Maria Rosa Coccia

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Portrait of Maria Rosa Coccia after admission to the Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna (1779), attributed to Antonio Cavalucci (1751–1798)

Maria Rosa Coccia (born June 4, 1759 in Rome , Italy ; † before November 21, 1833 ) was a Roman composer at the time of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and appeared parallel to him as a child prodigy in Rome. She qualified as Maestra Compositora and Maestra di Capella romana in 1774 , which is unique for a woman in Roman history. Pope Clement XIV (1769–1774) had lifted the music-making and music-learning ban for women and girls that had existed for centuries in Rome in order to counteract castratoism . This benefited Coccia, but the male-dominated musical tradition of Rome and a feud between the musicians weighed on her (literally :) "artistic high-altitude flight" in her adolescence .

Life and study

Maria Rosa Coccia grew up in Rome as the eldest of the three daughters of Maria Angela Luzi and Antonio Coccia, a pharmacist . As a child she showed her musicality in singing , playing the harpsichord , “ solfeggating ex tempore ” ( vocal improvisation ) and in the ability to read music “ in all keys ”. After taking lessons from a saggia donna , a "wise woman", presumably a nun, she received a celebre maestro in singing and harpsichord, both names are not mentioned. Afterwards she received several years of instruction in "all kinds of counterpoint " - and fugue composition , the "stile antico" (church style), which is particularly cultivated in Rome, by Sante Pesci (Giuseppe Pesci), the conductor of the Basilica Liberiana .

This church goes back to Pope Liberius , is one of the four great Roman basilicas and is also called " Santa Maria Maggiore ". As the former place of activity of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, it was and is particularly committed to traditional church music .

According to the Elogio Storico della Signora Maria Rosa Coccia romana by the Roman Abbate (priest) and Pastore Arcade Michele Mallio - shepherd of the (Roman) Arcadia - Coccia was given access to libraries early on , which enabled her to deal with libretto literature ( drama and Comedy ).

On December 20, 1772, one can read the following entry in the diary of the Chiesa nova :

“In the evening in the oratorio of the Chiesa nuova , a composition with the title“ Daniello ”with the new music of the Roman Sig. Rosa Coccia was sung with great crowds of the nobility in the boxes and the citizens in the benches . After the first part, Fr. Gregorio Costanzi of the Congregazione di San Filippo Neri gave a solemn moral address. The audience applauded everything. "

Oratory by Philippo Neri, where Coccia's oratorio was performed
Maria Rosa Coccia 1774
Sala Borromini

Three great music-dramatic works by Coccia are performed within a short time:

Before the Roman Congregation of Santa Cecilia ( Academy of Music ) Coccia in 1774 graduated at his own request a rigorous test in exam and shall not thereby - 15 years old - the title Maestra compositora and Maestra di Capella romana . This would have included membership in the leading Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna . Mozart received this after his stay in Rome at the age of 14. But for Coccia a long years of humiliating back and forth begins.

Artistic and social situation

The centuries-old music-making ban for women in the church was lifted by Pope Clement XIV during his 5-year term of office 1769–1774, so that Maria Rosa Coccia's musicality was gratefully registered by her father “because I have no sons”. He provided his daughter with a very good musical education, who had success as a child prodigy in church circles and in society. The description of their skills is similar to that of the young Mozart. The list of her musical works in childhood is extensive, unfortunately the oratorio Daniello , the opera L'isola disabitata (text: Pietro Metastasio) and the Intermedio (“ per teatro Capranica ”), which her father only mentioned in a letter, are lost. It is believed that both musical theater works were performed in the Teatro Capranica, since the dedicatee of the previous oratorio, Signora Duchessa D. Marianna Gaetani Sforza Cesarini, was one of the patrons of this theater.

Maria Rosa Coccia herself asserted access to the professional musical life of Rome by submitting the aforementioned test, which she successfully passed with the signature of the "Signori musici", the band master of Rome. These Kapellmeister of the four great basilicas set the tone in all musical matters and united to form the Congregatione di Santa Cecilia (today the University of Music ). Without their permission, no musician was allowed to make music publicly in Rome, and no composer was allowed to publish music.

