- Performer Name:
- Taddei; Sgricci
- Performance Venue:
- Rome
- Performance Date:
- 1818
- Author:
- [Müller, Wilhelm]
- Date Written:
- Language:
- English
- Publication Title:
- Blackwood’s Magazine
- Article Title:
- Sketches of Italy and the Italians, with Remarks on Antiquities and Fine Art: XV. Rosa Taddei and Tommaso Sgricci.
- Page Numbers:
- 25: 184-186
- Additional Info:
- Publisher:
- William Blackwood and Sons
- Place of Publication:
- Edinburgh
- Date Published:
- 1829
Text:
[184] Two of the most distinguished improvisatori of the present day in Rome are Rosa Taddei, whose Arcadian name is Licori Partenopea; and Tommaso Sgricci, of Arezzo, called in Arcadian nomenclature Terpandro; both of whom, unquestionably, possess no small portion of poetic fire and genius.
The improvisatrice gave, on the 24th of February 1818, a public Academia in the Teatro della Valle, which I attended. At the door of the parterre was a silver urn, into which everyone who entered was allowed to throw a theme rolled up in a slip of paper. A low and simple overture from the band preceded the arrival of the poetess, who at length made her appearance in white costume. She was a pale girl, about seventeen, and her large black eyes were full of fire. After an obeisance to the audience, she requested that the silver urn might be brought upon the stage; and, in sight of everyone, a stranger drew out six slips of paper, the contents of which he read aloud, and then presented them to the poetess. The themes were these: La morte del Conte Ugolino; Saffo e Faone; La morte d'Ifigenia; La morte d'Egeo; Il cinto di Venere; Coriolano.
She selected the first named; and after pacing the stage for several minutes in visible excitement, but without gesticulation, she directed the orchestra to play an aria, which she distinguished by a number. In accordance with the subject, the melody was a deep lament, and of simple construc- [185] tion. After it had been played over twice, she gave a signal to the band, and, with an impassioned burst, began to declaim her poem in tones which were a mean betwixt recitation and singing. The musicians yielded to the words, and humored a slower or more rapid utterance with great dexterity. The emphatic notes always fell on the rhymes, and were sustained ad libitum; but here the declamation yielded to the air, resembling somewhat the recitativo secco of the Italian opera, or the chanting of the mass in the Catholic churches. The improvisatrice excited astonishment and pity. Her whole frame quivered with convulsive effort; her bosom throbbed, her cheeks glowed, her dark eyes blazed, and her countenance assumed a character so widely different from its first appearance, that I could have fancied her a statue suddenly warmed to vitality by the Promethean spark of poesy. Whenever the flow of her diction was suspended, even for a moment, or when she was conscious of any slight error or repetition, her initial agony was expressed by looks so appalling, that I felt an involuntary anxiety to help her out of the difficulty. Her delivery, however, became more flowing and impassioned as she proceeded, and, as she uttered the last word, she fell exhausted into a chair. But her excitement was too great for long inaction. She rallied almost instantaneously, swallowed hastily a glass of water, and called to the orchestra for another accompaniment. Gradually she took a bolder flight, and a wider range; calling occasionally for intercalary verses, and final rhymes from the audience, who also prescribed for her the metres of several poems. The conclusion of each effort was followed by loud and universal applause, nor could the audience always wait the close, but expressed their loud delight during the brief pauses in her recitation. These interruptions, however, were evidently no annoyance, but rather seemed to stimulate the gifted fair one to more daring flights. She wrought wonders with the stale and worn-out themes selected for her; and certainly no one, who looked and listened, could doubt her inspiration. Most admirable, too, was the unaffected and maidenly propriety with which she steered her course through the difficulties of that slippery subject, the girdle of Venus, and avoided every allusion which might have compromised her youthful purity. The delicacy with which she accomplished this cannot, however, be conveyed by description, nor could I do justice to it, had I retained her language.
