Background
Francesco Landini was born around 1325 or 1335, in Florence, Italy. The son of Jacopo the Painter, Landini was blinded in childhood by smallpox.
(The critically acclaimed ensemble Mala Punica came into t...)
The critically acclaimed ensemble Mala Punica came into the limelight by the mid-'90s with three illustrious, multi-award winning discs on Arcana. This new release is a collection of songs about love from 14th and 15th-century Italy.
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Francesco Landini was born around 1325 or 1335, in Florence, Italy. The son of Jacopo the Painter, Landini was blinded in childhood by smallpox.
He attained in his youth a reputation for learning in philosophy, astrology, and music, and he was crowned with a laurel wreath as the winner of a poetical contest at Venice in 1364.
Landini’s surviving works include numerous songs, of which his favourite form was the ballata, an Italian song form modeled on the French virelay or on the native Italian lauda spirituale. The melodies (top part predominating) are vocal in character and highly ornamental. As in other songs of the period, they are distinguished by elaborate patterning, syncopations, roulades, and an evident lack of emotional connection between the words and the music. The songs were performed by voices, instruments, or, typically, a mixture of both. Their stylized elegance, gay preciosity, and clear, limpid texture characterize all of Landini’s songs.
In addition to his 140 settings of ballate (91 for two voices, 49 for three), his surviving compositions include 12 madrigals, a virelay, and a caccia.
Francesco Landini died on September 2, 1397, in Florence.
(The critically acclaimed ensemble Mala Punica came into t...)
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Francesco Landini became blind in childhood.