Florence, Stories and Soundscapes
Medieval and Renaissance Music in the Italian City
Florence has long been one of the most influential cultural centres in Europe, and its importance in the arts cannot be overestimated. Home to the distinguished Medici family and writers such as Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio, as well as masterpieces by Michelangelo and Da Vinci, among others, the cultural reach of this city, particularly during the 13th to 16th centuries, is incomparable.
In this newsletter, we visit Florence in this period and highlight several upcoming concerts which are influenced in some way by the city at this time. From programmes inspired by masterpieces of literature penned in Florence, to concerts exploring music that would have been heard in the city itself during this period, there is much to whet your musical and artistic appetites!
One prominent Florentine writer of the 14th century was Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375) whose most famous work, The Decameron, was written following the plague epidemic of 1348. It tells the story of the ten-day confinement of ten people in a villa outside Florence during the epidemic. To occupy themselves during this time, each one tells the others a story each day. The Decameron is a collection of the one hundred short stories, offering a mosaic of tales of love and human experience.
Medieval ensemble Rune draws inspiration from Boccaccio for their concert Decameron Musicale on 26 October at the Brighton Early Music Festival, taking as a starting point the sharing of stories that characterises Boccaccio’s masterpiece. Seeking to mirror the various aspects of human nature and experience so beautifully portrayed in Boccaccio’s work through music from the same period, the concert promises an enthralling hour of beguiling music.
Ensemble Pampinea also explores this masterpiece of medieval literature in their project Sounds of the Decameron. Whilst Rune take their inspiration mostly from the nature of the storytelling, Ensemble Pampinea bring this world to life through music that would have been heard in Florence in the 14th century. Catch this programme of Florentine Trecento music in London, Devon and Cornwall from 14-17 November.
Musica Antica Rotherhithe transport us to Florence at a later point in history for Il Gran Capitano della Morte, or Death’s Great Captain, reflecting director Oliver Doyle’s fascinating research into music, ethics and lifestyle in 15th-16th century Italy.
The concert presents a soundscape of Florence from the end of the primacy of Lorenzo di Medici to the brutal rise and fall of Girolamo Savonarola, and into the restoration of the Medici in the sixteenth century. Contrasting the amorous nature of secular music with the rejection of almost all music by Savonarola, the programme combines polyphony, plainchant, secular lute songs and carnival music. Join Musica Antica and soprano/lutenist Emma-Lisa Roux on 27 October in Rotherhithe.
There are many more exciting concerts coming up over the next few weeks across the UK - see what’s on near you on Continuo Connect. You can also read our features for insights into a vast array of music and musicians, or listen to one of our playlists.
Whilst this newsletter takes us to Florence in the Medieval and Renaissance eras, you can embark on more musical travels, both geographically and through time, with our October playlist, exploring the highly distinctive world of the French Baroque.
Browse previous newsletters on the Continuo Connect substack page.