Francesco Landini and the Italian Ars Nova

[micrologus]

Landini.jpg

Francesco Landini (c.1325-1397) was the most widely praised composer of the Italian Ars Nova, and a leading representative of the Florentine style which came to dominate subsequent appraisal of the art and music of the Trecento. Landini's life and interests reflect the early humanist movement, and indeed some accounts of the Renaissance place the origin of that phenomenon in his time a,d place, with the school of the painter Giotto di Bondone (1267-1337). Landini's own father, Jacopo del Casentino (c.1310-1349), was a painter of the school of Giotto, and Francesco himself contributed poetry in the style of Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio. Landini's humanist orientation manifested itself in his writings on ethics and William of Ockham's new logic, as well as in his multifaceted work in music. Blind since childhood, Landini was not only a leading composer, but a prominent organist and designer & tuner of instruments. Landini evidently mastered instruments other than the organ, and has been portrayed as an integral member of Florentine society, adept at the erudite philosophical and political discussions which marked this increasingly self-aware age.
The nature of the surname attributed to Landini (sometimes Landino) is a matter of some debate, as he is named only as Francesco in musical sources. His place of birth may have been Fiesole, and it seems he may have spent some time in Venice before 1370. In any case, the center of Italian music in the Ars Nova style moved from Venice to Florence during the period, a period during which Landini was the most prominent of an accomplished group of composers. He can be connected directly to both Lorenzo da Firenze (d.1372/3) and Andreas de Florentia (d.c.1415), and his works appear in sources which also feature the music of those and other Trecento composers. It is believed that Landini may have held the post of organist at San Lorenzo as long as from 1365 until his death, and he was certainly buried there. One concrete reference to his activity occured in 1387, when he was called upon to plan the new organ for Florence Cathedral.
Perhaps in keeping with his humanist orientation, Landini's surviving music is entirely secular. Landini may have written motets, but none are securely attributed, and at most one survives intact. Aside from these works and one French virelai, his surviving music is entirely in Italian, and almost entirely in the ballata form he apparently pioneered. Fully 154 songs are securely attributed to Landini (140 ballate!), approximately two thirds of which are in two parts with the remainder in three. Some texts are almost certainly by Landini, and while some are known to be by others, most of the texts he set may have been his own. Landini is the best-represented composer in the Squarcialupi Codex, the most important single source for Trecento secular polyphony, while the unnamed manuscript Florence Biblioteca nazionale 26 was apparently compiled at least partially under his direction. Landini wrote about one quarter of the surviving Italian Ars Nova secular music.
Landini's music is known for its progressive tonal layout and clearly defined parts. There is often a logical formal design to Landini's settings, and one characteristic cadence of the period has been named for him. Although it did not remain in fashion for long, Landini's music was used as a model by Italian Ars Subtilior composers, who sometimes added new parts. It did not survive the Franco-Flemish Renaissance; the use of the madrigal form by Landini and other composers of his era is not connected to the flowering of that genre in the 16th century. Since they were rediscovered in modern times, however, several of Landini's songs (especially the two-part ballata Ecco la primavera) have remained popular. Landini's clear melodic vision and expressivity serve to assure his music's place in the Ars Nova repertory. However, as one can easily observe by perusing the following discography, the majority of his works have yet to be recorded.

[micrologus]

In Boccacio’s Decameron, each day begins and ends to music. The terminology used to describe the musical activities around young Florentines was declined around two main words, canzona and ballata; but there was also conjugation of the verbs cantare (to sing) and sonare (to play an instrument). Today, it is often difficult to say exactly what was sung and what was played, but a few suggestons can be put forward in the light of contemporary musical sources and even of Boccacio’s own writings

Non so qual i' mi voglia (Codex Rossi) (Giovanni Boccacio/Lorenzo da Firenze)

Non so qual i' mi voglia,
O viver o morir, per morir doglia. [Ripresa]

Morir vorre', ché 'l viver m'è gravoso,
Veggendo me per altri esser lasciato. [Piede 1]

E moror non vorre', chè trapassato,
Più non vedre' il bel viso amoroso. [Piede 2]

Per cui piango, invidioso
Di chi l'ha fatto suo e me ne spoglia. [Volta]



[ame]http://www.classicalmusicforum.net/music/11-Non-So-Quai.mp3[/ame]



I know not what I desire most

I know not what I desire most,
to live, or to die in order to suffer less.

I should like to die, for life weights upon me,
now that I am abandoned for another.

But I should like to die, for after my death
I could no longer see the fair beloved face.

That is why I weep, envying
the man who conquered her and robbed me of her.

