Select One Musical Work from the Period 1100-1500 and Discuss Its Musical Background, Function and Characteristics.
The musical work that I am going to use in this essay is “Non avra ma’ pieta” by Francesco Landini. Classical Archives (2008) have noted that Francesco Landini was the most celebrated musician in the first school of polyphonic music in Italy. They also say that Landini was born in Fiesole on the outskirts of Florence and that he was the son of Jacopo Del Casentino, a painter and student of Giotto. It also states that when Francesco Landini was a child, he suffered from smallpox and as a result of this, left him blind for the rest of his life. He dealt with this by taking refuge in music. One way in how Landini done this was by playing a wide range of instruments. One in particular that he mastered was the organ. Landini was famed for his ability on the organetto, a small portative organ that was pumped with one hand and played with the other.
The birth year of Francesco Landini is not a hundred percent accurate. Comments have been made regarding the birth date of Francesco Landini, ranging from the year 1325 to 1335 (Book Rags, 2010. McComb, 2010). Palisca (1980) reveals that it was the year “1325?” Dates area also unknown of when he composed the majority of his works.
McComb (2010, online) reveals that “Francesco Landini (c.1325-1397) this polyphonic ballata by Landini is just one of the 155 works that he composed during his life.” The NME (2010, online) tells us that the “Italian composer and organist, was an organist at S. Lorenzo in Florence between 1369 and 1396, and in 1379 was paid 9 solidi for writing five motets - an extremely rare record of payment to a composer.”
This piece composed by Francesco Landini was composed in the genre of medieval music. Medieval music was very sacred and secular in these times. Medieval music is European music written during the Middle Ages. The Medieval era begins with the fall of the Roman Empire, it then ends approximately around the early fifteenth century. Establishing the end of the medieval era and the beginning
The birth year of Francesco Landini is not a hundred percent accurate. Comments have been made regarding the birth date of Francesco Landini, ranging from the year 1325 to 1335 (Book Rags, 2010. McComb, 2010). Palisca (1980) reveals that it was the year “1325?” Dates area also unknown of when he composed the majority of his works.
McComb (2010, online) reveals that “Francesco Landini (c.1325-1397) this polyphonic ballata by Landini is just one of the 155 works that he composed during his life.” The NME (2010, online) tells us that the “Italian composer and organist, was an organist at S. Lorenzo in Florence between 1369 and 1396, and in 1379 was paid 9 solidi for writing five motets - an extremely rare record of payment to a composer.”
This piece composed by Francesco Landini was composed in the genre of medieval music. Medieval music was very sacred and secular in these times. Medieval music is European music written during the Middle Ages. The Medieval era begins with the fall of the Roman Empire, it then ends approximately around the early fifteenth century. Establishing the end of the medieval era and the beginning