More on the Music of Giuseppe Torti (before 1752–after 1780)

Very little is known about Giuseppe Torti's life. Associated with Milan, he was active in 1752–1780. He made several long journeys, including to the Lithuanian court of H. F. Radziwiłł. I have recently discovered three new works by this composer, which means that his known and surviving output now consists of 12 compositions: 9 instrumental pieces, cantatas, and an aria, to which one should add one opera libretto and information about two operas. In Poland, Torti composed at least two (now lost) operas, staged at H. F. Radziwiłł's court theatre. His earlier works, such as Concerto in G Major (GroF826), Trio in G Major dedicated to Charles Davers, and the aria Attenda il core dal caro bene may also have belonged to the ducal court's repertoire. The cantata Armata sum in campo was most likely composed in Lithuania. A notable aspect of Torti's preserved output are the numerous arrangements of his works, which suggests that his music was constantly in circulation, adapted and rewritten for the needs of a given place, in accordance with the audience's tastes. This indirectly confirms that his oeuvre earned the audience's acclaim. The geographic distribution of his compositions in European music centres is impressive indeed, from Edinburgh to Slutsk and from Stockholm to Palermo. This wide distribution testifies to Torti's love of travelling, but also to the popularity of his music.

Bronisław Mirski - Polish Music Director of the Silent Film Era1

Bronisław Mirski (b. 1887 as Moszkowicz in Żyrardów near Warsaw, Poland – d. 1927 in El Paso, Texas) belongs to the substantial group of Polish émigré artists of Jewish origin. A violinist and conductor educated in Europe, he permanently settled in the United States at the end of 1914 under the name of Nek Mirskey and soon began working as a music director in movie theatres. He was in charge of the musical settings for elaborate artistic programmes composed of silent films as well as music and stage attractions. His first widely acclaimed shows were presented at the Metropolitan Theatre of Harry M. Crandall's chain in Washington, D.C. Based primarily on the American press of 1921–23, this article discusses Mirski's work methods and his involvement in improving the quality of live musical accompaniment for silent films. The work that he continued till the end of his life places him among the foremost musicians of the silent film era.

How to Impress the Public: Farinelli's Venetian Debut in 1728–1729

Farinelli came to Venice only when his career was already well advanced. In 1728/29 he performed there in two operas, Catone in Utica by Leonardo Leo and Semiramide riconosciuta by Nicola Porpora. These operas needed to become a financial success because of the high remuneration the star singer earned. The composition and adaptation of the operas to the stage uncover the strategies by the impresarios of the Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo, the Grimani brothers, and by Farinelli himself to secure income and renown. Catone in Utica underwent a highly unusual procedure at its very premiere because the opera was “impasticciata”, i.e. merged with pre-existing or newly-composed music by other composers. The substitutions reveal Farinelli's aim to stun the audience in his very first aria on stage. His brother's (Riccardo Broschi's) “Mi lusinga il cor d’affetto” Farinelli had sang earlier in 1728 presents his entire vocal profile in a single aria. In subsequent arias, Farinelli adds some features not present in this aria or concretizes several aspects of it. In the second opera, Porpora's Semiramide riconosciuta, Farinelli concentrates on another feature of his vocal style: small, fast, quasi-improvisational motives. Although they are also found in operas by other composers and were also sung by other singers, Semiramide riconosciuta is a special case because of their high frequency in Farinelli's role. All in all, the two operas of his first appearance in Venice seem to follow the intention to present his entire vocal spectrum to the audience.

Italian 17th- and 18th-Century Dramatic Works with Music, Written for the Clothing and Profession Ceremonies, with Special Reference to Compositions Based on the Book of Judith*

Late 16th- and early 17th-century Italian theatrical works (with or without music) based on the Book of Judith are perceived as associated with women, who acted as their performers (in female monasteries), dedicatees, or patrons. This paper considers the reasons for the loosening of such ties in the Baroque genres of dialogue and oratorio, which evolved in the circles of religious and lay congregations, in which women were either marginalised or altogether excluded. The link between women and the oratorio genre was thus maintained only in the case of the so-called palace oratorios. Oratorios did not gain a solid footing in the music life of female religious orders, either. Their presence mainly made itself felt in the space suspended between the monastic and secular worlds, namely, in the context of the ceremonies of clothing and profession, which were celebrated with performances of cantatas, dialogues, or oratorios. A survey of such repertoire from the 17th and 18th centuries has revealed an astonishing wealth of subjects and approaches: allegorical works, saints’ lives, Old Testament stories praising parents who offered their children up to God, happy weddings, or the deeds of extraordinary women. The Book of Judith occupies an important place among the latter subjects, which emphasised the fides and fortitudo of those entering monastic life. Existing works (such as Metastasio's Betulia) were also sometimes used. Some texts were written specially for such occasions, and they demonstrate individual qualities. Metastasio's solemn and exalted model was followed even in such small-scale pieces as the Florentine componimento sacro Giuditta of 1750. The rappresentazione La Giuditte (1621) depicts the strength of faith not only of Judith herself, but also (contrary to the Biblical account) – of the Bethulian society as an allegory of Bologna and its inhabitants. Comic elements were smuggled into the Paduan oratorio Giuditta (1735). To sum up, dramatic works with music based on the Book of Judith, written for the ceremonies of women entering the monastery, which have hitherto remained marginal to academic research, represent a promising field for further studies.

