Maria Rosa Coccia
Encyclopedia
Maria Rosa Coccia was an Italian harpsichord
ist and composer.
and studied with Sante Pesci. At the age of 13, Coccia composed six sonatas for harpsichord and the oratory Daniello, which was performed the same year in the Oratory S. Filippo Neri, in defiance of a tradition that women were not allowed to attend the event.
In 1716 Pope Clement XI
had decreed that anyone practicing music in Rome must enter the Accademia di Santa Cecilia and pass the exam to become Maestro di Capella
. At 16 Coccia passed the exam and received the title, but because of her gender was never allowed to execute the duties of the position, though her music was performed. As a practicing composer, she was admitted to Rome's Accademia de' Forti.
In 1780 Maestro di Cappella Francesco Capalti of Narni Cathedral attacked Coccia’s examination composition and her receipt of the title. She was defended by Michele Mallio in his Elogio storico della signora Maria Rosa Coccia romana (Rome, 1780), containing letters of support from Metastasio
, Carlo Broschi and Giovanni Battista Martini
. Maria Rosa Coccia died in Rome.
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
ist and composer.
Life
Maria Rosa Coccia was born in RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and studied with Sante Pesci. At the age of 13, Coccia composed six sonatas for harpsichord and the oratory Daniello, which was performed the same year in the Oratory S. Filippo Neri, in defiance of a tradition that women were not allowed to attend the event.
In 1716 Pope Clement XI
Pope Clement XI
Pope Clement XI , born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was Pope from 1700 until his death in 1721.-Early life:...
had decreed that anyone practicing music in Rome must enter the Accademia di Santa Cecilia and pass the exam to become Maestro di Capella
Kapellmeister
Kapellmeister is a German word designating a person in charge of music-making. The word is a compound, consisting of the roots Kapelle and Meister . The words Kapelle and Meister derive from the Latin: capella and magister...
. At 16 Coccia passed the exam and received the title, but because of her gender was never allowed to execute the duties of the position, though her music was performed. As a practicing composer, she was admitted to Rome's Accademia de' Forti.
In 1780 Maestro di Cappella Francesco Capalti of Narni Cathedral attacked Coccia’s examination composition and her receipt of the title. She was defended by Michele Mallio in his Elogio storico della signora Maria Rosa Coccia romana (Rome, 1780), containing letters of support from Metastasio
Metastasio
Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi, better known by his pseudonym of Metastasio, was an Italian poet and librettist, considered the most important writer of opera seria libretti.-Early life:...
, Carlo Broschi and Giovanni Battista Martini
Giovanni Battista Martini
Giovanni Battista Martini , also known as Padre Martini, was an Italian musician.-Biography:Martini was born at Bologna....
. Maria Rosa Coccia died in Rome.
Works
Selected works include:- Six Sonatas for harpsichord
- Daniello nel lago dei leoni, oratory in two parts, Rome, Chiesa Nuova, 1772, lost
- L'isola disabitata (P. Metastasio), 1772, lost
- Hic vir despiciens mundum, fugue, 4 voices, Rome, 1774 (examination piece for Congregazione di S Cecilia, and Accademia Filarmonica, Bologna)
- Magnificat, Soprano voice, Contralto voice, organ, 1774
- Dixit Dominus, 8 voices, organ, 1775 (may be same as Dixit Dominus, 8 voices, violin, viola, oboe, flute, horn)
- Il trionfo d'Enea, cantata in two parts, Soprano voice, Soprano voice, Contralto voice, Tenor voice, violin, viola, horn, trumpet, oboe, contrabbasso, basso continuo, ?1779
- Arsinoe, cantata, 4 voices, orchestra, 1783
- Confitebor, Soprano voice, Soprano voice, organ
- ‘Qualche lagrime spargete’ from Semiramide, lost
- Salve Regina, 2 voices, organ, n.d.
- Veni Creator Spiritus, 4 voices, organ
- 4 psalms, lost