tatas and operas, on the other hand, tended to use less
I
I --,-

i! 'orchestral' ensembles. The contrast between opera and

!, oratorio is particularly striking.
It Illus.7 is taken from an opera libretto of 169o.
Although this was a Roman opera-Gli equivoci nel sem-
I
| biante by Alessandro Scarlatti-the libretto is from a
Venetian performance." However, the composition of
6 Schematic diagram of illus.3 the ensemble is very similar to what we see in the pay

7 Stage and orchestra for Alessandro Scarlatti, Gli equivoci nel sembiante, engraving in libre
.Am _fm tM3T ftWIO 10n"JS %m^ :iA ' S *^;S.' ^Ef' tw:

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8 Stage and orchestra for G. B.
Costanzi, Componimento sacro per la
festivita del S. Natale, engraving in
libretto (Rome, 1727)

records for Roman operas of the same period.24 The
ensemble is in the 'orchestra' of the theatre-i.e. in front
of the stage-and in it we see from left to right: an oboe,
a violin, a trumpet and a bass instrument of some kind.5
Then come another violin, another bass, a player whose
instrument is completely hidden and next to him a
player with a stringed instrument across his chest-
perhaps a violone in the same position as the instru-
ments in the Sevin picture. Still moving to the right, we
see a theorbo or an archlute, another invisible instru-
ment, another bass and finally another oboe and another
trumpet.26 Perhaps one of the people whose instruments
are hidden is playing the cembalo-otherwise the
absence of a keyboard in the ensemble is surprising. As a
whole, the ensemble is heavy on continuo and basses
and very light on violins. Of the visible instruments there
are only two violins against at least three bowed bass
instruments. The structure of the ensemble is hard to
make out. The musicians seem to divide themselves into
two groups-one on the left, one on the right. Each
group has plenty of continuo, but the right-hand group
lacks violins. The separation of trumpets and oboes,
with one of each instrument on each side, is hard to
explain, since these instruments would ordinarily play in
pairs. The score of Gli equivoci nel sembiante does not
call for trumpets or oboes in any case. It does call for
strings in four parts, which might be difficult to get out
of the depicted ensemble. Once again, then, we should

EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1991 21

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not interpret the picture too literally. We should take it
as evidence of how an engraver thought an instrumental
ensemble for the opera ought to look, rather than as a
record of how a particular ensemble for a particular
opera actually did look.
Instrumental ensembles for oratorios present a
striking contrast to this opera ensemble. What seems to
be the earliest extant picture of a Roman oratorio
ensemble dates from the 1720S. It shows the Componi-
mento sacro of 1727 with a libretto by Metastasio and
music by Costanzi (illus.8). The performance was spon-
sored by Cardinal Ottoboni and was probably staged in
his theatre in the Cancelleria27 The differences between
this ensemble and the opera ensemble in illus.7 are
striking-in size, in composition, in the way the ensem-
bles are positioned and presented. The Componimento
sacro ensemble is much larger; it is deployed both in the
pit and on the stage; and it is heavily dominated by vio-
lins. On stage we see 34 violins and/or violas, two con-
trabasses and possibly a lute on the far right, bottom
row. In the pit on the left there are two trumpets, two
bassoons and a horn, plus a cembalo and three instru-
ments of uncertain type. In the middle are nine per-
formers with their backs to the audience, and with
invisible instruments. On the right is a second cembalo,
plus two horns and two trumpets. The most striking
in this description all match the Componimento sacro
picture in illus.8.
The final picture (illus.9) is an engraving of a teatro
designed by Christopher Schor to celebrate the name
day of Maria Luisa Borbone, Queen of Spain.3' The date
of the event was August 1687, just four months after the
Louis XIV celebration depicted in illus.2. Like that event,
this one took place in the Piazza di Spagna, put on by the
Spanish ambassador this time, not the French. Most of
the features that characterize the orchestra are already
present in the ensemble on the bandstand. It is large and
based on violin-family instruments. H. J. Marx, in his
analysis of this picture, counts 48 violins and violas in
three tiers, then 11 cellos and/or basses in front.32 Clearly,
the string parts are heavily doubled, with the violins
reinforced more heavily than the other parts. The con-
tinuo instruments are in front: two harpsichords in the
centre; on the right, two lutes. The ensemble is led by
two violinists, who stand on a raised platform on the
left.33 The instrumental ensemble here is clearly separ-
ated from the singers. Two female singers are seated in
front; three male singers stand on the left behind the
keyboardist. Finally, as in the Louis XIV picture, this
ensemble is placed in the centre of the picture, it is face
to face with audience, and it is very much the focus of the
event.

