FRANCESCA CACCINI'S 'PRIMO LIBRO'

BY CAROLYN RANEY

IN THE year in which Giulio Caccini (i 545-1618) died in Florence

another volume of songs was published bearing the name of Caccini—
'II Primo Libro delle Musiche',1 composed by Francesca, his eldest

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daughter and his pupil in singing and composition. A letter in her
own hand* to her friend and collaborator, Michelangiolo Buonarroti
the Younger, great-nephew of the artist, indicated her desire to
honour her father in an introduction to this publication:
If possible, I should like to name my father where I praise the
virtuosi of Florence, in such a way that he would be honoured by it,
to speak of him as the master of the others, because I would not have
it appear that I wished to depend on him through pride, but to
acknowledge him as master.
The volume as it has come down to us includes no such introduction,
only a dedication to Francesca's patron at this time, Cardinal
Carlo de' Medici.
Francesca Caccini was born on 18 September 1587 in Florence
and baptized the same day.' Her father, Giulio, son of Michelangiolo
Caccini,* was sometimes called il Romano or Giulio Romano
because he had come to Florence from Rome in 1565. Her mother
was Giulio's first wife Lucia, a singer.* The Caccinis were one of
those families of artists that appeared in Italy often in the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries, and indeed in other centuries as well.

1
'II Primo Libro/ delle Musiche/ 4 una, e due voci/ di Francesca Caccini /ne'
Signorini./ dedicate/ all'illustriss. e reverendissimo/ signor/ Cardinale/ dc' Medici/ in
Firenzc, nella Stamperia di Zanobi Pignoni, 1618./ Con Licenzia de' Superiori'.
• Florence, Biblioteca Laurenziana, Archivio Buonarroti, Inserto 44. The letter is
dated 23 February 1618 (Gregorian style) from Pisa, where the was singing, and addressed
to Buonarroti in Florence: "Se si potessi io vorrci dove ncl discorso loda i virtuosi di
Firenre nominar mio padre di maniere tale che ne restasse onorato, a parlarne come
maestro dell'altri, perche non vorrei che paressi che io non havessi voluto dependere da
lui per tuperbia, ma riconoscerlo per maestro".
• A. Damerini, 'Francaca Caccini', Musicisti Tostani, Accademia musicale chigiana
(Siena, 1954). Damerini established this date from the 'Registro dei Battezzati di Santa
Maria del Fiore' in Florence. Previous authors had listed her birthdate as 1581, 1582 and
1588.
4
Florence, Biblioteca Riccardiana, Codex 2098, p. 127. This family tree of the
Caccinis of Rome has offered the first due to the identity of the artist who created the
medallion portrait of Francesca (facing p. 347 above). Under her name there is a note
saying that 'Chiabrera spoke of her, urging Cristoforo Bronzino to finish the portrait of
her . . . in the Riccardo Palace' (di lei parlai il Chiabrera esortando Cristoforo Bronzino,
che nc finisse il ritratto di lei . . . in Riccardo P.[Palazzo?]). Previously the medallion,
which had been found in the Rospigliosi Museum, had been attributed to Bartolommeo
Ammanati, but he had died in 1592 when Francesca was a little girl of five.
* Angelo Solcrti, 'Gli albori del mdodramma', ii, p. 44. Lucia sang in a performance
at court of 'Ballo di Bergiere', a mascherata written to a poem by Rinuccini, in 1590. The
composer has not been identified.

350
 Giulio's brother Giovanbattista (1556-1612) was the sculptor and
architect who created the two figures 'Autumn' and 'Summer' on
the Ponte Santa Trinita in Florence, most of the arches in the facade
of Santa Annunziata, and other well-known monuments of that
city. • Before her early death Francesca's mother also gave birth to
Settimia, * who was the equal of her sister in the art of singing, but
not in other talents. After the death of Lucia, Giulio married
another singer named Margherita, and by her had a gifted son,
Pompeo, who sang with the family consorto and also worked with
Pietro Strozzi, the painter, in Santa Trinita- • Pompeo designed the