[micrologus]

Three musical genres are to be found in the Codex Rossi, the oldest one (c. 1430-1440), i.e. the madrigale, the caccia and the ballata. Most of the thirty-seven pieces in the collection are polyphonic madrigals, such as Dal bel castel, for two voices, a typical example of narrative style and of the metrical oppositions which underline the final ritornello.

Dal bel castel (Codex Rossi) ( Anonymus )

Dal bel castel se parte de Peschiera
Cercando ‘l suo priore, un frate sol...
In compagnia d’amore.

Trovato l’ à dove ‘l Po fa riviera;
In su l’ isola apaga la vista...
Che de tal priore è vaga.

Pregal che senza lui piu non camina. [Ritornello]



[ame]http://www.classicalmusicforum.net/music/14-Dal-Bel-Castel.mp3[/ame]



From a fine palace

From a fine palace in Peschiera
a friar sets off alone, seeking his prior
with love for company.

On finding him there where the Po flows into the sea
he contemplates the island
which loningly detains his prior.

Beg him that I should walk no more without his company.

[micrologus]

The caccia, whose style is somewhat similar, has an added descriptive dimension which is achieved not only via the writing for the two upper voices - unlike the French chace - but also through the verbal play tending towards onomatopoeia and imitation, for example in Maestro Piero’s Or qua compagni.

Or qua compagni ( Codex Rossi ) - Maestro Piero

Or qua compagni, qua, cum gran piacere
Chiamat’ i can qua tosto!
Boca negra, toi toi!
Bianco pelo, sta, qui sta,
Ch’ una camoza a mi me par vedere!
Di’, d’ unde va?
De qua, de qua!
Per qual via va?
Per quel bosciao, guata, guata, ascosa.
Molton, molton! Chi se’, chi se’?
I’ son il guardapasso.
Che voi, che voi? Va de qua!
Non vidi che son molte? Piglia l’ una!
Quale voi?
Quella de drieto bianca,
Perch’ io la vego stanca.

Nui tuti la seguimo cum effeto,
Cridando l’un a l’altro:
Pija, pija! Sai, sai!
Curi forte là, via là!
Chè ‘n ver la tana va quasi a deletto!
Non po fugir,
Non po, non po,
Chè ‘l can la tien;
Nè mover non si sa perch’ è smarita.
Zafon, zafon, Se avili!
Ve’ li cum se rebufa!
Va’ là, s’tui voi, za fala!
I’ temo che non morda perch’è fera!
Non fa, no!
Cosi fo li distesa,
Per questo modo presa.



[ame]http://www.classicalmusicforum.net/music/02-Or-Qua.mp3[/ame]



Come hither, companions

Come hither, companions, shun not so great a pleasure!
Call your dogs immediately!
Black Face, come on, come on!
White Coat, stay here, stay here I say,
I think I can see a chamois.
I say, where’s she going?
This way, this way!
What track is she taking?
Sniff her out, she’s hiding in this thicket.
Molossus, Molossus, who are you?
I’m the beater.
What do you want? Go over there!
Don’t you see that there are a lot of them? Catch one!
Which one do you want?
The one that’s got white on her rear,
I can see she’s tired.



We all follow close behind
shouting to each other;
Catch her, catch her, come on, come on!
Run fast over there, fast I say!
She’s going to her lair, almost untroubled!
She can’t get away,
She can’t, she can’t,
For the dog has got her.
She can’t move, she’s lost.
You’re an mongrelt if you let her go.
See how she struggles!
Go on if you want, bite away!
I fear he’s not biting because she’s wild.
It doesn’t matter, go on,
now she’s been taken
and thrown to the ground.

[birabiro]

thank you micrologus especially for the mp3s

[micrologus]

In Jacopo da Bologna’s triple madrigale “Aquila altera” (from the Codex Palatino), the genre is exeptionally elaborate, both poetically and musically; the polytextuality shows French influence (in the manner of Machaut’s triple ballade), and the general tone of the emblematic text is elevated.

Aquila altera (Codex Palatino) - Jacopo da Bologna

Cantus
Aquila altera, ferme in su la vetta
Dell’alta mente l’occhio valoroso,
Dove tua vita prene suo riposo.

Là è ‘l parere, là l’esser beato. [Ritornello]

Contratenor
Creatura gentile, animal degno,
Salire in alto e rimirare ‘l sole
Singularmente tuo natura vuole.

Là è imagine e la perfectione. [Ritornello]

Tenor
Uccel di Dio, insegna di giustizia,
Tu ai principalmente chiara gloria
Perchè nelle grand’ opre tù ai victoria.

Là vidi l’ombra, là, la vera essença. [Ritornello]



[ame]http://www.classicalmusicforum.net/music/05-Aquila-Altera.mp3[/ame]



Haughly Eagle

Haughly eagle, fix the benevolent gaze
of your lofty intelligence upon these summits
where your life finds its repose.

