MUSIC OF THE MAGNIFICENT
Lorenzo de Medici (1449-1492) is probably the most famous member of that family of Florentine bankers. He has gone down in history as 'the Magnificent', as he was not only a politician but also a brilliant host, poet and thinker, and provided the intellectual conditions in which artists such as Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci spent their apprenticeships. During his reign, from 1469 to 1492, he not only financed Florentine art but also received lessons in music from the cathedral organist Antonio Squarcialupi and dance from the famous dancing master Guglielmo Ebreo da Pesaro. Les haulz et les bas present the magificent music from the Squarcialupi codex, the dances of Guglielmo Ebreo and 'hit' songs as would have been heard in late mediaeval and early renaissance Florence. This programme can also be performed with dancers, in wonderful Italian early renaissance costume.
