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The virtuosi of Ferrara: the Concerto delle Donne 1580-1601

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The virtuosi of Ferrara: the Concerto delle Donne 1580-1601

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The Virtuosi of Ferrara:
The Concerto delle Donne 1580-1601

Paulina Francisco

Thesis prepared for the degree
MASTER OF ARTS
EARLY MUSIC PERFORMANCE

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
AUGUST 2017

Table of Contents
Part 1 2
Ferrara & the Este Court ………………………………………………………………....2
Concerto delle Donne …………………………………………………………………….6
Concerto Personnel ………………………………………………………………….…..12
Part 2 18
Luzzasco Luzzaschi ……………………………………………………………………..18
Luzzaschi’s Madrigali Print of 1601 ……………………………………………………20
Giovanni Battista Guarini ……………………………………………………………….32
Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………33
Madrigali Edition 35
From the Editor ……………………………………………………………………….…37
Edition Notes …………………………………………………………………………....38
Aura Soave ……………………………………………………………………………...43
O Primavera ………………………………………………………………………….….46
Ch’io non t’ami ……………………………………………………………………….…49
Stral pungente …………………………………………………………………………...52
Deh vieni hormai cor mio ……………………………………………………………….55
Cor mio deh non languire ……………………………………………………………….59
I mi son giovinetta ………………………………………………………………………63
O dolcezze ………………………………………………………………………………69
Troppo ben puo …………………………………………………………………………75
T’amo mia vita ………………………………………………………………………….80
Non sà che sia dolore ……………………………………………………………………83
Occhi, del pianto mio cagione …………………………………………………………..87
Bibliography 91
P A R T 1
Ferrara & the Este Court
The development and success of Ferrara as a thriving cultural center during the
Renaissance is undoubtedly linked to the rise of the Este family. The Este were the oldest, most
prestigious noble family north of Florence and East of Milan.
1
They served as Ferrara’s
aristocratic leaders, cultural patrons, and infrastructure developers from 1240-1598. The most
prolific period for culture in Ferrara began in 1393 when Niccolo III d’Este succeeded his father,
Alberto V d’Este.
2
From this point forward, each generation of Estense rulers contributed to or
refined the work started by their predecessors.
The reign of Niccolo III marks the beginning of what Italian art scholar Anthony
Colantuono identifies as the “dynastic hegemony” of Estensi rule in Ferrara.
3
Niccolo’s primary
contributions were improving security at the northern border and beginning work on the
cathedral campanile.
4
He also established the first group of regular musicians at Ferrara, funded
the beginning of the courtly library, and supported humanist education.
5
Alberto V d’Este
appointed humanist Donato degli Albanzani to educate Niccolo, who saw to it that his children
received tutoring from similar scholars.
6
Niccolo III was succeeded by his two illegitimate sons,
Leonello (1407-1450) and Borso (1413-1471). The first son, Leonello, was tutored by humanist
Guarino da Verona and had a huge impact on art, literature and learning. During his reign he a

1
Werner Gundersheimer, Ferrara; The Style of Renaissance Despotism (Princeton: Princeton University
Press,1973), 18.
2
Anthony Colantuono, “Estense Patronage and the Construction of the Ferrarese Renaissance, c. 1395-1598,” in
the Court Cities of Northern Italy (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010), 196.
3
Ibid., 197.
4
Ibid., 198.
5
Gundersheimer, Ferrara, 82.
6
Ibid.
2

funded a major redevelopment of the stadium [university] in Ferrara.
7
Improvements at the
university encouraged poets and scholars to live in Ferrara and have their ideas represented at the
court. Leonello’s support of music is evident in that he funded professional musicians to play and
sing at the court chapel. The second son, Borso d’Este, was the first Estense patriarch to be
named Duke. He was appointed first Duke of Modena in 1452 and first Duke of Ferrara in 1471.
When Borso died in 1471 he was succeeded by Niccolo III’s legitimate son, Duke Ercole
I d’Este (1413-1471). Ercole is widely considered the foremost arts patron from the Este family.
He employed a large company of singers, virtuoso instrumentalists, and composers Josquin de
Prez, Jean Japart, Antoine Brumel, and Jacob Obrecht. Under Ercole I, Ferrara flourished as a
musical center in Renaissance Europe. This was achieved by the Duke’s frequent hosting of
gala-like theatrical productions and intermedi at court.
8
Although music and culture were
thriving in Ferrara during this time, Anthony Colantuono names architecture and urban planning
as the two most important features of Ercole’s reign
9
. The construction of Ercole’s “addizione
erculea” in 1497 is heralded as an example of Renaissance urban planning and nearly doubled
the size of the city.
Alfonso I d’Este took power upon Ercole’s death in 1505. Alfonso inherited several court
musicians from his father’s court, including Antoine Brumel. Like Ercole I, Alfonso supported
several forms of art in Ferrara. However, he is best known for his patronage of painters rather
than musicians. Artistic expression in Ferrara heightened with Alfonso playing patron to such
poets and artists as Ludovico Ariosto, Tiziano Vecellio (Titian), Giovanni Bellini, and Dosso

7
Ibid., 101.
8
Werner L. Gundersheimer,“Toward a Reinterpretation of the Renaissance in Ferrara”, Biblioteque d’Humanisme
et Renaissance, 20 /2 (1968), 178.
9
Colantuono, Estense Patronage, 198.
3

Dossi. When Alfonso I died in 1534, his son Ercole II succeeded him. Musical culture in Ferrara
became a focal point again under Ercole II’s twenty-five year reign. Cipriano de Rore was a
prominent composer, performer, and teacher of music at Ercole’s court.
10

Alfonso II, Ercole II’s son, ruled from 1559-1597 as the final Estense Duke of Ferrara.
Art and music at his court reached the highest levels achieved in Ferrara under Estense
patronage. One of Alfonso’s heralding achievements as a supporter of music was establishing the
Concerto delle Donne, a professional group of female musicians who performed chamber music
at the court. Word of their incredible virtuosity and secret repertory spread across Europe
through invitation from the Duke and testimony from musicians who heard them. The Concerto
delle Donne was surrounded by a large community of esteemed musicians at the court. Several
other ensembles performed at Alfonso’s court, including a large chapel choir and the Concerto
Grande. The latter was an early orchestra with which the Concerto delle Donne occasionally
performed. Alfonso served as patron for more than twenty composers. Among the composers
and instructors active in Ferrara during his reign were Luzzascho Luzzaschi, Ippolito Fiorini,
Lodovico Agostini, Francesco Manera, Alessandro Striggio, and Giaches de Wert. Duke Alfonso
also funded several court poets who wrote texts to be set by composers. Probably most notable,
Torquato Tasso, served as primary court poet. Giovanni Battista Guarini, Annibale Pocaterra,
Orazio Ariosto and Alessandro Guarini also wrote poetry for Alfonso’s court.
11

In 1597, Alfonso II died without producing a male heir. Duke Cesare d’Este was chose
by Emperor Rudoloh II to succeed Alfonso. However, he descended from Marchesi of

10
Jessie Ann Owens, Composers at Work: The Craft of Musical Composition 1450-1600 (New York: Oxford
University Press, 1997), 65.
11
Anthony Newcomb, “The Three Anthologies for Laura Peverara, 1580-1583,” Rivista Italiana di Musicologia, 10
(1975), 335.
4

Montecchino rather than the Este line, so the Este no longer had claim to Ferrara under feudal
law.
12
One year after Duke Alfonso’s death, Pope Clement VIII claimed Ferrara under papal
authority.
Although the Este name is best known as a patriarchal Dukedome, there were also several
female Estense patrons in Ferrara. Most notable are Isabella d’Este and Margherita Gonzaga.
Isabella d’Este (1474-1539) was the daughter of Ercole I d’Este and Duchess Eleanora
d’Aragona, and wife of Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua.
13
She received a humanist
education at court along with her brothers, Alfonso I and Cardinal Ipplito d’Este. Isabella was
trained in music by Johannes Martini and her excited interest has been partially credited for the
frottola tradition that developed in Mantua.
14
When she married Francesco II at age sixteen, she
became an important leader of style and enthusiastic supporter of artists, musicians, poets, and
scholars.
15

Margherita Gonzaga (1562-1618) led a similar life to Isabella. She grew up in a wealthy
court family as the daughter of Guglielmo Gonzaga (William I, Duke of Mantua) and Eleanora
of Austria. She became a young Dutchess of Ferrara upon her marriage to Alfonso II d’Este in
1579. Only fifteen years old when married, she brought youthful energy to the court at Ferrara
and substantially impacted the music and performance activities. Her influence encouraged Duke
Alfonso II to establish the Concerto delle Donne and she became an important figure in the
emergence of professional female musicians and performers at the Ferrarese court.
16
In his book
The Madrigal at Ferrara, Anthony Newcomb identifies Alfonso’s marriage to Margherita as a

12
Colantuano, Estense Patronage, 198.
13
Ibid.
14
Ibid., 688. For more information on Isabella’s musical interests, see Time Shephard article in FN 15.
15
Tim Shephard, “Constructing Isabella d’Este’s Musical Decorum in the Visual Sphere,” Renaissance Studies, 25/ 2
(2011), 684.
16
Anthony Newcomb, The Madrigal at Ferrara 1579-1597, vol. 1 (Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1980), 7.
5

turning point in vitality at the court and outlines a new union of dance, madrigal and instrumental
music which she inspired.
17

Estense patronage had a profound impact on the development of Ferrara and the family
funded the creation of a colossal amount of music and art during their rule. As identified above,
Alfonso II d’Este’s Concerto delle Donne is one of the best know ensembles established by an
Estense patron. The ensemble took many forms in the 1570’s and 80’s, and inspired a large body
of repertoire by Ferrarese composers at that time. The ensemble’s impact on music permeated
Italy for generations after the dissolution of the Este court in 1597. Composers and musicians
from all around Europe traveled to Ferrara to hear, what accounts describe as, an unprecedented
virtuosic style. In the sections below, I will address several components of the Concerto delle
Donne including establishment, personnel, associated genres, and performance practice issues
involved in their repertoire.
Concerto delle Donne
The title Concerto delle Donne refers to the group of female virtuosic singers in Ferrara
beginning in 1580 at the court of Alfonso II d’Este. This definition is important because there
were actually two concerti – a group of amateur musicians formed in the late 1570’s and the
professional ensemble founded around 1580 after the marriage of Duke Alfonso II and
Margherita Gonzaga.
18
Isabella Emerson summarized Anothony Newcomb’s differentiation of
the two groups, saying:
This kind of consort was not new to Ferrara, but this one [beginning in 1580] was
radically different from the older ones, which had consisted of well-trained amateurs of
noble status. The singers in this new consort were brought to the court solely because of

17
Ibid., 104.
18
Newcomb, The Madrigal at Ferrara, 8-11.
6

their ability as musicians, they were expected to perform as salaried employees, and they
were paid very well for their work.
19

