Biblioteca de la Guitarra y Cuerda Pulsada

This study highlights two issues. First, an exploration of the important treatises reveals the main characteristics that are integral to the quintessential romance style. And second, analysis of the romances by Italian composers, conversely, exposes the wide and varying styles present (this includes aspects pertaining to form, accompaniment styles, and the vocal melody). Indeed, this is supported by the discovery that, as the nineteenth century progressed, there was a gradual acceptance of Italian composers contributing to this genre. In the late
eighteenth century, Italian influences were considered a threat to the romance’s simplicity, and in the 1840s, composers were actively praised for incorporating both Italian and French styles into their romances.
Chapter 1, ‘History of the Romance’ provides an overview of the romance’s early definition and development. Chapter 2, ‘Romance as a French Genre’, places the nineteenth-century romance in the context of its reception, and studies its conventions as laid out in the treatises. Chapter 3, ‘Italians in Paris’, traces the progression from wariness to admiration of the Italian romanciers and investigates the careers of some important Italian figures. The final chapter, ‘Music of the “Italian” French Romances’ explores the music of the Italian composers, and demonstrates the wide ranging and varying styles prevalent in their romances.

‘Il faut savoir l’Italien pour déchiffrer une romance française’: Italian Presence in the French Romance 1800 – 1850