Gender Ambivalence and The Expression of Passions in the Performances of Early Roman Cantatas by Castrati and Female Singers
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Gender Ambivalence and The Expression of Passions in the Performances of Early Roman Cantatas by Castrati and Female Singers. / Jeanneret, Christine.
The Emotional Power of Music: Multidisciplinary perspectives on musical arousal, expression, and social control. ed. / Tom Cochrane; Bernardino Fantini; Klaus Scherer. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2013. p. 85-101, 359-69.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Book chapter › Research › peer-review
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TY - CHAP
T1 - Gender Ambivalence and The Expression of Passions in the Performances of Early Roman Cantatas by Castrati and Female Singers
AU - Jeanneret, Christine
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - Solo singing is associated with the expression of passions during the 17th century. Cantatas were sung by women as well as castrati, playing an ambivalent game on gender, eroticism, and passions. Contemporary testimonies of these performances juxtaposed with the medical theory of the humors shows that both are based on the idea of a perfect male body, a and womanish body of the castrato, and an even worse female body. Poems reflect the conventional tropes of the male gaze: the lover oscillates between hot and cold; he is consumed by the fire of passion and frozen by the unwavering cruelty of his beloved. While we rightly read such changes of temperature as standardized extravagances of poetics, they are also deeply rooted in Early Modern scientific theories of the body. Performance was one part of sophisticated entertainments along with improvisation of poetry, discourses on love, and games of eloquence.
AB - Solo singing is associated with the expression of passions during the 17th century. Cantatas were sung by women as well as castrati, playing an ambivalent game on gender, eroticism, and passions. Contemporary testimonies of these performances juxtaposed with the medical theory of the humors shows that both are based on the idea of a perfect male body, a and womanish body of the castrato, and an even worse female body. Poems reflect the conventional tropes of the male gaze: the lover oscillates between hot and cold; he is consumed by the fire of passion and frozen by the unwavering cruelty of his beloved. While we rightly read such changes of temperature as standardized extravagances of poetics, they are also deeply rooted in Early Modern scientific theories of the body. Performance was one part of sophisticated entertainments along with improvisation of poetry, discourses on love, and games of eloquence.
U2 - 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199654888.001.0001
DO - 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199654888.001.0001
M3 - Book chapter
SN - 978–0–19–965488–8
SP - 85-101, 359-69
BT - The Emotional Power of Music
A2 - Cochrane, Tom
A2 - Fantini, Bernardino
A2 - Scherer, Klaus
PB - Oxford University Press
CY - Oxford
ER -
ID: 123609192