Antonia Bembo

Antonia Padoani Bembo (c. 1640 – c. 1720) was an Italian composer and singer.

Life

She was born in Venice and died in Paris. She was the only the daughter of Giacomo Padoani (1603–1666), a doctor, and Diana Paresco (1609–1676); she married the Venetian noble Lorenzo Bembo (1637–1703) in 1659. She had three children.In 1677, travelled with Francesco Corbetta (guitarist) to Paris. She moved to Paris before 1676, possibly to leave a bad marriage. There she sang for Louis XIV. Louis granted her a pension and housing at the Petite Union Chrétienne des Dames de Saint Chaumont, a religious community.

She was a contemporary of Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre and Barbara Strozzi.

Oeuvre

She was taught by Francesco Cavalli (who also taught Barbara Strozzi) by 1654 and wrote in all the major genres of the time, including opera, secular and sacred cantatas, and petit and grand motets. Bembo wrote large-scale works: one opera and twoTe Deums. Her work is a combination of French and Italian styles. She uses the virtuosic elements of Italian style of the period, as well as French dance forms. Much of her work is for soprano voice with continuo accompaniment. She wrote an opera called L'Ercole amante (1707), to a libretto by Francesco Buti.

Six volumes of Bembo's music survive in manuscript at the Bibliothèque nationale de France. When she completed the first collection, she dedicated to Louis XIV and entitled Produzioni Armoniche della Dama Bembo, nobile veneta, consacrate al nome immortale di Luigi XIIII il grande, rè di Francia e di Navarra ("Harmonic Productions of the Lady Bembo, Venetian noblewoman, dedicated to the immortal name of Louis XIV the great, king of France and of Navarre"). Generally, most of them dedicated to Louis XIV. These contain a certain amount of autobiographical information, which has been corroborated through other sources.

In the first collection, there are five setting in sacred Latin texts, one to French words (no. 40), and the other thirty-four are in Italian. Since she was a soprano, her vocal compositions are in higher register mostly which are suitable for her range. Thirty-two of them are supplied with simple figured-bass accompaniments (nos. I, 6-I3, 15-17, 20-32, 34-40). There are two other soprano airs have an accompaniment for two violins and figured bass (nos. 2 and 5); one air requires only a single violin with the bass (no. 3). There are two duets for sopranos (nos. 4 and 19); one trio for two sopranos and tenor (no. 14) with two violins, basso continuo, and instrumental prelude; one duet for soprano and tenor (no. 18); and one duet for soprano and bass (no. 33) complete the collection.

The second collection is dedicated to Marie-Adélaïde of Savoy, Duchess of Burgundy, on the occasion of the birth of the first Duke of Brittany in 1704. It contains a three-voice Te Deum and a five-voice Italian serenata (‘un picciolo divertimento’), which shows her compositional techniques of musical structure, melodic application and harmonic progression. The third book contains two motets, and the second Te Deum she wrote which is a five-voice setting, (a grand motet in the style of Lully and Lalande; ed. W.  W. Führlinger, Altötting, 1999). The music in the third to sixth collection can prove that Bembo lived in France for many years.

• Te Deum (3 voices)

The Te Deum is written for three vocal parts: two sopranos and a bass, with two violin parts and figured bass. It stays in the key of E minor from the beginning and dominates until the end, but with long passages in neighboring keys: successively, C major (Te ceternum), B minor (Sanctus), F-sharp minor, A major, E minor (Tu rex), G major, B-flat major (Aeterna fac), D minor (Per singulos dies), A minor (Miserere nostri), E minor (In te Domine).

The Te Deum is followed by a large five-part chorus orchestra. On the title-page of the collection Deum, it mentioned a little divertimento per la Nascità del medesimo Principe.

• Te Deum (5 voices)

The writing of Te Deum for five voices is skillful and represents a musician who should be trained in this type of techniques. It is not as same as Te Deum for 3 voices; instead, the musical language is complex and challenged.

• L'Ercole Amante (1707)

Bembo’s fourth work is this opera which is written in two volumes included in the forth and fifth collection. On the title page of the first volume, it appears the clear date in the manuscripts: 1707.

Hercules in Love /

Tragedy /

Newly set to music, by / Lady Antonia

Bembo, Noble Venetian, /

And dedicated to His Most Christian Majesty, /

Louis the Fourteenth. /

In the year 1707

At the beginning of the second volume, it presents an analog entitled “Madrigal,” which is dedicated to the Louis XIV.

