The music of Florence is foundational in the history of Western European music. Music was an important part of the Italian Renaissance. It was in Florence that the Florentine Camerata convened in the mid-16th century and experimented with setting tales of Greek mythology to music and staging the result—in other words, the first operas, setting the wheels in motion not just for the further development of the operatic form, but for later developments of separate "classical" forms such as the symphony.
History
Pre-1450 Florence had a very important music history during the Italian Trecento and was one of the main centres of the Italian Ars nova.
Civic music
In Florence, the most substantial patron of music until the fall of the Republic was the city itself; therefore, music was primarily used as a symbol of the city's cultural achievements. Civic musicians first appeared in civic record starting in the 13th century. These musicians were all wind players and worked in civic ensembles. In 1383, Florence made clear subdivisions between its civic instrumental ensembles, singling out the pifferi (or piffero band) from the rest of the musicians. By 1390, three basic instrumental ensembles were all in clear formation: the pifferi (3 players), trombetti (trumpets 5-6 players), and the trombadori (8-10 players), including six large trumpets, 1 drummer, and a ciaramella player.
The Pifferi
The Pifferi provided music at important civic occasions, daily at the Palazzo Vecchio (City Hall), and private functions for the aristocratic families, especially the Medici. This group is commonly noted as the most sophisticated of the three groups. Sometimes this ensemble also played for religious services on the Virgil of the feast of the Blessed Virgin, Easter, and at solemn Matins on the Sundays when the image of the Mother of God was exhibited. In 1443, the Pifferi added a fourth member, so that the group included: 2 shawms, 1 bombard, and 1 trombone. As with the vocal performing groups, there was a strong preference for foreign musicians in these ensembles, especially for German trombonists. (German instrumentalists were known for both their strong performance proficiency as also their skills as improvisers.) When it was decided to hire a trombonist to join the pifferi forces, it was agreed to hire a German musician for this trombone position. When he was hired, officials subsequently fired the three native, Florentine shawm players and replaced them all with German speaking musicians. At this time, city officials also passed a motion declaring that only foreigners should hold positions in the pifferi. These positions generally ran in families: father to son, brother to brother. The addition of a 4th musician to the pifferi, and the funds needed for this addition, reflect the continual development of the group's musical repertory, as well as the ensemble's important function within Florentine culture.
Toward the end of the 15th century, string music (especially that played on viols) became widely popular in Italy and all of Europe. But this development is not reflected in Florence's civic financial records; instead, the three civic ensembles were all well maintained and only continued to grow. For example, around 1510 the pifferi expanded to 5 players (3 shawms, 2 trombones). Only 10 years later, it expanded again to 6 musicians (4 shawms, 2 trombones).
Life for civic musicians
Life for the members of these groups was very comfortable. The government provided their musicians with clothing, housing, meals, right to name their successor, and the opportunity to supplement their wages. They were also the highest paid of public servants, and were allowed to dine in the private dining room at the Palazzo. Needless to say, these positions were prestigious and highly desirable. After retiring, they received a pension. The trombetti and pifferi could travel to other nearby cities, always representing Florence. But only on the most special of occasions did the three civic ensembles all play together.
When the wave of humanism originated in Florence focused around Marsilio Ficino and his circles, there was a preference amongst the humanists for music performed for the bas groups: improvised poetry accompanied by soft instruments. However, this growing interest is not reflected in civic records. No bas musicians were being paid by the city for their music. During this time, however, the three main civic groups flourished, especially the pifferi.
Festival music In addition to these important civic occasions, the city of Florence celebrated carnival twice annually. These festivals took place before Lent and during Calendimaggio, which celebrated the return of spring beginning on May 1 and ending on the feast day of John the Baptist, the patron saint of Florence. People from all classes of society gathered in the streets of Florence and participated in processions, parades, singing, dancing, and revelry. The evening festivities were particularly elaborate and involved collaboration between artists, poets, composers, and musicians. Their first task was to envision the concept and text for a carnival song (canti carnascialeschi) and then to present their creation on a float with costumes, singers, and musicians.William F. Prizer, "Reading Carnival: The Creation of a Florentine Carnival Song," Early Music History 23 (2004): 192-193. A large portion of texts depicted a particular guild trade attempting to sell a product, and the mark of a good setting was in the poet's employment of double entendre. For example, the Song of the Chimney Sweepers (or canzona de' spazzacamini) has a number of witty references:
"Neighbours, neighbours, neighbours, who wants their chimneys swept? Your chimneys, signora? who wants them to be swept, swept inside and out, who wants them well cleaned, whoever can’t pay us just give us some bread or wine."Translation taken from Patrick Macey, Bonfire Songs: Savonarola's Musical Legacy, Oxford Monographs on Music. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998), 46.
