It has long been acknowledged that Pope Urban VIII Barberini and his nephews were the greatest artistic patrons of seventeenth-century Rome, but it is less well known that the family also supported a wide array of musical activities at the papal court. This book - the first comprehensive examination of the musical productions and festivals sponsored by the Barberini family - discusses what music was written under their patronage, why it was commissioned, and how it related to the political, religious, and aesthetic program of the family. Frederick Hammond argues that music was central to the Barberini concept of promoting the majesty, legitimacy, and moral virtue of the papacy and the reigning family. Drawing on extensive research in Italian archives as well as on the artistic, social, and cultural history of the period, and employing a wide repertory of visual materials, he describes the structure of Barberini finances and their artistic, political, and intellectual goals; the musicians, instruments, libraries, and performances in their households; and specific productions of church music and operas. The result is a fascinating portrait of one of the most ambitious and fruitful patronage programs ever to exist.
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Music for the Scholar, Scholarship for the Musician,
This review is from: Music and Spectacle in Baroque Rome: Barberini Patronage under Urban VIII (Hardcover)
A thorough, lucid examination of the cultural, political and musical climate of the Barberini era in 17th century Roman life, Music & Spectacle in Baroque Rome maintains a wide scope of analysis and history. The book has much to offer to the musician who enjoys historical exploration, as well as the scholar who seeks a window into the craft of musical composition in a specific historical period.Frederick Hammond has the good fortune to be both an accomplished musician (organist/harpsichordist) as well as eminent scholar. Musicians who specialize in period performance are often hungry for a broader cultural and historical understanding of the compositions they perform. I believe they will be grateful for the clarity and breadth of Hammond's writing, which offers an alternative to the often fussy and jargon-heavy language of musicological scholarship. Hammond deftly positions the evolution of musical development in the context of the history of musical patronage, without losing sight of the central role of individual compositional genius. This approach incorporates a deconstructional perspective, often applied in literary criticism and historical scholarship but less frequently in music studies, positing that the art object or text is created more by the historical/socio-political context of creation than by individual vision. His argument is supported by concrete historical information about and clever discussion of the pontificate of Maffeo Barberini, Pope Urban VIII, the contemporary patronage system, and biographical information on the relevant ecclesiastical and musical personages. The detailed analysis of the actual music of the period both serves and potentially limits the accessibility of the book. While clear to musicians (particularly keyboardists) and leading us to the core of the matter, the musical discussion leans toward a more scholarly level and may therefore be of greater interest to the early musician than to the non-musician reader. However, any less detailed a discussion of the repertoire would leave the books central conclusions hollow and unsupported. With music as "evidence", Hammond builds his case, showing how the nexus of social forces and individual vision converges in artistic creation and audience experience of music and festival. We see that our contemporary image of the artist as isolated misunderstood loner in a garrett, shunned by society, is a romantic nineteenth century invention that is utterly alien to the baroque period. This book is extremely useful to any musician who delves into "period-performance" at any level, be it amateur or superstar. I would also recommend it to historians or the historically interested who would like to gain a greater understanding of what it was to be a musician and contemplate musical performance in a time other than our own, highly commercialized and individuated one. Getting past the musical "jargon", this could be a very useful resource for the scholar who never touched an instrument or sang a note, but would like to dip a toe or two in the baroque performance ocean.
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