The lofty clemency, o Sire——

which decorates your valor to the highest degree

and gives you pride of place among heroes ——

gives me the strength and daring

to offer to your right hand, to your great heart

as a gift, indeed as a tribute, a new song;

hereby Sire, be so kind as to look

with mercy on [her] who with all zeal

offers continual vows to heaven for you

Bembo applied the same libretto as her teacher used before written by Francesco Buti and wrote new music for this opera. The libretto describes a divine transformation story of the king Hercules experienced "Love, Betrayal and Redemption". Hercules as a modifier depicts Louis XIV's authority with highest power and sacred position.

It is a five-act opera which is similar to other Italian conventional opera consisted of recitative and aria. Since Bembo studied with Cavalli, her compositional techniques of Italian music is remarkable, with full of vocal virtuosity and emotional intensity.She combined Italian operatic style and French taste in the opera which is a hybrid work of two different countries. Comparing with her teacher's original work, Bembo applied French tragédie en musique, chorus, French overture and instrumental dance forms. She addressed the dramatic climax on Hercules’s plight in act 3, scene 2 (Cavalli emphasized Dejanira’s suffering in act 2, scene 5).

Bembo used French overture (six-part orchestra) to start the opera which replaced the original Prologue and opening five-part sinfonia Cavalli did. Dotted notes characterized her French overture and represented Louis XIV’s grandeur. She also applied the six-part orchestra as Entrée to play at the end of each act. Bembo added formal dances, such as "Danza" in the opera (ex. Act IV, Danza, allegro accompanying with instrumental trio).

Bembo utilized several features of French tragédie. She applied Gigue which is common dance in French tragédie in Act V opening with 5-part ensemble. Bembo used another elements of French tragédies lyriques ----Chorus in her new setting, such as 5-part (SSATB) with a basso continuo accompanying with instrumental ensemble (two high strings, two middle parts and one bass line) in Act II, scene 6.

List of works

• Produzioni armoniche, 41 arias and cantatas in Italian, French, and Latin. (vol. I) (1701)
• Te Deum for 3 voices (vol. II, dedicated to Marie Adélaïde of Savoy in 1704)
• Serenata for 5 voices (vol. II)
• 2 mottetti (vol. III)
• Te Deum for 5 voices (vol. III)
• Salmo XIX, for 3 voices (vol. III)
• Ercole amante (Bembo), opera set to a libretto by Francesco Buti (1707) (vols. IV-V)
• Les sept pseaumes de David (vol. VI) (Seven Psalms of David)

Recordings

• 12 soprano cantatas Clizia Amnate Del Sole, Habbi Pieta Di Me, Volgete Altrovi Il Guardo. Maria Jonas Convoce Coeln (Alpha)
• 41 complete Produzioni Armoniche 3CD Armonia delle Sfere (Tactus)
• The Seven Psalms of David, Vol. I (2004), Cleveland Voices Laury Gutierrez La Donna Musicale
• The Seven Psalms of David, Vol. II (2005), La Donna Musicale

The texts for these psalms were written by Élisabeth Sophie Chéron.

• L'Ercole amante - Gusto Barocco, Halubek 2023

References

• Claire Fontijn, Marinella Laini. "Antonia Bembo", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (accessed September 18, 2006), grovemusic.com Archived 2008-05-16 at the Wayback Machine (subscription access).
• Pendle, Karin. Women and Music: A History. Indiana University Press, Bloomington IN. (2001) ISBN 0-253-21422-X
• Claire Fontijn, Desperate Measures: The Life and Music of Antonia Padoani Bembo. Oxford University Press. (2006)
• Fontijn, Claire, and Marinella Laini. "Bembo, Antonia." Grove Music Online. 2001; Accessed 10 Nov. 2024.
• Pendle, Karin. Women & Music : A History. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1991.
• Rokseth, Yvonne, and G. R. “Antonia Bembo, Composer to Louis XIV.” The Musical Quarterly 23, no. 2 (1937): 147–69. http://www.jstor.org/stable/738673.
• Fontijn, Claire Anne. “‘Sotto La Disciplina Del Signor Cavalli’: Works by Strozzi and Bembo.” In Fiori Musicali: Liber Amicorum Alexander Silbiger, 165–83. Detroit Monographs in Musicology/Studies in Music. Sterling Heights: Harmonie Park Press, 2010.
• Piechocki, Katharina N. “Compulsive Masculinity: Hercules and Early Italian-Style Opera in Paris.” The Italianist 40, no. 3 (2020): 400–418. doi:10.1080/02614340.2020.1886752.
• Fontijn, Claire Anne. "Antonia Bembo: Les Gouts Reunis, Royal Patronage, and the Role of the Woman Composer during the Reign of Louis XIV." Order No. 9507489, Duke University, 1994.