Paul Hindemith's Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber for Orchestra: A Historical and Analytical Perspective

A now standard component of orchestral and wind band repertoire, Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber was originally intended to be ballet music. This study examines the history and background surrounding Paul Hindemith's orchestral piece and demonstrates how Hindemith crafted each movement based off Weber's original piano duets and incidental orchestral music. The study was undertaken as limited information exists about the piece in its entirety, and much of what has been written primarily concerns itself with grammatical and contextual aspects of Hindemith's title. Existing analyses either only focus on a singular movement, or are limited; presumably, due to a prevailing notion that Hindemith simply orchestrated the piano pieces. Potentially exacerbating the issue may be the fact that it was not known for nearly twenty years after Symphonic Metamorphosis was premiered which Weber duets Hindemith reworked. This analysis, coupled with the background information provided, shows that Hindemith's settings transcend mere orchestrations and, in some cases, exhibit qualities of original composition. The analysis thoroughly delineates Weber's Turandot overture and three piano duets, part by part and hand by hand, to show exactly where and how Hindemith altered the original writings. The differences in overall form, measure numbers, tempi, meter, and harmony are listed. In addition, it is revealed which thematic additions, alterations, and omissions Hindemith includes.

In the Shadow of the Lost Crown. ‘Oppressed Innocence’ in the Operas Dedicated to Maria Clementina Sobieska in Rome (1720–1730)

As a result of the Glorious Revolution of 1688, James II Stuart lost the throne of England, Scotland, and Ireland. He spent the last years of his life in France, in residence offered to his family and court by Louis XIV. Following his death in 1701, the title and claim to the throne of the three kingdoms was inherited by his son James III Stuart, who in 1719 married Maria Clementina Sobieska (1702–1735). James and his wife extended their patronage over one of Rome's major opera houses, the Teatro d’Alibert, at which 16 operas were dedicated to that couple in 1720–1730. Of those 8 that honoured Maria Clementina, 4 (half of them) deal with the topic of ‘oppressed innocence’, previously passed over by scholars studying the couple's patronage. These are: Eumene, (lib. A. Zeno, mus. N. Porpora, 1721), Adelaide, (lib. A. Salvi, mus. N. Porpora, 1723), Siroe, re di Persia, (lib. Metastasio, mus. N. Porpora, 1727), and Artaserse, (lib. Metastasio, mus. L. Vinci, 1730). This paper analyses the said operatic theme and attempts to explain why it is the dominant subject in operas dedicated to Sobieska. It also studies the political and propagandist potential which that theme could have for the Stuart cause.

Grażyna Bacewicz – The Polish Sappho

The paper is an attempt at a synthetic presentation of the Polish composer Grażyna Bacewicz’s (1909–1969) musical output and artistic career, presented against the background of events in her personal life, and of major events in Polish and European history in the first seven decades of the 20th century. Bacewicz was called ‘the Polish Sappho’ already in the years between World Wars I and II, when there were very few women-composers capable of creating works comparable to the most eminent achievements of male composers. Her path to success in composition and as a concert soloist leads from lessons with her father, the Lithuanian Vincas Bacevičius, to studies at the Łódź and Warsaw Conservatories (violin with Józef Jarzębski, composition with Kazimierz Sikorski), and later with Nadia Boulanger at the École Normale de la Musique, as well as violin lessons with André Tourret. Her oeuvre has for many years been linked with neoclassicism, and folkloric inspirations are evident in many of her works. Her crowning achievement in the neoclassical style is the Concerto for String Orchestra of 1948, while influences from folklore can distinctly be heard in many concert pieces and small forms. The breakthrough came around 1958, under the influence of avant-garde trends present in West European music, which came to be adapted in Poland thanks to the political transformations and the rejection of socialist realism. In such pieces as Music for Strings, Trumpets and Percussion of 1958, Bacewicz transforms her previously fundamental musical components (melody, rhythm, harmony) into a qualitatively new type of sound structures, mainly focused on the coloristic aspects. Grażyna Bacewicz also applied the twelve-note technique, albeit to a limited extent, as in String Quartet No. 6 (1960). Her last work was the unfinished ballet Desire to a libretto by Mieczysław Bibrowski after Pablo Picasso’s play Le désir attrapé par la queue.

Between Heart and Mind

The paper presents in a synthetic way the phenomena characteristic of Marta Ptaszyńska’s music, and the key qualities of her output. I focus on those topics that have not been sufficiently explored in existing studies, and those that call for a polemical discussion. These include the ideas that underlie Ptaszyńska’s music, the inspirations of her creative process, problems of composition technique, sound language, her style and aesthetic, with particular reference to her supposed links to sonorism. Finally I present an attempt to define the place and significance of Marta Ptaszyńska’s oeuvre in 20th- and 21st-century music.

Music-Making Women-Aristocrats

The present article reflects on the shortage of studies concerning music-composing women in the 18th-century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and focuses on one unique figure among those female musicians – Maria Antonia Walpurgis, an aristocrat of Polish descent, who demonstrated versatile talents. Thoroughly educated in her childhood, she was a poet, composer, singer, and director of her own stage works. This paper discusses the aristocratic artist’s most important experiences and achievements in the field of music, as well as analysing her earliest surviving work, the cycle of 6 Arias for Soprano, Strings and Basso Continuo (1747), which Walpurgis may well have performed herself. The arias have been preserved in a manuscript kept at the Sächsische Landesbibliothek in Dresden, shelf mark Mus.3119-F-11. My analysis assesses their style and aesthetic.