Adriana Basile

This work is the catalogue entry for the painting of "Santa Cecilia con due angeli" in the Museo Civico of Treviso. The first part of the entry, by Chiara D'Afflitto, examines the painting from the view of an art historian. The second part of the entry, by Kathryn Bosi, examines the musical iconography, with regard above all to the imposing double harp played by an angel on the left of the painting. She proposes that because  a coat of arms and some imprese depicted on the spine of the harp belong to the Gonzaga family, the harp was owned the famed singer and harpist Adriana Basile, who was employed at the court of the Gonzaga in Mantua from 1610-1624. She suggests moreover that the unidentified coat of arms in the lowest position on the harp be related Adriana Basile herself. The catalogue, "Marvels of sound and beauty: Italian Baroque musical instruments", was published on the occasion of the exhibition "Meraviglie sonore: strumenti musicali del barocco italiano" held at the Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence, 12 June-4 November 2007. Two catalogues were published for the occasion: one in Italian and one in English (the schede on Gramatica's painting are on pages 144-7 in both volumes )-.

ABSTRACT: Antiveduto Gramatica’s painting of Saint Cecilia with two angelic musicians (Musei Civici di Treviso, Complesso di Santa Caterina) provides the point of departure for an examination of iconographical, literary, and musical evidence relating to Adriana Basile, the virtuoso singer and harpist who was the jewel of the musical establishment of the Gonzaga family in the second and third decades of the seventeenth century. By the presence of a large, elaborately decorated harp of double registers the Treviso painting differs significantly from the other known versions of the same subject in Vienna and Lisbon, to which a fourth, documented only in the Fototeca of the Fondazione Zeri, Bologna, can now be added. Thanks to a close reading of the coats of arms and imprese displayed on the harp spine, and furthermore the discovery of Adriana’s seal on some of her letters in the
Archivio Gonzaga, the Treviso painting evolves as a ‘portrait’ of her harp, acknowledging the Gonzaga patronage with specific reference to both the patron and the musician. The article discusses other aspects relating to the perception of Adriana in the numerous verses written in her honour, published for the most part in the anthology Il teatro delle glorie (Venice 1623, Naples 1628). Some refer to two lost portraits: one by the Neapolitan Aniello Falcone (copied by the engraver Nicola Perrey for the Naples edition of Il teatro delle glorie), and the other by Artemisia Gentileschi. Furthermore nine musical tributes for Adriana deriving from literary works have been identified.
AUTHOR: via Tintori 22, 59100 Prato, Italy; <kathrynbosi@gmail.com>

The Plot

Vincenzo Gonzaga II, reigning Duke of Mantua from 1587-1612, desires that his musical establishment be one of the finest in Italy. Hearing of an extraordinary singer in Naples who accompanies herself on the harp (on which instrument she is known to be an acclaimed virtuoso), he begs her to enter his service. To achieve his aim, since she does not seem to immediately disposed to comply, he brings diplomatic pressure to bear upon the Prince of Stigliano - who employs her doctor husband Muzio Baroni - and then, on the Vice-Regals of Naples. To negotiate this matter, Vincenzo sends an emissionary to Naples, a certain Ottavio Gentile. Since Vincenzo still finds no sign of acquiescence from Adriana, even with the help of Gentile, he requests his wife - the long-suffering Eleonora de Medici - to send her own supplication to Adriana, She at last agrees to come, and departs for Mantua, accompanied by the whole Basilieria: her complacent husband Muzio Baroni, two brothers (at least one a musician), her sister Vittoria, and her children. Halting in Rome on her way north, Adriana performs before Vincenzo’s second son, Cardinal Ferdinando, resident in that city. Ferdinando, who is an acclaimed poet and composer, falls prey to her insidious musical charms, and sends glowing reports back to Mantua. Adriana herself is by no means insensible to the ‘cardinal virtues’ of Ferdinando: their subsequent correspondence is decidedly flirtatious (and, we are inclined to think, perhaps not entirely ‘virtuous’). On reaching Florence, she is heard by a group of formidable musicians in that city: Bardi, Fontanelli etc .. who report to to Mantua that she can ‘read from the book’ most excellently, and that her skills are applauded.
        Reaching Mantua with her extended family in the heat of the summer of 1610, Adriana enters Vincenzo’s musical harem (Cardinal Ferdinando makes an admirably discreet diplomatic retreat, although he continues to send her his compositions for her judgement and performance). Duke Vincenzo showers Adriana with jewels, fine dresses, vast sums of money, and - eventually - the baronetcy of Piancerreto in Monferrato. After Vincenzo’s death in 1612 and the succession of his son Francesco, Cardinal Ferdinando tries to bring Adriana to Rome, for his own service. But Duke Francesco dies after less than a year, and Ferdinando unexpectedly succeeds to the Duchy of Mantua. Under his reign, Adriana and her sisters (a second sister Margherita has joined them in Mantua) enjoy highly successful musical careers. - In XXXX she moves to Rome, with her two daughters.  "La bella Adriana" will be immortalised, together with her sisters and daughters, by the publication of an infinite number of tributes from both poets and musicians alike.
          The music that we offer in this concert celebrating this extraordinary musician traces her passage from Naples to Mantua by offering a selection of works from the city of departure, the cities where she stayed on her way north, and her eventual destination. But it also offers - perhaps for the first time in posterity - a performance of some musical settings of poetic tributes in honour of la bella Adriana - the Sirena di Posilipo - composed and left for posterity by some notable musicians of her time.

Giulia Felice d'Este (1588?-1646), figlia naturale del cardinale Alessandro (1568-1624) dei marchesi di Montecchio, fratello di Cesare, primo duca del ramo modenese, fu "principessa suora" che trascorse la maggior parte della sua vita nel monastero delle Agostiniane di San Geminiano a Modena, rinomato per la sua tradizione musicale; qui viveva suor Sulpizia Cesis, nota esecutrice e compositrice di mottetti. Sempre nel San Geminiano entrerà un'altra monaca musicista, suor Angela Caterina, al secolo Eleonora d'Este, figlia del duca Cesare. Poco si conosce di Giulia Felice, se non fosse per la sua corrispondenza con i congiunt e con il padre in primis, e che ha uno dei motivi conduttori nella comune passione per la musica. Sfilano davanti alla grata del Parlatorio del suo monastero alcuni dei protagonisti nell'arte del canto e dell'esecuzione. Persino due virtuose come Adriana Basile Baroni (1580-1642 post) e Ippolita Recupito Marotta (1577-1650),  la visiteranno e le faranno udire la propria voce. In deroga agli stretti vincoli post tridentini della clausura e della "vita comune", che spesso tenta di attenuare o di aggirare, la principessa possiede uno strumento di qualità eccellente, di fattura cremonese, lodato anche dal violinista Cavalcabò. Sembra poi che, tramite il padre, nel marzo del 1623 mettesse in contatto Cavalcabò con Girolamo Frescobaldi. Maestro di violino di Giulia Felice sarà un illustre "virtuoso", don Marco Uccellini da Forlimpopoli (1603 ca.-1680). La sua corrispondenza con il cardinale Alessandro mostra quanto la monaca fosse sua accurata e aggiornatissima "informatrice" sulla vita dei familiari e dei cortigiani; mentre fra le lettere al cugino duca Francesco I ne emerge una del marzo 1633 in cui gli chiede di sollecitare il noto architetto estense Gaspare Vigarani per concludere i lavori al teatro interno al monastero, di cui ella stessa è committente.