Perceptions and conceptions of Francesca Caccini (1587-c. 1645) and Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677) : sensing the past through contemporary composition practice

Abstract

This masters project consists of a composition portfolio and exegesis, connecting an earlier historical period to the present day through contemporary compositional processes and an examination of the musical experience. Feminist reparative approaches to history have revealed women composers who had been disappeared or minimised through music history. Taking as its starting point the cultural and musical contexts of two Baroque composers, Francesca Caccini (1587- c.1645) and Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677), this project approaches their surviving traces creatively whilst investigating temporality and subjective modes of knowledge production. The project draws together sense-oriented frameworks from artistic practice-led research, the Baroque era and sound studies, with a focus on listening (and all its metaphoric, sensual and technical applications). In doing so, it models how a contemporary self-producing sensate composer can interact with the past to create new work.

Date of Award	2022
Original language	English