Le carte degli antichi banchi e il panorama musicale e teatrale della Napoli di primo Settecento (1726-1736): musica nei chiostri femminili

The essay is the results of research work promoted and financed by the Fondazione Pergolesi Spontini. The laborious recovery of information on theatrical and musical life in Naples from 1726 to 1736 as found in the registers of old banks conserved in the Archivio Storico of the Banco di Napoli has given a unique insight into the city’s cultural life, clarifying the context in which Pergolesi worked. The essay focuses in particular on the practice of music by girls and women in neapolitan convents. The religious houses were often responsible for producing and commissioning sacred music, and archive material provides many references to an important musical ‘tradition’ concerning both public and private spheres.