| Contents |
"Illustrious Sienese women worthy of remembrance": nuns and convent life in Siena, 1550-1700 -- Gl'angeli mettano una corona alla monaca che canta: musical activities in the early modern Sienese convent -- Veni, veni soror nostra: clothing, profession, and consecration ceremonies in Sienese convents -- Foolish virgins: music in Sienese convent theatrical productions during the seventeenth century -- Divas in the convent: the role of music in the vite of Sienese holy women -- Alla città ritorna: the Chigi, the convent, and opera in Siena, 1669-1686 -- Weeping and rejoicing: lamentations and motets for nuns in seventeenth-century Siena -- Appendix 1. Documents -- Appendix 2. Spiritual autobiography of Maria Francesca Piccolomini -- Appendix 3. Spiritual biography of Maria Francesca Piccolomini by Sebastiano Conti. |
| Abstract |
Nuns in seventeenth-century Sienese convents played a vital role in the musical culture of their community. Unlike their cloistered sisters in other urban centers, Sienese women enjoyed a significant degree of freedom to pursue musical activities. Through their performances of motets, lamentations, plays, and even operas, Siena's nuns engaged the lay public and won the support of ecclesiastical authorities; furthermore, their music came to be seen as an important symbolic expression of Sienese civic society. This book consists of seven interlocking essays. The first two furnish an overview of history and musical practices, and each of the last five focuses on a particular liturgical rite, devotional work, or musical genre. The essays are bound together by a more general discussion of cloistered women's role in cultural production and social hierarchies. This two-tiered approach makes the book of compelling interest to scholars of women's studies and Italian culture and history as well as to musicologists. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (pages 273-281) and index. |
| LCCN | 2001021586 |
| ISBN | 0195132955 (acid-free paper) |