Because carnival songs were primarily an oral tradition, only 300 texts have survived, and of these, about 70 contain music.Frank A. D’Accone. "Canti carnascialeschi." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/04767 (accessed December 12, 2008). Much of the repertory from the Laurentian period is preserved through the Italian devotional laude. These include the instruction cantasi come (translation: "to be sung to") followed by the title of a particular carnival song.Macey, Bonfire Songs, 33-34. One example of this is Lorenzo de' Medici's lauda, "O maligno e duro core", which is sung to "La canzona de' Valenziani" (Song of the Perfumers). In the later part of Lorenzo's life, more serious and philosophical texts were written, including his most famous poem, "Canzona di Bacco, ovvero Il trionfo di Bacco e Arianna" (Song of Bacchus, or The Triumph of Bacchus and Ariadne).
Devotional music As we have seen, the Italian lauda often shared the same music with the secular carnival song. However, the music grew out of a different and more spiritual tradition—namely the lay confraternities in Florence during the 12th and 13th centuries. These were groups of lay individuals that formed under the Dominican, Franciscan, and mendicant orders who devoted themselves to God, promoted the common good for themselves and the city, and practiced charitable works.Blake Wilson, Music and Merchants: the Laudesi Companies of Republican Florence. (Oxford:Clarendon, 1992). Several different types of Florentine devotional companies formed, but the ones that concern us musically are the laudesi companies. These companies organized their own liturgical services and also met each evening to sing laude in veneration of the Virgin Mary. Because the laude were sung by members of the company, they were originally monophonic and often in the poetic form of the ballata,Macey, Bonfire Songs, 50. but beginning in the 14th and early 15th centuries, singers were paid for their service, instrumentalists were hired, and the number of singers increased. By 1470 and continuing into the 16th century, the companies had established choirs of around five to eleven singers who could perform three- or four-part polyphony.Wilson, Music and Merchants, 141-149.
The laudas form and style varied according to the musical and poetic culture.Wilson, Music and Merchants, 165. Some of the chief poets included Lorenzo de' Medici and his mother Lucrezia Tornabuoni de’ Medici, Feo Belcari, Francesco degli Albizzi, and Ser Michele Chelli. The musical style ranged from organal textures, simple note-against-note polyphony, works in the style of early Dufay, syllabic and homorhythmic declamation, and cantilena textures with supportive lower voices. Simple two-part settings were also prominent and could have been embellished or have included a third improvised part.Wilson, Music and Merchants, 165-169.
Savonarola’s dominance at the end of the Cinquecento led to a prolific period for the lauda. He was a Dominican friar who sought to reform the church, preaching on repentance and foretelling Florence as the New Jerusalem. Adamantly opposed to the activities of carnival, he deputized his followers and the fanciulli (boys and adolescents) to sing laude throughout the streets during the festival season. Because of his outspoken criticisms, he was excommunicated by the pope and executed.
A major source for the lauda is Serafino Razzi’s Libro primo delle laudi spirituali published in 1563. Razzi was a Dominican friar who promoted Savonarola's veneration. His anthology contains 91 musical settings for 1-4 voices and transmits 180 lauda texts. Much of what we know about both the lauda and the carnival song repertory from the 15th century comes out of this important source.
Patronage of music
Several kinds of musical patronage existed in Florence during the 15th and early 16th centuries, with respect to both sacred and secular music: state, corporate, church, and private.Frank D'Accone, Lorenzo il Magnifico and Music” In Lorenzo il Magnifico e il suo mondo. Convegno Internazionale di Studi, Firenze, 9-13 giugno 1992, edited by Gian Carlo Garfagnini, 259-290, Istituto Nazionale di Studi sul Rinascimento. Atti di Convegni, XIX (Florence: Olschki, 1994), 260
State patronage
The Herald was one position supported by the Florentine government. Heralds performed music during the twice-daily meals for the Signoria, held in the Palazzo Vecchio. One type of songs which heralds performed were canzoni morali, or moral songs. Many of the Herald's songs would have likely been improvised because their subjects would have often been transitory, such as current events.Timothy McGee, "Dinner Music for the Florentine Signoria, 1350-1450" Speculum 74 (1999): 98. Perhaps the best example of state patronage in Florence is the patronage of the civic groups, the trombadori, trombetti, and pifferi. Originally, the trombadori and the Herald served as the performers for public ceremonies. After the 1370s, the two other groups were added. Like the Herald, these two groups played a role both in public ceremony and the daily meals of the Signoria. The government also patronized the civic groups to provide the music required to honor visiting dignitaries. The civic musicians thus served a particular and necessary role in the complex system of rituals followed for visitors. In some cases, state and church patronage of music overlapped, such as when the Florentine government had the civic musicians perform for church services, for example when they performed at Orsanmichele on feast days.
Corporate patronage