The works of Francesco Landini

366 Pages·1945·21.238 MB·English

by  Landini, Francesco, Ellinwood, Leonard, McLaughlin, William A.

THE MEDIAEVAL ACADEMY OF AMERICA
PUBLICATION No. 36
(Studies and Documents, No. jj
THE WORKS OF FRANCESCO LANDINI
I. The Miniature of Francesco Landini in the
Squarcialupi Codex (S. 121v).
THE WORKS OF
FRANCESCO LANDINI
EDITED BV
LEONARD ELLINWOOD
With Textual Collation by William A. McLaughlin
THE MEDIAEVAL ACADEMY OF AMERICA
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
*945
The publication of this book was made possible by grants of
funds to the Academy from the Carnegie Corporation of New
York, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the
Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester.
COPYMGHT
BY
THE MEDIAEVAL ACADEMY OF AMERICA
">39
Lithoprinted in U.S A.
EDWARDS BROTHERS, INC.
ANN ARBOR. MICHIGAN
1945
To
Barbara Duncan
Librarian
of the Sibley Musical Library
in appreciation of
many kindnesses

PREFACE
With this edition of the works of Francesco Landini it is hoped that
the composer may cease to be the mythological figure he has appeared in the past.
By making Francesco's vorks available to the student in a collated transcription
of the manuscript sources, it is my further hope to replace previous speculations
regarding many aspects of fourteenth-century music with the music itself, without
distortion, in an edition from which deductions may be drawn with a greater degree
of accuracy than has hitherto been achieved.
This work has been made possible by the splendid cooperation of the
European libraries (referred to in Section III of the Introduction) in the
furnishing of complete photostatic copies of all manuscripta concerned, by the
excellent services of the Sibley Musical Library, Eastman School of Music, Uni-
versity of Rochester, in securing the materials of the Bibliography, and by the
courtesy of the Cornell University Library, which provided the materials on
trecento Italian literature from its distinguished collection.
The preparation of the verses is the work of V. A. McLaughlin, Associate
Professor of Romance Languages at the University of Michigan, to whom I am in-
debted for an exhaustive collation of the texts.
Finally, I desire to express my gratitude to the Mediaeval Academy of
America, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the Eastman School of
Music for generous contributions toward the publication of the work.
Leonard Ellinwood
East Lansing, Michigan
May, 1939
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
The reception and distribution this work has received has been most
gratifying to all persons concerned. That a second printing should be required
in spite of the limitations imposed by the war augurs well for musical scholar-
ship in America.
I am grateful to the Mediaeval Academy of America for making the second
edition possible. I am also indebted to Professors Manfred Bukofzer, Hans David,
and Ettore Li Gotti for suggestions which have been incorporated below. The
changes which have been made consist of minor emendations in the introduction
and a few bibliographical additions. The only transcription which has been al-
tered is no. 10.
L. E.
Library of Congress
June, 1945.
vii

CONTENTS
Page
Introduction
I. Early Italian Polyphony xi
II. Francesco Landini xiii
III. Manuscript Sources xvii
IV. The Notation xxi
V. The Musical Forms xxv
VI. The Musical Style xxx
VII. The Role of Instruments xxxviii
VIII. The System of Transcription xlii
The Works of Francesco Lanaini
Two-part Madrigals 3
Three-part Madrigals 22
The Pescha 35
Two-part Ballate 39
Three-part Ballate 169
Frammenti 291
Documents 301
Bibliography 307
Cross-reference Table of Francesco's Works 311
PLATES
I. The Miniature of Francesco Landini in
the Squarcialupi Codex (£3. 121 v) frontispiece
II. Francesco's Tombstone in San Lorenzo,
Florence following xvi
III. The Madrigal Unna conlonba and the Pescha
Cos! pensoso from £>. 128v - 129r " . 20
IV. The Madrigal Si dolce non sono from F.
44v - 45r *. 'I. 34
V. The Pescha Cos! pensoso from B. 39v - 40r ... .'J. 38
VI. The Ballate Donna, che d'amor and Selvagia
fera from P. 104v - 105r '1. 72
VII. The Ballata Conviens' a fede fe from R. 71r ..'!. 194
VIII. The Ballata Nessun ponga speranga from P_.
116v - 117r 1 ".. 250
ix