Abbé [Charles] Dupaty, Travels through Italy, in a Series of Letters, Written in the Year 1785 (Letter 29)

The Abbé Dupaty argues that little skill is required for the art of improvisation in Italian, citing the natural characteristics of the language, and the prevalence of conventional expressions in improvised performances.

Performer Name:
 
Performance Venue:
 
Performance Date:
 
Author:
Dupaty, Abbé [Charles]
Date Written:
1785
Language:
English
Publication Title:
Travels through Italy, in a Series of Letters, Written in the Year 1785
Article Title:
Letter 29
Page Numbers:
89
Additional Info:
 
Publisher:
 
Place of Publication:
Dublin
Date Published:
1789

Text:

Nothing is more easy than to improvisare, in Italian; a language where every phrase may be a verse, and every word a rhime; in a language which has so many echoes. Besides that an improvisatore is neither required to think, nor to occasion thought in his hearer. A certain number of common-place expressions, of pretexts for words, is all that is expected.

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Collected by:
DP