ON LANDINI AND SER LORENZO NINO PIRROTTA The beginning of 1997 has broughtwith it a revivalof interest inFrancesco on Landini, "il cieco degli organi," who died six centuries ago, the second day of as in on his stone in the September 1397, leaving, stated the inscription sepulcral Florentine church of San Lorenzo, "his remains here, his soul on the stars."1 some I to recon Having been involved myself in of the celebrations, should like a some in some a sider suggestion Imade years ago that he might have been way or son Maso or was a pupil of Laurentius Masii Masini (the of Masino), who one canon, and an influential at that, in the chapter of the ancient basilica of San or Lorenzo from at least 1348 until his death, in late 1372 early 1373.2 two must have for A personal relationship between the existed, Landini, too, as a e at 1365 to was active in San Lorenzo "cappellano organista,, from least up his own death.3 we Furthermore, cannot exclude the possibility that he had already been some case present in the same ecclesiastical milieu for time before 1365. In any the coexistence in a narrow, selective ambience of a young composer and an older was or once and authoritative person, who still engaging, who had engaged, in the some sort same rather uncommon activity of writing polyphonic music, makes or an interest of a direct relationship inevitable. Lorenzo certainly was, had been, not too a as the ing if productive composer with bent for teaching, suggested by nonmensural monophonie piece Diligenter advertant cantores, found in the Lon di ser don manuscript, British Library, Add. 29987, with the tide "L'antefana * The editors wish to thank Professor Pirrotta for his timely response to their request for an essay commemorating the 600th anniversary of Francesco Landings death that could be published in 1997. Though the present volume of Muska Disciplina, 48, bears the date 1994, it is indeed appearing in 1997. 1 animam astra "Luminibus captus, Franciscus [...] hie ci?eres, super reliquit. M.CCC.LXXXXVn. die .II. Sep.". 2 F.A. Gallo, "Lorenzo Masini e Francesco degli Organi in S. Lorenzo," Studimusi cali IV (1975), pp. 57-63. 3 Ibid., pp. 59, 62-63. This content downloaded from 128.122.230.132 on Tue, 09 Feb 2016 11:58:06 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 6 M?SICA DISCIPLINA ? to as Lore(re)nzo."4 Many features of his works and his attempt improve he ? must on mensu have thought the customary practices of the Italian system of a an ral notation bespeak speculative mind. Evidence of such attempt is provided se n a star by the three differendy notated versions of his madrigal Ita 'era nelpara diso / Cogliendo fior Proserpina cantaua? se n a star a text The poem of Ita 'era poses problem in itself, being the only we to set two know have been by Trecento composers, Lorenzo and Vincenzo da a Rimini. It has been suggested that the repetition resulted from competition; but a a a canon competition between Benedictine abbot and distinguished Florentine seems to we unlikely me, especially in view of the fact that know very little about was Vincenzo, and, indeed, why, when and for how long he in Florence, if was ever indeed he there. A Florentine poet ismost likely to have written the act as text, which describes Persephone (Proserpina) in the of picking flowers, a suggested by passage inDante's Divine Comedy {Purgatory XXVlili, 40-51).6 must The Dantesque reminiscence have interested Lorenzo and induced him to reuse a new se n a star the poem for setting. Ita 'era is also by far the longest of the ? ten runs to as known madrigals by Lorenzo in my edition it 98 measures, to measures one opposed the 46-76 of all of the others.7 This is probably of the reasons was two at why it copied twice, in different versions, the very beginning of the section in the Squarcialupi Codex that contains all sixteen of his secular pieces. 4 The redundant syllable in the composer's name, (re), is given in themanuscript. ne The Latin text begins: "Diligenter advertant cantores oris soni inanis presumptio igno ranter absorbent mentem cordem et which I translate: "Let the be most pectora," singers careful lest the empty boast of theirmouths should through ignorance involve theirmind, heart and breasts." The not too reliable version of the text and itsmusic in the London manuscript is discussed by A. Seay, "The Beginnings of the Coniuncta and Lorenzo Masi ni's 'L'Antefana'," VArs Nova Italiana del Trecento m (1970), pp. 51-65. 5 The piece is preserved in the Squarcialupi Codex, fols. 45v- 46r, 46v- 47r, and in British Library, Add. 29987, fols. 42v-43r. 6 a one I accept the idea of such relationship, first pointed out by M. P. Long, uIta se a star an n'era nelParadiso: The Metamorphoses of Ovidian Madrigal inTrecento Italy," VArs Nova Italiana del Trecento VI (1992), pp. 257-67, especially p. 260. 