The establishment of this ensemble created an important distinction between amateur and
professional musicians. Anthony Newcomb regards the first group as courtiers who happened to
know how to sing. These women remained at court after the new group emerged, indicating that
their place at court was not reliant on musical ability or performances. The same cannot be said
for the women from the professional group, who were specifically requested for their musical
ability or arrived in Ferrara with Margherita Gonzaga.
20
For the remainder of this paper the term
Concerto delle Donne refers to the professional ensemble of women, beginning in 1580.
The terms “musica secreta” and “concerto secreto” are important for understanding the
nature of the Concerto delle Donne. Though the terms are related and occasionally used
interchangeably, they are different. “Musica secreta” first appeared in the writing of Orazio
Urbani, a Florentine citizen who documented his experiences while visiting Ferrara.
21
The term’s
twofold meaning refers to both chamber concerts given for a small company and the jealous
secrecy with which Duke Alfonso kept their repertoire. Anthony Newcomb clarifies to terms,
saying:
A concerto secreto is a performing group that performs in a musica secreta. The concerto
secreto at Ferrara was usually called the concerto delle donne, or the ladies’ ensemble, in
recognition of the most striking feature of the ensemble – its three or four highly skilled
female singers
22

19
Isabelle Emerson, Five Centuries of Women Singers (Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2005): 1. See also,
Newcomb, The Madrigal at Ferrara, 7.
20
Alfonso sent for Laura Peverara after hearing her sing in Mantua. Livia d’Arco arrived in Ferrara with Margherita
Gonzaga as a part of her household for marriage.
21
Newcomb , The Madrigal at Ferrara, 20-21.
22
Ibid., 4.
7

Semantic confusion also remains in how the Concerto delle Donne is identified in
modern scholarship. Large-scale studies by Anthony Newcomb and Iain Fenlon have clarified
the discrepancy in musicology, but many names other than Concerto delle Donne still circulate
in other disciplines: “The Ladies of Ferrara”, “Concerto delle Dame”, “Canto delle Dame”,
“Concerto Ferrarese.” Finding these terms in interdisciplinary sources may help fill gaps in the
research.
Several contemporary accounts from visitors to Duke Alfonso’s court document
performances by his new ensemble. Vincenzo Giustiniani (1564-1637), an Italian art collector,
intellectual and music commentator, authored one of the most detailed accounts of the Concerto
delle Donne. In 1628, Giustiniani compiled eight essays on topics such as painting,
manufacturing, hunting, travel, and music.
23
The collection was not published until 1878 (by
Salvatore Bongi), and the codex is now located in the Archicio della Stato in Lucca, Italy.
Discorso sopra la Musica, the sixth essay, includes one of the best known descriptions of the
Concerto delle Donne and other musical activities between 1570 and 1628. Specifically useful to
this research, Giustiniani highlights courtly music activities in Ferrara and Mantua beginning
around 1575. He describes the nature of performances by the Concerto delle Donne and a similar
group that emerged in Mantua:
The ladies of Mantua and Ferrara were highly competent and vied with each other not
only in regard to the timbre and training of their voices but also the design of exquisite
passages delivered at opportune points, but not in excess. Furthermore, they moderated or
increased their voices, loud or soft, heavy or light, according to the demands of the piece
they were singing; now slow, breaking off with sometimes a gentle sigh, now winging
long passages legato or detached, now groups, now leaps, now with long trills, now with

23
Carol MacClintock, “Giustiniani’s ‘Discorso Sopra la Music’”, Musica Disciplina, 15 (1961), 209.
MacClintock lists the 8 essays from the codex: Dialogo tra Renzo Aniello naploetano sopra gli usi di Roma e di
Napoli, Avvertimento per un Scalco, Intruzione necessaria per Fabbricare, Istruzione per far Viaggi, Discorso sopra
la Pittura, Discrso sopra la Musica, Discorso sopra la Caccia, Istruzione per un Maestro di Casa.
8

short, and again with sweet running passages sung softly, to which sometimes one heard
an echo answer unexpectedly. They accompanied the music and the sentiment with
appropriate facial expressions, glances, and gestures, and no awkward movements of the
mouth or hands or body which might not express the feeling of the song. They made the
words clear in such a way that one could hear even the last syllable of every word, which
was never interrupted or suppressed by passages or other embellishments.
24

This is the most informative and descriptive account of an observers reaction to the ensemble.
Although somewhat unorganized, Giustiniani’s attempt to describe performance aesthetic reveals
the many options for artistic expression at the group’s disposal. Giustiniani’s description also
provides vital information about performance practice on a subject for which few sources exist.
Since the engagements and repertoire of the Concerto delle Donne were kept secret by Duke
Alfonso, accounts like Giustiniani’s are essential to gathering information about the ensemble
and others like it. From Giustiniani’s description, we can gather that the women likely performed
from memory. He describes expressions and gestures that accompanied phrases, which would
not have been received as effectively as Giustiniani described if the women had been holding
music or reading from a book. The writing of Giovanni Battista Doni (1593-1647) could
confirm the notion of memorized performances. In his De Praestantia Musicae Veteres,
published in 1647, Doni reports on a group from Ferrara that presented nearly 330 madrigals
from memory.
25
However, Bernard Ulrich has suggested that since Doni’s birth year and the year
of dissolution of the Este court are just four years apart, perhaps Doni was talking about a

24
Carol MacClintock and Anthony Newcomb provide helpful translations and commentary on Giustiniani’s text.
See: Carol MacClintock trans., Readings in the History of Music Performance (Bloomington, University of Indiana
Press, (1972), 28-29.
Newcomb, The Madrigal at Ferrara, 46-52.
MacClintock, “Giustiniani’s ‘Discorso Sopra la Musica’”, 211-225.
25
Bernard Ulrich, Concerning the Principles of Voice Training from the A Capella Period and Until the Beginning of
Opera (1474-1640) (Minneapolis: Pro Musica Press, 1973), 16.
9

different group altogether.
26
Even if that were the case, his observations could echo a tradition
that was forming in the 1580s when the Concerto delle Donne began performing.
Another important set of accounts is found in the letters of Alessandro Striggio, an Italian
composer and instrumentalist who frequented the Ferrarese court. He served Grand Duke
Francesco di Medici in Florence, with whom he exchanged letters about on goings in Ferrara.
On several occasions Striggio wrote about the musical activities at Alfonso II’s court and
composed pieces imitating Ferrarese style to send with his letters. In 1584, he wrote to Grand
Duke Francesco and mentioned a practice of both memorization and singing at sight:
Those ladies sing excellently; both when singing in their concerto [from memory] and
when singing at sight from part books they are secure. The Duke favored me continually
by showing me written out all the pieces that they sing from memory, with all the
diminutions [tirate or passaggi] that they do.
27

Documentation through letter writing also sheds light on how Duke Alfonso recruited the
highly trained women to his court. A letter by Orazio Urbani reveals how Laura Peverara was
recruited to Ferrara. Peverara became an important soprano for the Concerto delle Donne and
muse for poets and composers in Ferrara.
When his Excellency [Duke Alfonso] was at Mantua he saw a young lady who was rather
beautiful and, in addition, had the virtue of singing and playing excellently. He thereupon
conceived the desire to have her at Ferrara and, upon his return here, he had the Dutchess
send to obtain her as one of her ladies in waiting, which was done by special messenger.
28

Urbani writes two important pieces of information in this account. First, he confirms the notion
that Duke Alfonso requested young women for his Concerto delle Donne solely because of their
musical abilities. Several authors have suggested that this created an important distinction
between the performer and audience, professional and amateur, which was not available for

26
Ibid., 93.
27
Newcomb, The Madrigal at Ferrara, 55.
28
Newcomb, The Madrigal at Ferrara, 11.
10

women prior to this.
29
The members from the ensemble in the 1570’s, who were women of the
court, could serve as both performers and audience members. The Concerto delle Donne,
therefore, paved the way for future professional female musicians throughout Europe. Another
interesting concept in the above quote is that Laura was obtained as a lady in waiting. It is
unclear why she was to be considered a lady in waiting, rather than a musician. I have not found
clear evidence that women had been invited to court to work as musicians at this point. If Laura
was the first, perhaps court decorum would have prohibited her from being labeled a musician,
even though she was highly respected at the Ferrarese court. Duke Alfonso would have been
writing to his new wife’s father to ask for a woman of Mantua to leave and enter his court. That
relationship also could have been a factor in how Laura was labeled, and the other ensemble
members who arrived after her.
Another letter from Urbani, in 1581, explains when and where performances took place.
This remains one of the first accounts of the new ensemble (1580’s) and Urbani reported it as the
first time he had heard them. Similar accounts from Alessandro Lombardi and Cavalier Giacomo
Grana suggest that performances took place in the rooms of the Dutchess.
30
Urbani’s letter
explains an evening he had at the court and how entertainment was part of the event:
Immediately after dining, a game of primiera [a card game] was begun in which the
Duke, the Dutchess [of Ferrara], Donna Marfisa, the wife of Signor Cornelio and myself
[Urbani] took part…At the same time the music was begun, so that it was necessary for
me simultaneously to play cards, to listen, to admire, and to praise the passage, the
cadenze, the tirate, and all such things – all of which matters I understand little and enjoy
less! This party did not last one minute less than four hours, since, after some other ladies
had sung, Signora Peverara (the Mantuan about whom I have written in the past) finally
appeared and, under the pretext of having me hear first one thing and then another [she

29
Ibid., 21. See also: Emerson, Five Centuries of Women Singers, 8.
30
Newcomb, The Madrigal at Ferrara, 25.
11

sang] both by herself and together with other singers, both with one and several
instruments, thus stretching out the affair as much as possible.
31

This description leaves few questions about how the woman sang, but does not clearly address
how they were accompanied. Urbani does mention that performances could include many
combinations of voices and instruments. However, if the women gestured during performances,
it is unlikely that they would have always accompanied themselves, given that the instruments
they played required two hands. Katherine Wallace indicates those instruments and the numerous
options for accompaniment of the repertoire:
With Peverara who played the harp, Guarini on the lute, d’Arco learning the viol, and
Molza or Luzzaschi on harpsichord, the ensemble was capable of performing a variety of
music from a capella madrigals… to instrumental accompanied solos, duets, and trios to
performances with the Ferrarese concerto grande.
32

In this passage, Wallace also identifies the five primary musicians associated with the Concerto
delle Donne: Laura Peverara, Anna Guarini, Livia d’Arco, Tarquinia Molza and their instructor
Luzzascho Luzzaschi. Luzzaschi served as a director and composer for the Concerto delle Donne
and other ensembles at the court. His 1601 print, Madrigali per cantare’ e sonare’ A uno, e’ doi,
e’ tre’ Soprani, survives among few other examples of repertoire specifically composed for the
soprano ensemble. His best known works, hundreds of madrigals for five voices, were usually
scored for three treble voices, tenor and bass. These madrigals could be an indication that the
Concerto delle Donne occasionally sang with men, perhaps from the Chapel Choir in Ferrara.
Concerto Personnel
Laura Peverara (1545-1601) is the best known, best documented, and arguably most
researched member of the Concerto delle Donne. As Orazio Urbani’s letter outlines, Duke

31
Ibid.
32
Katherine Wallace, “Gender and Genre”, 286.
12

Alfonso heard Laura sing during a visit to Mantua and sent for her to come sing at his court in
Ferrara. According to Isabelle Emerson, Laura grew up near Mantua in a well-off middle class
family and was properly educated.
33
“Properly educated” is by no means a definitive term, as a
standard level or type of education did not exist for women in the Renaissance. Given that Laura
was the daughter of a merchant, she would have received one of the best educations available to
women at this time, possibly from a tutor. Baldassare Castiglione provides one outline of
expectation for a woman in The Book of the Courtier, published in 1528: “I wish this lady to
have knowledge of letters, of music, of painting, and know how to dance and how to be
festive”
34
Knowledge of these topics certainly would have prepared anyone for life at court.
Laura arrived in Ferrara in May 1580 and first performed as a member of the Concerto delle
Donne in December of that year.
35
In 1583, Laura married Ferrarese Count Annibale Turco. It is
believed that the madrigal anthology Il Lauro Verde¸ which was dedicated to Laura, was
compiled to honor their wedding.
36

