opis
Containing songs from the repertory of secular monody of the Italian Ars Nova, this recording includes four of the five monodic vocal ballate of the Rossi Codex¹ (tracks 1, 3, 5, 13) anonymous pieces dated in the first half of the fourteenth century, and ballate contained in manuscript Squarcialupi² (tracks 2, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12) attributed to only three composers, Gherardello Da Firenze, Lorenzo Masi (also a Florentine), Niccolò da Perugia. The poetic style of these works manifests a strong influence by the troubadours as evidenced by the frequent use of senhal - the concealment of the name of the lady to whom the ballata is dedicated in one or more words of the incipit. • A unique contemporary instrumental repertory is found in the famous London Codex³ (tracks 3, 6, 11) consisting of a series of Saltarelli and Istampitte, complex monodic compositions, that, while preserving musical forms of dance, expand into a veritable "musical labyrinth” in a celebration of virtuosity and experimentation.