music-making angels in italian renaissance painting symbolism and reality

8/11/2019 Music-Making Angels in Italian Renaissance Painting Symbolism and Reality

1/13

Research Center for Music Iconography The Graduate Center City University of

New York

Music-Making Angels in Italian Renaissance Painting: Symbolism and RealityAuthor(s): Katherine PowersSource: Music in Art, Vol. 29, No. 1/2, Music in Art: Iconography as a Source for MusicHistory Volume I (SpringFall 2004), pp. 52-63Published by: Research Center for Music Iconography, The Graduate Center, City University of NewYorkStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41818751.

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2/13

Katherine

owers,

Music-Making ngels

n talianRenaissance

ainting Symbolism

nd

Reality

1. Giovanni

ellini,

Madonna nd Child nthronedetweenS. Francis

John

he

Baptist

Job

Dominic,

ebastian

Lowz's,

nd

ngels

1478-80).

il on

panel,

71

x

258

cm.

Venice,

ccademia i Belle

Arti,

at.no. 38.

52

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3/13

Music in Art

XXIX/1-2

2004)

Music-Making Angels in Italian Renaissance Painting:

Symbolism and

Reality

Katherine Powers

California tate

University,

ullerton

Giovanni Bellini' San Giobbe

altarpiece Venice,Accademia)

from bout

1488,

depicts

he

VirginMary,

in thehighestpictorialplane,seated on the thronewith the Christ hild nher ap; they re flanked ym-

metrically y

six saints and

in

the

foreground,

t the throne's

foot,

it three

ngels making

music

[fig.

].

Delicate

though

erious,

he cene s attentive o themusic's details: he

ngels

hold their nstruments

ppro-

priately, yes

concentrated,

nd two

angels

ook

up

as

if

projecting

he

inging

oice,

while theotherwatches

the

right

hand for areful

performance.

harming ngel

musicians such as these have adorned

religious

painting

n

taly

from he

recento,

opulating

not

only

henarrative tories f he

Nativity

f

Christ,

ssum-

ption,

nd Coronation fthe

Virgin,

ut also the conic

altarpieces

ftheMadonna Enthroned.

Angel

musi-

cians are the most numerous musical

performers epicted

n late Medieval and Renaissance

art,

nd their

stunninggrace

and believable

performance

ave made them attractive

tudy,

as scholars seek further

understanding

f

performance ractice.

ver read to

promote

music

conography

s a useful

ource,

manuel

Winternitzaw the

depictions

fmusical nstrumentss an

important

nd not

yet ystematically

xploited

reservoir f information .1

Winternitz,

or

nstance,

xamined the

angels

in the 1535 Saronno fresco

by

Gaudenzio Ferrari o

temper hought

n the volution f heviolin.2

urthermore,

ary

Remnant's,

an Har-

wood's,

and Diana Poulton's evidence of Renaissance ute

design

ncluded nstruments

layed by angels.3

Yet,

Winternitz autioned that n artwork's

subject

nd

pictorial

raditionwould influence he artist's e-

piction

f

music,

ometimes o

fantasy,

nd

complained

that ome

angel

ensembleshad been taken at face

value even when the

depiction

was of an

allegorical

nature .4Winternitz

sked,

were the

painters

straining

heir

maginations

o

compete

withthe

mystic

nd

poetic nterpreters

fthe

Scriptures,

illing

he

heavens withfantastic

hapes

and

objects

never seen on earth? 5

Some

years ago

I

began cataloguing mages

of talian Marian

paintings

dated between 1450 and 1530

with

angel

musicians

-

a

process

forwhich thankProfessorH. Colin Slim forhis assistance n its

early

stages.6

collectedboththenarrative

ubjects

nd the conic Marian

paintings

that

s,

paintingsdepicting

plotless

symmetrical atherings

f

holy figures

uch as the Madonna Enthroned f Bellini's San Giobbe

altarpiece

fig.

];

I

studied them

ccording

o

subject,

rtist, ate,

geographicregion,

musical

nstrument,

and

performance ractice.

