Neoclassicism: Song Between Reason and Feeling (c. 1770–1820)

Between the end of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth, Italian music was a leading force in the historical period known as Neoclassicism. Composers cultivated a language founded on clarity, balance, and formal logic. The preferred spectacle was opera. It was, then as now, a set of songs held together by a solid plot. “Song,” according to Dante’s definition, is anything that unites metrically ordered text and music. To compose songs you need lyricists and musicians skilled in composition. In those days there were librettists—poets on the same level as today’s songwriters’ lyricists.

The Arias, as these songs were called, could also be performed individually, outside opera and not necessarily in a theater. In fact, there exists an immense repertory of detached songs, written on separate sheets in order to be performed in salons, academies, private homes—or even in the street, if the tune proved especially popular. It was precisely the songs, in the mid-eighteenth century, that became the battlefield for a renewal that led musical art to speak both to the intellect and to the heart. In this way, it mirrored the Enlightenment ideal of reason.

Reforming the Song

Musical theater underwent a deep process of renewal, reforming opera and, with it, the song. From a spectacle of Arcadian virtuosity, it almost suddenly turned into an instrument of moral and civic education, in line with the spirit of the Enlightenment. Criticism of the imbalance between song (especially the solo aria in opera) and poetry (the words of the text) led to crucial reforms that did not affect theater alone. In the literary world, the most authoritative spokesman for this orientation was Francesco Algarotti, in his Saggio sopra l’opera in musica (1755), which addressed opera as a whole and, in particular, its songs.

The reform found its full realization in the work of the Livornese Ranieri de’ Calzabigi (1714–1795), whose approach was taken up by Piccinni and other Italian composers writing in the new style. Calzabigi aimed to move beyond Metastasian schemes by eliminating the rigid boundary between recitative and the true song (the arias, which unite words and music), introducing a more fluid succession and a “language of the heart,” animated by authentic passions. In detached songs—meant to be sung away from the crowd, in family evenings—the narrative was entrusted to brief pages in recitative style that tell a story, after which the song was sung: once the action pauses, it deepens the feelings contained in the text, whether love, despair, anger, or protest. It worked exactly like many modern songs, which share these same distinguishing features.

Aria and Recitative: New Forms

The da capo song (A–B–A) was gradually abandoned in favor of shorter, more concise, increasingly varied forms without the final reprise. In this way—moving closer to more modern shapes—the dramatic tension announced by the recitatives was kept alive. Recitativo secco, supported only by chords, was replaced in part or entirely by recitativo accompagnato (supported by the orchestra). Greater prominence was also given to songs in duet, trio, and quartet (the so-called ensemble pieces) and to choral songs, which—like in Greek tragedy—became an organic and active part of the drama.

The Triumph of Comic Song (Opera Buffa)

Neoclassicism was also the century of comic song (Opera Buffa), which won a vast public thanks to texts closely adherent to reality. The Venetian Carlo Goldoni (1707–1793) played a major role as a lyricist (he wrote 56 librettos for an immense output of songs) and brought into opera the same truth and naturalness he had imposed on spoken comedy. In his texts—as in Cecchina, o la buona figliola (set by Niccolò Piccinni)—the action flows naturally, mixing comic and sentimental elements with realism and coherence.

The songs of Opera Buffa (such as Il matrimonio segreto by Domenico Cimarosa) focus on the middle classes, portrayed shrewdly in a spontaneous, truthful language. Solo arias, reduced in weight, leave more space for collective action. Other great authors include Neapolitan masters such as Giovanni Paisiello (Il Barbiere di Siviglia dates from 1782) and Domenico Cimarosa (Il matrimonio segreto dates from 1792), who embodied the new aesthetics of feeling, standing out for melodic beauty—always a hallmark of our songs—and for the humanity of their characters.

Italian Masters Abroad and Cultural Hegemony

Italian composers not only led the reforms: they also held prominent positions at courts throughout Europe, consolidating the empire of Italian song. Figures such as Antonio Salieri and Luigi Cherubini (active in Paris) brought to completion the Enlightenment-inspired renewal, combining formal rigor with cantabilità. Italian opera enjoyed an undisputed triumph across Europe (London, St Petersburg, Vienna). Lyricists (librettists), stage designers, and singers were almost always Italian.

Foreign composers wrote operas largely in the Italian language and style, deeply indebted to the forms and melodies of our tradition. Success rested on the memorability of the songs and on the figure of the star singer, who dominated the scene and displayed virtuosity. Neoclassical music placed songs at the service of drama and inserted them into a real market—one that also saw the birth of prestigious publishing houses (such as Ricordi) answering the growing bourgeois demand for songs or for purely instrumental music.

Neoclassicism was the season in which song, while embracing reason, evolved toward a dramatic coherence and a humanity that opened the doors to Romanticism. One should not forget that Italian texts, even when speaking of heroes and myths of antiquity, often contained veiled references to contemporary politics. In Italy, earlier than in many other nations, by the end of the eighteenth century one could already feel the libertarian longings that would erupt into the first revolutions, meant to shake off French, Spanish, Austrian, and Papal-State rule. In a country where everything was controlled, the song against oppressors of a thousand years earlier—moving from theaters into academies, or into private rooms at home—pressed toward revolt against the occupiers.