Barbara Strozzi (1619-77), a Venetian virtuosa singer-composer, wrote three laments in the 1650s in response to a contest debated by the Academy of the Unisoni: what is more powerful to inspire emotion, witnessing tears or song?  At the time of the debate in the late 1630s, Strozzi recited the arguments of the contestants on both sides of the question, having a profound effect on the gathered academicians.  She answered the question when she performed with a weeping-singing technique that was new to the genre of the lament, which had been established by Claudio Monteverdi and Francesco Cavalli and was all the rage at the time.