The Improvisation of Poetry, 1750 – 1850
A database of commentaries on improvisational performance
Schlegel mentions improvisation as an art typical of Italy, that he often witnessed while there. Despite the variable quality evident in its popular productions, improvisation is capable of attaining a high degree of sophistication and beauty.
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.