Il Palazzo Ducale di Modena
Music in the Court
The ducal palace of Modena was the new seat of the Estense power and Modena, after the devolution of Faenza in 1598, was elected new capital of the Duchy. With this forced transfer, the Este family tried to restore the musical splendor that characterized the court of Ferrara. After having collected the instruments and the books of music, which had been provisionally placed in Palazzo dei Diamanti, Cesare asked the Chapel of the Cathedral of Modena in order to perform the religious services. In those years, the famous Orazio Vecchi- hired in 1598 as music teacher for Estense princes and princesses- was at its head. The court adopted little instrumental groups for the ceremonial and entertainment needs. From 1610, five stringed musicians, called ''Compagnia dei violini'' (violins company), were permanently hired, while some composers or archlute virtuosos, like Bellerofonte Castaldi and Benedetto Ferrari, worked only occasionally for the Duke. The ambitious program of the power of image’s renovation promoted by Francesco I brought to a modernization of the Ducal Palace, but also to a Court transformation in one of the main centers of innovation and experimentation of instrumental music for strings. Don Marco Uccellini was the new main character of this musical season in Modena since 1639, resulting in the sunset of the vocal polyphony. At the same time, he was the chapel master in the Dome and he was at the head of the Duke's instrumentalists. The music renaissance continued with Francesco II when the period of the sonata for three and soloist and the violin and cello's writings flourished, with some important commissions, like the one with Alessandro Stradella.
Court theaters and theaters in Court
The Ducal Palace of Modena, after the reconstruction projected by Bartolomeo Avanzini, became the place of celebrations promoted by the Court and a new place for ceremonies, which had to spread the Duke's magnificence. In fact, the tournaments organized in 1637 and 1652 - respectively for the occasion of the Roman King's elections and of the famous Gara delle Stagioni - took place in the court of honor, a new stage for the artists. Pyrotechnic effects, cars created by sophisticated engineers, ephemeral structures, and elegant costumes were accompanied by refined musical compositions. In addition, the square in front of the Palace was used as place of tournaments and horseback masquerades and the Court Theatre became the stage for musical dramas during marriage unions.