Down there, mere appearance, up there bliss.

Noble creature, valiant animal,
your own special nature drives you
to rise high enough to stare into the sun.

Down there, the semblance, up there perfection.

Bird of God, emblem of justice
you inherit a most brilliant glory,
for you emerge victor from great combats.

Down here, the shadow, up there the essence.

[micrologus]

The few ballate in the Codex Rossi are all monodic. As their name suggest, they are intended for dancing, whether played as here, for example, in ‘De poni amor’, in the manner of Tindaro in the Decameron “al suono della cornamusa” (to the sound of the bagpipes), or sung, where they were a sort of canzone a ballo: “à la sixiesme journée... ils trouvèrent les dames qui dançoient une dance au chant de Madama Fiamette” (“On the sixth day... they found the ladies who were dancing a dance to the singing of Madame Fiametta”).

De poni amor a mme, madonna (Codex Rossi) - Ghirardello de Firenze


[ame]http://www.classicalmusicforum.net/music/12-De-Poni-Amor.mp3[/ame]


Alas, grant me your love

[micrologus]

A collection of medieval dances is included in an Italian manuscript (now in the British Museum) devoted primarily to fourteenth-century secular polyphony. Heading this collection of fifteen monophonic pieces is the designation istanpita, which evidently applies to the first eight dances. The term is not repeated, but a note on fol. 58 indicates the continuation of “this istanpita” (the fifth dance) on fol. 60. After the eighth dance, the collection continues with seven pieces including four saltarelli, one trotto, and two intitled Lamento di Tristano and La Manfredina. An interesting aspect of the collection is its similar use of titles for the eight estampies: some appear to be names (Ghaetta, Isabella, Belicha), others are phrases such as Chominciamento di gioia (Beginning of joy) and Principio di virtu (Source of virtue). Whatever connection there may have been between these titles and the music is now unknown, but they foreshadow the fanciful titles in dance suites of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Belicha (Anonymus) - British Museum

(Instrumental)

[ame]http://www.classicalmusicforum.net/music/10-Belicha-Stampita.mp3[/ame]

[micrologus]

The Capitulum de vocibus applicatis verbis states that ‘they are called ballata because they are danced’ and Antonio da Tempo specifies that ‘ballate are sung and danced’. However, all music for thirteenth-century ballate has been lost, and there are only a very few surviving examples of ballate set for one voice by anonymus musicians who worked in Northern Italy in the first half of the fourteenth century. The few ballate by the first Florentine musicians such as Lorenzo and Ghererdello are also monodic. Landini was the first to write 2 or 3 voice settings of ballata, and from then on, during the second half of the century, the ballata became the basic genre used for mensural polyphonic settings of texts in the vernacular.

[micrologus]

The poetic and musical form of the ballata (Reprise A; Piedi BB; Volta A and Reprisa A) is reminiscent of another form of dancing songs, the French virelai. It is boubtless significant that in certain sources, the musical section of the piedi bears the comment “andare” (walk). The idea of dance was in any case still a reality at the time of Francesco Landini towards 1380-1390, even though the poetically more elaborate ballata (two or three voices) had completely supplanted the madrigal in Florentine musical taste.

Lasso! Di donna (Codex Squarcialupi) – Landini (Ballata)

Lasso! di donna

Lasso ! di donna vana inamorato
Son che pur pi lusingha con inghanno,
Dammi sperança non mi togli affanno.
Perch’ è fallace ‘l suo ben disiato. [Ripresa]

I’ mi doglo che tanto su’ amor fello
Seguito già che mutat ‘el capello,
Mi vegio facto per biancheça vile. [Piede 1]

Miacer non è che mai potessi averlo
Ma le promesse dolci e ‘l volto bello
A lei sança ragion mi fanno humile. [Piede 2]

Bench’io conoscha ‘l suo malvagio stile
Ancor la mente stolta non si saçia
Fammi si incontro, non prendo la gratia.
Altra che ‘l vero amante fa beato. [Volta]



[ame]http://www.classicalmusicforum.net/music/08-Lasso.mp3[/ame]



Alas ! I am in love

Alas! I am in love with a false woman
Who flatters me with her cedeits,
Spurring my hopes but quenching not my torment
For her desires are but a semblance.

I’m so in despair o’er porgonging this blighted love
That long ago my hair turned white,
And appearing such am much humiliated.

Never shall I be able to conquer her,
But her sweet promises and fair face
Hold me in obedience ‘gainst all reason.

Although I know her heart to be evil,
My stupid spirit grows not tired.
She comes towards me, yet yields me nothing.
‘Tis another than I that she renders happy.