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scenery for 'L'Aretusa', favola in musica by Filippo Vitali, first per-
formed in Rome on 8 February 1620, and also sang a leading role. •
Francesca inherited the musicality of her father and mother, and
grew up in the environment of one of the most cultured courts in
Europe. She learned to sing and play the lute at an early age, and
to write poetry in both Latin and Tuscan.10 She sang in the first
performances of Peri's 'Euridice' and also Caccini's, and of her
father's 'D rapimento di Cefalo'. From then on she appeared
often in the court performances at Florence and Pisa, where
the court regularly migrated to celebrate carnival during the
week before Lent. When the Caccini family travelled to
France in 1604-5, a t *^c request of Maria de' Medici, the king
was so pleased with Francesca that she was asked to stay at the
French court. Giulio wrote to the Grand Duke Ferdinando I
for permission for Francesca to leave the service of Tuscany, reporting
that the king had said that la Cecchina sang better than anyone in
France, and that there was no consorto to equal the Caccinis.11 The
Grand Duke refused this request, as he did a later request for
Francesca's services from the court of Mantua. By the age of eighteen
she was already so proficient in composition that Michelangiolo
Buonarroti the Younger, one of her father's colleagues at the Pitti
Palace, had entered into a collaboration with her, according to a
letter dated 28 May 1606 which she wrote from Rome to thank him
for the canzonetta allungata he had sent her for setting.11

• Adollb Venturi, 'La scultura del dnqueccnto', parte iii, 'Storia dell'arte italiana',
x, pp. 792-816. Mary McCarthy, T h e Stones of Florence' (New York, 1959), pp. 52,
foil, itates that these statue* were created by Pietro Francavilla but gives no source for
her information.
* G. M. Masera, 'Una musicista fiorentina del seicento: Francesca Caccini',
Rimsta Musicals (1954), p. 187.
* Hugo Goldschmidt, 'Die italienische Gesangsmethode', pp. 13 folL
• Masera, op. cit., p. 185.
"Solerti, 'Le origini del melodramma', p. 66: letter from Pietro della Valle to
Lelio Guidiccioni.
u
Florence, Archivio di Stato, Mediceo del Principato, Filza 921: "II Re disse che la
Cecchina cantava meglio che nessuno che fosse in Francia e che non ci era consorto pari
al nostro".
u
Florence, Biblioteca Laurenziana, Archivio Buonarroti, Inserto 44. Fifteen original
letters of Francesca Caccini are found here, as well as five fragments of almost undecipher-
able poems in her handwriting. Masera transcribed eight letters in her article, 'Alcune
lettere inedite', Rasugna Musical*, April 1940, pp. 175 foil, and the other seven in her
biography, 'Michelangiolo Buonarroti il Giovane' (Turin, 1941).

351
 Some confusion has existed as to the date of her marriage, since,
in her next letter to Buonarroti, dated 10 September 1606" from
Florence, she sent greetings from 'mio marito' (my husband). In fact
she was married to Giovannibattista Signorini in the church of
Santa Maria Maggiore in Florence on 11 November 1607.14 Her
husband had been born on 14 January 1573, and was one of the
singers of the Camerata. Their daughter, Margherita, was born in
February 1621, destined also to become a singer, but as a nun in
the Convent of San Girolamo in Florence. Besides participating in
Tuscan court performances from 1608 to 1614 Francesca sang