Soon after this exam, a music-theoretical feud about the “stile antico”, the closely guarded church style in Rome, began over Coccia's head. Her exam was only rated “positively with regard to her gender”. In the background there was concern that the Roman church musicians would lose power. The feud in speech and contradiction dragged on for years and weighed on Coccia's youth. In particular, it was about whether Coccia could be accepted into the Accademia filarmonica di Bologna . Not until 1779, after five years of crossfire since her examination in 1774, was she confirmed in Bologna and the composer recognized as a member of the Academy. With Marianna von Martines she was one of the only women in this men's society. The assessment by the Bolognese Academy is:

“(The board of directors) immediately showed your excellent compositions to the other members, who examined them and praised them very much. He is instructed to (...) communicate that (...) these are completely enough to distinguish you from the general public as a deep, knowing and well-founded professor of this science. "

Coccia's compositions were performed in many churches, but she never had the opportunity to have her own chapel in Rome . The cast of her works reveals that Coccia could hardly count on an instrumental ensemble that belonged to a church office: most of them are designed for singing with organ accompaniment; those with orchestral instruments were commissioned. The cantata " Il Trionfo d'Enea ", written for a singing ensemble and orchestra, was written after her admission to the Academy of Bologna and is dedicated to the royal couple of Naples and Sicily.

According to the petition for a pension in her later years, she could not save anything for old age because she had to support her parents and younger sisters; she spent her life “teaching and composing”. Since she was seventy-four years old, a complete work must have been created that far exceeds the number of works found so far, assuming only one work per year.

A letter from Farinelli to the 16-year-old composer

Coccia's success was undoubtedly great in her time, as confirmed by letters, sonnets and writings dedicated to her by important personalities: among others the poet Pietro Metastasio, the famous castrato Farinelli , "Padre" Martini and Italian poets of over thirty sonnets.

The earliest letter printed in Michele Mallio's Elogio Storico to Maria Rosa Coccia (from the early days of the feud) comes from the castrato Farinelli. Coccia had visited him in November 1775 in his country house near Bologna, played his harpsichords, accompanied him to sing and then sent him a composition.

“Your very welcome letter of the 1st of the month, accompanied by the artful composition that your well-known talent has produced, is a proof of your kindness, which the kind Mr. Gaetani conveyed to me by emphasizing my low achievement and me the honor of yours Visit, where you played my harpsichords with extraordinary art. I thank you for your empathetic accompaniment and assure you of my enthusiasm. A few days ago the famous Padre Martini was with me for dinner, he and I, as students of the S. Cecilia [Music Academy in Rome], have done you the justice that your art deserves, I tell you this as an expression of my admiration. "

Works

Early compositions until 1774

title occupation dedication Date / dating Autogr./Dr./Dr. Location / signature Text author
6 harpsichord sonatas
op.I CCGFDF 		Harpsichord solo Alla Maestà Di Carlo III […] Ré Di Gran Bretagna-Francia Iberia E Della Fede ( Charles Edward Stuart ) March 14, 1772 Autograph, superb volume I-Rsc, Accademico A Ms 194
Oratorio Il Daniello nel lago del leoni Vocal soloists and accompanying instruments (only organ?) Dedication to […] Duchessa Marianna Caetani Sforza Cesarini, Rome Performed December 20, 1772 Printed libretto with a dedication Libretto: Conservatorio di Musica S.Cecilia Rom, G Libr. XVIII
Music Lost
L'isola disabitata Vocal soloists and orchestra 1772/74? Libretto print Music lost Pietro Metastasio
Intermedio per teatro Capranica Vocal soloists and orchestra 1772/74? Music lost
Hic vir despiciens mundum ,
in G [ untitled ] 		Antiphon Fuge / Ricercar
S ATB, only one line of text noted 		1774 exam Autograph 1774 I-Rsc, B.1.36 spiritual, Latin

