Barbara Strozzi was an Italian singer and composer who lived from 1619 to 1677. She spent her life in Venice. She wrote songs for one voice with a few instruments, and she published eight books of them under her own name. Few composers of her time printed that much music, and almost no women did. The best first piece for a child is “Che si può fare,” a slow song over a bass line that repeats.
Quick facts
- Born: 1619, in Venice, Italy
- Died: 1677, in Padua, Italy
- Era: Baroque
- Played: she sang, and she played the lute
- Known for: songs for solo voice, printed in eight books
The life in short
Strozzi grew up in the house of Giulio Strozzi, a well-known poet. He raised her as his daughter and saw that she had a fine education. Her mother worked in his household.
Giulio made sure that Barbara studied music. Her teacher was Francesco Cavalli, one of the leading opera composers in Venice.
When she was a teenager, Giulio started a club of writers and thinkers that met at his house. Barbara sang for them, and they talked about her music. At a time when few women held posts as musicians, this club gave her an audience.
She published her first book of music in 1644, when she was 25. Seven more followed over the next 20 years.
Strozzi did not marry. She raised four children and managed her own money. She dedicated her books to nobles and rulers, in the hope of support.
She died in Padua in 1677.
Why printing mattered
In the 1600s, most music was copied by hand and passed from one musician to the next. Printing a book of music cost a great deal. A composer needed a rich supporter or money of their own.
Strozzi put her full name on every title page. That is one reason her music survived. Works by many other women of her century were lost.
What the music sounds like
Most of her pieces are for a soprano voice and a small group called the continuo. The continuo is a low instrument, such as a cello, plus an instrument that plays chords, such as a harpsichord or a lute.
Her songs stay close to the words. When the poem sighs, the voice sighs. When the poem rages, the notes rush. Many of her songs are about love that has gone wrong.
She often used a ground bass. That is a short pattern in the low instruments that repeats over and over while the voice sings something new each time above it.
Pieces to play first
“Che si può fare.” The title means “What can be done?” The bass walks down four notes, again and again, and the singer pours out her sorrow over it.
“Amor dormiglione.” The title means “Sleepy Cupid.” It is short and funny. The singer scolds the god of love for dozing and tells him to wake up.
“Lagrime mie.” The title means “My tears.” It is a lament, a song of grief. It opens with one long, falling cry.
“L’Eraclito amoroso.” Another sad song over a repeating bass. The pattern is the same falling four notes as in “Che si può fare.”
Things to do together
Count the bass. Play “Che si può fare.” Follow the lowest instrument with a finger in the air, down four steps and back to the top. Count how many times the pattern comes.
Wake up, Cupid. Play “Amor dormiglione.” Your child pretends to sleep and jumps up each time the singer calls.
Sad or silly? Play 30 seconds each of “Lagrime mie” and “Amor dormiglione.” Ask which is which, and how your child can tell without knowing Italian.
Find Venice. Venice is a city of canals in the north of Italy. In Strozzi’s time, it had the first opera houses in the world that sold tickets to the public.
Words to know
- Soprano: the highest kind of singing voice
- Continuo: the bass line and chords that support a Baroque song
- Ground bass: a bass pattern that repeats through a whole piece
- Lament: a song of grief
Print and play
Fill in a composer study notebook page for Barbara Strozzi. Read about more composers in women composers for kids. For the era she lived in, read Baroque music for kids.
For more composers from the same country, read Italian composers for kids. For more composers by era, see classical composers for kids.
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This article is part of Classical composers for kids: a guide by era, from Vivaldi to Britten.
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Use it with your kids
Print a listening page, a practice chart, or a composer fact sheet. Or try a tool, such as the composer timeline or the piece picker.