The

angel

musician

catalogue

provided

a means for

viewing

the

repertoire

f

angel

musicians s awhole,

bringing

method or heir

arying

pproaches

to their

resentation:

rtists sed

the

music-making

n the conic Marian

images differently

rom hat n the narrative cenes. In narrative

subjects,

he

music-making

nhances the

toria;

for

xample,

the

Nativity ypically

ncludes

angels singing

from

paper,

scroll or book with text nd sometimesmusical notationto Gloria in excelsis

Deo,

as a

restatement fLuke 2:14. Palma Vecchio's

Nativity Zogno, Bergamo,

.

Lorenzo),

for

xample,

has two an-

gels holding

music to the Gloria chant.7 he

Assumption

nd Coronationof the

Virgin

ften ave a crowd

of

ngelsplaying

ll manners f

nstruments,

or

xample,

n

Lorenzo Costa's Adoration

Bologna,

Pinacoteca

Nazionale,

fig.

)

with

harp,

recorders,

saltery,

ute,

ymbals,

ambourine, iddle,

nd

trumpets.

he

angels

2004 esearchenterorMusic

conography

UNY

53



4/13

Katherine

owers,

Music-Making ngels

n talianRenaissance

ainting Symbolism

nd

Reality

2. Lorenzo

osta,

Adoration.il on

panel.

Pinacoteca azionaledi

Bologna.

illustrate he

grandiose music-making

elieved to be

continuously akingpart

n

heaven.8

Though

artists

portray

he

music-making

with nstrumentshe

worshiper ecognizes,

he

spectacular

nsemble combina-

tionswere not

part

of

veryday

musical

performance.

he

diversity

f nstrumentsurther

isplays

the

psal-

miss exhortation o

praise

God with all means.9 n

a variation f this

magery,

ome

depictions

of the As-

sumption

nd theCoronation fthe

Virgin ymmetrically

lace

four nstruments

epresenting

ourdistinct

instrument

ategories.

or

example,

Baldassare CarrarsCoronation f he

Virgin

f1512

Forl, inacoteca)

has

angel

musicians

ncircling

he

Virgin

nd

playing,

rom

op

eft, ambourine, ecorder,

arp,

nd

fiddle,

one instrument

n

each corner.10

Such traditions ccurred

lready

of ourse

n

trecentoMarian

works,

s Howard

Mayer

Brown nformed

us.11 ut

by

the atter

uattrocento

a timewhen

study

of

perspective

nd

emphasis

on naturalism

radually

brought

umanforms

n

contemporaneous

ress o

religious ainting

the conicMadonna Enthroned ltar-

piece,

n

contrastwith the narrative torie

depicts

the

music-making

s it was

in

actual

contemporaneous

54



5/13

Music in Art

XXIX/

-2

(2004)

3. Benedetto

oda,

Madonna

f

he

osary

1513).

Oil on

panel.

Rimini,

GalleriaNazionale.

practice,

hat

s,

withrealistic nstruments fthe oft r bas

category12

such as

lute,recorder, iddle, ebec,

and lira da braccio

in

contemporaneous

nstrumentalnsemblesof

olos, duos,

and

trios,

ftenwith

ing-

ing.

Standard motive

n

these conic

paintings,

he

angel

musician mimicks

ontemporary

musical

perfor-

mance,

even while

fulfilling

he

painting's symbolism,

nd did so to

satisfy

he

painting'spurpose.

The

contemporaneousworshiper

whether

leric,

onfraternity

ember,

atron,

merchant,

r

peasant

-

would

recognize

not

only

the

angels'

soft nstruments nd their

erformance,

ven their nsemble

combinations,

having

witnessed nstrumental

erformance

n

confraternity

evotions,

ourtly

hamber

music,

nd

n

piazza.

Moreover,

believe theviewerwould also

recognize

he

ngels'

repertoire

nd function.

imiting

iscussion

to

utes,13

would liketo first xamine he nstrumentsnd

performance echnique

f

ngel

utenists

n

conic

Madonna Enthroned

ltarpieces

ftheVeneto and its

reaches,

nd thenrelate he

ngel

musician o musical

practice

s theviewer

recognized

twithin he devotionalcontext.

My

hope

is to

clarify

he

ngel's

presence

in

terms f

pictorial

meaning

and

purpose.

55



6/13

Katherine

owers,

Music-Making ngels

n talianRenaissance

ainting Symbolism

nd

Reality

4.

