Table Of Content

A Correspondence of Renaissance Musicians A Correspondence of Renaissance Musicians presents an edition of 110 letters exchanged by Italian musicians and composers in the sixteenth century. The principal authors are Giovanni Spataro of Bologna, Giovanni del La go of Venice, and the well-known Florentine theorist Pietro Aaron. These letters form a unique and highly significant historical document. Written between 1517 and 1543, they are a vivid reflection of the intellectual world of important music theorists, composers, and performing musicians living in northern Italy. The letters deal with the vital musical questions of the day, intermingling profound observations with petty criticisms, conservative and conventional thought with progressive and unconventional conceptions that had far-reaching implications for future musi cal practice. Two complete compositions are preserved in the correspondence, and more than one hundred other pieces are mentioned, some of them no longer extant. Such letters, which reveal much more about contemporary practice than theor etical treatises, are very rare in the sixteenth century. The collection has long been known to scholars, but no more than a few letters have ever been published, since the scribal hands are difficult. This edition brings to light a wealth of observations on notational problems and compositional practice, including the earliest discussion of composing music with the aid of a score. A Correspondence of Renaissance Musicians EDITED BY BONNIE J. BLACKBURN EDWARD E. LOWINSKY CLEMENT A. MILLER CLARENDON PRESS · OXFORD Oxford University Press, Walton Street, Oxford oxz 6DP Oxford New York Toronto Delhi Bombcry Calcutta Madras Karachi Petaling Java Singapore Hong Kong Tokyo Nairobi Dares Salaam Cape Town Melbourne Auckland TO THE MEMORY OF and associated companies in KNUD JEPPESEN Berlin Ibadan Oxford is a trade mark of Oxford University Press Published in the United States by Oxford University Press, New York © Bonnie]. Blackburn and Clement A. Miller 1991 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A Correspondence of Renaissance musicians. I. Italian music. Composers. Biographies. Collections I. Blackburn, Bonnie]. II. Lowinsky, Edward E. III. Miller, Clement A. 71!0.922 ISBN o-I9-}IJIJJ-7 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A Correspondence of Renaissance musicians edited by Bonnie]. Blackburn, Edward E. Lowinsky, Clement A. Miller. English and Italian. I. Musicians-Italy-Correspondence. 2. Music-Italy-16th century-History and criticism. I. Blackburn, Bonnie]. II. Lowinsky, Edward E. (Edward Elias), T90if-I91!J. III. Miller, Clement A. (Clement A/bin), 191J- MLqi.C7J 1990 71fo'.92'24J-de2o 90-14197 ISBN o-19-JlJIJJ-7 Typeset by Latimer Trend & Company Ltd, Plymouth Printed in Great Britain by Bookcraft (Bath) Ltd, Midsomer Norton, Avon El animo del Musico que no conversa con otros Musicos, h:izese o perezoso por no tener quien le incite y punce, con requirirle de lo que sabe y arguyrle; o sobervio por la vana persuasion: porque no cotejando su habilidad cola de algun a otro, endemasiado atribuyese si mesmo. Por el contrario, quien conversando siente alabar sus estudios, mayormente est:i desseoso de perfeccionarse: y quien es algun tanto negligente, viene agujonado de la competencia, y como el a a hombre estudioso se toma verguens:a el ceder un ygual; a assi tiene por honra grande el poder sobrepujar y ganar un mayor. Pietro Cerone, El melopeo y maestro (Naples, r6q), Book I, eh. 34, fo. 93' PREFACE THE origin of this edition lies more than forty years in the pas_t. In I948, while a Fellow of the Guggenheim Foundation, Edward Lowinsky first examined the Vatican manuscript of the Spataro Correspondence, then known mainly through Knud Jeppesen's I94I article as a storehouse of information on music and musicians of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Captivated by these letters, with their invaluable discussions of contemporary music, unguarded personal observations, and above all reactions to controversial new directions