![]() 5 Their constant drive to acquire and maintain familial wealth, honor, and power gave rise to dynamic and sometimes competing social networks of support and patronage. 4 The cityscape was peppered with small satellite courts headed by a variety of political players: representatives of foreign powers vying for alliance with Rome, ambassadors or nuncios of other Italian courts, cardinals from important Italian and European centers, and the native Roman nobility. The complexity of the city's social structure, characterized by the frequent turnover of popes and the absence of an official register of nobility, created a volatile social environment. The inability of the sbirri to obtain incriminating evidence meant that Nina was able to return to her home, where she continued to entertain and socialize with some of Rome's most elite men.Ĭourtesans like Nina were a common feature of the social, cultural, and political landscapes of seventeenth-century Rome. The evening concluded with the sbirri accompanying Nina through the streets to the Tor di Nona prison, where she spent a day before being released. 3 The theatrical arrest was perfectly timed to ensure the presence of a large crowd of onlookers, as clusters of elite men, their male courtiers, and their female companions were traveling between residences for their usual evening's entertainment. Nina was forced to watch for nearly five hours as the sbirri removed writings, books, and scores from her home. 2 They then began a search for evidence regarding her relationship with a well-known criminal and proof of her performances of a satirical song about the newly elected pope's sister-in-law, Donna Olimpia Maidalchini Pamphili (1594–1657). 1638–70) and pulled the famous courtesan singer onto the street, arresting her. On the evening of September 19, 1645, the sbirri (papal police) broke down the door to the Roman home of Nina Barcarola (fl. By introducing courtesan singers-a significant, marginalized population-into musicological discourse on seventeenth-century Rome, the article broadens our understanding of Roman singing culture in this period. The reports reveal that, in the public sphere, Nina, like Barberini's male dependents, served as a symbolic extension of the cardinal. It also analyzes Nina's relationship to various areas of contemporary politics-social, state, familial, and gender. Examining details provided in these reports, the article explores various aspects of Nina's life and courtesan singing culture more generally: the public honor and social practices of courtesan singers the positive effect of singing on courtesan honor the types of gatherings hosted by Nina and her politically satirical public performances. The reports of the arrest reflect a growing elite interest in female vocal performance in Rome, and attest to a rise in the social value of courtesan singers. Organized by the political enemies of Nina's main protector, Cardinal Antonio Barberini, the arrest was orchestrated so as to compromise the public honor of both. and scored a minor hit with “You’re Still a Young Man.This article gives a close reading of the “avvisi di Roma”-unpublished archival documents reporting on daily life in the city-that record the arrest in 1645 of famous Roman courtesan singer Nina Barcarola. Revered promoter Bill Graham signed Tower of Power to San Francisco Records in 1970 after an audition at the Fillmore and released their debut LP, East Bay Grease, later that year. For their follow-up, Bump City, the group signed with Warner Bros. Our sincere condolences go out to his wife Julia, his daughter Megan and their entire family.”įormed in the late-Sixties as the Haight-Ashbury scene flourished across the San Francisco Bay, Tower of Power cultivated a brass-heavy sound that would make them one of the most important funk groups of the Seventies - and their horn section one of the most coveted. ![]() ![]() “Mic was without a doubt the greatest brass player I’ve ever known. “The Tower of Power family was stunned today by the news that Mic Gillette, our dear friend and bandmate going back to 1966, passed away,” Emilio Castillo, Tower of Power bandleader, said in a statement. Mic Gillette, first trumpet and founding member of Oakland funk outfit Tower of Power, died over the weekend after suffering a heart attack, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
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