CAMERATA

Florentine society of poets and musicians whose theories and musical experiments led in 1597 to the composition of the first opera, Dafne, by Jacopo Peri and the poet Ottavio Rinuccini. The Camerata fell into three groups, the earliest of which met c. 157682 under the patronage of Count Giovanni Bardi. Although they were more conservative than the later Camerata, their efforts to revive ancient Greek music were an important factor in the evolution of monody, expressive solo song with simple chordal accompaniment. The two subsequent, somewhat rival groups were composed largely of members of Bardi's Camerata and were led by the composers Jacopo Corsi and Emilio de' Cavalieri. Their experiments with monody were directed toward a revival of ancient Greek drama, in which, they felt, music and poetry were closely united. Other leading members of the Camerata were the theorists Girolamo Mei and Vincenzo Galilei (father of the astronomer Galileo) and the composer Giulio Caccini.