STEFANO LORENZETTI “Nata per morire” Music memory and memory of music in Early Modern Europe OUTLINE OF THE PROJECT My project aims to appraise the ro e o! memory "ithin the m$sica %iscip& ine !rom a theoretica as "e as practica sta#%point in the Early Mo%ern E$rope' (e re ationship between m$sic a#% memory can be investi+ate% according to fo$r distinct, but a so strictly interre ate%, perspectives- ./ (e re ationship between ora ity a#% "riti#+ in a m$sica "orl% that "as essentia y governe% a#% ma%e inte igible by ora disco$rse' 0/ (e 1%ia o+$e2 bet"een m$sic a#% memory in the mnemotecnic trea& tises, in which aspects o! the m$sica discipline are o!ten discusse%' 3/ (e ro e a#% !$nction o! the art o! memory in the organization, *is$& a i4ation a#% transmission o! m$sica kno" e%+e, "ith particu ar re& +ar% to the E$ropean encyclope%ic perspective o! the sixteenth a#% seventeenth Centuries' 7/ (e ro e a#% f$nction o! the art o! memory in shaping compositiona techni8$e, "ith particu ar re+ard to ex-tempore impro*isationa prac& tices' In my paper in trie% to %eve op, in particu ar, some aspects re ate% to topics 1 a#% 4. (e concept o! ocus communis "il be %iscusse% accor%ing to a "ider perspective, mainly re ate% to topic 3, d$ri#+ the seminar. 1 Inverting musical development: from Literacy to Orality through Memory No Musical O !ects, no Musical Renaissance To try to re&examine, more than 9!ty years a!ter its !orm$ atio#, the theory by Nino Pirrota attesting to the existence o! a 1"ritte#2 a#% 1$#"rit& te#2 tra%ition, which interact in shaping the context o! m$sica experience, in Ita y, %$ri#+ the Fifteenth Century, might seem s$bstantia y $se ess, )$t the conceptua !rame"ork on "hich this theory "as ater co%i9e% a#% %eve ope% by !o o"ers a#% p$pils o! the +reat Ita ian m$sico o+ist has ha% an e#%$ring ife in shaping the historio+raphica debate o! contemporary m$sico o+y' From the perspective o! the re ationship bet"een m$sic a#% memory, I am particu arly intereste%, in %iscussing the basic concepts on "hich the theory "as %eve ope%, beca$se these basic concepts exte#% their i#:$ence, as an interpretative too , !ar beyo#% the context o! the Fifteenth Century Ita i& an m$sic. At the core o! the conceptua !rame"ork there is a %$a istic a#% anti& thetica approach- native Italian music vers$s foreign $ranco-$lemish music; %umanism vers$s &cholasticism; 'olyphony vers$s 'seudo-polyphony; a#% 9& na y, the most important antithesis- (ritten vers$s )nwritten. Tis antithet& ica series o! concepts pro%$ce two diferent tra%itions, "hich act in the same context. 2 First o! a "hat abo$t the +enera context? I, obvio$s y, abstain my& se ! !rom %iscussing the historio+raphica concept o! Renaissance: in this per& spective, it "il be s$>cient to reca , that the theory "as e aborate% to e6& p ain the apparent absence o! Ita ian "ritten m$sic %$ring the ?$attrocento, "hich "as consi%ere% the +o %en century o! the Ita ian Renaissance. In this +o %en century, in !act, "e 9#% p enty o! "o#%erf$ artistic objects: paint& i#+s, )$i %ings, scu pt$res, a#% iterary texts. A#% m$sic? U#!ortunate y Ita ian m$sic has no objects to a%% to this "o#%erf$ +a ery, beca$se, as re& cently state% by a %isting$ish Ita ian scho ar, a p$pil o! Pirrotta, Ita ian m$& sic @re+ressing to pure y performative activities not inte#%e% !or "ritte# transmissio#A B@re+re%isce a% attività puramente per!ormativa non %estinata a a trasmissione scrittaA/: so no objects, no Renaissance. U#!ortunate y, this inexplica) e 1re+ressio#2 momentarily breaks the te eo o+ica pro+ressio# !rom ora ity to "riting, a#% "e are !orce% to anticipate the be+inning o! the Ita ian m$sica Renaissance a cent$ry be!ore B+rs Nova/ or posticipate it a century later. Let’s try to %iscuss no" the frst antithesis- native Ita ian m$sic vers$s !oreign Franco&F emish m$sic. Deca$se Ita y, in this perio%, "as, at most, a +eo+raphica expression, the concept o! an Ita ian m$sic identity is, on the one ha#%, +eneric a#%, on the other ha#%, abstract. More important: is Ita i& an m$sic simp