Giovanni Battista Doni and his Vision of Performing Poetry

Abstract

Giovanni Battista Doni (1595 – 1647) may be seen as one of the first historians and critics of music in the modern sense. His excellent education in different fields of knowledge and his meticulous approach to research make his writings a true treasury of information, including on contemporary music and poetry. While analyzing the new tendencies in the performing practice and, above all, the new genre of musical drama, he gave great attention to its literary component. Significantly, even in the 1630-40s he regarded the genre of opera as first and foremost the presentation of poetry. In this article examine some of his critiques, always well-reasoned, of the contemporary practice of performance of poetry within different musical contexts and consider Doni’s vision of an ideal practice of performing poetry, based on his deep knowledge both of ancient theories of poetics and music and of recent developments in this field.