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October 5, 2022

Almanac of Story Tellers: Settimia Caccini

Every day brings a new story.  And each day contributes to story telling -- in prose and in poetry, in art and in music, on the stage, on the screen, and, of course, in books

Today is the story of Oct. 6th
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    It is the 279th day of the year, leaving 86 days remaining in 2022.
   
    On this date in 1591, the singer and composer Settimia Caccini was born in Florence, Italy.


    She told her stories, in song and arias, to the elite of cities across the Italian peninsula. Contemporaries praised her accomplished soprano voice, along with her expressive and technical skills.

     She came from a musical family, and likely started singing in operas that her father, Giulio Caccini wrote. She was among the first female singers to enjoy a successful career in music. 

    Like her father and siblings, Caccini often sang at the court of Medici. She also found work in Parma, Lucca, and with the Gonzaga family in Mantua. 

    Although Caccini composed music, she rarely published her own works in her lifetime; instead, she likely wrote them for her own use. Her compositions were not as well known as the works of her older sister, Francesca.

    However, a number of her compositions have survived and been published posthumously. All are strophic arias, common at the time, in which the music is repeated at every stanzas. They use dance rhythms and have a fluid melodic style, often accompanied by basso continuo. 

    Cassini died in 1638.

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