thing about this picture is that the bulk of the ensemble An account of the festival informs us that the piece
is placed on the stage and arranged in tiers. Clearly in they are performing is Applause musicale, a serenata by
this event the ensemble itself is 'part of the show', indeed, Bernardo Pasquini.34 Although the music was by Pas-
an important part. quini, it seems likely that once again we are looking at
This picture is late, but paylists and descriptions of Corelli's band. Judging from pay records and descrip-
Roman oratorios in the 168os show that the instru- tions, Corelli was the only one in Rome during the 168os
mental ensemble played a central role already in the late
and 169os who was in a position to organize an ensemble
17th century.28 The manuscript account of the 'dis-this big. If this speculation is correct, then the violinists
position of musicians' for the performance of Lulier's in front would be Corelli and Matteo Fornari, Corelli's
student and assistant.
oratorio Santa Beatrice d'Este in the Pamphili Palace in
1689 describes 'a stage like a theatre [un palco come diA description of the Queen's name day festivities from
scena]'.29 On the stage was a 'large set of risers [unathe following year (1688) is transmitted in a letter by
grande scalinata] ... on which 80 instrumentalists werePaolo Negri. It describes a scene almost identical to what
arranged with artful grace'. In front of the stage, in whatwe see in this picture and offers an amusing insight into
the writer calls 'the orchestra', but still a foot or so above
how the Roman aristocracy went about paying for these
ground level, were three singers along with 'the har- large orchestras and theatrical events:
pischords and other instruments necessary for accom-
This Signor Ambassador of Spain, without paying out any
paniment [gli cembali e altri stromenti necessari per
money in advance, put together a magnificent festival for the
l'accompagnamento de' medismi]'. Finally, at the other
birthday of her majesty the Queen. The whole Piazza was ill-
end of the hall, was a lo-foot-high 'tribune' with 20 more
uminated by torches and candles and in the middle there was a
instrumentalists and a singer representing an angel.30 grand theatre... In this theatre was performed a Serenata, with
The theatrical display of the instrumental ensemble, thethe principal parts sung by two ladies and with a large number
division of the ensemble between stage and 'orchestra' of singers and instrumentalists accompanying. This Serenade,
pit and the arrangement of the instrumentalists in tiershowever, did not please most people. And although the staging

