Giulio Caccini

Giulio Caccini (c. 1551–1618) was an Italian composer and singer associated with Florentine monody and the beginnings of opera. His song collection Le nuove musiche helped establish a style centered on expressive solo singing over accompaniment.

Monody: A style of solo singing with instrumental accompaniment, emphasizing expressive text delivery. Caccini became a leading practitioner of this texture in late sixteenth-century Florence.
Le nuove musiche: Giulio Caccini’s 1602 collection of solo songs and instructions on ornamented singing. It is the clearest published record of his approach to solo song and vocal ornament.
Francesca Caccini: An Italian composer, singer, and teacher active in the early seventeenth century, and Giulio Caccini’s daughter. Her career carried the family’s musical legacy into the next generation.
Jacopo Peri's Euridice: An opera by Jacopo Peri, first performed in Florence in 1600 and published in 1601. Its earlier publication and performance complicate claims for Caccini’s opera as the first.
Basso continuo: A notated bass line with harmonies realized by accompanying instruments. Its flexible support underlies the accompanied solo songs associated with Caccini.
Euridice (Caccini): An opera by Giulio Caccini, first performed in Florence in 1602 and published in 1600. It presents his version of the new dramatic style in a landmark early opera.
Jacopo Peri: An Italian composer and singer whose opera Euridice was performed in Florence in 1600. His Euridice preceded Caccini’s setting and stands beside it in early opera history.
Prima pratica: A term for the contrapuntal style associated with Renaissance polyphony and composers such as Palestrina. Caccini’s emphasis on solo declamation offered a contrasting route to expressive vocal music.
Florentine Camerata: A group of scholars and musicians in late sixteenth-century Florence who discussed ancient Greek music and drama. Its circle and ideals formed part of the setting for Caccini’s new vocal style.
Il rapimento di Cefalo: A court entertainment with music by Giulio Caccini, performed in Florence in 1600. Its lavish staging demonstrates Caccini’s work in the spectacle surrounding early opera.

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