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regularly in the sacred festival music at Pisa during Holy Week.
The court diarist, Gesare Tinghi, recorded many notable perform-
ances, culminating perhaps in the concert of 26 March 1614, when
she and her husband together with Giulio and his wife sang with
four choruses. The music was reported to have been 'stupendissima'."
Two of Francesca's letters to Buonarroti, dated 18 December and
27 December 1614, mention a success with a certain invenzione on
which the two collaborated and which she sang at court with her
own company of discepole. 'II ballo delle Zingane', an entertainment
containing special dancing, was first performed in the Salone delle
Commedie at the Pitti palace on 24 February 1615. Francesca Caccini
wrote the music, but only the libretto by Ferdinando Saracinelli of
Orvieto remains to us. Francesca herself appeared as one of the
gypsies in this carnival entertainment, and her stepmother
Margherita Caccini is also listed among the singers. 1 ' In 1616
Cardinal Carlo de' Medici, to whom 'II primo libro' was dedicated
two years later, decided to make a trip to Rome to show off his
musicians. Roman singers such as Caterina MartineUi, Ippolita
(Cardinal Montalto's famous protegee) and Vittoria Archilei, who
settled in Florence, had come north frequently to impress the Medici
courts in Florence and Mantua. The cardinal made out a plan for
the trip, listing the entire entourage. This list included il Zazxcrino
(the Florentine nickname for Jacopo Peri because of his red hair),
Giambattista Signorini, and 'la signorina detta la Cecchina'. 1 '
In April 1617 Francesca herself planned a tour with her husband
to Genoa, Milan and Parma. While the tour was under way, she
added the cities of Lucca and Savona to her concert appearances.
From Genoa she wrote to Michelangiolo about her reception on
26 May. Chiabrera, the poet, who was in Genoa and attended her
u
Masera, 'Alcime lettcre inedite', p. 175. Masera assumed that la Ctcdana was
already married because she used the word marito. However, in Italy in the seventeenth
century it was possible to consider a betrothal as binding as a marriage. This social
convention is still evident in the contemporary use of the word spota. A sposa can be a
fiancee, or bride, or even a wife of long standing.
14
Florence, Archivio di Stato, Repertorio di Matrimoni di Firenze, Manoscritti 581.
11
Solerti, 'Musica, ballo, e drammatico', p. 85.
11
Ibid., pp. 89-92.
1T
Florence, Archivio di Stato, Carte Strozriane, Series I, vol. 82. The cardinal also
took priests, noblemen, pages, secretaries and even his writers, plus one individual
described only as TUmanista di Pisa*.

352
concert there the same day, wrote to Buonarroti: "Here she was
heard as a marvel, without any dissension; and in just a few days
her fame has spread far." 1 ' During all the time she was singing in
Florence and abroad, she was also composing entertainments for the
Tuscan court. Wehave recordof her work in 'II martirio di Sant'Agata'
in the published preface of the libretto by Cicognini. The first per-
formance did not take place until 1622, but it was written in i6i4. l f
The music has been lost, as has been the score to 'La fiera', mostly
written by Francesca and partly by Marco da Gagliano, to a text by
Michelangiolo Buonarroti.I0 Two other entertainments by Buonarroti,

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'Feste delle dame' and 'La stiava', were set to music by Francesca
but have since disappeared. The work by which she is best known,
the opera which she called a balletto, 'La liberazione di Ruggiero
dalT isola d'Alcina'," was not published until seven years after 'II
primo libro'. 'Rinaldo innamorato', another opera of Francesca's,
was also performed in 1625, but was never published, so far as is
known.
On 23 February 1618, while she was singing in Pisa, Francesca
wrote to Michelangiolo that she was negotiating for the publication
of her first book of music.11 She had wished him to write the dedica-
tion, she wrote, but due to the hurry of following the court to Pisa
she had not been able to plan the introduction, and so had consulted
a writer in Pisa, who insisted on a new dedication. Now she was
sending Buonarroti the letters and the writings for him to correct the
language and the style. It was in the postscript of this letter that she
spoke so movingly of her father's guidance. When the volume was
finally published in August of 1618, the music was preceded by the
dedication to Cardinal de' Medici, signed by the composer, but
regrettably without any other introduction which might have added
to our knowledge of her. A translation follows:
If I could demonstrate by other methods the immensity of my
debt to Your Highness, I would not yearn to publish under Your
name the music here presented, knowing how much inferior it may
be to the most exquisite taste of this century, and to the declaration
of my most grateful servitude. But then, since I can only do so much
while striving to please Your Highness, this is only a symbol of how
much I would wish to do. I confess that I am held in the infinite
bounty of Your Highness, and I beg you with great humility to
continue to protect me with the aura of Your grace and Your
authority. I acknowledge that virtue and worthiness are lacking in
me and beg that I might be forgiven for this, and inspired so that I
might in fact find service in the world not unworthy of the Highest
Family. Praying the divine Majesty for the continued happiness of
11
Maserm, 'Michelangiolo Buonarroti', App. p. 101, where the entire letter is tran-
scribed. "Quiellaeudita per meravigliosa e senza contradizione; etinpochigiornilafama
111a li e iparsa".
11
Solerti, 'Musica, ballo, e drammatico', p. 163.
u
Ibid., p. 143.
a
Modern edition by Doris Silbert, Smith College Archives (1945).
a
Florence, Biblioteca Laurenziana, Archivio Buonarroti, Inierto 44.