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 beginning of the period Roman instrumental ensembles
tended to be relatively small; they often seem to have
played one to a part; and they tended to be dominated by
continuo instruments. Furthermore they tended to be
organized as an agglomeration of separate choirs, and
they were not distinguished categorically from vocal
ensembles. Finally, they tended to occupy a marginal
position in the social event where they were located. By
the end of the period many Roman instrumental ensem-
bles were relatively larger, and they were dominated by
violin-family instruments. They also tended to be organ-
ized as a single unit, independent of vocalists or co-equal
with vocalists. Finally, they were often capable of being
the 'whole show' or at least a focal component of a
public event.
This transformation can be called 'the birth of the
orchestra'. At least, it was the first and perhaps the most
important step in the birth of the orchestra. This may
seem like an extravagant interpretation of a limited
amount of iconographic evidence. But if we look at
other kinds of evidence from late 17th-century
Rome-at written reports, at paylists, at manuscript and
printed music-we find the same transformation. For
example, several sets of pay records have been preserved
9 Christofer Schor, Festival in the Piazza di Spagna (Rome, with month-by-month information on instrumentalists
1687) (Stockholm, Kungliga Biblioteket) employed by churches or noble households during the
period from 1660 to 1690, and in them we find the same
[apparato] was very beautiful, people found grounds for criti- decline in keyboards and plucked string continuo and
cism here too, because the singers and the instrumentalists the corresponding increase in violins and violin-family
appeared before the eyes of the whole populace dressed in their instruments.36 We also find that in the i66os the instru-
own clothes. This was thought to be very improper, since his
mentalists tend to be listed along with the singers in the
Excellency should have outfitted them all in uniforms. This
lists and divided with the singers into 'choirs'-'primo
would not have put a strain on his pocketbook, since he was
coro', 'secondo coro' etc. By the 169os the lists usually
financing the whole affair on credit anyway. The next morning
the following couplet [pasquinata] made the rounds: 'The separate the instrumentalists from the singers, grouping
Marquis of Coccogliudo does all he can do until payment the instruments together at the end, arranged according
comes due.' [ II signor Marchese di Coccogliudofa tutto quello che to instrument type -violins, violas, cellos, etc. If we
deve e deve tutto quello chefa.135 look at Roman music from the second half of the 17th
century, we see the same thing again. Instrument parts
This picture and this description of a large instru- become more independent from voice parts; there are
mental ensemble-based on violin-family instruments, more parts for violin-family instruments; and the
placed on a stage, arranged in tiers, dressed alike (sup- ensemble is treated more and more 'orchestrally', that is,
posedly), face to face with the audience and payed for
there is more reliance on massed effects and greater
development of solo/accompaniment textures within
with deficit financing-looks and sounds very much like
a modern orchestral concert. the instrumental body. Thus, the evidence of historical
documents and the evidence of the music reinforce the
This series of pictures of Roman instrumental ensem-
bles in the second half of the 17th century suggests thaticonographic evidence.
there was an extensive transformation in the character of This does not mean that the orchestra was 'born in
Rome'. The same transformation happened earlier in
instrumental ensembles during the period from 1660 to
1690, and that this transformation involved the emer-some places-for example, in France at the court of
gence of specifically 'orchestral' characteristics. At the
Louis XIV. But the orchestra was born relatively early in

EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1991 23

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Rome (compared, say, to Vienna or London), and in Lully.'39 Both these anecdotes are grinding the axe of
Rome the process of its coming into being was particu- French versus Italian music, so their claim that Corelli
larly rapid and particularly well documented. learned his craft from Lully must be taken with a grain of
It is all very well to say that we are witnessing 'the birth salt. Nevertheless, it is easy to imagine that Corelli might
of the orchestra' in late 17th-century Rome, but why did have been familiar with Lully's works and Lully's style of
it happen just then and just there? And why was the instrumental writing, because there were many links
transformation so rapid? In the broadest terms, the between the French Court and the circles in which
answer is relatively easy: the orchestra came into being as Corelli moved-for example, through Cardinal
a manifestation of the desire and the need of princes and d'Estrees, the French ambassador, who hired Corelli for
potentates to display their wealth and power to the rest the Piazza d'Espagna celebration in 1687, or through the
of society. The prince or cardinal who could hire 40 or 50 church of Saint-Louis des Fran6ais, where Corelli played
instrumentalists, put them on a stage, dress them alike, on and off from 1675 to 1708, or even through Georg
and get them to play as a single unit must be a powerful Muffat.
man indeed-or at least so he appeared. Another sort of explanation is technological. The 17th
But the popes, the cardinals and the great Roman century saw great advances in the construction of violin-
families had been showing off their wealth and power for family instruments. Stephen Bonta has advanced the
centuries-in art, in architecture, in festivals and enter- hypothesis that the invention of wire-wound strings to
tainments. Why, quite suddenly, in the second half of the replace gut-an invention he locates in Bologna in the
17th century, did instrumental music become the field 166os-was a crucial step, because it enabled the player
for their ostentatious endeavours? to produce a much louder sound on a much thinner
One explanation lies in the realm of cultural politics. string.40 The technological advance was especially
Pope Innocent XI banned theatrical performances in important for the bass members of the violin family,
Rome in 1676, and the ban remained in force until 1689, which, with gut strings in the lower register, were cum-
though it was often circumvented by 'private' perform- bersome and muted. Wound strings seem to have been
ances. Perhaps, without singers and stage sets to spend adopted quickly and widely in Italy during the 1670s and
their money on, the Roman nobility turned to instru- 168os,41 precisely the period during which, as we have
mental music and instrumental ensembles as an outlet seen, violin-family instruments came to dominate
for their ostentation. Roman instrumental ensembles. The development of a
Another explanation might be in terms of 'influ- cello and a contrabass capable of supporting a large
ence'-people in Rome got the idea of the orchestranumber of violins and of projecting to a large audience
from somewhere else. For a long time scholars have may have helped stimulate the transformation from
pointed out that many instrumentalists in late 17th- instrumental ensembles based primarily on continuo
century Rome, including Corelli, came to Rome frominstruments into an 'orchestra' based on instruments of
Bologna, and people have suggested that specificallythe violin family.
instrumental idioms like the concerto may have devel- Any and all of these explanations may be right. They
oped in Bologna and been exported to Rome.37 There isare by no means incompatible with one another. And I
also a good possibility of French influence. Already inam sure that other equally plausible explanations will
the 165os Lully had organized large violin-based ensem-turn up as we continue to investigate the birth of the
bles at the court of Louis XIV, and by the 167os Lully'sorchestra.
ensemble, his style and his repertory were probably
John Spitzer teaches music history at the Peabody Conser-
known in Rome. A whole corpus of anecdotes connects
vatory in Baltimore. In collaboration with Neal Zaslaw, he
Corelli with Lully-anecdotes in French sources from
is writing a book on the birth of the orchestra in the 17th
the mid-i8th century, but still worth considering. Oneand 18th centuries.
anecdote, transmitted by Morand, says that Corelli 'was
1 N. Zaslaw, 'When is an Orchestra not an Orchestra?', EM, xvi
so full of admiration for Lully that he had several works
(1988), pp.483-95
by that great man framed in gold... and he kept them in 2 See Peter Holman's forthcoming book, Four and Twenty
his chamber like precious treasures'.38 Titon du TilletBlackbirds.
reports of Corelli that, when he was complimented by 3 Louis Spohr complains in his autobiography about improvised
ornamentation in Roman orchestras in 1816 (Lebenserinnerungen, i
the French ambassador on the beauty of his sonatas, he(Tutzing, 1968), pp.296-7); Mendelssohn mentions the same thing in a
replied, 'Monseigneur, that is because I have studiedletter from Rome in 1831 (Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Briefe einer

