ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the role of music in the academy members’ studies and activities, including its use in the theater. Several academy members echoed Castiglione’s view of the art as a “pastime” for the nobility, as well as Plato’s warning on the dangers posed to social order by new musical philosophies, and the view of music as potentially feminizing, a particular concern for these “knight-courtiers.” Related to these issues is the rise of the professional “virtuoso,” a label previously reserved for noble amateurs (a concern shared with their Florentine counterparts), which contributed to the tension between the Invaghiti and its musical collaborator. All of these views speak to the group’s philosophical alignment with that of one of Monteverdi’s chief critics, Giovanni Maria Artusi, which informs the staging of the (in)famous Monteverdi-Artusi controversy in Orfeo. Following this discussion, the chapter closes with a consideration of the circumstances surrounding the commission and collaboration between composer and academy, including the role of the Gonzaga princes, Francesco and Ferdinando.
