Barbara Strozzi
Barbara Strozzi, also known as Barbara Valle, was an exceptional female composer of the
seventeenth century. She was one of the radical women among the few who aspired to publish
their own compositions. She was an Italian singer and a vocal music composer.
Birth and Early Life
She was born in Venice, Italy, in 1619. And was the unlawful child of the poet Giulio
Strozzi, however it is also been said that she was an adopted daughter of him. Her mother was
Isabella Garzoni who was a servant at Giulio’s house. Barbara’s father was a member of the
academy for highbrows, known as “Academy of the Unkowns” in which the gatherings were
held to discuss on the literary issues and topics such as, arts, religion, ethics etc. Giulio taught
and trained Barbara as a musician himself and then used his connections to boost and advance
the career of his daughter. She then studied music with the famous singer and orchestra
composer Cavalli. (Ritchey, 2003)
Later on in 1637, Giulio Strozzi established his own academy which he named as “academia
degli unisoni” where Barbara was the center of attention; her talents were the main attractions in
academy. She was intelligent and witty, and not only used to sing in the academy but also
supposed to propose the debating and discussion topics for the members. (Barbara Strozzi) Her
role as the emcee of the academy was lampooned by an in cognitive member’s script, in which
she was said to be a courtesan. (Ritchey, 2003)
Marriage and Love Life
She never married but it is said that she had four unlawful children, born in former years of
1640’s. She had two sons and two daughters, name Giulio Pietro, Massimo, Isabella and Laura
respectively. It is proposed that their father was supposedly Giovanni Vidman, as some family
members of Vidman clan left money for the children in their wills. Many stories circulated
regarding the Vidman and Strozzi, in which one was that Strozzi was raped by Vidman which
has no truthful base, as it might be a tactic to protect Strozzi’s modesty. Later on her sons
became monks, and her daughters joined convent. (Stevenson)
Works of Strozzi
She use to write her music against a contest given by the members of the academy, which
was to produce the music based on text of romantic poetry with satirical and bantering lyrics.
Her work used to be very malleable and acclimating to the demands of the contest, and which
seemed to be not a difficult task for her and dexterously moving among the aria, arioso and
recitative music. Barbara Strozzi got eight publications of her work, among which the first one
was issued in 1644, which was a work of madrigals. The second of her publication came out in
1651, and after 1652 the pace of the publications increased after the death of her father (Cypess,
2016). Many of the publications of Barbara Strozzi are dedicated to honorable patrons and royal
persons, among which the few are; Grand Duchess of Tuscany, Eleanora of Mantua etc. She sang
most of her work by herself. (Spiller, 2012)
She mainly liked the recurrence of themes and worked on perceptible pulsing melodic
arrangements, using lengthy melismas, and chromatic notes consisting of stresses and interludes
to augment the exquisiteness of vocal sounds. Her style was reliant on voice capabilities so she
composed a music preferably to be listened in small spaces, like homes and not in halls. Her
favorite subject was unreciprocated love (Barbara Strozzi)
Death
In seventeenth century most of the work published by the women were by nuns, and was
typically religious or conventional. It was Barbara Strozzi whose work was secular and was
published through the whole country and through the Alps. Her last work was issued in 1644 and
she disappeared after that. It said that she was still in Venice in 1677 but later on she moved to
Padua by end of summer. On 11 November 1677 she died after an illness, and got buried in
Erimitani Padua. (Spiller, 2012)
There are many gaps left in gathering the life history about an unconventional and secular
women composer of her time. However the bygone peculiarity certainly got attention in the early
century when the music of most of her equivalents did not gain admiration and were
comparatively overlooked. She had the prodigious impulsiveness, fine taste, splendid refinement
and proper femininity. Her works are of great appreciation in deference to the era she lived and
gained her achievements. (Stevenson)
Bibliography
Barbara Strozzi. (n.d.). Retrieved from Music Academy:
http://www.musicacademyonline.com/composer/biographies.php?bid=134
Cypess, R. (2016). Barbara Strozzi. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Barbara-
Strozzi
Ritchey, E. (2003).
Spiller, M. (2012). Composer Biography: Barbara Strozzi (1617-1677). Retrieved from
https://coloraturaconsulting.com/2012/06/12/composer-biography-barbara-strozzi-1617-1677/
Stevenson, J. (n.d.). Barbara Strozzi. Retrieved from http://www.allmusic.com/artist/barbara-strozzi-
mn0000365512/biography