Jacopo

alma,

l

vecchio,

ermano

ltarpiececa. 1512-15).

il on

panel,

30

x

150 m.Zermano

Treviso),

anElena.

Reliable evidence ofRenaissance ute

design, ncluding

written

escriptions,

ntarsia,

nd

iconography

in

secular

subjects, ortrays

lute of

varying

izes14

n

either n almond

shape

with lanted

shoulders,

r a

round

shape,15

ith a vaulted ribbed

back,

flat oundboard with a

single

ornaterose tone

hole,

and a wide

neck

bearing

frets nd

extending

o a bent

pegbox;

at the bottom f the ute's

face,

he

strings

re attached

by

a

bridge.

Mid-to-late

uattrocento

utesoften ad

only

five oursesof

trings

ut

by

the

inquecento,

utes

had six courses withelevenpegs.16 he lute nthe ntarsia rom ologna,now intheMetropolitanMuseum

ofArt

n

New

York,

or

xample,depicts

realistic ute with leven

pegs,

nine

strings

lus

two broken

nes,

tied

frets,

flat

bridge,

central

ose,

and

sloping

shoulders.17

Worshipers

viewing

Madonna Enthroned

altarpieces

would see

angel

lutenists

holding

faithful

epresentations

f true musical instruments. or

example,

Benedetto

Coda,

had his

angel

n

theMadonna Enthroned

Rosary

ltarpiece Rimini, inacoteca)

of1513hold a

larger

utewith lanted

houlders,

wide

neck,

nd six courses

fig.

]

GiovanniBellini

portray-

ed music with

exquisite

technical

ccuracy;

his

realistic-looking

utes

n

his San Giobbe

altarpiece

fig.

]

show a remarkable esemblancenoutline nd rose ornamentation o one made

by

MartinKaiser nVenice18

and to a latter

inquecento

urviving

xample

by George

Gerle of nnsbruck.19

56



7/13

Music in Art

XXIX/

-2

(2004)

5. Giovanni attista ima da Conegliano. onegliano

Altarpiece1492-93).

Oil,

345

x

202 cm.

Conegliano,

Cathedral.

Contemporary

iewers would

recognize

the

angels'

performance

n the ute: the

right

and,

perhaps

holding

plectrum,

s

depicted

over the

trings

ither t or below the

rose,

while the eft and is

spread

over

thefrets f theneck.

n

thefifteenth

entury,

real

performer

ould

support

he ute withthe eft

and,

the

right

and wrist round the nstrument's ottom.20

ohannes

inctoris

n

his De inventionet usu musicae f

about 1483

explains

that the

player

holds the nstrument ithhis eft and even while

pressing

he

trings

on the neck to createthe notes.21 orenzo Costa's Concertof circa 1490

London,

National

Gallery),

which

is said to mimicFerrarese ourt

performance,

lso has the utenist

upporting

he nstrument ith he

rightarm.22

ngel

lutenistsmirror his

posture;

for

xample,

the seated

angel

lutenistnCima da

Conegliano'

Dragan

altarpiece

f about 1500

Venice,Accademia)

holds the nstrument bove the

ap

against

the

chest,

wrapping

he

right

rm round the ute's end.23

n

the

arly

ixteenth

entury,

eal utenists

raduallybegan

to rest he nstrument

n

the

ap.

The

Capirola

Lutebook,

opied

in

Venice about

1517,

orrects he arlier

os-

ture,

nstructing

hat he ute be held such thatno

weight

s born

by

the eft and.24

gain, angel

utenists

n

iconicMadonna Enthroned

aintings

ollow

ontemporary

method,

or

xample,

Palma Vecchio's Zermano

altarpiece Zermano,

Treviso,

.

Elena) (ca. 1512/15)

whose

angel

rests

large

nstrument ith ix courses

in

the

ap

[fig.

].

