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'Charpentier and the Language of Italy'

Thompson’s study ‘Charpentier and the Language of Italy’ began in response to an invitation to contribute in April 2011 to a research seminar series at the Deutsches Historisches Institut, Rome. This series was part of a three-year Franco-German research project focusing on European musicians in Venice, Rome and Naples, 1650-1750 (‘Musicisti europei a Venezia, Roma e Napoli (1650-1750): musica, identità delle nazioni e scambi culturali’ – http://www.musici.eu). The seminar was followed by an invitation to publish the research as a chapter in the present publication, _Musique à Rome au XVIIe siècle_.

While Charpentier’s links with Italy and his absorption of elements of Italian musical style have long been acknowledged, there has been no systematic study of his use of the Italian language, either in relation to his choice of texts or his adoption of Italian performance directions at a time when these were largely unknown in France. Among the key conclusions to emerge here are that: a) Charpentier was far more prolific in setting Italian texts than any of his French contemporaries, and that such settings incorporate musical features more typically Italianate than French; b) in numerous instances where Charpentier uses Italian labellings or performance directions, connections may be drawn with Italian performers and/or patrons with Italian sympathies; and c) Charpentier’s Italian roots enabled him to establish secure foundations for the _réunion des goûts_ a generation ahead of Couperin.

The present study has already given rise to subsequent projects. An invitation to contribute to the conference marking the close of the ‘Musici’ project in January 2012 resulted in the paper ‘The Italian Roots of Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s Harmonic Idiom’, co-written with Graham Sadler (q.v.) and currently at press (Kassel: Bärenreiter). The editions of the two _pastoralette_ submitted as Thompson_04 are a further outgrowth of her work in this area.