Beyond being an extraordinary singer, Laura’s legacy in Ferrara is demonstrated in the
work of the many composers and poets whom she inspired. Her influence is especially evident
from the number of sources that dedicate pieces or entire manuscripts to her. Several
publications to honor important Ferrarese figures began to appear in the 1580s, shortly after the
foundation of the Concerto delle Donne. Manuscripts were dedicated to Laura Peverara, Duke
Alfonso, and Margherita Gonzaga. Other members of the ensemble were honored with
dedications of individual poems or pieces. The most notable composers of this practice were

33
Emerson, Five Centuries, 6.
34
Baldassare Castiglione, The Third Book of the Courtier, 180.
35
Newcomb, The Madrigal at Ferrara, 15.
36
Angelo Solerti, Vita di Torquato Tasso (Torino: E. Loescher, 1895), 364.
13

Luca Marenzio, Giaches de Wert, Carlo Gesualdo, Alessansro Striggo, and Luzzasco
Luzzaschi.
37

Laura seems to have had complicated relationship with poet Torquato Tasso. Tasso
would have met Laura when she was still in Mantua, and reunited with her in Ferrara. This
relationship inspired a huge collection of music and poetry. Anthony Newcomb labels Tasso as
an instrumental entity in the assembly of two manuscripts dedicated to Laura; Il Lauro Secco in
1582 and Il Laura Verde in 1583
38
. His obsession may have begun as a love interest in Mantua.
Several textual themes from those manuscripts reflect a relationship of unrequited love.
The other two primary members of the ensemble were Anna Guarini and Livia d’Arco.
The surviving information about both of these women is spotty. Each woman seems to have a set
of facts associated with her, but hardly enough to capture a personality or substantial storyline.
The second member of the Concerto delle Donne to arrive in Ferrara was Anna Guarini
(1563-1598). She was the daughter of Italian poet Giovanni Battista Guarini, author of Il Pastor
Fido, and Taddea Bendido, sister of Ferrarese soprano Lucrezia Bendido. She entered the court
as a musician in 1580, at age 17, and her first documented performance was shortly after. In
1598, following accusations of adultery, Anna was murdered by her husband, Count Ercole
Trotto and one of her own brothers.
Livia d’Arco (1565-1611), the third primary soprano to join the Concerto delle Donne,
arrived in Ferrara in 1579 as part of Margherita Gonzaga’s household. Livia was the daughter of
a minor Mantuan noble and may have been chosen to accompany Margherita because of her

37
Ibid.
38
Anthony Newcomb, “The Three Anthologies for Laura Peverara, 1580-1583”, Rivista Italiana di Musicologia, 10
(1975), 329.
14

affinity for music. Once in Ferrara, Livia studied viola da gamba with Luzzascho Luzzaschi and
later, Tarquinia Molza. Due to her young age of 15, it is likely that she underwent extensive
training to reach a level comparable to Peverara and Guarini. Although she arrived in 1579,
before the wedding, she is not documented participating in performances until 1582. The
timeline supports her training for years after arriving. Given that Peverara, Guarini, and Molza
were older than d’Arco when they arrived, they would have been further developed in their
training and better prepared for performance.
The final member of the ensemble, Tarquinia Molza (1542-1617), served as both singer
and instructor in the Concerto delle Donne. The subject of recent scholarship, Tarquinia may
have been a more astonishing and interesting woman of the Renaissance than her acclaimed
ensemble-mate Laura Peverara. Tarquinia was born in 1542, the daughter of Cavaliero and
Isabella Molza, and the niece of Italian poet Francesco Maria Molza. Tarquinia’s education was
very advanced for a woman at that time. Although limited information about her childhood
survives, anecdotes of her education were reported in the writing of philosopher Francesco
Patrizi, who taught Tarquinia Greek.
39
Patrizi published four dialogues concerning Tarquinia,
including nine orations from artists and gentlemen praising her abilities and accomplishments,
and a dialogue comparing her to the nine muses.
40

Duke Alfonso II first heard Tarquinia sing in 1568 at a banquet in Modena. This occurred
eleven years before his marriage to Margherita Gonzaga and the formation of the Concerto delle
Donne. Patrizi recorded the event in his L’amorosa Filosofia of 1577:

39
Patrizi, L’amorosa Filosofia, 1577.
40
Laurie Stras, “Recording Taquinia: Imitation, Parody and Reportage in Ingegneri’s ‘Hor che ‘l ciel e la terra e’l
vento tace’”, Early Music, 27/3 (1999), 360.
15

With this singing [Molza] so amazed Duke Alfonso and the duchess (Barbara of
Austria)… that as proof of this and as reward for her virtues, during the civic feasts that
were being held in Modena, he always allowed her to sit at an equal station to their
highnesses, with much envy, as is obvious, both from all the noble ladies and from all the
gentlemen present. Of this singing that was of various things, the Duke’s most favourite
remained Petrarch’s sonnet ‘Hor che’l ciel e la terra e’l vento tace’, that for the wonder
that the Duke had from it, it was repeated at least four and six times
41

In 1583, Tarquinia became the fourth member and an instructor of the Concerto delle Donne.
She visited Ferrara several times between 1579 and 1583 before accepting Alfonso’s offer of a
secure post. Her abilities and intelligence made her a valuable asset to the concerto. Patrizi noted
her incomparable talent, saying:
There has never been, nor can there ever be in the future, a woman who in all things
could compare with our Signora Tarquinia…she would not have a voice so sweet and
round in singing, nor such a happy disposition for all manner of trills, runs and
diminutions, or such security in all difficult compositions, nor would she sing angelically
to the lute, nor would she play the bass on the viol and sing soprano at the same time, nor
would she understand counterpoint, nor so completely all the art [of music]
42

A Musician from Naples, Fabrizio Dentice, provides further accounts of her talent by comparing
Tarquinia’s abilities to several male musicians.
43
Patrizi continues his praise by noting her
gracefulness and understanding of music, which truly set her apart from other female singers:
But what shall I say of Grace? I am not speaking of the grace that is an aspect of her
beauty…but of the grace that belongs to the voice and to singing... And she does all these
things with such excellence not just for pure technique’s sake, nor because her masters
have shown her all of them, as happens with ladies that sing these days (but little has
come of it); but from a marvelous, extraordinary ear that she has, with which she hears
every tiniest effect and excellence, and from a complete knowledge of counterpoint that
she possesses. Proof of this is the counterpoint I saw made [improvised] by her on ‘Ancor
che col partire’, the famous madrigal by Cipriano.
44

Given her position as both a singer and instructor, Tarquinia is arguably the most historically
interesting member of the Concerto delle Donne. In terms of the typical Renaissance woman,

41
Patrizi, L’amorosa Filosofia, 42.
42
Ibid, 12-13.
43
Stras, “Recording Tarquinia”, 362-3.
44
Patrizi, 40.
16

Tarquinia was an exception. She was educated alongside her brother and became proficient in
Greek, Latin and Hebrew. She married Paolo Porrino in 1560 and it seems to have been a
relationship of mutual interest rather than an arranged marriage, which was more common for
the time. It is particularly interesting that Tarquinia’s success was independent from her husband
or other male figures. She attests to their relationship of both love and friendship in her poem
“Qual cita al campo sola”, to honor his death in 1579.
Tarquinia may have been the first female instructor and conductor of music at a court,
though she did not hold such a distinguished title. Like other members of the ensemble, she was
considered a lady in waiting to Duchess Margherita Gonzaga. She accompanied performances on
the harpsichord, which was not a typical instrument for women to play at court, and would have
been able to instruct Livia d’Arco on viol. As an accomplished singer and poet herself, she could
serve as both a technical instructor for voice and an artistic coach for the ensemble. Whereas two
other members of the ensemble arrived in Ferrara as teenagers, Tarquinia was 41 when she
arrived in Ferrara permanently in 1583. She was already well developed as a singer, performer,
musician and poet. The younger women, barely twenty at the time, would have had a lot to learn
from her and would have benefited from having an older singer who understood the female
voice.
Although limited information about these four women individually survives, sources
describing them as an ensemble can provide more details about their lives. Several contemporary
accounts and modern studies describe their performances, repertoire, and impact on the late
madrigal, and the precedent they set for female musicians. Another important set of sources in
studying this soprano ensemble is the work of their instructors, the composers and poets who
wrote for them, and the surviving manuscripts inspired by the Concerto delle Donne.
17

P A R T 2
Luzzasco Luzzaschi
Luzzascho Luzzaschi served at the Este court in Ferrara from 1564, at age 19, until his
death in 1607. Like several of the women from the Concerto delle Donne, information about his
life is scarce. Aurthur Spiro summarized Luzzaschi’s life in a table containing only four dates:
Table 1. Luzzaschi dates cataloged by Arthur Spiro
45

Born (Ferrara)
1545
Student of Rore
Prior to 1558
Organist to Duke Alfonso II
By 1571
- Highly esteemed organist/composer

- Associated with Concerto delle Donne

Died
c. 1607

Luzzaschi trained in music from a young age with Cipriano de Rore, maestro di cappella at the
Este court from 1546 to 1559. Jessie Anne Owens describes Rore as:
one of the most important and celebrated composers of the sixteenth century, a pivotal
figure whose innovations in musical style and technique would have ramifications for
several decades after his death.
46

Luzzaschi’s work with the Concerto delle Donne served as a continuation of Rore’s innovation
and the preeminent music organization at the Este court. Luzzaschi may have also studied organ
with Jacques Brunel, who served in Ferrara from 1547 to 1559. In 1561, Luzzaschi became an
organist at the court. He assumed the title first organist upon the death of Brunel in 1564. Several

45
Arthur Gerald Spiro, “The Five-Part Madrigals of Luzzascho Luzzaschi”, PhD Diss. Boston University, 1961, 13.
46
Jessie Ann Owens, Composers at Work, 244.
18

accounts testify to the high degree to which Luzzaschi was appreciated and admired by the Este
family. The family demonstrated their appreciation through grand gesture in the early 1580s
when Lucrezia d’Este led a plan to present Luzzaschi with his own furnished home in Ferrara.
47

Luzzaschi published hundreds of madrigals; seven books of five-voice madrigals and a
single book of madrigals for one, two or three soprani. The latter, likely composed for the
Concerto delle Donne, represents only a minute sample of the music composed for the concerto
with which he worked so closely. Luzzaschi served as teacher, coach, accompanist, and
composer for the Concerto delle Donne. In Table 2 vocal pedagogue Richard Brunner places
Luzzaschi on a vocal lineage chart that illustrates the traditions he came from, whom he taught
and who were his close colleagues.
Table 2. Richard Brunner Vocal Lineage Chart #2
48

47
Anthony Newcomb, ed., Complete Unaccompanied Madrigals by Luzzascho Luzzaschi, (Middleton, WI: A-R
Editions Inc., 2003), xi.
48
Richard Dean Brunner, “Vocal Pedagogy: an historical overview”, PhD. Diss. Northwestern University, 1998, 220.
19

This lineage chart is also helpful in understanding and tracing Luzzaschi’s ornamented
style, which is similar to the other composers on the chart. Brunner places “Bendidio” as a
member of the Concerto delle Donne whom Luzzaschi taught. Sisters Lucrezia and Isabella
Bendidio were noblewomen of Ferrara who provided entertainment as part of the non-
professional ensemble of ladies at the Este court prior to 1580. I would not consider them
members of the Concerto delle Donne, though they may have also learned from Luzzaschi.
Brunner uses the term “Concerto delle Dame”, which I believe does refer to the professional
ensemble. Brunner’s label title serves as an example of the interdisciplinary title confusion
discussed in the first part of this paper.
Luzzaschi also served as the primary composer for the Concerto delle Donne. His
Madrigali per cantare’ e sonare’ a uno e’ doi e’ tre’ Soprani, published in 1601, is one of few
surviving sources of repertory for the ensemble. It is the only source which directly mentions the
ensemble and its patrons. There is a large body of virtuosic madrigals from Italian composers
around this time, but they are four to eight voice compositions which included male voices as
well.