24 EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1991

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Reise durch Deutschland, Italien und die Schweiz (Zurich, 1958), occupy a position much more like the band of instrumentalists in the
pp.96-7). See J. Spitzer and N. Zaslaw, 'Improvised Ornamentation in 1656 'Giostra' painting. They are on the periphery of the picture; they
Eighteenth-Century Orchestras', JAMS, xxxix (1986), pp.524-77. are placed far above the listeners; they play at right angles to the audi-
4 Long the property of the Barberini family, the painting now hangs ence. The string ensemble seems to have moved to a central location
in the Museo di Roma. It is reproduced here by kind permission of and role, leaving the trumpets and drums behind.
Dottoressa Emiliana Ricci. For a description of the painting and its 18 See, for example, Giacinto Gigli's report of the festa della Resur-
history, see G. Incisa della Rocchetta, 'Tre quadri Barberini acquistati rezione of 1640 (quoted in Effimero Barocco, i, pp.140-41) and Dionisio
dal Museo di Roma', Bollettino dei musei comunali di Roma, vi (1959), de Torres's account of the same festival in 1675 (ibid., p.277).
pp.20-37. 19 P. Bjurstrom, Feast and Theatre in Queen Christina's Rome (Stock-
5 The identification of the figures is based on a published account holm, 1966), pp.55-60, 129,144. Bjurstr6m suggests that the location of
by V. G. Priorato, Historia della Sacra Reale Maesta di Christina Ales- the concert may be the church of Santa Maria del Popolo. H. J. Marx
sandra Regina de Svetia (Rome, 1656), reprinted in F. Clementi, Il car- thinks the concert may have taken place in the church of Santa Maria
nevale romano: nelle cronache contemporanee (Citta di Castello, 1939), Maggiore in 1657 ('The Instrumentation of Handel's Early Italian
pp.525-33. See also Incisa della Rochetta, 'Tre quadri', pp.30-37. Works' EM, xvi (1988), pp.496-505, here p.505).
6 Gualdo Priorato, Historia, quoted in Clementi, Carnevale, p.525. 20 There is a great deal of controversy over the names and character-
7 Clementi, Carnevale, p.531. The top of a gate was a favourite istics of 17th-century bass instruments. (See S. Bonta, 'Terminology for
location for instrumentalists at public festivities in the 16th and 17ththe Bass Violin in 17th-Century Italy', Journal of the American Musical
centuries. Compare the arch and the ensemble in illus.1 with the tri- Instrument Society, iv (1978), pp.5-42; and T. Borgir, The Performance of
umphal arch for the entry of Maximilian II into Niirnberg in 1570 (M. the Basso Continuo in Italian Baroque Music (Ann Arbor, 1987),
Holl, 'Der Musica Triumph', Imago Musicae, iii (1986), p.27) and with pp.71-81.) The instruments we see here could be violones; they could
T. Borgonio's painting of the gate for the carousel 'Gli Hercoli doma- be cellos. None look like 16-foot instruments. The across-the-chest
tori de mostri' at Turin in 1650 (Mercedes Viale-Ferrero, Feste delle playing position of these bass instruments appears in several other pic-
Madame reali di Savoia (Turin, 1965), p.34). tures from the 17th century, particularly when the performer is stand-
8 'Palcho di strumenti e Musici dove si fece d'gran concerto e can- ing or marching in a parade. See N. Pyron, 'An Introduction to the
tata.' The French legend does not distinguish between vocal and instru-History of the Cello', Cello, ed. W. Pleeth (London, 1982), pp.208-68,
mental performers: 'Parquet des Musiciens sur lequel on fut ce grand here pp.218-28. The over-the-shoulder technique of the bass player in
concert et simphonie.' the front row is less common, but a similar example may be found in
9 V. Coronelli, Roma festeggiante... (Rome, 1687), quoted in L'ef- the 'Tableau ofthe four seasons' from the first day ofthe Plaisirs de l'ile
fimero barocco: Strutture dellafesta nella Roma del '6oo, ed. M. Fagioloenchant&e' at Versailles in 1664. See N. Zaslaw, 'Lully's Orchestra', Actes
Dell'Arco and S. Caradini (Rome, 1977), i, p.310. du Colloque Lully (14-18 Sept., 1987) ed. J. de La Gorce and H. Schneider
1o Anon, Ragguaglio delle sontuosefeste... (Rome, 1687), quoted in(Laaber, 1990).
R. Bossa, 'Corelli e il Cardinal Benedetto Pamphilj-Alcune notizie',21 The serpent is unusual but not unheard-of for Rome in the 166os.
A serpent player appears on the payroll at the church of Saint-Louis des
Nuovi studii corelliani: Atti del 3 Congresso Internationale (1980) (Flor-
ence, 1982), p.222. Although this account makes it clear that the fire- Francais for a performance in 1666 (Jean Lionnet, 'La Musique a Saint-
works were accompanied only by trumpets and drums, not by strings,Louis des Fransais de Rome au 17. Siecle' Note d'archivio, Nuova serie,
the picture shows the fireworks bursting overhead and Corelli's
iv (1986), supplement, p.129).
ensemble playing all at the same time. This seems to be an example of22 H. J. Marx connects this picture with a pay record from the per-
the 'telescoping' that is typical in 17th- and 18th-century engravings of formance of a quadri-choral mass at the church of Santa Maria Mag-
official spectacles and festivities. In order to include all the significantgiore in 1657 ('Handel's Instrumentation', p.505). The instrumentalists
paid on that occasion included violinists, lutenists, a harpist, harpsi-
aspects of the event in a single picture, the artist depicts events that take
place one after another as happening simultaneously. chordists, organists and a bass-player. The list does not correspond to
" Muffat reports in the preface to his Auserlesene Instrumentalmusik the instruments depicted in the Sevin watercolour, the architecture in
of 1701 that his own concerti grossi are modelled on 'several beautiful the picture looks nothing like Santa Maria Maggiore, and it is unlikely
concertos by Arcangelo Corelli', which Muffat heard 'performed with that a mass would have been performed in a concert setting as shown
great precision by a large number of instrumentalists', during his visitin the picture. In both picture and paylist, though, we have four choirs
to Rome (Denkmiiler der Tonkunst in Osterreich, Jg. 16/2, xxiii (1904),containing instrumentalists mixed with singers, accompanied by four
p.8). Muffat was in Rome in 1681 and 1682. organs.
12 For a summary of evidence on 'orchestral' performance of sonate23 F D'Accone, The History of a Baroque Opera: Alessandro Scarlatti's
Gli Equivoci nel Sembiante (New York, 1985), pp.137-8.
da chiesa, see S. Bonta, The Church Sonatas of Giovanni Legrenzi (PhD
diss., Harvard U., 1964), i, pp.2o6-11. 24 See D'Accone, History, pp.51-2 for a discussion of the instru-
mental ensemble in Gli equivoci. Typical paylists for Roman opera
13 In his introduction to vol. v of the Corelli Complete Works edi-
ensembles of the late 17th and early 18th centuries may be found in: U.
tion, H. J. Marx argues that Corelli must have written many works for
large ensemble which are now lost (Arcangelo Corelli, Historisch- Kirkendale, Antonio Caldara: Sein Leben und seine venezianisch-
kritische Gesamtausgabe, v: Werke ohne Opuszahl, (Cologne, 1976), romische Oratorien (Graz, 1966), p.364; H. J. Marx, 'Die Giustificazione
p.20). della casa Pamphilj' als musikgeschichtliche Quelle' Studi musicali, xii
14 It is possible that the carousel picture is unfinished, as some of the (1983), p 147; S. Hansell, 'Orchestral Practice at the Court of Cardinal
faces in the crowd have not been painted in (Incisa della Rocchetta, Pietro Ottoboni', JAMS, xix (1966), p.401; R. Bossa, 'Corelli e il Card-
'Tre quadri' p.32). Perhaps Lauri, who did the detail work on the paint- inal Benedetto Pamphilj', Nuovissimi studi corelliani: Atto del 30 Con-
ing, intended to paint more musicians at the other windows. gresso Internazaionale (1980) (Florence, 1982), p.211ff.
15 I want to thank Frederick Hammond for helping to clarify the 25 Judging from the length of their necks and the size of their scrolls,
instrumentation of this ensemble. it would seem obvious that these instruments are 16-foot basses. We
16 Gualdo-Priorato's account refers to all the performers as musici, a should be cautious, however, because several 17th-century pictures
term that usually refers exclusively to singers, but he also says they show what are clearly 8-foot instruments with similarly long necks.
played on a 'variety of instruments'. Examples may be found in the 'Tableau of the four seasons' at Versail-
17 Compared to Corelli's string ensemble in the centre of the picture, les, cited above in n. 20, and in an engraving of the opera Ricimero,
the ensembles of trumpets and drums, marked with the letter P, performed in Turin in 1722 and reproduced in H. C. Wolff, Oper: Szene

