Da Un Codice del Cinquecento

The so-called Codice Lautenbuch is known to us only through Chilesotti’s transcription, since the original source, which belonged to him, has not survived. In all probability the codex dated from the end of the sixteenth century and was compiled in Italian tablature by an unknown German lutenist. The musical quality of the pieces selected seems to be quite high, like other manuscripts of the period. Included are dances (passamezzi, saltarelli, chiarenzane, gagliarde, German and Polish dances), intabulations of vocal models (villanelle or madrigals), sometimes with their texts, two French songs, and a ricercare, also found in two other Italian manuscripts of the same period. The latter is similar in style to certain pieces by Francesco da Milano. The pieces in the codex present, on the whole, fewer technical difficulties than those published in printed editions of the time. They are rather spontaneous in nature, and show remarkable melodic invention. The passamezzi in particular are divided into two parts, as in the printed tablatures of Giacomo Gorzanis, Giulio Abbondante, Simone Molinaro, and other important lutenists of the Italian Renaissance. Chilesotti’s selection accurately reflects his own preferences in literature for the lute, inasmuch as the pieces included in the codex are presented as manifesting the broad influence of the “genius of the people” on the development of popular melody in polyphonic composition.