353
 Your Majesty, I bow most humbly and I kiss Your garments. From
Florence, 16 August, 1618.
Most humble and indebted servant,
Francesca Caccini ne' Signorini.
'II primo libro' by Francesca Caccini is a collection of short vocal
works for one and two voices with continue It includes 19 sacred
solos, 13 secular solo songs, and four duets for soprano and bass in
the same general monodic style popularized by Peri and Giulio
Caccini. This volume is the most extensive collection of solo songs
by a single composer that had hitherto appeared in print. It is also

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the first body of sacred monodies. Furthermore, it displays a style
and technique which may be recognized eventually as the composer's
own. The songs are listed according to the first lines of the poems and
according to the form of each poem. There are in all ten canzonetti in
the secular section of the volume (three of them set as duets) and one
two-voiced madrigal. There is a six-stanza ottave, three ottave sopra
la romanesca, an aria, and an aria sopra la romanesca. The sacred section
is exclusively for solo voice and includes three arie allegre, two hymni
(also spelled hinrn), two sonetti, four madrigali, two ottave romanesce, an
aria, and five mottetti. The secular canzonetti and the sacred hymni are
in triple rhythm with strophic repetitions, the chordal hymno with
ritornello, the canzonetti without. The duple strophic variation forms
are the ottave, the sacred sonetti, and the aria sopra la romanesca, the
last of which is also organized above a basso ostinato. None of these
have a ritornello. On the other hand the arie allegre are strophic
variations with continuo ritornello. The mottetti are sacred Latin texts
set to music in sections with an alleluia sometimes between the sections
and always as an extended coda. The solo madrigal form is the most
subtle. Francesca's version of the form is derived directly from that
of her father's. The first half is continuous. In the second section,
repetitions of short phrases and a sequential repetition of the last
period achieve a sense of unity, tension, and release.
To demonstrate the characteristics of the volume as a whole,
three examples of different types of songs may be studied in detail:
1. 'Nube gentiT, aria sopra la romanesca (p. 31)
2. 'Maria, dolce Maria', madrigale (p. 17)
3. 'Laudatc Dominum', solo mottetto (p. 69).
The first of these" is a poetic concept of the cloud which hides the
face of God. The opening phrase, 'nube gentil', sets the mood of
gentle melancholy in a minor mode. The dissonance on the second
syllable immediately deepens the meaning of the word 'nube'; and
when the trillo*1 is added to the dissonance, it describes a shimmering
mist which then dissolves to the word 'gentil' and becomes a benign
cloud. The romanesca used as the ostinato in this aria is itself a complete
melody which occurs four times in its entirety. The bass melody is
" A transcription of the first section is printed opposite.
14
i.e. vibrato.

354
varied with each entrance, either harmonically, melodically or
rhythmically. The figured bass, therefore, is diatonic with unusual
skips and some chromatic alterations. The soprano melody is varied
even more than the bass. Starting with the descriptive and lyrical
statement of the opening words already mentioned, it continually
varies the place of each entrance in the bar, in rhythmic patterns,
and in pitch. While there are skips in the bass, there are only the
most liquid vocal progressions in the soprano, with pictorial motifs,
turns, and 'ravishing roulades' on every page. The gorge, or vocal
embellishments, are so skilfully placed that they never interfere with

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the comprehension of the word.
Aria topre U Rorranrtn
tr

Nu be gen-til, chedi lu-ctn-teve

^ " I IT r r ri
4-r-

-to
r i' 'i \> F T ^
cao-pr'3 Re del-U glo - ra,

P J-
r r f
r j J

- (TStuoTtn - to,
r
cuo-pr'ilRt
r dd-ligla
r *" •

r f
¥ r
1,6 t|<

" i M
•d'il tnovm — to.

