J. C. L. Simonde de Sismondi, Historical View of the Literature of the South of Europe

Performer Name:

Gianni; Corilla; Bandettini; Fantastici; Mazzei

Performance Venue:

 

Performance Date:

 

Author:

Sismondi, J. C. L. Simonde de

Date Written:

 

Language:

English

Publication Title:

Historical View of the Literature of the South of Europe

Article Title:

 

Page Numbers:

1:517-18, 536, 539, 541; 2:83-86

Additional Info:

Trans. Thomas Roscoe

Publisher:

George Bell and Sons

Place of Publication:

London

Date Published:

1895

Text:

[1:517, from “On the Literature of the Italians”] An appropriate situation, a name, a country, a mask, and a dress, were bestowed upon each of these; and [518] each actor was entitled to one of these personages by right of long prescription, and strove to make himself master of his character, his tone of voice, and his repartees. Dramatic tradition, also, came in aid of this first distribution of the parts: a particular motion of the head, tone of voice, or gesture, adopted by some uncommon performer in the character of Pantaloon, of Doctor Balanzoni, of Harlequin, or of Columbine, became the peculiar attributes of such fantastic beings.

[…]

[536] He had, likewise, sketched and prepared the particular scenes which he proposed to leave to the discretion of this improvvisatori, in such a manner as hardly to permit them to mistake the part assigned them, either in their style of language, in their peculiar sort of pleasantry, or in the general design of the whole.

[…]

[539] Indeed, Gozzi himself had contributed not a little to deprive the actors of their former spirit and invention, qualities which he nevertheless exacted of the performers, by altering the parts which had been assigned to them; and when divested of their individual character, they seemed to lose the associations and the inspiration which had facilitated the exercise of their peculiar talents.*

* These extempore comedies continued to be played at Venice till within a very few years. In the theatrical journals, up to the year 1801, we frequently find mention of them as represented at the theatres of S. Angelo, S. Luca, and S. Gio. Cristostomo. Under the titles of Comedies of Art, we meet with La Nascita die Truffaldino, I Personaggi fi Truffaldino, I Due Truffaldino, La Favola del Corvo, &c. The names of the ancient masks are also inserted in these journals: such as, Pantaloon, Tartaglia, Harlequin, Columbine; but neither comedies of art, not masks, appeared at so recent a period in other parts of Italy.

[…]

[541] Two of these, The Philosophical Princess and the Negro with a fair complexion, are of a mixed kind, consisting of tragedy and comedy; of Improvvisatori masks, with the Venetian dialect; and of serious characters, whose dialogue is in verse.

[…]

[2:83] We should convey an exceedingly imperfect idea of the poetry of Italy, did we omit to say a few words of the Improvvisatori. Their talent, their inspiration, and the enthusiasm which they excite, are all most illustrative of the national character. In them we perceive how truly poetry is the immediate language of the soul and of the imagination; how the thoughts at their birth take this harmonious form; and how our feelings are so closely connected with the music of language and with the rich graces of description, that the best poet displays resources in verse, which he never appears to possess in prose; and that he, who is scarcely worthy of being listened to in speaking, becomes eloquent, captivating, and even sublime, when he abandons himself to the inspiration of the Muse.

The talent of an improvvisatore is the gift of nature, and a talent which has frequently no relation to the other faculties. When it is manifested in a child, it is studiously cultivated, and he receives all the instruction which seems likely to be useful to him in his art. He is taught mythology, history, science and philosophy. But the divine gift itself, the second and more harmonious language, which with graceful ease assumes every artificial form, this alone they attempt not to change or to add to, and it is left to develope itself according [84] to the dictates of nature. Sounds call up corresponding sounds; the rhymes spontaneously arrange themselves in their places; and the inspired soul pours itself forth in verse, like the concords naturally elicited from the vibrations of a musical chord.

