The Improvisation of Poetry, 1750 – 1850
A database of commentaries on improvisational performance
In his travel notes, Volkmann describes Italian improvisation as a light diversion typical of that nation. He mentions several famous improvisatori, and notes that improvisation is not a new art form, but has existed for centuries.
Casanova recounts the mocking that the improvisatrice Corilla undeservedly suffered before and during her coronation at the Capitol. Casanova also describes having read several poems by Maria Fortuna, and then asking Ciaccheri whether the former improvised in the manner of Corilla. What follows is a record of Ciaccheri’s account of why he forbade Fortuna to improvise.
In a series of annotations, Bernoulli provides brief descriptions of some currently and recently living improvisatori.
Archenholtz writes disparagingly of Corilla’s coronation as an abasement of poetry in general; Corilla’s talent cannot be compared with that of the superior German poet Anna Louisa Karsch. Archenholtz describes an impressive open-air by an unnamed Venetian improviser, one of many he witnessed while in Italy, but in general he considers Italian poetic improvisation far inferior to the spontaneous rhetorical skill displayed by English gentlemen.
Moore writes that he does not expect Italian poetic improvisation to yield good poetry. However, he gives an anecdote of a thoughtful, elegant performance by Corilla.
Moore reflects on the Italian improvisatori, suggesting that the primary benefit of their art (especially of those improvisatori who perform on the street) is to educate the general populace about history. He counters this sentiment, however, with a short second-hand description of a performance by Corilla Olimpica, who was by all accounts spellbinding and artful in the highest sense.
Lalande lists and describes the most celebrated improvisatori in Italy, and claims that Lorenzi is the best.
This series of pamphlets bringing information about minor forms of Italian literature to German readers includes frequent accounts, discussions, and translations of improvised poetry.
Fernow provides a detailed history of Italian improvisation, recounting that improvisation (in Latin) experienced a peak in popularity in the court of Pope Leo X, a lover of the art, and that in the course of the eighteenth century a renewal of popularity has brought improvisation to new heights, this time in Italian. The author gives biographies of the most famous improvisatori that he mentions.
The author recounts the decline of improvisation in Florence, and alludes to the former fame of improvisatori such as Sgricci, and before him Fra Filippo, who was one of the great improvisatori of the sixteenth century. In the second excerpt, he mentions seeing the crown Corilla received at the Capitol for her achievements as an improvisatrice.
Starke refers to Corilla’s education in Florence.
Giordani’s article, structured as a series of questions and answers, assesses the merits of Sgricci’s talent and of improvisation more generally. He concludes that the value of improvisation is constantly over-estimated in Italy, and that it would be better to divert the skills of the improvisatori to art-forms that require more time, labour, and study.
Gray describes Corilla’s faded improvisatory abilities in her old age, and remarks that Italians–in general–have not lost the talent for poetic improvisation.
This is a brief history, written almost a century after the event, of Corilla Olimpica (Maria Maddalena Morelli) and how she became poet laureate in Italy after numerous controversies and a secretive ceremony.