Prints and manuscripts

according to RISM, Grove 2, Dizionario 1982, Cametti, Eitner, Cohen and Mallio

  • Dixit Dominus F (Psalm 110), a otto pieno (two 4-part mixed choirs) con organo 1775
  • Dixit Dominus (2nd version) a otto voci concertato con violini, viole, oboe, flauti, e corni da caccia. For the Grand Duke of Tuscany Pietro Leopoldo ( Leopold II , later Emperor) 1775
  • Cantate a due Soprani (Minerva e la Musica), Trombe, corni, oboi e archi, 1776, for Pietro Leopoldo
  • Magnificat D, a quattro voci concertato con organo (1774?) 1776
  • Vespero per la festa di Santa Cecilia 1776 (after a letter from Antonio Coccia in Mallio), missing
  • Confitebor (Psalm), a quattro concertato da due canti con RR e organo
  • Salve regina G (antiphon), a due voci, Canto ed Alto, organ.
  • Veni Creator Spiritus a quattro concertato e organo obbligato, performed in 1777 Monastery of Buon Jesu, Monte Albotto
  • Canto / Offertorio (incomplete) for Luigi Gonzaga ( Luigi Valenti Gonzaga ?)
  • Tantum Ergo Es, à canto solo (hymn), (organ part missing)
  • Eructavit cor meum . Motetto a soprano solo con organo, for Annunciata Bonarelli (other names Lo Iacono, Angela Serafina)
  • Veni Sponsa Christi a due Soprani, (Antiphon) for Annunziata Bonarelli,
  • Euge serve bone in modico D, motetto per alto solo and organ
  • ? qualche lagrime spargete (from Semiramide?), lost
  • Laudate a Canto solo con ripieni (instruments?)
  • Dei Salmi per la Basilica Liberiana 1776, lost
  • Quattro Salmi February 1778 for Maria Carolina di Napoli ( Maria Karolina of Austria ), missing
  • Alcuni Salmi missing for Maria I of Portugal in April 1779
  • Il Trionfo D'Enea , Cantata for 4 vocal soloists and orchestra, for Ferdinand IV ( Ferdinand I. ) and Maria Carolina, printed score
  • Arsinoe, Cantata per musica a quattro voci and orchestra. April 10, 1783. For Maria Amalia Augusta von Sachsen ( Maria Amalie von Sachsen (1757–1831) ), Princess of Zweibrücken
  • In questo estremo addio Duetto A major (hymn), for 2 sopranos and orchestra, 1785 (date of transcription) (according to RISM) S. Marta Pezzella, Rome
  • Angelus ad Pastores ait , Motetto in Pastorale. For 2 sopranos and organ, autograph 1799

Modern sheet music editions

  • Dixit (1775)
    Psalm 110, motet for two 4-part mixed choirs and basso continuo, Furore-Verlag Kassel 1997, Fue 562 ISMN M-50012-337-8 (score with suspended organ).
  • Magnificat (1776)
    A Quattro Voci Concertato, con Organo for 4-part mixed choir, soloists (SATB) and basso continuo, Furore-Verlag Kassel, Fue 6390 ISMN M-50012-639-3 (score with suspended organ).

Literature and Sources

  • Irene Hegen: Maria Rosa Coccia (1759-1833), incorrect, but masterful. In: Clara Mayer (ed.): Approach XIII - to seven female composers. Furore-Edition 899, Kassel 2003, ISBN 3-927327-56-5 , pp. 28-50.
  • Candida Felici: Maria Rosa Coccia, Maestra Compositora Romana. Editore Colombo, Fondazione Adkins Chiti. Donne in Musica, Romas 2004, ISBN 88-86359-54-3 .
  • Michele Mallio: Elogio Storico Della Signora Maria Rosa Coccia Romana, Maestra Pubblica Di Capella, Accademica Filarmonica di Bologna, e tra I Forti di Roma Trevia. Coll 'aggiunta di varie Lettere a Lei scritte da Uomini illustri, ed eruditi, e di varj Componimenti Poetici consecrati al di lei merito. Rome MDCCLXXX (1780).
  • Alberto Cametti: Notes on Maria Rosa Coccia. in: Gazetta Musicale di Milano. 1900, 343-344.
  • Danielle Roster: Popes and Musicians. as well as castrati, choirboys and singers. in: The great female composers. Insel Taschenbuch, Frankfurt / Main 1998, ISBN 3-458-33816-0 , pp. 89-94.
  • Patrick Barbier: Histoire des Castrats. Paris 1989.
  • Dizionario biografica degli Italiani. Instituto della Enciclopedia italiana Treccani, Volume 26, 1982, 508-10.
  • OE Deutsch (Hrsg.): Mozart. The documents of his life. Bärenreiter Kassel, 1961.
  • Music in the past and present (MGG). Edited by Friedrich Blume. Bärenreiter-Verlag, Kassel / Basel 1949 ff (1), volume 14, article “Capalti” (it contains the feud of the musicians of Rome over MR Coccia).
  • Laura Callegari Hill: L'Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna 1600–1800 . Bologna 1991 (therein letter from Antonio Coccia to Padre Martini).
  • Bianca Maria Antolini:  Coccia, Maria Rosa. In: Alberto M. Ghisalberti (Ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 26:  Cironi-Collegno. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 1982, pp. 508-510.