Luzzaschi’s Madrigali Print of 1601
The edition that accompanies this paper is of Luzzaschi’s Madrigali per cantare e sonare
a uno, e doi, e tre Soprani. The print was published in 1601 in Rome by Dutch music engraver
Simone Verovio (1575-1608)
49
. Verovio began printing in Rome as early as 1586. He used
copperplate printing that Friedrich Chrysander described as “uniformly beautiful and very

49
Luzzasco Luzzaschi, Madrigali per cantare e sonare per uno, e doi, e tre soprani, (Rome: Verovio, 1601).
”Stampati in Roma appresso Simone Verovio“ appears on the title page of the print.
20

legible.”
50
Copperplate printing began in Italy as an innovation of the single-impression
technique and woodcut engravings. A new necessity emerged, specific to keyed instruments, of
printing music in harmony intended for one instrument.
51
Verovio printed several books of vocal
works with “intavolatura de cembalo”. This technique displayed keyboard arrangements of a
capella madrigals, side by side with their vocal-line counterparts. Chrysander identifies
presentation in chamber music as the primary purpose for this format:
It was the desire to possess vocal works of small dimensions, together with arrangements
of favorite chamber instruments, clavier and lute, so these could at pleasure either
accompany the voices or themselves reproduce the tones of the voices
52

Verovio’s principal work, Toccate d’Intavolatura D’Organo di Claudio Merulo da Correggio,
was published in 1598. The notation style in the print is what Alexanger Silbiger labels
“detabulation”, where a keyboard part detabulates into four independent voices and is distributed
over two staves for easy reading.
53

The notation style of the Luzzaschi print is a combination of the two formats described
above. The keyboard part appears with one, two or three soprano lines above. Whereas
Verovio’s earlier madrigal prints were a capella madrigals with arrangements for keyboard, the
score format of the Luzzaschi print indicates that the accompaniment was intended and written
by the composer himself. As Chrysander said of earlier Veriovio prints, the Luzzaschi print is
graceful and legible. The soprano lines and right hand of the keyboard are on a five-line staff
with a C or G clef, depending on the range. The left hand of the keyboard is on a ten-line staff
with two clefs, bass and tenor. Each soprano voice line has its own text. The underlay and

50
Friedrich Chrysander, “A Sketch of the History of Music-Printing, from the Fifteenth to the Nineteenth Century
(Continued)”, The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular, 18/477 (1877), 525.
51
Ibid.,525.
52
Friedrich Chrysander, “A Sketch of Music Engraving”, 525.
53
Alexander Silbiger, “Is the Italian Keyboard ‘Intavolatura’ a Tablature?”, Recercare, 3 (1991), 81.
21

printing is very clear, however there are no dashes to connect syllables of the words. Since the
poems do not appear independently from the music in this print, the lack of connected syllables
at times diminishes the comprehension of the text for a non-Italian speaker.
The print represents a small sample of the virtuosic music written for Concerto delle
Donne at the court of Duke Alfonso II d’Este. The dedication page begins with a statement of
honor to the newly appointed Duke of Ferrara, Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandino, though the print is
not dedicated to him. Instead, the dedication celebrates the patronage of (the late) Duke Alfonso,
the primary supporter of the Concerto delle Donne. Luzzaschi’s introduction begins “Tra le più
rare’ meraviglie e hebbe nella sua Corte’ la gran memoria del S[ignor] Duca Alfonso mio
[Signore] rara et singular per giuditio di tutti fù la musica di Dame’ principaliβime.”
54
This
dedication to Duke Alfonso was written after his death in 1597.
Although published in 1601, the print is likely retrospective to 1580’s Ferrara, the time
when the Concerto delle Donne was performing. While the music could have been performed by
other ensembles after publication, the Concerto delle Donne was no longer performing in 1601.
When Duke Alfonso died in 1597, he had not produced a male heir to continue the Este claim to
Ferrara. Ferrara fell to the Papacy, and Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandino was appointed Duke. The
dissolution of the Concerto delle Donne actually began before Duke Alfonso’s death; Tarquinia
Molza was banned from the Este court in 1589 for an alleged affair with composer Giaches
d’Wert, Anna Guarini was killed by her husband in 1598, and Laura Peverara died in 1601, the
same year the print was published. The life events of the ensemble members and the dissolution
of the Este court are the primary points of evidence to support the print being retrospective.

54
Luzzaschi, Madrigali, dedication before page 1.
22

The origin of the music’s poetry could serve as an argument against the print being
retrospective. Seven of the poems, attributed to Giovanni Battista Guarini, originate in large
works not published until 1590 and 1598. It is possible, since Guarini was a poet for Duke
Alfonso’s court, that Luzzaschi had access to Guarini’s poetry before other composers or
publishers.
From the accounts from Oratio Urbani, we know that the women performed hundreds of
pieces, of which the Madrigali print includes only twelve. The contents of Madrigali per
cantare’ et sonare’ a uno e’ doi e’ tre’ Soprani appear in Table 3.
Table 3. Contents of Luzzaschi’s Madrigali per cantare e sonare…
55

55
Luzzasco Luzzaschi, Madrigali, 1601. The print does not include a “Tavola” to list its contents. This chart lists the
titles in print order with the corresponding number of soprano voice lines.
Title Number of Voices
1. Aura Soave 1
2. O Primavera 1
3. Ch’io non t’ami cor mio 1
4. Stral Pungente 2
5. Deh vieni hormai cor mio 2
6. Cor mio deh non languire 2
7. Io mi son giovinetta 2
8. O Dolcezze 3
9. Troppo ben puo 3
10. T’amo mia vita 3
11. Non sà che sia dolore 3
12. Occhi del pianto mio cagione 3
23

The music in this print is in a highly ornamented style, popular in Italian courts of the late
sixteenth century. The term “ornamented style” indicates a relationship to diminution practices
where the diminutions are fully written out for the performer, rather than implied or improvised.
The ornamented figures in the print follow the patterns and processes outlined in diminution
treatises of the sixteenth century. The treatises by Silvestro Ganassi (1535), Diego Ortiz (1553),
Girolamo Dalla Casa (1584), and Giovanni Battista Bovicelli (1594) are just a small sample.
56

Dozens of diminution treatises began appearing in the second quarter of the sixteenth
century, particularly in Italy. These were instruction manuals for the performance practice of
ornamenting or embellishing while performing. Though example diminutions were published in
treatises, music publications largely did not include diminutions. In performance, the practice
was mostly implied. The treatises conform to a standard three section format which includes
embellishments over intervals, then over typical cadential figures, and finally over sample pieces
from well-known composers. Several treatises also include an introduction with
recommendations from the author.
Ultimately, the treatises offer instruction on how to create ornamented passages over a
“skeleton” melody. The skeleton melody could either be a passage before ornamentation, or the
simplest version of an already ornamented passage. Example 1 displays an ornamented passage
from Luzzaschi’s O Primavera for one soprano. The ornamented passage appears above its
skeleton cadential figure. In the ornamented version, the movement of the skeleton is
maintained, a common procedure within diminution practice. For example the movement from

56
Silvestro Ganassi – Opera Intitulata Fontegara (1535), Diego Ortiz – Trattado de Glosas (1553), Girolamo Dalla
Casa – Il vero modo di diminuir (1584), Giovanni Battista Bovicelli – Regole, passaggi di musica (1594), Richard
Brunner provides an extensive list of specifically vocal treatises in “Vocal Pedagogy: An Historical Overview”, 234-
236.
24

A-G, from beat one into beat two, is maintained by the A being sung at the beginning and ending
of its corresponding note in the skeleton. Even though there is other ornamentation of the note,
the singer returns to the A before going to a G. This practice is instructed in diminution treatises.

Example 1. Ornamented/Skeleton passage of Luzzaschi’s O Primavera
57

In the standard format of diminution treatises, theorists provided full pieces with
ornamented lines. The twelve pieces in Luzzaschi’s Madrigali are very similar to something you
might find at the end of a treatise. The three solo pieces are particularly helpful in understanding
the style. Example 2 presents passage from Luzzaschi’s Aura Soave for one soprano. The
skeleton melody is at the top of the accompaniment. This pattern continues throughout the print,
though the skeleton lines become slightly less clear when there are three soprano lines.
The pieces for two and three sopranos maintain some degree of skeleton-ornamentation
relationship, but the ornamented lines are less complicated and limited to standard cadential
figures. Example 3 exhibits the most common figure within the music for two and three voices.
One interesting element of Luzzaschi’s print is the fully realized accompaniment. The
keyboard part is an example of “detabulation” and can itself be expanded to a four voice

57
All score samples are directly copied or derived from the edition that accompanies this paper.
25

madrigal. Example 4 clearly displays this concept with four-voice writing atop the keyboard part
from Luzzaschi’s print. This format is identical to that of a capella madrigals with a keyboard
“for rehearsal only” line. The soprano lines are, therefore, embellished passages whose skeleton
melodies appear in the accompaniment.
Example 2 : Aura Soave, Luzzascho Luzzaschi Madrigali…(1601)

Example 3. T’amo mia vita, Luzzascho Luzzaschi Madrigali…(1601)

26

Example 4. Four-voice detabulation from Luzzaschi’s O Primavera m. 1-8

27

The method, purpose and impact of Luzzaschi’s printed accompaniment has been clearly
outlined by F.T. Arnold:
It is true, the Organist, who alone was responsible for the accompaniment was advised to
make an intavolatura for his own use… in the case of the concerti for single voices, he
would simply copy out the voice part over the bass and regulate his harmonies
accordingly.
58

I believe this process is exactly what Luzzaschi has done. Arnold also emphasizes the problems
this could create for other instruments. For example, a part written for a keyboard instrument, as
in Luzzaschi’s print, could hinder accompaniment by a plucked continuo instrument which could
not play all of the printed notes.
59

Anthony Newcomb reached a similar conclusion about the limited credibility of the
accompaniment in the print. He stated that “the value of our main source of information
[Luzzaschi’s 1601 print] can thus be seriously questioned in this particular area [accompaniment
style and instrumentation].
60
Newcomb also observed Luzzaschi’s accompaniment as having a
different character and role in performances than those of his contemporaries:
… the relatively active nature of Luzzaschi’s keyboard parts (active when compared to,
say, the accompaniments in Caccini’s Le nuove musiche). We must conclude that
Luzzaschi saw the accompaniment as playing a larger part in the music whole than did
most composers of monody and the stile recitativo, according to whom it should retire
totally to the background.
61

Other indications of performance practice for this repertoire can be gathered from letters
and accounts of the Concerto delle Donne which I have outlined in the first section of this paper.