7 am I referring to the length of Lorenzo's madrigals as they appear in TheMusic of Fourteenth-Century Italy, HI (American Institute of Musicology, 1962). This content downloaded from 128.122.230.132 on Tue, 09 Feb 2016 11:58:06 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions ON LANDINI AND SER LORENZO 7 two so am I edited the first of Squarcialupi's versions many years ago that I no I am that Iwas longer absolutely certain of how proceeded;81 sure, however, so in two versions. I do not helped in doing by the readings the other Actually, know to what extent the copyists of the Squarcialupi Codex really understood nor to was Lorenzo's novel notational practices, how faithful his original the were to own source from which they copying. Lorenzo sought provide his solu to new within the tra tion the problems created by the needs of rhythmic variety measures. ditional system of the Italian duodenaria and octonaria His solution to seems to have been replace duodenaria and octonaria by senaria perfecta and measures a new of tails and other marks to the quaternaria while adding variety second version and minima figures; prevailing usage instead (see the Squarcialupi was to a or the one in the London manuscript) adopt ternary binary of quaterna ria measures.9 Lorenzo, as I have said, does not seem to have been a fertile composer. But he was mindful to introducevariety into his pieces, beginningwith his choice of two a texts. These include three by Niccol? Soldanieri, by Giovanni Boccaccio, a madrigal and two ba?lateby Franco Sacchetti,10and ballataby Gregorio Calo text Dol nista. Lorenzo himself might have written the didactic of his madrigal a which after at least one with gomi voiy maestri del mie canto, ends, missing tercet, an unusual ritornello of four seven-syllable lines: Se vogliono 'nparare ? a 'llor dite: Pian, piano ch? ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la ? comincian dalla mano. 8 Ibid., pp. 8-9. Some hint of my procedures is given in the Foreword of the volume, pp. ni-IV. I see that at the time I thought that the problems of the first version had induced Lorenzo to introduce modal notation in the second, suggested to him by French now no see a models. My thinking is just the opposite and I longer French suggestion pres ent in the modal solution, mode being practically nonexistent in French secular poly to at left edition phony. At this time I take occasion voice my regret having my incomplete a never after the fifth volume. I had already prepared sixth volume, but published it after to two editions same music Leo Schrade began his edition. I thought ituseless have of the when so much music of various kinds and genres remained unpublished. 9 That the latter are translations, so to speak, from Lorenzo's peculiar notations is novenaria measures. shown by the unusual alternation of quaternaria and The music of the two ba?late is now lost. This content downloaded from 128.122.230.132 on Tue, 09 Feb 2016 11:58:06 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 8 M?SICA DISCIPLINA to a To give strength the complaints and admonitions of such text, Lorenzo tercets exten composed the music of the for three voices, alternating sections of two sive melismas in the equal upper parts with those of strongly accentuated text simultaneous recitation of the lines of by all three. In the above quoted ritor cantus tenor are nello, instead, only the first and the present. They emphasize two res musically the point of the last lines by singing them in strict imitation on, notes pectively, the ascending and descending of the soft hexachord.11 a The unusual sudden change in the number of voices inDolgomi voi finds an even sharper analogue in Lorenzo's only known caccia A poste messe, where canon a the twice-repeated for three voices of the first section is followed by messe an single-voice ritornello. A poste is actually the piece in which unusual are combination of musical inventiveness and cunning calculation most evident. canon one A unison for three equal voices (the third replacing the normally to nar untexted tenor),12 adds the usual variety of calls and sounds of its hunting a at ? or rative calculated effect, first of intensification and then of slackening of ? means approaching and then moving away obtained by of the repetition of the following lines: ? ? Ecco l?, ecco l? ? ? Guarda, guarda, qua! ? O tu, o tu, o tu, ? passa, passa, passa! a at As result of such repetition, these calls, first uttered at the usual distance by the first two voices, become closer when the third voice joins in as the first two voices state the calls a second time, and so on until the reverse process of less fre same quent repeats takes place.