¥
J J

[tr - mZfo, Le. vibrtto]

355
 'Maria, dolce Maria' illustrates again Francesca's ability to
describe the meaning of the words in sound. It is a song in praise of
the Virgin Mary in her role as comforter. The basso contimw is simple,
varying in rhythm only when absolutely necessary to avoid monotony
with its slow change. The chromaticisms add subtly to the tension
and there are a number of dissonances. The harmonic climax comes
on the phrase 'ogni affano aqueto', with a strong discord expressive
of anguish before the soothing effect of the cadence. The use of the
trillo is kept to a minimum, occurring only on the words 'canto' and
'parola', and later on 'alma'. The vocal ornament used to embellish

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the final cadence on the word 'alma' is strongly imitative of the
same cadential figure used in Giulio Caccini's 'Amarilli'—an under-
standable weakness which occurs very seldom in Francesca's other
works. To do her justice, the figure is extended in her version, and
seems to be inevitable in her own madrigale. In spite of this small
similarity, 'Maria, dolce Maria', when better known to the musical
public, should rank with 'Amarilli' and even with Monteverdi's
'Lamento d'Arianna' as one of the most moving and unforgettable
examples of early Italian solo song. It is haunting in flavour, descrip-
tive in mood, and satisfying in form and content.
The last example is the brilliant setting of 'Laudate Dominum'
(Ps. 150), composed in a vigorous duple rhythm and a tightly knit
sectional form. There are ten similar sections before the 'Alleluia',
and they are treated with such variety in harmony and melody that
the listener never tires of the imitative statement which begins each
verse and unifies the work as a whole. Much of the strength of this
motet comes from the striking bass line which marks Francesca's
composition in general, never more successfully than here. Here also
occurs one of those downward skips of a major seventh that appear in
some of her romanesca bass lines. In the vocal line there is an infinite
variety of rhythmic treatment to describe the various instruments of
praise mentioned in the psalm, and an equal number of ornamental
melismas, scales and roulades. There are astringent dissonances,
usually formed by passing notes and appoggiaturas, and one double
false-relation in the 'Alleluia'. Several cadences anticipate in the
melody the tonic resolution of the cadence combined with the last
syllable of the cadential word, so that the voice resolves the word
before the tonic chord occurs in the continuo—a device which also
occurs in some of her other forms.
As a whole 'II primo libro' testifies to the teaching of Giulio
Caccini and his 'Nuove musiche'. Francesca's impeccable setting of
words, her key relationships, her flavour of shifting modalities, and
many of her forms were first heard in the works of her famous father,
including the madrigali and the strophic variations. (Peri may have
given her the idea for the aria with ritornello and possibly the
chamber duet, although, considering the ill-will between the elder
Caccini and Peri most of their lives, the possibility is remote.)

356
However, the strong and active bass line which is characteristic of
'II primo libro' distinguishes her work from that of her father and
the other monodic writers of her time. A particular individuality
stands out in the use of the diminished seventh chord. Her disso-
nances are not always prepared, and she greatly extends the resolu-
tion of some of them, like Monteverdi, often while holding a long
note in the voice part. The vocal lines have lyric beauty and great
variety within the range of greatest ease and richest colour of the
soprano voice. They are so skilfully written that each one could be used
as a vocalise in the modern sense. They are, nevertheless, extremely

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expressive in regard to the emotional content of the poems. As a
composer Francesca was cited by contemporaries for her training
in counterpoint; her duets contain imitative passages, and six of the
arias in the volume are written above a romanesca bass as a basso
ostinato. In her sonetti she utilizes another new device in the bass,
displacing the harmonic accent by shifting the note's position in the
bar from strophe to strophe. There are constant variations of melody,
bass, harmony and rhythm. Francesca Caccini was not only the first
woman known to have composed an opera, but also the first to have
published a major addition to the literature of song and to have
made a large contribution to the body of sacred monody.

357