Francesco CANOVA DI MILANO:<\/strong> Ricercare No. 1 – Ricercare No. 12 – Ricercare No. 5 – Ricercare No. 73 – Ricercare No. 34 – Ricercare No. 15 – Vincenzo CAPIROLA:<\/strong> La Villanella – Ricercare “La Spagna” – Che Farala Che Dirala – Albert DE RIPPE:<\/strong> Fantasie VII – Fantasie VI – Alessandro PICCININI:<\/strong> Balletto in Diverse Partite.<\/p>\n Ricardo Correa<\/strong>, Lute.<\/p>\n How can the life of a musician in Italian society around 1500 be imagined? During this inventive yet tumultuous period, composers such as Vincenzo Capirola<\/strong>, Alberto da Rippa<\/strong>, and Francesco Canova da Milano<\/strong> played significant roles.<\/p>\n Francesco Canova<\/strong> did not stay long in the village near Milan where he was born in 1497. By the age of 13, he was already studying the lute with a famous musician in Mantua. Later, he entered the service of Pope Paul III<\/strong>, and likely his successors. Active mostly in Rome<\/strong>, Canova played the viola and the organ\u2014he is even mentioned as the organist of the Milan Cathedral<\/strong> in 1530. However, he was primarily a lute player, and his listeners, enchanted by his virtuosity, nicknamed him “Il Divino” (The Divine)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n What did Canova play? In addition to improvisations on known or invented themes, he transcribed the works of his contemporaries, including motets<\/strong> and polyphonic songs<\/strong>. This practice of “mise en tablature”<\/strong> was common at the time and played a key role in the development of Renaissance instrumental music<\/strong>. Nevertheless, the most substantial part of his work consists of his Ricercare<\/strong>, with nearly a hundred surviving pieces found in various printed music collections from the 16th century.<\/p>\n The terms Fantasy<\/strong> and Ricercare<\/strong> were often used interchangeably to describe the same works, depending on the publisher or the country. Canova wasn\u2019t the first to compose Ricercare<\/strong>\u2014Petrucci<\/strong> had already published some in 1507\u2014but with Da Milano<\/strong>, the Ricercare evolved into an elaborate instrumental form that encouraged experimentation and artistic freedom. No more vocal models or rigid melodic formulas! Each of Da Milano\u2019s Ricercare<\/strong> became a unique piece. Notable examples include Ricercare 1, 12, 5, 73, 34,<\/strong> and 15<\/strong> (Ness edition).<\/p>\n Ricercare 1<\/strong> demonstrates clarity of construction, with its well-structured imitative entries flowing from high to low registers, interrupted by repeated cadences that divide the piece into shorter sections. By contrast, Ricercare 5<\/strong> shares little resemblance, and even less so with “La Compagna” (Ricercare 34)<\/strong>, where the second part stands out for its melodic energy. A line of short notes moves through different registers, repeating and transforming an initial motif of three sounds (D – E-flat – D<\/strong>), creating a new instrumental orientation, far removed from polyphonic transcriptions of motets and songs.<\/p>\n In Ricercare 12<\/strong>, the central part is built from brief sections, creating a fluidity that contrasts with the stillness of the opening, which is later revisited. Instead of a fixed theme, there is a sequence of repeating chords, with the D<\/strong> of the soprano heard over ten times, almost suspended in space.<\/p>\n There are several commonalities between Francesco da Milano<\/strong> and Alberto da Rippa<\/strong>. Both received their musical education in Mantua<\/strong>, where musical life was particularly vibrant at the beginning of the 16th century. However, while Francesco lived primarily in Rome<\/strong>, da Rippa<\/strong> was summoned to France<\/strong> in 1528 to reside at the court of Francis I<\/strong>, where he remained for the rest of his life. Da Rippa enjoyed a privileged position, with writers and poets from both France<\/strong> and Italy<\/strong> praising his ability to enchant audiences.<\/p>\n Sopra al sonar del Liuto del S. Alberto Mantovano<\/em> His works, published only after his death in 1551, include Fantasia VI<\/strong> and VII<\/strong>, which display striking complexity within clear structures. Fantasia VI<\/strong>, for instance, is divided into four sections, opening with a rising bass line that is echoed by the soprano. This element isn\u2019t fully developed but reappears at the beginning of the final section. Each of the two middle sections uses a different contrapuntal technique: free imitation dominates the second section, while in the third, a new voice repeats a brief motif, creating contrasts between the registers.<\/p>\n This technique of contrasting elements gives Fantasia VI<\/strong> a fascinating sense of unity and depth.<\/p>\n The works of Vincenzo Capirola<\/strong>, composed about 30 years earlier (circa 1520), follow a different path. His music integrates popular elements, with Dances<\/strong>, Ricercare<\/strong>, and polyphonic songs like “La Villanella”<\/strong> and “Che Farala Che Dirala”<\/strong>. The freshness of his compositions continues to captivate audiences even today.<\/p>\n A century later, the lute still held an important role in Italian music. However, by the time Alessandro Piccinini<\/strong> composed Toccatas<\/strong>, Gaillardes<\/strong>, Courantes<\/strong>, and Balletti<\/strong>, the instrument had changed. One significant modification was the increase in the number of courses<\/strong> (pairs of strings), from 6 to 13, which expanded the lute’s lower register.<\/p>\n In his “Balletto in Diverse Partite,”<\/strong> composed for the Illustrious Signor Conte Bentivogli<\/strong>, Piccinini plays with rhythms, transforming a unique theme into Pavanes<\/strong>, Gaillardes<\/strong>, Courantes<\/strong>, and Arias<\/strong> through numerous variations.<\/p>\n Piccinini was one of the last great Italian composers to write for the Renaissance lute<\/strong>. After him, musicians would turn to a new instrument: the Baroque lute<\/strong>, which dominated until the mid-18th century.<\/p>\n Denise Perret<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n Extraits \/ Excerpts<\/strong><\/p>\n[playlist images=\"false\" ids=\"43105,43069,43075,43078,43081,43084,43087,43090,43093,43096,43099,43102\"]\n","protected":false},"featured_media":43067,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[5397,5371],"product_tag":[],"class_list":["post-43108","product","type-product","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","vde_composers-canova-di-milano-francesco-en","vde_composers-capirola-vincenzo_en","vde_composers-de-rippe-albert_en","vde_composers-piccinini-alessandro-en","vde_interprets-correa-ricardo-en","product_cat-recordings-released-on-vinyls","product_cat-lute","first","instock","taxable","shipping-taxable","product-type-simple"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vdegallo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/43108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vdegallo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vdegallo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vdegallo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43108"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vdegallo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vdegallo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vdegallo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=43108"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vdegallo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=43108"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vdegallo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=43108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nThe Life of a Musician in 1500s Italy<\/h3>\n
\nFrancesco Canova’s Repertoire<\/h3>\n
\nFantasy and Ricercare<\/h3>\n
\nAlberto da Rippa and Francesco Canova<\/h3>\n
\nQuando la mar sovr\u2019al Liuto move<\/em>
\nAlberto, a cui no fu mai par, ne fia,<\/em>
\nOgni spirto gentil volendo via<\/em>
\nSe ne va con suo suono in grembo a Giove.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nVincenzo Capirola and Popular Influence<\/h3>\n
\nThe Lute in Italian Music History<\/h3>\n
\n
\nMusicologist, Neuch\u00e2tel<\/em>
\n(Adapted by ChatGPT)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"