Description
Recognising the Corri Women and their Contribution to Fashionable SingingTwo musical women, Francesca Corri née Bacchelli (1750?-1802) and Camilla Corri née Giolivetti (c.1767-fl.1822) were leading performers for the Edinburgh Musical Society. Though they rarely performed together, Francesca from 1771 until 1788 and Camilla from 1793 until the Society’s demise in 1797 shaped musical fashions in Edinburgh through their concert repertoire choices. Indeed, both were separately praised for their performance of Scots song with editor and publisher George Thomson (1757-1851) stating that it was Francesca’s singing that inspired him to produce his popular collection A Select Collection of Original Scottish Airs for the Voice in 1793.
However, little scholarly attention has been paid to these two women, and they are rarely recognised for their influence on musical fashions at the turn of the nineteenth century. Rather, their husbands, Domenico Corri (1746-1825) and Natale Corri (1765-1822) have been given far more attention in part due to their work as arrangers, composers, and publishers. They produced several collections of songs including A Select Collection of the Most Admired Songs published between 1782-1795) and A Set of Six Italian Songs (1791), which included repertoire performed by their wives. Many of their song sheets were reprinted well into the nineteenth century, showing the popularity of such repertoire. Unique to Domenico’s collections was his inclusion of detailed ornamentation written into the vocal line that he claimed was in the most fashionable style. In this paper, I argue that the ornamentation included in these publications reflect the performance practices of Francesca and Camilla and demonstrate that these women have left a significant imprint on musical history that until now has been unrecognised.
| Period | 3 Sept 2026 |
|---|---|
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | London, United KingdomShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | National |