Type of Submission
Podium Presentation
Keywords
Women, Renaissance Music, Female Renaissance Patrons, Female Renaissance Performers, Female Renaissance Composers
Proposal
This presentation explores the often overlooked and suppressed role of women in Renaissance music, drawing upon a systematic review of available literature from the 15th and 16th centuries. Canning will highlight how women played crucial roles in the world of music as both patrons, performers, and composers, contributing to the development and flourishing of these fields despite societal restrictions on their involvement. Women's contributions to music were often dismissed in historical accounts, and women's access to musical education and employment was limited. However, this workshop presents evidence to suggest that affluent and royal women were able to access musical education and play a significant role as patrons of music, including influential female patrons such as Maria Mancini Colonna, Queen Christina, Isabella d’Este, and Lucrezia Borgia, and highlights the strategies employed by these patrons, including using music to strengthen political and social connections. This presentation will also discuss the contributions of female musicians and composers, including the Ferrara-based concerto delle donne, Maddalena Casulana, and Vittoria/Raffaela Aleotti, and emphasizes their significant contributions to musical composition and performance during the late Renaissance. Overall, Canning highlights the importance of recognizing the significant achievements of women in Renaissance music and the need to challenge societal expectations and restrictions on their involvement in the arts.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Publication Date
2024
Breaking Barriers: Unveiling Renaissance Women in Music
This presentation explores the often overlooked and suppressed role of women in Renaissance music, drawing upon a systematic review of available literature from the 15th and 16th centuries. Canning will highlight how women played crucial roles in the world of music as both patrons, performers, and composers, contributing to the development and flourishing of these fields despite societal restrictions on their involvement. Women's contributions to music were often dismissed in historical accounts, and women's access to musical education and employment was limited. However, this workshop presents evidence to suggest that affluent and royal women were able to access musical education and play a significant role as patrons of music, including influential female patrons such as Maria Mancini Colonna, Queen Christina, Isabella d’Este, and Lucrezia Borgia, and highlights the strategies employed by these patrons, including using music to strengthen political and social connections. This presentation will also discuss the contributions of female musicians and composers, including the Ferrara-based concerto delle donne, Maddalena Casulana, and Vittoria/Raffaela Aleotti, and emphasizes their significant contributions to musical composition and performance during the late Renaissance. Overall, Canning highlights the importance of recognizing the significant achievements of women in Renaissance music and the need to challenge societal expectations and restrictions on their involvement in the arts.