in music, he determined to prepare an edition that made them accessible to modern readers. Lowinsky, never daunted by large enterprises, began the transcription of the letters during the two years he spent at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, I952-4· But with the return to a heavy teaching schedule, the project was laid aside, with about half the transcriptions made. After some years, realizing that the task was beyond one man's capabilities, he attempted to interest other scholars in joining him in completing the edition. All declined, pleading lack of time to devote to a complex, long-term project. Then, in I 97 3, with retirement nearing, Lowinsky was happy to gain two collaborators. Clement Miller tran scribed the remaining letters, annotating the notational problems, and proof-read the entire Correspondence, with special attention to the Latin texts. He also contributed numerous revisions and additions as the editing and translating progressed. Bonnie Blackburn was enlisted first as typist, proof-reader, and organizer of the material; eventually she served as editor of the Italian texts, translator, and annotator. We record with regret that Edward Lowinsky did not live to see the completion of the work. By the time of his death, in October I 98 5, he had read and approved the edition of letters I-59· A number of the Commen taries and some of the footnotes are his. He was unable, however, to write the Introduction. The original plan had been that Bonnie Blackburn should contribute two chapters, on the history and physical description of the manuscripts (Ch. z) and on Giovanni del Lago's reading (Ch. 7); these were completed during I 98 5. It has fallen to her lot to write the remaining chapters, apart from Ch. 8 on notation, contributed by Clement Miller. She is also responsible for the Biographical Dictionary and the Notes on Problematical Terms. We have called on several scholars' expertise in preparing this edition. Questions on the Italian texts were promptly answered by Professor Paolo Cherchi of the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures of the lX Preface University of Chicago and by Gabriele Dotto, Music Editor of the University of Chicago Press. Professor Susan F. Weiss of the Peabody CONTENTS Conservatory shared with us her materials on Bolognese musicians. Professor Thomas J. Mathiesen of Indiana University provided sugges tions for the Greek sources of letter 96. Portions of the manuscript have Order of Letters been read by Professor Nino Pirrotta of the University of Rome, Xlll Professor Howard M. Brown of the University of Chicago, and Professor List of Illustrations XVll Claude V. Palisca of Yale University, who also sent us a photocopy of a Tables rare edition relevant to letter 97· To all these scholars we extend our XlX warmest thanks. In the last stages of preparation we gained an invaluable collaborator in PART I. INTRODUCTION Dr Leofranc Holford-Strevens, whose name will be found scattered I. A Correspondence of Renaissance Musicians 3 among the footnotes--far from adequate acknowledgement of his contri bution to the work, which began with his meticulous copy-editing of 2. History of the Manuscripts I 5 3. Giovanni Spataro difficult material new to him, and soon extended to numerous contribu 5I tions to our notes on classical sources, including the tracing of many 4· Pietro Aaron 74 proverbial sayings and quotations whose source we had not found. In 5. The Art of Composition 101 particular, it was he who identified Ptolemy as the main source ofletter 96, 6. Giovanni del Lago and his Epistole 127 for which he also provided the translations from the Greek. 