Maddalena Laura Sirmen

Maddalena Laura Sirmen was an extraordinary woman in a time when women were not supposed to be extraordinary. Born in Venice on December 9, 1745 with the maiden name Lombardini, she was not from a musical family. Despite this, she was accepted into the Ospedale dei Mendicanti in Venice at age 7 after triumphing in the open auditions held for places at the school.[i] With the amount of talent Sirmen displayed, those who heard her play considered her a prodigy.[ii] After continuing her studies with the violinist Guiseppe Tartini, she became well-known throughout the European continent from Russia to London, where she played an extremely successful season in 1771. Along with her violin accomplishments, Sirmen was also active as a composer. Her compositional output was small when compared to that of other composers of the time, consisting mainly of string repertoire. She wrote six string quartets, six string trios and various other string pieces along with the six violin concertos. All of these concertos were published between the years 1772 to 1773. The recording that I listened to is a performance of her fifth concerto for violin. It is performed by the Bay Area Women’s Philharmonic with soloist Terrie Baune.

The piece is in three movements. As was typical in the Classical period, the movements are arranged as fast (maestoso) ­– slow (andante) – fast(rondo). The concerto is twenty-two minutes in length. Throughout the piece, melody takes precedence and there are frequent changes of mood. The solo violin part is demanding, including a cadenza in the first and third movements. With this, there is a clear delineation between the orchestral passages and those of the soloist. The passages belonging to the soloist have a sparse texture, with little to distract from the soloist’s line, as is seen particularly in the second movement. Sirmen has scored that movement for violins and soloist only, which both contrasts with the other movements and adds clarity to the solo line.

I find the piece appealing and connected the most with the first movement. The overall piece is simple in texture, but the first movement carried the most momentum. It had a feeling of destination that I thought really worked. What helped the first movement have the feeling of motion was the Alberti bass in the lower strings. The second and the third movements were a little more stagnant, perhaps from the lack of interplay in the latter movements. The first movement felt like it interacted more, both with the audience and within the ensemble. There was a much more noticeable amount of countermelody in the other instruments in the orchestra, like the violas. It provided the listener with more to focus on. I think this concerto is an excellent example of Classical style because of the elegance and clarity. I think this piece definitely had these characteristics, along with enough charm to keep it from being a pretty song that’s a little boring.

One of the most remarkable things about this piece is that it was composed by a woman. Sirmen was not a product of a musical family and her accomplishments were greater than most women’s of that period. It is also a credible example of the technical and artistic demands made of violin players of that era, with its involved solo part. For these reasons, I can see it as an addition that could broaden the canon. Because of the thin orchestration, it might not be as accessible to as many people as something like a Mozart symphony or an opera. I am not sure if I would add the piece itself to the canon. On one hand, I did not find the piece to be exceptional. However, it is a good example of violin capabilities of the time and is also an example of a composer in the minority during the Classical period.

It is useful to note the way this concerto supports the use of the soloist. Although there was more of a shift towards parlor music in the Classical period, this is a look at the virtuosic aspects of the classical era. Sirmen used this concerto was an opportunity for her to demonstrate her skills while traveling and performing. Playing her own music would have served as an effective marketing device, something Sirmen definitely would have been aware of due to her talent for publicity and promoting herself.[iii]

Sirmen chooses to focus almost exclusively on the melody line throughout the three movements, keeping with the less cluttered approach to harmony. In another contrast to Baroque music, the piece changes mood quite often. Rather than remaining in one aesthetic, the work embraces many definite shifts in mood, tone and timbre. This piece is an excellent representation of the Classical period.
[i] Jane Baldauf-Berdes Women Musicians of Venice (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993) , 120
[ii] Maddalena Laura Sirmen, Three Violin Concertos (A-R Editions, Inc., 1991), viii.
[iii] Elsie Arnold and Jane Baldauf-Berdes, Maddalena Lombardini Sirmen ;Eighteenth Century Composer, Violinist, and Businesswoman (Lanham, Maryland, London: The Scarecrow Press, Inc 2002), 70