58
F.T. Arnold, The Art of Accompaniment from a Thorough-Bass Vol. 1, (Mineola, NY, Dover Publications, Inc.
1965), 34.
59
Ibid. Arnold specifies Cembalo and Chirrarone, which I have replaced with instrument families for concept
clarification.
60
Newcomb, The Madrigal at Ferrara, 66.
61
Ibid.
28

Each of the women played a chordal instrument for accompaniment, so while Luzzaschi included
a keyboard part in the print, I believe that any combination of continuo instruments could serve
as accompaniment.
If a continuo style bass-line were to exist, we can look to composers of monody as an
example. Giulio Caccini (1551-1618), Jacopo Peri (1561-1633), and Emilio de’ Cavalieri (1550-
1602) were contemporaries of Luzzaschi. These three composers sang and composed vocal
music in Florence concurrently with Luzzaschi in Ferrara. Giulio Caccini was a leader in the
development of monody and instructor of ornamented style. He coached his daughters and
second wife in Florence, as a parallel ensemble to the Concerto delle Donne. Caccini was also a
regular guest at Duke Alfonso’s court in Ferrara and was asked by the Duke to coach the
Concerto delle Donne.
62
In 1603, Caccini published Le Nuove Musiche, a manual for vocal
ornamentation and technique. Jacopo Peri and Jacopo Cavalier were also singers and composers
in Florence. Both composed florid vocal music for the Intermedi La Pellegrina, for the Medici
wedding in 1589. Rather than include a realized keyboard part, all three of these composers
included a basso continuo line.
63
Caccini and Peri are well known for their unfigured continuo
lines, rarely providing more than a figured sharp or flat. Arnold observes that “this economy of
figuring often leaves an accompanist in doubt as to the composer’s intention.”
64
Cavalieri’s
continuo lines provide more instruction which made them “singularly mature in comparison” to
Caccini and Peri, according to Arnold.
65
The similarities in style and time period between
Luzzaschi and these three composers make their work a good model for continuo possibilities
which could be derived from Luzzaschi’s print.

62
Newcomb, The Madrigal at Ferrara,58.
63
F.T. Arnold, The Art of Accompaniment Vol. 1, 34.
64
F.T. Arnold, The Art of Accompaniment Vol. 1, 34.
65
Ibid., 35.
29

Another important element of performance practice for this repertory is pitch standard.
This can be approximated to no higher than a=415 or lower than a=373, based on a combination
of details discussed by Bruce Haynes in A History of Performing Pitch. First, Haynes connects
performing pitch in Ferrara to that of Naples:
In the late 16
th
century, when the Ferrarese court was interested in hiring a Neapolitan
bass singer, they wanted to know “what is the lowest note he can sing, which can be
measured by means of a flute. The note or number on the flute that corresponds to the
deepest note of the voice should be written in the letter.”
66
This method of
communicating a note would have been accurate only if the pitch of flutes at Naples was
the same as those in Ferrara. Thus at the end of the 16
th
century in these two cities in the
north and south, instrumental pitch, or at least flute pitch, was assumed to have been
equivalent.
67

The bass singer was Melchiorre Palentrotti who served in the Ferrarese court from late 1589 to
May 1597, approximately when the Concerto delle Donne performed.
68

Haynes makes no further mention of pitch specific to Ferrara, so pitch standard must be
gathered by identifying the performing pitch in Naples. In 1640 Italian humanist and musician
Giovanni Battista Doni published Annotazioni Sopra il Compendio de Generi, e de’ Modi della
Musica, where he documented the pitch relationships between organs. He observed that pitch in
Naples was a half-step lower than in Rome, a whole-step lower than Florence, and a major-third
lower than Venice.
69
Bruce Haynes further analyzes the question by identifying that “if organs at
Rome were at A-2(392), according to Doni they would have been at A-3(373) at Naples.”
70

66
Bruce Haynes quoting Richard Wistreich, “La voce è grata assai, ma…”: Monteverdi on Singing”, Early Music, 22:1
(1994), 9.
67
Bruce Haynes, A History of Performing Pitch: The Story of “A” (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, Inc. 2002), 74.
68
Identified in: Wistreich, “La voce è grata assai, ma…”, 9. Catalogued in: Newcomb, The Madrigal at Ferrara v.1,
178.
69
Giovanni Battista Doni, Annotazioni Sopra il Compendio de Generi, e de’ Modi della Musica (Rome: Andrea Fei,
1640), 181-182.
70
Haynes, A History of Performing Pitch, 71.
30

However, Haynes also offers evidence that pitch of organs around Naples averaged A=415.
71

The gap between Doni’s statement and the organ pitches is why I have approximated pitch to
between A=373 and A=415.
In another section of his book, Bruce Haynes discusses the considerations in transposing
for voices. He highlights that pitch level differences make a striking different for singers.
72
This
is particularly true for sopranos in their upper range. The higher the pitch frequency, the larger
the number of hertz between pitches. For example, the whole step from A4(440hz) to
B4(~494hz) is separated by 54 hertz, but the same interval an octave higher, A5(880hz) to
B5(~988hz), is separated by 108 hertz.
73
This creates a huge difference in both comfort and
placement in a soprano voice.
Zacconi offers a possible remedy in his Prattica di Musica of 1594 instructing that,
“when instruments wish to accompany singers… to oblige them, they play a 2d, 3d, 4
th
lower
[than printed].”
74
It seems the correct answer about pitch standard for the Luzzaschi print is
wherever it is comfortable for the singer. Within the solos for soprano, there is a huge difference
in tessitura between “Aura soave” and “Ch’io non t’ami”. The first ranges from A3 to G5, the
second from D4 to B-flat(5) with an average tessitura that sits between C5 and A5. Both pieces
expose the extreme range of the soprano voice: “Aura Soave” gets very low, in an almost growly
chest register and “Ch’io non t’ami” becomes screamingly high, especially when enunciating
text. Both pieces could be sung more comfortably if transposed as much as a major 3
rd
, up for
“Aura Soave” and down for “Ch’io non t’ami”. This creates a question about whether the keys

71
Ibid.
72
Ibid., 184.
73
Pitched at a=440
74
Zacconi, Prattica di Musica, 1594.
31

Luzzaschi printed were used to stay, as well as possible, within the staff. Frequent use of leger
lines for the extremities of the range would have made the print harder to read. I always err
toward a key that is comfortable vocally, where the text can been enunciated intelligibly, and an
ease of performance can be exhibited.
Another important consideration when approaching this repertory is that the level of
technique required to perform this print is incredibly advanced. The wide ranges, large leaps,
quick embellishments, and nuanced grace of the Madrigali would certainly challenge the most
trained singers, both in the sixteenth century and today. Although little information survives
about the training regimen of the Concerto delle Donne, we can assume from this print that they
were as advanced and engaging as contemporary accounts praise. Further research on the
physicality of technical demands in this music and contemporary accounts of vocal pedagogy
can inform modern singers who wish to recreate the repertoire.
Giovanni Battista Guarini
Of the twelve poems set in the Madrigali print, seven can be found in the poetry of
Giovanni Battista Guarini (1538-1612). Guarini replaced Torquato Tasso as court poet at Ferrara
in 1579, though he was certainly around the court before that.
The text for “O primavera” originates in Act III, Scene I of Il Pastor Fido, the pastoral
epic published in 1590.
75
The first line of “O Dolcezze” can be found in the same place.
76
The
text that follows the line “O Dolcezze Amarissime d’Amore” in Il Pastor Fido, is entirely
different from the text in Luzzaschi’s print. Five other poems appear in Guarini’s 1598

75
Giovanni Battista Guarini, Il Pastor Fido, (Venice: Presso Gio. Battista Bonfadino, 1590).
76
Ibid.
32

publication Rime del Molto: Madrigali del Signor, dedicated to Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandino.
77

The poems in that publication are as follows; “Ch’io non t’ami cor mio” (Amor Costante,
LXXXIV)
78
, “Cor mio deh non languire” (Pietà Dolente, LXXXIII)
79
, “Troppo ben puo questo”
(Fuga Restia, CVIII)
80
, “T’amo mia vita” (Parola di Donna Amante, LXX)
81
, “Non sà che sia
dolore” (Partita Dolorosa, XCI)
82
. Musicologist Paolo Fabbri has credited Guarini with also
writing the text for “Io mi son giovinetta”. This is casually mentioned in a few places, but I can’t
find the scholarship to support that.
As for the other four pieces, “Aura Soave”, “Stral Pungente”, “Deh vieni hormai cor mio”, and
“Occhi del pianto mio cagione”, the poet has not yet been identified. Guarini or another local
Ferrarese composer is most likely.
Conclusion
The largest challenge for those who the Concerto delle Donne, their repertory, and
performance practices is that limited information survives. I have compiled the information I
believe is most vital for performers who wish to use the accompanying edition of Luzzaschi’s
Madrigali of 1601. My thoughts and analyses about the print and performance choices are
intended from a singer’s perspective and with the singer in mind.
In 1965, Italian musicologist Adriano Cavicchi published an edition of the print under
L’Organo-Brescia-Bärenreiter-Kassel.
83
The introduction and notes of his edition are published

77
Giovanni Battista Guarini, Rime del Molto, (Venice: Presso G.B. Ciotti, 1598). Dedication on title page.
78
Ibid., 99v.
79
Ibid., 99f.
80
Ibid., 112f.
81
Ibid., 92v.
82
Ibid., 103f.
83
Adriano Cavicchi, ed., Madrigali per cantare e sonare a uno, e doi, e tre soprani by Luzzasco Luzzaschi,
Monumenti di musicali Italiani , ser. 2 Polifonia, vol. 2 (L’Organo, Brescia, Bärenreiter, Kassel, 1965).
33

only in Italian. My edition is different in a few aspects. First, the edition I have prepared includes
Italian to English translations of the poetry atop each piece. I hope singers will find them a
balance between literal and poetic translations, and explore the impact of individual words and
complex emotions in each piece.
Another difference between my edition and Cavicchi’s is preparation of the
accompaniment part. Cavicchi preserved the accompaniment exactly as first printed, mostly
maintaining two “voices” in each hand. When possible, I moved the third voice into the right
hand, creating block chords. The third voice becomes higher as the print progresses, becoming
the third soprano line in the trio pieces. Cavicchi made extensive use of leger lines in order to
preserve the notation, which makes the accompaniment hard to read.
Several measures throughout the print have an incorrect number of notes, or value to fit
the measure. Cavicchi and I have presented different remedies for those problems. You will find
those instances and my recommendation in the edition notes. There are also instances where we
have treated the text differently. For clarity of test, I tried to avoid syllable illusion when possible
and have recommended alternate underlay placement for a few passages.
I hope my edition and this research will be helpful to performers who wish to explore this
repertoire. My intention was to make an informed performance edition that provides ample
information for the performer and is easy to read. Since limited material survives about
performance practices, there are still several decisions to be made about how to perform it. I
leave these for you to explore.