7· Giovanni del Lago's 'Authorities' It is our pleasure to thank the librarians of the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, the Bibliotheque nationale in Paris, the Civico Museo Biblio 8. Mensura! Notation grafico Musicale in Bologna, and the Deutsche Staatsbibliothek in East Berlin, who graciously facilitated our work on the letters held by these PART II. THE LETTERS institutions. We are also grateful to the Vatican Library, the Biblioteca Principles of the Edition Nazionale Marciana, and the Houghton Library, Harvard University, for Letters permission to reproduce photographs of pages from manuscripts in their possessiOn. A. The Correspondence between Giovanni Spataro, A book of this size and complexity, and largely in a foreign language, is Marc' Antonio Cavazzoni, Giovanni del Lago, and Pietro not undertaken lightly by any press, even an academic one. Oxford Aaron (nos. r-67) 201 University Press immediately recognized the importance of the work and B. Giovanni del Lago's Correspondence with Other has obligingly accommodated our wishes in the matter of design. Musicians (nos. 68-98) 749 We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of three organizations in our C. Pietro Aaron's Correspondence with Other Musicians labours. The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation supported (nos. 99-105) the research of both Edward Lowinsky and Clement Miller; the Gladys 929 D. Miscellaneous Letters (nos. ro6-w) Krieble Delmas Foundation assisted Bonnie Blackburn's research on the 957 · V enetian background of the Correspondence. Both these institutions also Biographical Dictionary provided subsidies towards the cost of publication, as did the Renaissance 979 Society of America, under its programme of subsidizing the publication of Notes on Problematical Terms 1021 Renaissance texts and translations. J. Bibliography 1037 BoNNIE BLACK BURN September 1989 CLEMENT A. MILLER Index X Xl ORDER OF LETTERS A. The Correspondence between Giovanni Spataro, Marc' Antonio Cavazzoni, Giovanni del Lago, and Pietro Aaron I. Title-page and dedication of Giovanni del Lago's Epistole 20I 2. Spataro to Cavazzoni, I August I 5 I 7 203 3. Spataro to Del La go, 20 July I 5 20 2J7 4· Spataro to Aaron, 7 March I 52 I 232 5. Spataro to Aaron, [February I 523] 240 6. Spataro to Aaron, 8 April I 52 3 252 7· Spataro to Aaron, I 9 September I 52 3 262 8. Spataro to Aaron, I November I 52 3 272 9· Spataro to Aaron, 6 November I 52 3 279 IO. Spataro to Aaron, 8 November I 5 23 286 I I. Spataro to Aaron, 6 May I 52 3 29I I 2. Spataro to Aaron, 2 3 May I 52 4 300 13· Spataro to Aaron, 9 September I 52 4 3II I4. Spataro to Cavazzoni, Io November I 52 4 3I8 15· Spataro to Del Lago, 30 October I 52 7 323 I 6. Spataro to Del Lago, I September I 52 8 330 17· Spataro to Del Lago, 4 January I 5 29 335 I 8. Spataro to Del Lago, 2 5 January I 529 3 50 I9. Spataro to Del Lago, 26 February I 52 9 353 20. Spataro to Del Lago, March I 52 9 3 57 2!. Spataro to Del Lago, 3 I March I 5 29 36I 22. Spataro to Del Lago, 5 April I 52 9 363 23. Spataro to Del Lago, 28 May I 52 9 366 24. Spataro to Del Lago, 3 June I 529 368 25. Spataro to Del Lago, 30 June I 5 29 370 26. Spataro to Del La go, 5 July I 529 372 27. Spataro to Del Lago, 23 August I 529 373 28. Del Lago to Spataro, 8 October I 52 9 377 29. Spataro to Del Lago, 24 November I 5 29 40I xiii Order of Letters Order of Letters 30. Spataro to Aaron, 30 January I 53 I 4I 5 64. Aaron to Del Lago, 7 October I 5 39 7I5 31. Spataro to Aaron, S February I 53 l 427 65. Del Lago to Aaron, I 2 May I 54 0 726 32· Spataro to Aaron, 2S March I 53 I 430 66. Aaron to Del Lago, early July I 540 72S 3 3. Spataro to Aaron, I 9 June I 53 I 433 67. Aaron to Del Lago, q July I 54 0 74S 34· Spataro to Aaron, 24 October I 53 I 435 3 5. Spataro to Aaron, 24 October I 53 I 440 B. Giovanni del Lago' s Correspondence with Other Musicians 36. Spataro to Aaron, 27 November I 53 I 445 6S. Del Lago to Giovanni da Legge, 6 January I 5 20 749 37· Spataro to Aaron, 30 January I 5 32 456 69. Del Lago to Da Legge, 24 January I 52 0 757 3 s. Spataro to Aaron, I 3 March I 53 2 463 70. Del Lago to Da Legge, I6 February I 52 0 763 39· Spataro to Aaron, 5 April I 5 3 2 466 7!. Del Lago to Da Legge, 29 February I 5 20 766 40. Spataro to Aaron, I 2 April I 53 2 473 72. Da Legge to Del Lago, 24 December I 52 0 77I 4I. Spataro to Aaron, I 9 July I 5 3 2 477 73· Del Lago to Da Legge, I 3 May I 52 3 773 42. Spataro to Aaron, 22 July I 5 32 4S2 74· Del