The celebrity of Tommaso Sgricci is not confined to his native country. In early childhood his mind exhibited unquestionable tokens of its peculiar powers. His poetical propensities did not accord with his father's views for him; but the dry studies to which his youth was devoted could not extinguish his poetic fire, which blazed more brightly within the barriers opposed to it, and, after the death of his father, he appeared before the public as an improvisatore. Commencing his career in Florence, he proceeded to Milan and Venice; was everywhere proclaimed the Coryphæus of his art, and at length appeared in Rome, where, during the Lent of 1818, he gave four public academies in the Venetian palace, and received a gold medal from the Academia Tiberina. His poems were recited without musical accompaniment, and he had evidently powers more sustained, and of a higher order, than those of his fair competitor, whose compositions, however, derived a charm even from her occasional exhaustion.
His declamation, which surpassed any I had heard in Italy, was full of natural fire, pure from all pompous inflation, and so wonderfully accurate, that he could personify, in dramatic scenes, three or four performers, without any parrot-like imitations of different voices—characterizing each speaker by judicious contrasts, and varieties of look and gesture.
At his fourth public academia, which I attended with a German friend of phlegmatic temperament, the three following themes were drawn: Le nozze di Amore e Psiche, in triads; La Morte di Saffo, in versi sciolti; La Morte di Socrate, a tragedy in three acts, with intermediate chorus. How shall I do justice to the transcendent ability of this highly-gifted poet! Our northern stoicism melted into strong excitement before the fire and flow of his unequaled powers; and, as we rushed with throbbing temples down the palace stairs into the chilling night air, we [186] vainly endeavored to express feelings to which no language could give utterance.
On the following morning we visited the young poet, who appeared highly gratified with the enthusiastic glow of our northern feelings, and who rose still higher in our estimation by the intellectual vigour of his conversation. We discovered in him a deep and comprehensive knowledge of history, and an intimate acquaintance with the existing relations of European governments, which gave rise to an interesting developement of political opinions and sympathies. Of all the ancient poets, the Greek tragic writers were most familiar to him; and he maintained that, through their agency alone, could the Italian stage be liberated from the thraldom of Gallic models.
Of his own poetry he spoke as freely, but not so clearly and comprehensively, as the Neapolitan. "Such and such ideas suggest themselves;" or "they are involuntary;" or similar expressions were all we could obtain from him. I inquired if he had any of his own compositions in manuscript. "I have often tried," said he, "to commit them to paper, but could only accomplish a few fragments, with which I was so much dissatisfied, when I saw them in black and white, that I destroyed them instantly. Whenever I attempt to write a poem of some length, my ideas outstrip my pen, my head becomes confused and dizzy, and I am compelled to abandon the attempt. There is an old and still current belief amongst improvisatori, that we lose our spontaneous powers when we begin to write; and although I indulge no superstitious fancies, I am conscious that I possess much more power in oral than in written and deliberate composition."
On the 10th of April the Academia Teverina gave a grand festival in honour of Sgricci, who was to receive, on this occasion, the gold medal. The ceremonies opened with a discourse on the art of poesy, and on the merits of the poet, to crown whom they had assembled; after which his praises were sung in Italian and Latin by every member of the Academia, and the decree was read, by which the honorary medal of the institution was awarded to him. The themes proposed were then collected by an academician, who drew out two: Coriolano, in versi sciolti; and La Morte di Lucrezia, a tragedy in three acts, with chorus. On this occasion, Sgricci surpassed himself; and, towards the conclusion of his tragedy, everyone listened in silent and rapturous enthusiasm, too much excited even to applaud. When the ceremonies were concluded, we found the improvisatore in a side-room, exhausted and almost fainting, on a sofa; and were informed by his mother, that every extraordinary exertion of his powers was succeeded by a similar reaction, which continued for several hours, and had sensibly impaired his constitution.
Notes:
- Collected by:
- CB