Beholding Violence: A Conference on Medieval and Early Modern Culture

Roman composer Giovanni Felice Sances’s 1633 collection of cantatas for solo voice and basso continuo includes a charming and appealing work using a lively repetitive bass-line melody (a chaconne). On hearing the work, one would think the piece portrays a happy, joyful occasion. The text, however, tells a remarkably different story.

Sances’s solo cantata, Accenti Queruli portrays a “he said/she said” version of rape. The male narrator insists that he loves “his” Lidia; but he suffers and moans, for his lover is insensitive. Lidia, however, tells a story not of love but rape: “Though with his cruel looks, He stole the angelic beauty from my soul; He drew out my desire; He tore at my lovely veil, And robbed me of my honor… .” The man replies, “Lidia, if you keep silence, you are still a virgin… .”

The presentation will compare Sances’s work to various representations of rape in art and literature in Early Modern Europe (primarily Italy) and then focus particularly on the rape trial of Artemisia Gentileschi, a nearly contemporary incident with a similar narrative.

Finally, I will explore the incongruous text and music of Accenti Queruli in relation to the above contemporary portrayals, positioning the work in relation to classical traditions of rape narratives.



	Mary Natvig (Professor, Musicology, Bowling Green State University) “‘If you keep silence…’ Beholding Rape in Giovanni Felice Sances’s Accenti Queruli” Roman composer Giovanni Felice Sances’s 1633 collection of cantatas for solo voice and basso continuo includes a charming and appealing work using a lively repetitive bass-line melody (a chaconne). On hearing the work, one would think the piece portrays a happy, joyful occasion. The text, however, tells a remarkably different story. Sances’s solo cantata, Accenti Queruli portrays a “he said/she said” version of rape. The male narrator insists that he loves “his” Lidia; but he suffers and moans, for his lover is insensitive. Lidia, however, tells a story not of love but rape: “Though with his cruel looks, He stole the angelic beauty from my soul; He drew out my desire; He tore at my lovely veil, And robbed me of my honor… .” The man replies, “Lidia, if you keep silence, you are still a virgin… .” The presentation will compare Sances’s work to various representations of rape in art and literature in Early Modern Europe (primarily Italy) and then focus particularly on the rape trial of Artemisia Gentileschi, a nearly contemporary incident with a similar narrative. Finally, I will explore the incongruous text and music of Accenti Queruli in relation to the above contemporary portrayals, positioning the work in relation to classical traditions of rape narratives.