The concerto delle donne was a group of professional female singers in the late Renaissance court of Ferrara, Italy, renowned for their technical and artistic virtuosity. The ensemble was founded by Alfonso II, Duke of Ferrara, in 1580 and was active until the court was dissolved in 1597. Giacomo Vincenti, a music publisher, praised the women as "virtuose giovani" (virtuosic youths), echoing the sentiments of contemporaneous diarists and commentators. The concerto delle donne revolutionized the role of women in professional music, and continued the tradition of the Este court as a musical center. Word of the ladies' ensemble spread across Italy, inspiring imitations in the powerful courts of the Medici and Orsini. The founding of the concerto delle donne was the most important event in secular Italian music in the late sixteenth century; the musical innovations established in the court were important in the development of the madrigal, and eventually the seconda pratica.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concerto_delle_donne

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1519: Spanish conquest of Mexico: Hernán Cortés entered Tenochtitlan where Aztec tlatoani Moctezuma II welcomed him with great pomp as would befit a returning god. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_Mexico)

1793: In Paris, the Louvre was opened to the public as a museum during the French Revolution. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louvre)

1895: Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen discovered x-rays. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Conrad_R%C3%B6ntgen)

1923: Adolf Hitler, Erich Ludendorff and other members of the Kampfbund started the Beer Hall Putsch, a failed attempt to seize power in Germany. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_Hall_Putsch)

2002: The UN Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1441, forcing Iraq to disarm or face "serious consequences".

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council_Resolution_1441)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

No man knows till he has suffered from the night how sweet and dear to his heart and eye the morning can be. -- Bram Stoker (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bram_Stoker)