34

M A D R I G A L I
Di Luzzasco Luzzaschi per catare e sonare
A uno, e doi, e tre Soprani , Fatti
Per la Musicia del giá Ser
mo
Duca Alfonso
d’Este
PUBLISHED 1601 ROME: VEROVIO

Edition by
Paulina Francisco
Master’s Thesis
University of Southern California
2017

35
T A V O L A

A uno soprano
1. Aura Soave
2. O Primavera
3. Ch’io non t’ami cor mio

A doi soprani
4. Stral Pungente
5. Deh vieni hormai cor mio
6. Cor mio deh non languire
7. I mi son giovinetta

A tre soprani
8. O dolcezze
9. Troppo ben puo questo
10. T’amo mia vita
11. Non sà che sia dolore
12. Occhi del pianto mio cagione

36
From the Editor…

This edition of Luzzasco Luzzaschi’s 1601 manuscript Madrigali per cantare e sonare a
uno, e doi, e tre Soprani was created as a performance edition, so that the repertoire may be
accessible to more singers, ensembles and audiences.
There are a few peculiar characteristics of the print for which I hope to provide clarity.
First, the notes values in this edition appear exactly as in the print. The time signature C-slash
begins all pieces in the manuscript, which I have preserved in the edition. Though the actual
modern equivalent for the note values is 4/2, those sections are duple and should be felt as such.
The triple sections in the manuscript are labeled 3/2. I have also preserved those, though the note
values actually represent 3/1. The 3/2 labeling is an indication of the proportional relationship
between the duple and triple sections. The whole-note or semi-breve is the increment of measure
for the proportion. A half measure of C-Slash is equivalent to one measure of 3/2.
Second, I hope to clarify my musica ficta markings. There are some musica ficta that
appear in parentheses through the edition. Most of these are notes which continue the chord
progression of the measure before and clearly should maintain the accidental marking Luzzaschi
placed at the beginning of the given phrase. Any others label a lack of consistency between the
vocal lines and the accompaniment, where the accidental appears in only one line of the
manuscript but clearly should be in both.
I have labeled true musica ficta (according to me), which is not marked in the print, as
cue sized accidentals above their respective notes. These do not appear in parentheses.
Finally, some measures in the print appear with a number of beats per measure which
does not match the time signature. Luzzaschi does not label these moments and neither have I.
There is some confusion on what the end of a system indicates. In most instances it indicated the
end of a measure and warrants a bar line. There are also peculiar places in each piece where that
does not hold true. Luzzaschi makes use of two-beat and six-beat measures with enough
frequency throughout the print that a pattern cannot be detected when an altered measure occurs
over a system break. I have therefore created dashed bar lines. These indicate the end of a system
where a six beat measure occurs. It is unclear whether these instances are true six-beat measures
or four + two beats.
There are twenty-nine independent issues within the manuscript for which I have created
notes. Each note is marked above the top soprano line for easy identification. They are marked
with an asterisk and a number ( i.e. *1). The numbers correspond with those in the “Edition
Notes”
Many thanks to USC Italian professors Alessio Filippi and Tita Rosenthal for their help
translating the poetry.
Happy Singing! – PF
37
Notes:
1. The first G5 is printed as G5 in the manuscript. I believe that is in error – It clearly fits
the cadential figure present throughout the manuscript.
Printed Proposed Correction

2. There is a discrepancy in the voice line. The rhythm printed does not fit within a measure.
I have corrected it in the manner below :
Printed (Rest represents discrepancy)

Proposed Correction

3. Another point where the rhythm in the voice line does not fit within a measure. Also, I
believe the D5 that immediately follows the high A should be E5 instead. This would stay
consistent with the E that appears in the accompaniment before ascending to F5. I have
corrected it in the manner below :
Printed (Rests represent discrepancy length)

Proposed Correction

4. Rhythm printed is too long to fit within a measure. I have corrected it in the manner
below :
38
Printed (Rest represents discrepancy length)

Proposed Correction

5. Rhythm in top voice was altered to fit bar.
Printed (Rest represents discrepancy length)

Proposed Correction

6. The second note in the lower voice part should be an eighth note. The stem is missing in
the manuscripts.

7. The “tenor” line within the accompaniment originally had a whole note. I believe it
should be dotted to match the octave with the bass line.

8. The first two notes of the top voice should be a dotted quarter and an eighth note. They
are printed in the manuscript as two quarters, which is inconsistent with the imitative
nature of the voice lines. The figure also appears dotted simultaneously in the top voice
of the accompaniment.

9. I believe the top line of the accompaniment should match the top voice line. The second
whole note is missing in the accompaniment in the manuscript.

10. The rhythm in the second voice is incorrect. I believe it should imitate the top voice. See
example :

39
Printed (Final rest represents discrepancy length)

Proposed Correction

11. I believe the accompaniment should have half-notes on the “tenor” voice E of beat three,
and the bass line D on beat four. Both notes appear as whole notes in the manuscript,
which does not fit the bar or with the harmonies.

12. The top voice is missing a minim rest at the beginning of the bar. It is printed in the
accompaniment part in the bottom of the right hand.

13. The accompaniment contained a whole note F# in the “alto”, which I believe should be a
half note.

14. The A4 in the right hand, which now matches the top voice line, is not in the original
manuscript. I have added it to fill out the texture, match the vocal lines, and further
emphasize the subdivision.

15. I have moved the text underlay in the top voice to match that of the second voice, which
is as printed in the manuscript. The top line has the –“do” of “’l’ardore” printed on the G
(second note of the figure). The underlay in the bottom line is a better option.
40
16. The relationship of the text underlay to the number of notes is unclear in the second
voice. The quarter note on the word “te” appears in the manuscript as two eighth notes on
the same pitch. The figure is imitated by the top voice, which I believe has the correct
underlay and rhythm.

17. The rhythm of the cadential figure in the second voice has been changes to match those
of the other voices. The manuscript has four sixteenth notes followed by four thirty-
second notes, which does not fit in the bar, or match the pattern of the other voices.

18. I have recommended a different text underlay in the top voice. The text beneath that staff
is as printed in the manuscript. My recommendation for placement of the second syllable
of “soave” is in parentheses above. It matches vowels with the other two parts and should
be more vocally comfortable.

19. The third voice line contains a whole note D on the second half of the measure which
does not match the accompaniment part. That is out of character for the accompaniment,
which is usually a simplified version of the voice lines, but never more complicated. I
have changed the third voice to match the “tenor” voice in the accompaniment leading up
to that cadence.

20. The second voice line is missing a semi minim rest in the manuscript, before the word
“che”.

21. The third voice line is missing a minim rest in the manuscript, at the end of the measure.

22. The D in the bass line does not appear in the manuscript. I believe that is in error – as it
further emphasizes the harmony and fills out the texture.

23. The rhythm in the top line should match all the other parts. The top line is missing a flag
on the “ne” of “farmene”.

24. There is a discrepancy between the top voice line and the accompaniment. The
accompaniment originally had a CM chord on beat two. I have changed the G, in the
accompaniment, to an A to match the top voice line. The figure “T’amo mia vita” occurs
many times between the top two voices, and never does that note remain static. I believe
it should match the bottom two lines in measure 6, though the chord progression is
different.

41
25. The rhythm in the second line on “la mia” looks like 8
th
or 16
th
notes in the manuscript.
I’m certain it should match the rhythm of the bottom line, so all voices have the same
rhythm.

26. The second voice line is missing a minim rest in the manuscript. The rhythm should
match the other two voice lines.

27. I have recommended a different text underlay in all voice lines. My recommendation is to
make the text clearer and easier to sing.

28. The second line should have two half notes on the word “vita”. The manuscript has a
whole note on the first syllable, which does not fit the bar or the imitation of the other
voices.

29. The rhythm in the bottom voice does not fit the bar. I have corrected it in the manner
below.

Printed (Rest represents discrepancy length)

Proposed Correction

42



Au ra - - - so a - ve - di se gre - ti _ac - cen - ti - Che pen e - tran - do -
per l'orr ec chie _a - co re - sve glia - sti - la do ve' - dor mi - va _a - mor - re' - Sve
5
glia sti - la do ve - dor mi - ve _a - mo - re' - Per te' re
9


Luzzasco Luzzaschi
(1545-1607)
Aura Soave
Edition: P. Francisco
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43
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spi ro _e - vi vo - - - - Da che nel pe tto - mi o - spi ra - sti - tu spi ra - sti -
1 3
tu d'A mor - vi tal - de si - o - - - - - - - - Vi -
1 6
ssi - di vi ta - pri vo - Men tre _a - mo - ro - sa - cu ra - in me' fu spen -
1 9
ta Hor vien che l'al ma - sen ta - vir tu - di quel tuo spi ri - to - gen ti - - - - -
2 3
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44

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- - - - - le Fe li - ce' - vi ta - Fe li - ce' - vi ta _ol - tre -
2 6
l'u sa - to - sti - - - - - - - - -
3 1
le - Fe li - ce' - vi ta - Fe li - ce' - vi ta _ol - tre - l'u sa - - -
3 4
- - - - - to sti le - - - -
4 0
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
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45



O Pri ma - ve - ra - O Pri ma - ve - ra - gio ven - tu - de l'an -
no - Bel la - ma dre - di fio ri - D'her be - no vel - le' - et di no vel - li _A - mo - - - - - -
5
ri Bel la - ma dre - di fio ri - D'her be - no vel - le - et di no vel - li _a - mo - -
8


Luzzasco Luzzaschi
(1545-1607)
O Primavera
Edition: P.Francisco


 




*1

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46




ri - - - - - - - - Tu ben las so - ri tor - - ni Ma
1 1
sen zai - ca ri - gior ni - De le spe - ran ze - mi - - - - e
1 5
Tu ben sei quel la - Ch'e ri - pur dian zi - si vez zo - sa _e - bel la - tu ben sei
1 8
quel la - Ch'e ri - pur dian zi - si vez zo - sa - et bel - - la Ma non son io gia
2 2

*2


 

* 3

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47



quel ch'un tem po - fu i Si ca ro - gl'oc chi _al - tru - i - Si ca ro _a - gl'oc chi - al tru - - -
2 7
- - - i Ma non son io gia quel ch'un tem po - fu i Si ca ro _a -
3 0
gl'oc chi _al tru - i - Si ca ro _a - gl'oc chi _al - tru - - - - - - i
3 4

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

48



Chio non t'a mi - cor mi o - Chio non sia la tua vi ta - e tu la mi a - Che' per no vo - de-
si o - e' per no va - spe ran - za _i - t'ab ban - do - ni - Pri ma - che que sta - si a - mor te - non
6
mi per do - - - - - - - - - - ni Pri -
11

 
Luzzasco Luzzaschi
(1545-1607)
Chio non t'ami
Edition: P. Francisco

 



    
§

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49




ma - che' que sto - si a - - - mor te - non mi per do -
13
ni Che' se' tu se' quel co re' - on de' - la vi ta - m'e
17
si dol ce - dol ce _e - gra di - - - - - - ta D'o gni - mio
21
ben ca gion - d'o gni - de si - re' - Co me - pos so - la sciar - ti _e - non mo ri - re' -
24


§
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50




Do' gni - mio ben ca gion - d'o gni - de si - re' - Co me - pos so - la sciar - ti - e
30
non mo ri - - re' - - - - - - - Co mepos -
35
so la sciar - ti - - e non mo ri - - - - - - -
38
re - - - - - - - - - -
40


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* 4
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51