26 EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1991

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und Darstellung von 1609 bis 19oo (Leipzig, n.d.), p.97. For a discussion
of this point see Zaslaw, 'Lully's Orchestra'.
26 The oboes in this engraving seem to be curved like cornetti. How- eapr~J music at
I ~~~~~~~~I I
ever, there were no cornetti in opera ensembles after 1650 in either
Rome or Venice, so these are almost certainly oboes.
27 See S. La Via, II violoncello a Roma al tempo del Cardinale Ottoboni:
^- I
Ricerche e documenti (1629-1751) (Tesi di Laurea, Universita degli studi S
Now in its second decade, the Early Music
di Roma, 1984), pp.84-5. p
Studies program at the College of St.
L-
1

28 A great many paylists have been preserved from Roman oratorio A .A

Scholastica has established a world-wide
I
a
performances of the late 17th century. See, for example: R. Casimiri, reputation for excellence. The program
'Oratorii del Masimi, Bernabei, Melani, di Pio, Pasquini e Stradella in offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in Early
;r
Roma nell'anno santo 1675', Note d'archivio, xiii (1936), pp.157-69; Music Studies, with a choice of emphasis
A in Applied Music, Music Literature, Music
Marx, 'Ottoboni', passim; Marx, 'Pamphilj', passim.
Education, or Music Management.
29 Quoted in 'Problemi di prassi executiva', Studi Corelliani: 1° Con- t