The improvvisatore generally begs from the audience a subject for his verse. The topics usually presented to him are drawn from mythology, from religion, from history, or from some passing event of the day; but from all of these sources thousands of the most trite subjects may be derived, and we are mistaken in supposing that we are rendering the poet a service in giving him a subject which has already been the object of his verse. He would not be an improvvisatore, if he did not entirely abandon himself to the impression of the moment, or if he trusted more to his memory than to his feelings. After having been informed of his subject, the improvvisatore remains a moment in meditation, to view it in its various lights, and to shape out the plan of the little poem which he is about to compose. He then prepares the eight first verses, that his mind during the recitation of them may receive the proper impulse, and that he may awaken that powerful emotion, which makes him as it were a new being. In about seven or eight minutes he is fully prepared, and commences his poem, which often consists of five or six hundred verses. His eyes wander around him, his features glow, and he struggles with the prophetic spirit which seems to animate him. Nothing, in the present age, can represent in so striking a manner the Pythia of Delphos, when the god descended and spoke by her mouth.

There is an easy metre, the same which Metastasio has employed in the Partenza a Nice, and which is adapted to the air known by the name of the Air of the Improvvisatori. This measure is generally made use of when the poet wishes not to give himself much trouble, or when he has not the talent to attempt a higher strain. The stanza consists of eight lines with seven syllables in each line, and divided into two quatrains, each quatrain being terminated by a verso tronco, so that there are properly only two of the lines rhymed in each quatrain. The singing sustains and strengthens the prosody, and covers, where it is necessary, defective verses, so that the art is in this form within the capacity of persons [85] possessing very ordinary talents. All the improvvisatori, however, do not sing. Some of the most celebrated amongst them have bad voices, and are compelled to declaim their verses in a rapid manner, as if they were reading them. The more celebrated improvvisatori consider it an easy task to conform themselves to the most rigid laws of versification. At the will of the audience, they will adopt the terza rima of Dante, or the ottava rima of Tasso, or any other metre as constrained; and these shackles of rhyme and verse seem to augment the richness of their imagination and their eloquence. The famous Gianni, the most astonishing of all the improvvisatori, has written nothing in the tranquility of his closet which can give him any claim to his prodigious reputation. When, however, he utters his spontaneous verses, which are preserved by the diligence of short-hand writers, we remark with admiration the lofty poetry, the rich imagery, the powerful eloquence, and, occasionally, the deep thought which they display, and which place their author on a level with the men who are the glory of Italy. The famous Corilla, who was crowned in the Capitol, was distinguished for her lively imagination, her grace, and her gaiety. Another poetess, La Bandettini, of Modena, was educated by a Jesuit, and from him acquired a knowledge of the ancient languages, and a familiarity with the classical authors. She afterwards attached herself to scientific pursuits, that she might render herself equal to any theme that might be proposed to her, and she thus rendered her numerous acquirements subservient to her poetical talents. La Fantastici, the wife of a rich goldsmith of Florence, did not devote herself to such abstruse branches of knowledge; but she possessed from heaven a musical ear, an imagination worthy of the name she bore, and a facility of composition, which gave full employment to her melodious voice. Madame Mazzei, whose former name was Landi, a lady of one of the first families in Florence, surpasses, perhaps, all her compeers in the fertility of her imagination, in the richness and purity of her style, and in the harmony and perfect regularity of her verses. She never sings; and absorbed in the process of invention, her thoughts always outstrip her words. She is negligent in her declamation, and her recitation is therefore not graceful; but the moment she commences her spontaneous effusions, the most harmonious language in [86] the world seems at her bidding to assume new beauties. We are delighted and drawn forward by the magic stream. We are transported into a new poetical world, where to our amazement we discover man speaking the language of the gods. I have heard her exert her talents upon subjects which were unexpectedly offered to her. I have heard her in the most magnificent ottava rima celebrate the genius of Dante, of Machiavelli, and of Galileo. I have heard her in terza rima lament the departed glory and the lost liberties of Florence. I have heard her compose a fragment of a tragedy, on a subject which the tragic poets had never touched, so as to give an idea in a few scenes of the plot and the catastrophe; and lastly I have heard her pronounce, confining herself to the same given rhymes, five sonnets on five different subjects. But it is necessary to hear her, in order to form any idea of the prodigious power of this poetical eloquence, and to feel convinced that a nation in whose heart so bright a flame of inspiration still burns, has not yet accomplished her literary career, but that there still perhaps remain in reserve for her greater glories than any which she has as yet acquired.

Notes:

Collected by:

AE