y the m$sic compose% by Ita ian composers, or a so the m$sic that the Ita ians performe% a#% heard, the m$sic that Ita ians contribute% %ecisive y to pro%$ce, creating the socia consens$s necessary to promote %if& !erent kinds o! m$sica per!ormance= Seco#% antithesis: H$manism vers$s Scho asticism' Apart !rom the !act that a rigi% opposition o! these two concepts is high y 8$estiona) e, I "il s$mmarize in a !e" "ords Pirrotta2s thesis: the +o %en a+e o! Ita ia# +rs nova "as an exceptiona experience inke% to ecclesiastic circles im)$e% "ith scho astic philosophy. Eith the rise o! a h$manistic movement contrary to the practice o! po yphony, the socia co#%itions that have promote% Ita ia# po yphonic practice cease, a#% re+ression to ora ity starts. The assertio# that the h$manistic movement as a "ho e "as hosti e to po yphony is high y 8$estiona) e a#% base% o# partia a#% ins$>cient evidence, )$t even more 3 8$estiona) e is the censoria po"er attri)$te% to the h$manists' A po"er so pervasive as to inhibit, at east !or sixty years, the compositio# o! po yphonic "orks by Ita ian composers' F$rther, i! the cu t$ra context "as so hosti e to po yphony, "hy %oes Ita y "e come the most important Franco&F emish composers in the most prestigio$s co$rts a#% ch$rches= (e cu tura context cha#+es se ective y on an ethnica basis= Ehat is %isco$ra+e% !or Ita ians is promote% for foreigners= (ird antithesis- Po yphony vers$s Pse$%o&po yphony. Ehen the text is acking, m$sic can be o# y simple, ight: the improvisatory or 8$asi- improvisatory sty e o! Me%iterranean taste is oppose% to the heavy textua ity o! northern po yphony, complex a#% %eeply e aborate%. (e presence F a)& sence o! "ritten so$rces is the materia object that physica y separates these t"o "orl%s: the re+ressive ora ity a#% the pro+ressive "riting, as these "ords by Pirrotta testi9es- G$ri#+ the 9ftee#th ce#t$ry i#stea%, i# co#trast "ith "hat hap& pe#e% i# other artistic acti*ities, Ita y, rather tha# sho"i#+ a sty istic %epe#de#ce o# the m$sica a#+$a+e o! i#ter#atio#a po ypho#y, ap& pears 8$ite $#pro%$cti*e' For ma#y %ecades, $#til a most the e#% o! the ce#t$ry, it is impossi) e to me#tio# #ames of Ita ia# composers, #or to 9#% 8$a ity m$sic !or "hich o#e ca# hypothesi4e that they "ere compose% by Ita ia#s' G$ra#te i ?$attroce#to i#*ece, i# co#trasto co# 8$a#to a**e#i*a #e campo di a tre atti*itC artistiche, ’Ita ia, piH a#cora che mostrare $#a dipe#de#4a sti istica da i#+$a++io m$sica e de a po ifo#ia i#ter& #a4io#a e, appare addiritt$ra impro%$tti*a' Per mo ti dece##i, 9#o 8$asi a a 9#e de seco o, #o# I possibi e citare #omi di compositori ita ia#i, #J i#dicare m$siche di 8$a itC de e 8$a i si possa ipoti44are che fossero composte da ita ia#i BMusica e )manesimo, .KLM/' (e presence F absence o! the co$ple composer F "ork is high y em& barrassi#+ !or the historian o! m$sic, a#% the so $tion is high y ideo o+ica - no written m$sic si+nifes simply no m$sic at a , or a most no q$a ity m$sic, 4 beca$se it is impossi) e even to specu ate that a m$sicia# co$ % compose i# the mind +oo% e aborate% po yphonic m$sic. (is ideo o+ica a#% antithetic& a !rame"ork "as encaps$ ate% in two %iferent tra%itions, "ritten a#% $#& "ritten: the 9rst represents the mainstream o! historica %eve opment, the seco#% a momentary aberration 8$ickly remove%: !ortunate y at the e#% o! the century Ita ian "ritten so$rces start to reappear: the hono$r o! Ita ia# m$sic, as we as the dignity itse ! o! Eestern m$sic, is sa!eN (is pict$re is revea ing o! the conceptua depe#%ence o! m$sica text on iterary text. (is inferiority complex to"ar%s the no) er sister Literature, "hich has characterize% the birth a#% s$bse8$ent :o"ering o! historica m$& sico o+y, ha% been 9na y e6orcise% by the triumphant re&eva $ation o! m$& sica te6tua ity, )$t the exorcism ha% hid%en a rea ity that has emerge% "ith +reat difcu ty in m$sica historio+raphy' (is exorcism has pro%$ce%, indee%, the remova , instea% o! the !ruitf$ inte+ration into conscio$sness, as any +oo% psychoana yst might "ish !or his patient.