Remarks

  1. ↑ On this day, soul masses are held for her in the Roman Barnabite Church of San Carlo ai Catinari, which is why she must have died shortly before. See Alberto Cametti in: Gazetta Musicale di Milano .
  2. ^ Hegen: Maria Rosa Coccia (1759–1833), incorrect, but masterful , pp. 34/35.
  3. ^ Roster: Popes and musicians as well as castrati, choirboys and singers in The Great Women Composers. P. 90, according to Patrick Barbier: Histoire des Castrats .
  4. ↑ CV see Michele Mallio Elogio Storico Della Signora Maria Rosa Coccia Romana, Maestra Pubblica Di Capella, Accademica Filarmonica di Bologna, e tra I Forti di Roma Trevia. Rome MDCCLXXX (1780).
  5. ↑ See as an example of frequent key changes the harpsichord sonatas by the Italian composer Azzolino Bernardino della Ciaia, printed in Rome .
  6. ↑ Under this name it is probably he who is mentioned together with Coccia in Alberto Cametti's report in Gazetta Musicale .
  7. ↑ The Arcadia is a Roman language society initiated by Christina Alexandra of Sweden with an international presence at the time, which also reformed the opera libretto .
  8. ↑ Mallio Elogio XI ff.
  9. ↑ It falls outside the scope of what is usually noted. After Alberto Cametti: Notes on Maria Rosa Coccia. in: Gazetta Musicale di Milano. 1900, 343-344 (translation by Bernhard Pfister).
  10. ↑ Mallio.
  11. ^ Letter from father Antonio Coccia to Padre Martini, reprinted in Hill, L'Accademia , p. 70.
  12. ↑ The Roman abbot Michele Mallio gives information about Coccia's struggle for recognition as a female composer, life, family and success in Elogio Storico from 1780. Her academic titles as well as letters from, among others, Metastasio, Farinelli and Padre Martini are printed.
  13. ^ Hegen: Maria Rosa Coccia , p. 34, note 16, letter from the father to Padtre Martini.
  14. ↑ See details of her musical training in: Hegen: Maria Rosa Coccia (1759-1833) , pp. 43–45.
  15. ↑ The letters of this feud show the vanities of the actors and drag on until 1784, they are kept in the Civico Museo Bibliografico Musicale in Bologna and are described in Music in Past and Present (1) Volume 14, Article “Capalti”.
  16. ^ Callegari Hill: Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna , p.
  17. ↑ appeal letter, according to Alberto Cametti (notes on MRCoccia) In: Gazzetta Musicale di Milano. 1900, 343-44.
  18. ↑ Reprinted with Michele Mallio.
  19. ^ Excerpt from Farinelli's letter to Maria Rosa Coccia on November 15, 1775, contained in Michele Mallio's Elogio Storico . (Translation by Bernhard Pfister).

Web links

Music:

Portraits:

  • Copper engraving by Nicoló Mogalli after a portrait of the 15-year-olds by Giovanni Domenico Porta 1774. [1] on images.nypl.org
  • Painting in the Accademia Filarmonica Bologna, attributed to Antonio Cavalucci (1751–98). [2] on 4.bp.blogspot.com
personal data
SURNAME Coccia, Maria Rosa
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Coccia, pink
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian composer
DATE OF BIRTH June 4, 1759
PLACE OF BIRTH Rome , Italy
DATE OF DEATH before November 21, 1833
Place of death Rome