Lag o to Da Legge, I 6 June I 52 3 7S5 43· Del Lago to Spataro, 4 August I 53 2 4S5 75. Da Legge to Del Lago, 20 December I 52 3 79I 44· Del Lago to Spataro, 23 August I 5 32 494 76. Del La go to Da Legge, 29 December I 52 3 793 45. Spataro to Aaron, [autumn I 53 2] 5 I 3 77· Paulo de Laurino to Del La go, [ 2 5 March I 52 5] 797 46. Spataro to Aaron, [autumn I 53 2] 54S 7SA. Del Lago to Laurino, I 5 April I 52 5 79s 47· Del Lago to Spataro, 22 November I 53 2 ;63 7SB. Del Lago to Laurino, I 5 April I 52 5 Soo 4S. Spataro to Aaron, [December I 53 2] 574 79· Laurino to Del La go, 5 June I 52 5 So2 49· Spataro to Aaron, 2 January I 53 3 6o9 So. Del Lag o to Laurino, 15 July I 52 5 804 50. Spataro to Aaron, 4 March I 53 3 6IS SI. Del Lago to Fra Nazaro, 6 January I 5 32 SIO 51· Spataro to Aaron, S March I 53 3 62S S2. Del Lago to Fra Nazaro, 6 August I 53 3 Sij 52· Spataro to Del Lago, I 6 April I 53 3 631 s 3· Del Lago to Fra Nazaro, r 5 September I 53 3 SIS 5 3. Memorandum by Del La go, 2 5 May I 53 3 634 84. Del Lago to Lorenzo Gazio, 26 August I 5 34 822 54· Spataro to Del La go, 4 June I 5 3 3 637 8 5. Gazio to Del Lago, 9 September I 5 34 826 5 5. Spataro to Aaron, 30 July I 53 3 642 86. Del Lago to Gazio, 6 May I 53 5 828 56. Spataro to Del La go, 3o July I 5 3 3 648 87. Pietro de Justinis to Del Lago, 2 7 November I 534 8;8 57· Del Lago to Spataro, I 5 August I 53 3 653 88. Del La go to J ustinis, 3 June I 53 S 86o 58. Spataro to Aaron, 20 August r 53 3 66; 89. Bartolomeo Tromboncino to Del Lago, 2 April I 53 5 869 59· Spataro to Aaron, 29 August I; 3 3 674 90. Nicolo Olivetto to Del Lago, I October I 53 5 87I 6o. Spataro to Aaron, 30 October I 53 3 678 9!. Francesco di Pizoni to Del Lago, 2 June I 53 7 872 6I. Aaron to Del La go, I 2 May I 53 5 707 92. Fra Seraphin to Del Lago, 30 April I 53 8 874 62. Aaron to Del Lago, I 3 March I 5 36 7°9 93· Del Lago to Fra Seraphin, 26 August I 54 I 875 63. Del Lago to.Aaron, 27 August 15 39 712 94· Francesco Lupino to Del Lago, 24 April I 54 I 894 XIV XV Order of Letters 95. Girolamo Malipiero to Del Lago, 27 November 1543 96. Del Lago to Girolamo Molino, n.d. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 97. Anonymous to Del La go, n.d. 98. Bernardino da Pavia to Del Lago, n.d. 1. Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS Vat. !at. 5318, fo. 2' 17 C. Pietro Aaron' s Correspondence with Other Musicians 2. MS Vat.lat. 53I8, fo. 110' I8 99· Anonymous to [Pietro Aaron?], [before I 52 3] 929 3· MS Vat. !at. 53I8, fo. 116' Ioo. Aaron to Paulo de Laurino, 29 April I 52 5 94I 4· MS Vat. !at. 5318, fo. I83' 20 IOI. Aaron to [Lorenzo Gazio], 14 February I 5 34 943 5· MSVat.lat.53I8,fo.228' 2I I02. Gazio to [Aaron], 27 February I534 945 6. MS Vat. !at. 5 p8, fo. 46v I 34 Io3. Aaron to Gazio, 29 April I 5 34 949 7· MSVat.lat.5322,f0.3ov I50 I04. Giovanni Maria Lanfranco to Aaron, IO August I 5 34 951 8. Venice, Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, MS !at. vm. 64 (34I 5), 156 fos. ljv-I6' I05. Aaron to Gregorio Corbelli, 26 December I538 955 9· Franchino Gafurio, Musices practicabi!is libel/us, Houghton Library, I7I Harvard University, MS Mus I42, fo. I' D. Miscellaneous Letters 106. Giovanni Maria Lanfranco to Adrian Willaert, 20 October 957 IO. Giovanni Spataro, Tractato di musica (Venice, I53I), diagram at 475 end of eh. I3 I 53 I Io7. Lorenzo Gazio to Don Valeriano, 23 November I534 970 I I. MS Vat. !at. j3I8, fo. 239' 476 I2. MS Vat.lat. j3I8, fos. 245'-245a' 550-I 108. Gazio to Don Valeriano, 28 March I 53 5 972 I3. MS Vat. !at. 53I8, fos. IOov-Ioi' 848-9 Io9. Memorandum by [Lorenzo Gazio] 974 MS Vat. !at. 5 p8, fo. I 78' 873 I Io. Anonymous to [Giovanni del Lago?], [I 53 3] 976 MS Vat. !at. j3I8, fo. I93v MS Vat. !at. 53I8, fo. I94' Fig. 1. Comparative table of note-names XVl xvii TABLES 1. Missing letters in Spataro's correspondence XX z. Inventory of Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS Vat. !at. 53 I 8 xxii 3· Inventory of Paris, Bibliotheque nationale, MS it. r I Io xxxiv 4· Compositions mentioned in the Correspondence XXXV111 XlX