Students work closely together with faculty

gresso Internazionale di Studi Corelliani (1968) (Florence, 1982), I in congenial and stimulating environment.
pp.113-25, especially pp.116-17. 4

30 This description was found in a manuscript at the Estense Library Early Music Faculty B

Shelley Gruskin-recorders, flutes

and presented by A. Cavicchi at a round table discussion ('Problemi', a
Sr. Monica Laughlin-clarinets, recorders
p.116). According to a paylist of the performance in the Pamphili archi-
I Penny Schwarze-viols, baroque violin
ves, 79 instrumentalists were hired for the event (Marx, 'Pamphilj, M LeAnn House-harpsichord, fortepiano4
p.157). Adding five more players from the Pamphili house payroll for A -4~
Edward Martin-lute
,d
the month, this comes to a total of 84 instrumentalists, which is some- 9 William Bastian-voice
A r
A
what less than the 100 plus implied in the description, but still a very
VI
For more information, contact: J
large ensemble.

I
o Penny Schwarze, Chair, Department of
31 An excellent reproduction of this engraving appeared in EM, xvi a
Music, The College of St. Scholastica,
a
(1988), pp.498-9. I
Duluth, MN 55811
32 Marx, 'Handel's Instrumentation', p.497. Marx assumes that the 218-723-6194

instruments in the back row are first violins, those in the second row
from the back second violins and those in the next row violas. The
instruments as shown in the engraving are all approximately the same
size, and no contemporary account I know of describes an arrange- st. scbolastica
ment of violin-family instruments in this manner. Marx's suggestion is
logical and attractive nonetheless.
33 We have a report of the same kind of podium for the concertino
violinists in a carpenter's bill for Handel's Resurrezione of 17o8 (U. Kir-
kendale, 'The Ruspoli Documents on Handel' JAMS, xx (1967), p.262).
34 Marx, 'Handel's Instrumentation', p.505
35 Quoted in A. Ademollo, I teatri di Roma nel secolo decimosettimo M-w&

(Rome, 1888), pp.171-2. Mario Rinaldi quotes another manuscript

account of what seems to be the same event in 1688. This description
differs considerably from Negri's, particularly on the question of uni-
forms, and it seems almost impossible to reconcile the two accounts.
In Schor's engraving of the 1687 festivities (illus.9), it is hard to see
whether the musicians are wearing uniforms or not.
36 For paylist series, see: A. Liess, 'Materielien zur r6mischen Mus-
I ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I
ikgeschichte des Seicento' Acta musicologica, xxix (1957), pp.137-71; 0 -

Marx, 'Ottoboni'; Marx, 'Pamphilj'; Lionnet, 'Saint-Louis'; and La Via,

'II violoncello'
-~~~~~~~~~~~~~
37 See, for example, M. Bukofzer, Music in the Baroque Era, (New
York: 1947), p.222ff., and A. Hutchings, The Baroque Concerto (New
York: 1961), p.77ff.
-~~~~~~in~u l~Ir
38 Pierre de Morand, Justification de la musique francaise (The
Hague, 1754), p.52; reprinted in La Querelle des Bouffons, ed. D. Launay
(Geneva, 1973), p.114o. One of the framed pieces, according to Morand,
was the monologue from Act 2 of Armide.
39 Le Parnassse franois (Paris, 1732), p.396
40 S. Bonta, 'From Violone to Violoncello: A Question of Strings?'
Journal of the American Musical Instrument Society, iii (1977), pp.64-99,
especially pp.91-5. I) II - I-li
41 Bonta, 'Violone to Violoncello', pp.97-8. The shift to metalwound
strings is documented by iconographic evidence. A picture by A. D.
Gabbiani depicting Ferdinando di Medici's court musicians in about
1681 shows a shiny, metal-wound C-string on the cello. For a reproduc-
tion, see EM, xviii (1990), p.545.

EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1991 27

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