Stral pun gen te - d'A mo - re' - Di cui se gno _e'l - mio co re -
Stral pun gen - te - d'A mo - re - Di cui se gno _el - mio co -
Di cui se gno - e'l mio co re - - Deh fa ch'in me t'a ven -
7
re' Di cui se gno - e'l
mio
co - re' Deh fa ch'in

  
Luzzasco Luzzaschi
(1545-1607)
Stral Pungente'
Edition: P. Francisco

  
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52









- - ti Per trar mi _all' ul ti - me _ho - re' - Per trar mi _all' - ul ti - me' _ho - re' - O
1 1
me t'a ven - ti - - - - Per trar mi _all' - ul ti - me _ho - re' -
quel bel pet to - ten ti - O quel bel pet to - ten ti - Si du -
1 4
O quel bel pet to - ten ti - Si du ro _a - miei la men ti - Si du -
ro _a - miei la men ti - Deh fa ch'in me t'a ven - -
2 0
ro _a - miei la men ti - Deh fa ch'in me t'a ven - - - - -


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*5

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
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53









ti - - - Per trar mi _all' - ul ti - me _ho - re' -
2 4
ti - Per trat mi _all' - ul ti - me _ho - re' - Per trar mi _all' - ul ti - me _ho - re' - O quel bel
O quel bel pet to - ten - ti Si du-
2 7
pet to - ten - ti O quel bel pet to - ten ti -
ro _a - miei la men ti - Si du ro _a - miei la men ti - -
3 0
Si du ro _a - miei la men ti - -



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54






Deh Deh vie ni _hor - mai - cor mi o - A
Deh Deh vie ni _hor - mai - cor mi -
l'u sa - to - sog gior - no - - Che già sen vo la _a - l'Oc ci - den - te _il - gior -
4
o A l'u sa - to - - sog gior - no - Che già sen vo la _a - l'Oc ci - den - te _il -

 
**"fieno" becomes "freno"
Luzzasco Luzzaschi
(1545-1607)
Deh vieni hormai cor mio
Edition: P. Francisco

 
*


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*6


b
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55









no - Che già sen vo la _a - l'Oc ci - den - te _il - gior no - e la mia vi ta - stan -
7
gior no - Che già sen vo la _a - l'Oc ci - den - te _il - gio no - e la mia vi ta -
ca Non men che'l gior no - man ca - Vie ni - con
12
stan ca - Non men che'l gior no - man ca - Vie - ni
so li _il - mio cor dolg - io _a - tro - ce - Quel -
18
Quel la - be a - - ta vo -


*7


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
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

*8


*
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56









- la be a - ta - - vo ce - - Con so li _il -
22
ce - Con so li _il -
miocor dogl io _a tro - ce - Quel la - be a - ta - vo - ce
24
miocor dogl io _a tro - ce - Quel la - be a - ta - vo ce - e
e fie no - spir to _al - mio lan guir - tue no te - e fre no _al - sol chà
29
fie no - spir to _al - mio lan guir - tue no te - e fre no _al - sol chà già nel mar le

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
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57









già nel mar le ro - - - - - - - -
35
ro - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - te e fie no - al sol chà già nel mar le ro - -
39
- - te e fie no - al sol chà già nel mar
- - - - - - - - - - - - te
43
le ro - - - - - - - - - - - te

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
58






Cor mio deh non lan gui - re - Che
Cor mio deh non lan gui - re -
fai te co - lan guir - l'a ni - ma - mi a - - - O di'i -
5
Che fai te co - lan guir - l'a ni - ma - mi a - O di'i -









* 9
Edition: P. Francisco
Luzzascho Luzzaschi
(1545-1607)
Cor mio deh non languire'




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59









cal di - sos pir sos pi - ri - a te gli'n vi - a - - La pie-
9
cal di - sos pir - sos pi - ri - a te gli'n vi - a - - La pie ta - -
ta te - e'l de si - re - - - - Mi - ra _in que sti - d'a-
1 3
te e'l de si - re - - - - - - - Mi - ra _in que sti - d'a-
mor lan gui - di - lu mi - - Co me _il - duol mi con su - mi -
1 6
mor lan gui - gi - lu mi - - Co me _il - duol mi con su - mi - S'io

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60









S'io ti po - tes si - dar mo rend' - ai ta - -
2 0
ti po tes - si - dar mo rend' - ai - ta Mor
Mor rei - Mor rei - per dar ti vi - - - - - ta
2 3
rei Mor rei - per dar ti vi ta - - - -
Ma vi vi - oi me ch'in giu - sta - men - te - mo re - Chi vi vo - tien Chi vi vo -
2 6
Ma vi vi - oi me ch'in giu - sta - men - te - mo re - Chi vi vo - tien Chi vi vo - tien

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61









tien nell' al tru - i - pet - to il co re - - - Ma vi vi -
3 1
nell' al tru - i - pet - - - to il co re - - - Ma vi-
oi me ch'in giu - sta - men - te - mo re - Chi vi vo - tien Chi vi vo - tien
3 5
vi oi me Ch'in giu - sta - men - te - mo re - Chi vi vo - tien Chi vi vo -
nell' al tru - i - pet to _il - - - - co - re
3 9
tien nell' al tru - i - pet to - - il co re - - -

§
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* 1 0
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62




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
I mi son gio vi - net - ta - e ri - do _e can -
- - - - - to a la sta gion - no vel - -
4









Luzzasco Luzzaschi
(1545-1607)
I mi son giovinetta
Edition: P. Francisco

  



  
* 1 1
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63









la - Can ta - va - la mia dol ce - pas to - rel - -
7
Can ta - va - la mia dol ce - pas to - rel - - - - - - -
la Quan do - l'a - li _il cor mi o - Spie go - co me _au - gel - -
1 0
la - Quan do - l'a li _il - cor mi o - Spie go - co -
lin su bi - ta - men - te - Tut to - lie - - -
1 3
me _au gel - lin - su bi - ta - men - te - Tut to -




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 
* 1 2
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64

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
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
- to _e ri den - te - - - - - - Can ta - -
1 4
lie to _e - - ri den - te - - - - -
va - in sua fa vel - la - Son gio vi - net - ta _an - ch'i - o - e ri - do _e can to - a
1 6
Son gio vi - net - ta _an - ch'i - o - e ri do _e - can to - a più be a - -
più be a - ta _e - bel - la Pri ma - ve ra - d'A mo - re - Che
2 0
ta _e - bel la - Pri ma - ve - ra - d'A mo - - re Che ne be-


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*1 3
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65




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

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
ne be glio - chi - suoi fio ri - - sce fio ri - - - - -
2 2
glio chi - suoi fio ri - sce - - fio ri - - - - - -
sce - - - Fug - gi se sag gio - se i - dis se -
2 4
sce - - - et el la - Fug gi - se sag gio - se i - l'ar-
l'ar do - re - Fug - gi Fug gi - ch'in que sti - ra -
2 9
do re - Fug - gi Fug gi - ch'in que sti - ra - -

*1 4

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
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

66









- i Pri ma - ve - ra - per te non sa - rà ma i - Fug -
3 2
i - Pri ma - ve - ra - per te non sa rà - ma i - et el la -
gi - se sag gio - se i - dis se - -
3 6
Fug gi - se sag gio - se i - l'ar -
l'ar do - - re Fug gi - Fug -
3 9
do - re - Fug gi - - Fug gi -




 





*1 5







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67









gi ch'in que sti - ra e - - - Pri ma - ve - ra - per te non sa -
4 1
ch'in que sti - ra i - - - Pri ma - ve - ra - per te non sa rà - ma
- rà ma - - -
4 4
- - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - i
4 5
i

* 1 6



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
 
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
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



68






O dol cez - ze _a - ma - ris - si - me - d'A mo - re - Que st'e - pur
O dol cez - ze _a - ma - ris - si - me - d'A mo - re - Que st'e - pur e _il mio co -
O dol cez - ze _a - ma - ris - si - me - d'A mo - re - Que st'e - pur e _il mio
e _il mio co re - que st'e - pur il mio ben che più lan gui - sco - Che
6
re que st'e - pur il mio ben che più lan gui - sco - Che
co re - que st'e - pur il mio ben che più lan gui - sco - Che

 
Luzzasco Luzzaschi
(1545-1607)
Edition: P. Francisco
O dolcezze

 

 
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

69









fa me co _il - do lor - Se ne gio i - - - - - - - sco, Se ne gio-
1 1
fa me co _il - do lor - Se ne gio i - sco, - - - - Se
fa me co _il - do lor - Se ne gio-
i sco, - Se ne gio i - sco - - - - -
1 4
ne gio i - sco - - - - - -
i sco - - - - Fug gi - -
Fug gi - te _a - - mo - re _a - - - - man - -
1 6
Fug gi - te _a - mo - re _a - man - - - - - - -
te _a - mo - re _a - man - - - - - - - ti









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



* 1 7




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70









- - ti A mo - re - a mi - co - O che
1 8
ti - - A mo - - re a mi - co - - O che
A mo - re - a mi - co - O che
fie ro - ne mi - co - - - - - - - All' hor - che vi lu-
2 1
fie ro - ne mi - co - - - - - All' hor - che vi lu sin - -
fie ro - ne mi - co - - - - - All' hor - che
sin ga - All' hor che ri - de con dis - se _i - vo -
2 5
- - - ga All' hor - che ri de - - con dis - se _i -
vi lu sin - ga - All' hor - che ri de - con -


§




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71









- stri pian ti - Con quel ve len - che dol ce - -
2 9
vo stri - pian ti - Con quel ve len - che dol ce - men - te _an - - -
dis se _i - vo stro - pian ti - Con quel ve len - che dol ce - men - te - an ci - -
men te _an - ci - de - Non cre de - te _ai - sem bian - ti - Non cre de - te _ai - sem bian - -
3 4
ci de - Non cre de - te _ai - sem bian - te - Non cre de - te _ai - sem bian - -
- de Non cre de - te _ai - sem bian - -
ti Che par so a - ve - et e pun gen - te _e - cru - do
3 8
ti Che par so a - ve - et e pun gen - te _e - cru do - - - Et e
ti - Che par so a - ve - et e pun gen - te _e - cru do - - Et e men

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72




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
Et e men di sar - ma - to - all'hor che nu - - do Noncre de -
4 3
men di sar - ma to - all'horche nu do - - - Noncre de te _ai - sem
di sar - ma to - all'horchenu do - all' hor - che nu do - - Noncre de te _ai - sem
te _ai sem bian - ti - Che par so a - ve - - et e pun
4 8
bian - ti Che par so a - ve - et e pun gen - te _e - cru -
bian ti - - Che par so a - ve - et e pun gen - te _e -

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73






gen te _e - cru do - et e men dis ar - ma - to -
5 1
- do et e men di sar - ma - to -
cru do - - et e men di sar - ma - - to all' hor - che
all' hor - che nu do - - - - - - -
5 4
all' hor - che nu do - - - - - - - -
nu do - all' hor - che nu do - - - - - -

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
74






Trop po ben può que - sto ti ra - no _A mo re - Per
Trop po be può que sto - ti ra - no _A mo re - Per far sog get -
Trop po ben può que sto - ti ra - no _A mo re -
far sog get - - to _un co - re Se li ber -
6
to _un co re - Se li ber - tà - non val
Per far sog get - to _un - - co re -


