Music of Venice

The city of Venice in Italy has played an important role in the development of the music of Italy. The Venetian state—i.e. the medieval and Early Modern Maritime Republic of Venice—was often popularly called the "Republic of Music", and an anonymous Frenchman of the 17th century is said to have remarked that "In every home, someone is playing a musical instrument or singing. There is music everywhere."

Historical background

Introduction

The rich history of music in Venice extends back to the founding of the city in the early Middle Ages, although relatively little is known about music prior to the 15th century. Because of the wide geographical span of its trade relations with both the East and the West, it was continuously influenced by styles that originated in many parts of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. Although Venice bred a great many musicians of rare skill, the Republic frequently searched for talented performers and composers through diplomatic networks.

Important chapters in the development of instrumental music were written in Venice: for lute and for organ in the 16th century, for instrumental ensemble in the 17th, and for virtuoso performance in the 18th. The institution of opera theaters, open to a fee-paying public in 1637, followed a long period of private performance before noble audiences of plays with musical numbers. The relationship of these commedie to early opera remain a little-explored area. Festive church music, often performed before the same select audiences as private concerts of instrumental and vocal music, was what many visitors remembered the longest.