“The Viola da Gamba Player,”  portrait of composer Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677)
painted by Bernardo Strozzi.

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Barbara Strozzi (aka Barbara Valle) (b. 8/6/1619 – d. 11/11/1677) was a Venetian composer and singer of the middle Baroque Period. During her lifetime, she had more secular music in print than any other composer of the era and was achieved without support from the Church or consistent patronage from the nobility.

Barbara was born in Venice to a woman known as “La Greghetta” and was baptized in the church of Santa Sofia. Although her birth certificate does not state her father’s identity, it is assumed that her biological father was Giulio Strozzi, a poet and librettist, and a very influential figure in seventeenth-century Venice. Little is known about Barbara’s mother, but historians suspect that Isabella was a servant of Giulio, as both Barbara and her mother lived in Giulio’s household and were listed in his will. Although Barbara was an illegitimate child, her father Giulio referred to her as his “adoptive daughter” and was instrumental in helping her establish her career as a musician later in her life. Barbara grew up in a household frequented by the greatest literary and musical minds of the age.

Early Life
Throughout her childhood, Venice had suffered plagues that killed much of its population. Barbara and her mother survived. By the age of 12, she had begun to develop as a musician and to demonstrate virtuosic vocal talent. Alongside this, she developed the ability to accompany herself on the lute or theorbo. As her musical gifts became more evident Giulio arranged for lessons in composition for her. By the age of 15, she was described as “Giulio Strozzi’s extremely virtuosic singer.” At around Barbara’s 16th birthday, Giulio started to publicise her talents, ensuring dedications of works for her. Giulio subsequently established the Accademia degli Unisoni, a subsidiary of the Incogniti, which welcomed musicians into the privileged social circle. Unisoni, operating from the Strozzi household, ensured Barbara opportunities of performing as a singer, as well as semi-public performances of her own works. In 1637, at the age of 18, Barbara took her father’s last name, Strozzi, keeping it until her death.

Life as a young musician
By her late teens, Strozzi had started to gain a reputation for her singing. In 1635 and 1636, two volumes of songs were published by Nicole Fontei, called the Bizzarrie poetiche (poetic oddities), full of praise for Strozzi’s singing ability. The performance experience that she had at Unisoni equipped her with the vocal expertise that also manifested itself in her later publications, signifying her compositional talent.

As a young musician, Strozzi sought out patronage, but was not always successful. Her opus 2, dedicated to Ferdinand III of Austria and Eleanora of Mantua on the occasion of their marriage, went unnoticed. Other notable dedicatees include Anne de’ Medici, the Archduchess of Austria, Nicolò Sagredo, later Doge of Venice, for whom she dedicated her opus 7, and Sophia, Duchess of Brunswick and Lüneburg. She is also assumed to have composed several songs for the Duke of Mantua in 1665, a year after her last known published works.

Strozzi was said to be “the most prolific composer – man or woman – of printed secular vocal music in Venice in the middle of the [17th] century.” Her output is also unique in that it only contains secular vocal music, with the exception of one volume of sacred songs. She was renowned for her poetic ability as well as her compositional talent. Her lyrics were often poetic and well-articulated.

Later life, children and death
Little is known of Strozzi’s life during the 1640s. However, it is assumed that she was the concubine of a Venetian nobleman, Giovanni Paolo Vidman, who was a patron of the arts and an associate of Giulio.  Although Barbara never married him (or anyone,) the relationship led to three or, possibly four children. Vidman was the father of her son Giulio, then of two daughters, Isabella in 1642 and Laura in 1644, and possibly of a further son, Massimo. Her two daughters joined a convent and one of her sons became a monk. A letter written after Strozzi’s death reports she “was raped by Count Vidman, a Venetian nobleman. She had a son who also bears the name Giulio Strozzi.” It has been suggested that the rape allegation may have been a story circulated to protect Strozzi’s reputation, as she had children out of wedlock; however, there is evidence to suggest that she was coerced into the relationship.

Strozzi died in Padua in 1677 aged 58.

Publications = 8
Recordings = 13
Performances = 4 (With the flourishing of the historical performance movement, an increasing number of performances featuring Strozzi’s works have been staged over the past few years.)

artist’s official website: Ebsco has a somewhat expanded biography of Strozzi

Source: wikipedia