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
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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)
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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)