Luzzasco Luzzaschi
(1545-1607)
Edition: P. Francisco
Troppo ben puo questo tiranno Amore


b
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   
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
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
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
 
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
 





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


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


75









tà non val ne val fug gi - re - A chi nonpuò sof fri - re -
1 0
ne val fug gi - re - A chi non può sof fri - re -
Se li ber - tà - non val ne val fug gi - re - A che non può
Com' ard' e pun ge - Com' il suo gio go _e -
1 5
Quan do - pen so - tal' hor - com' ard' e pun ge -
sof fri - re - Com' ard' e pun ge - com' il suo
di spie - ta - to _e - gra ve - I di co _al - co re - sciol to - Non l'a spet - tar -
2 0
Com' il suo gio go _e - di spie - ta - to _e - gra ve - Non l'a spet - tar -
gio go _e - di spie - ta - to _e - gra - ve Non l'a spet - tar -




 


 § 

 

 

 

 
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76









che fa i? - Fug gi - lo - si che non ti giun ga - ma i -
2 5
che fa i? - Fug gi - lo - si che non ti giun ga - ma i -
che fa i? - Fug gi - lo - si che
Ma non so co me _il - lu sin - ghier - mi giun ge - e si dol -
2 9
Ma non so co me _il - lu sin - ghier - mi giun ge - e si dol -
non ti giun ga - ma i - - Ma non so co me _il - lu sin - ghier - mi giun ge - e si dol -
ce
3 4
ce e si va - - - - - - - -
ce e si va - - - -



 
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 

§
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§ §
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 
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  
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77









e si va go - - - - e si so a - - - ve
3 5
go e si so a - ve - Ch'i
- - go e si so a - ve -
Ch'i di co - ah co re - stol to -
3 8
di co - ah co re - stol to - per che fug gi - to - -
Ch'i di co - per che fug gi - -
fug gi - lo - si, fug gi - lo - si che non ti fug ga - ma -
4 3
l'ha i? - fug gi - lo - si che non ti fu ga - ma - - -
- to l'ha i? - fug gi - lo - si che non ti fu ga - ma - -

( a)
* 1 8


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






  
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



* 1 9

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78






i - ah co re - stol to -
4 7
i - per che fug gi - to - - - - l'ha i? -
i - per che fug gi - to - - -
Fug gi - lo - si, Fug gi - lo - si che non ti fug ga - ma - - i
5 0
Fug gi - lo - si che non ti fu ga - ma - - - - - i
l'ha i? - Fug gi - lo - si che non ti fu ga - ma i - - - -









* 2 0

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
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
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
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


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
79






T'a mo - mia
T'a mo - mia vi ta - la mia ca ra - vi ta - Dol ce - men - te - mi di ce -
T'a mo - mia vi ta - la mia ca ra - vi ta - Dol ce - men - te - mi di ce -
vi ta - en que sta - so la - Si so a - ve - pa ro - la -
6
T'a mo mia vi ta - en que sta - so la - si so a - ve - pa ro - -
T'a mo mia vi ta - en que sta so la - si so a - ve - pa-

  
* 2 1
 
T'amo mia vita
Luzzasco Luzzaschi
(1545-1607)
Edition: P. Francisco



  




* 2 2
 
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80




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



Parchetras for - mi lie ta - men - te _il - co re - Per far me ne Si gno -
1 2
la, pa ro - la - Parchetras for - mi lie ta - men te _il co - rePer far me ne Si gno -
ro la - Par chetras for - mi lie ta - men - te _il - co re - Per far me ne Si gno -
re, Per far me - ne - Si gno - - re O vo ce - di dol cez - za - e di di let - to -
1 6
re, Per far me - ne - Si gno - - re O vo ce - di dol cez - za - e
re, - Per far me - ne - Si gno - re - O vo ce - di dol cez - za - e di di
Pren di - la - to sto _A - mo - re - Stam pa - la - nel mio
2 1
di di let - to - Pren di - la - to sto _A - mo - re - Stam pa - la - nel mio
let to - Pren di - la - to sto _A - mo - re - Stam pa - la - nel mio pet to -










* 2 3


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
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§
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81









pet to Spi ri so lo - per lei l'a ni - ma - mi a - T'amomia vi ta
2 4
pet to Spi ri so loperlei l'a ni - ma - mi a - T'amomia vi ta lamia
Spi ri so lo - perlei l'a ni ma mi - a T'a mo - miavi ta lamiavi ta -
la mia vi ta - si a - - T'a mo - mia vi ta -
2 8
vi ta - si - a, la mia vi ta - si a - T'a mo - mia vi ta -
si - - a, la mia vi ta - si a - T'a mo - mi vi - ta
la mia vi ta - si a - - - -
3 3
la mia vi ta - si a, - - - - la mia vi ta - si a - -
la mia vi ta - si a, - - - - la mia vi ta - si a - -

  
* 2 4



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
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*2 5
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
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   
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



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

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
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 

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












 


 




























 
 










 
































 







82






Non sà che sia do lo - re - Che da la vi ta - sua par te'e - non
Chi da la vi ta - sua par te _e - non mo re -
Chi da la vi ta - sua par te _e - non mo -
mo re - Chi da la vi ta - sua par te _e - non mo re -
7
Non sà che sia do lo - re - Chi da la vi ta - sua par te _r - non mo -
re Non sà che sia do lo - re - Chi da la vi ta - sua par te _e - non

 
Luzzasco Luzzaschi
(1545-1607)
Non sa che sia dolore
Edition: P. Francisco

   

    

 
 




  






 


  



 

 



    
 
 





    
 
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 


    
  
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

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    
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
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
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 



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  
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
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  



 

 





  
  




  

 
 












































 
 



 











 
 
  



83









Ca ri - lu mi - leg gia - dri - a ma - to - vol to - Ch'A mor - mi die si
1 4
re Ca ri - lu mi - leg gia - dri - a ma - to - vol to - Ch'A mor - mi die
mo re - Ca ri - lu mi - leg gia - dri - a ma - to - vol to - Ch'A mor - mi die,
tar - do e fier des ti - no - Si to sto _hog gi - m'hà tol to -
1 9
si tar - do e fier des ti - no - Si to sto _hog - gi - m'hà tol -
mi die si tar do - e fier des ti - no - So to sto _hog -
Vi ver - lun gi - da voi Vi ver - lun gi - da voi
2 3
to Vi ver - lun gi - da voi Vi ver - lun gi - da voi tan to - vi -
gi - m'hà tol to - Vi ver - lun gi - da voi Vi ver - lun gi - da voi

 
*26




§ §

 
§
§
 


















 
§ § §




 

 


 







   

 
 
 
  
 

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    
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
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
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
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


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


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
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

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

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


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




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    
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

 
 
 

84






tan to - vi ci - no - Son di mia vi ta _al - ter mi - ne - fa ta - - - -
2 8
ci no - Son di mia vi ta _al - ter mi - ne - fa ta - - - - -
lan to - vi ci - no - Son di mia vi ta _al - ter mi - ne - fa -
- - - le Se vi vo - tor no _a - voi
3 2
- - - - - - le Se vi vo - tor no _a -
ta - - - le Se vi vo - tor no _a - voi tor





















 




   

  
  


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







   

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  
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






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
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  


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
 

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

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

 


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


















 
















 










  
85






tor no - im mor - ta - le - Se
3 5
voi tor no - im mor - ta - le - Se vi vo - tor no _a - voi
no _im - mor - ta - le - Se vi vo - tor no _a -
vi - vo tor no _a - voi tor no _im - mor - ta - - - - le
3 8
tor no _im - mor - ta - le - tor no _im - mor - ta - le -
voi tor no _im - mor - ta - le - - -


§



 









*27
(no im - mor - - ta ...)


(no im-mor- ta - le..)


(no im - mor - - ta...)

 

 

      

 







  


 
   















 

  


 










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
 
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  






 

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
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



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







 

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
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
86






Oc chi - del pian to - mi o - ca gio - ne - e del mio du ro _em - pio mar ti - re -
Oc chi - del pian to - mi o - ca gio - ne - e del mio du ro _em -
Oc chi - del pian to - mi o - ca gio - ne - e del mio du ro _em - pio - mar ti - - - -
La scia - te - mi, - La scia - te - mi - vi pre go _ho - mai mo ri - re - e con mor te - fi-
7
pio - mar ti - re - La scia - te - mi - vi pre go _ho - mai mo ri - re -
re - La scia - te - mi - vi pre go _ho - mai mo ri - re - e con mor te - fi nir - mio











Luzzasco Luzzaschi
(1545-1607)
Occhi del pianto mio cagione
Edition: P. Francisco

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87



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




nir mio sta - to ri o - - - - - -
1 3
e con mor te - fi nir - mio sta to - ri -
sta to - ri o - - - - -
Che'l vo stro - dar mi - ai ta - Tal hor con dol ce _et - a mo - ro - so - guar do -
1 7
- - o Che'l vo stro - dar mi - ai ta - Tal hor - con dol ce _et - a mo - ro - so - guar -
Che'l vo stro - dar mi - ai ta - Tal hor - con dol ce _et - a mo -
Più do glio - sa - mia vi ta, - Ren de - e cre sce - la fiam -
2 2
do Più do glio - sa - mia vi ta, - Ren de - e
ro so - guar do - Più do glio - sa - mio vi ta, - Ren -

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88

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

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- ma on de - sem pr'ar - do on de - sem pr'ar - - -
2 7
cre sce - la fiam ma - on de - sem pr'ar - do -
de e cre sce - la fiam ma - On -
- do Che'l vo stro dar mi ai ta - Tal hor con dol ce _et - a mo - ro - so - guar do -
3 1
Che'l vo stro dar mi ai ta - Tal hor con dol ce _et - a mo - ro - so - guar -
de sem pr'ar do - - Che'l vo stro dar mi ai ta - Tal hor - con dol ce _et a mo -
Più do glio - - sa mia vi ta, - Ren de - e cre sce - la fiam -
3 6
do Più do glio - sa - mi vi ta, - Ren de - e
ro so - guar do - Più do glio - sa - mia vi ta, - Ren - -

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( d o )
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89



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

ma - on de - sem pr'ar - - - - do, on de - sem -
4 0
crescela fiam ma - on desem pr'ar -
de e crescela fiam ma -
pr'ar do - - - - - - - - - - -
4 3
- - - - - - - - do
on de - sem pr'ar - do - - - -

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* 2 9
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90
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Bärenreiter-Kassel, 1965.
Doni, Giovanni Battista. Annotazioni Sopra il Compendio de Generi, e de’ Modi della Musica.
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Forman, Edward V. trans, ed. Late Renaissance Singing: Giovanni Camillo Maffei, Discourse on
the Voice and the Method of Learning to Sing without a Teacher (1562), Lodovico
Zacconi, The Practice of Music Book 1, Chapters LVIII-LXXX (1592), Giovanni Battista
Bovicelli, Rules, Passages of Music (1594), Giovanni Luca Conforto, Brief and Easy
Method…(1603). Minneapolis, MN: Pro Musica Press, 2001.
Guarini, Giovanni Battista. Il Pastor Fido. Venice: Presso G.B. Bonfadino, 1590.
Guarini, Giovanni Battista. Rime del Molto. Venice: Presso G.B. Ciotti, 1598.
Luzzaschi, Luzzasco. Madrigali per cantare e sonare per uno, e doi, e tre soprani. Rome:
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93

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