57



8/13

Katherine

owers,

Music-Making ngels

n talianRenaissance

ainting Symbolism

nd

Reality

6. FraBartolommeo,ystic arriage1512/ 3).Florence,alazzo Pitti.

The

change

n

ute

position

followed

change

n

playing

echniques

n

the atter

uattrocento,

rommo-

nophonie performance

with the

right

hand

pluckingnote-by-note

ith a

plectrum

to

polyphonic

per-

formance

striking

he

trings

with he

fingers.25

inctoris escribes he atter: Othersdo what s muchmore

difficult

than

o

play

a

single

ine],

namely

o

play

a

composition

lone,

and most

killfully,

n

not

only

wo

parts,

but even

in

three r four/'26

oth

performance ractices

xisted

imultaneously

or ome

years,

nd

the horizontal

ight

rm

position

of the

plectrum-performance

lso remaineduntil he

early

cinquecento.27

Costa's Concert shows

polyphonic playing

with the

right

rm

position

of

plectrum-performance.ngellutenistsmirror his

hanging

performance ractice:

n

paintings

prior

o about

1470,

ngels always

hold a

plectrum,

ut afterward

hey arely

o. For

example,

he

right ngel

utenist

n

Andrea

Mantegna's

San Zeno

altarpiece

of about 1460

Verona,

S.

Zeno)

plays

with

plectrum while

the eft

ngel

tunes the

nstrument).

BenedettoCoda's 1513 Madonna Enthroned

Rosary

altarpiece ),

however,

has the

angel

lutenist

laying

without

plectrum,

he

right

and

fingers

pread

overthe ix courses at therose

fig.

]

n

fact,

olo lutenists

are not common to

angel

musical

practice

until he 1470s afterwhich

they

become

frequently

epicted.

To be

sure,

even within his realism

allegorical meanings

do continue: n astute

worshiper

eeing

an

angel tuning

he ute

might

eflect

pon

theharmonic

erfection

f

angelic song,

fnot on the difficultiesf

58



9/13

Music in Art

XXIX/

-2

(2004)

keeping

he ute

n

tune.

And,

some

angel

utenists' and

positions

eem naccurate r

nave,

uch as Cima' s

generalized

hand

position

of he

ngel

utenist

n

the

Coneglianoaltarpiece fig.

].

Yet,

worshiper

medita-

ting

n the

mage

retains n

impression

f

real,

recognizable,

nd authentic

erformance.

he artissdesire

to

represent

believable

performance,

ven

sympathetic

nd sincere

n

expression,

ed to

mirroringerfor-

mance

postures

uch as Vittorio

arpaccio'

lutenist

Koper,Cathedral)

who looks at the eft

and,

and Bel-

lini's San Giobbe utenist

fig. ]

who looks at the

right

and,

as

might ny

nstrumentalist

eeding

extra are

to find

proper

finger

osition.

Giorgio

Vasars

appreciation

fFra Bartolommeo's

ltarpiece Florence,

a-

lazzo

Pitti;

ig.

6) implies

that naturalrealism s desired: the two

angels

are described

playing

lute nd a lirada

braccio,

he eftwith he

eg

bent

ack,

esting

he ute

pon

t,

while he

fingers

reon the

trings

o

play

hem s he istens o he

music;

ishead s raised nd mouth

lightly

open,

o that viewerwouldfind thard obelieve e does nothear he oice.Theother

ngel

eans

toward he ira o hearwhethert s

n

tune,

is

eyes

n the

ground, oncentrating

n

following

is

companion.28

Though

have limited

myself

o utes

n

the Madonna Enthroned

ltarpieces,

much the same could be

said for he other nstruments eld

by

the

angels

in

Marian iconic

paintings

lira da

braccio,29 ecorder,

fiddle, ebec,

harp,

nd

portative

rgan among

them.

ndeed,

angels'

instruments ave served

already

as a

source of information n instrument

esign

and

playing

position.30

More

significantly,

owever,

s the

realism nthe ngels' instrumentalnsemble ombinationsnthe conicMadonna Enthroned aintings. he

angels'

authentic

erformance

nsembles establishes heir

urpose

within he function f the conic devo-

tional

painting.

Angels

musicians

n

conic Marian

paintings

re

depicted

n

solos, duos, trios,

nd

larger

nsemblesof

soft

nstruments;

ccurring

most often re solo lutes

with

or without

inger),

ute and bowed

string

duo

(whether

ira da

braccio,rebec,

r

fiddle),

nd lute

duo,

in

thatorder.Hence the

ute,

he most

ubiquitious

instrumentf he

ime,

was also themostoften

epicted

nstrument

n

angels'

hands.

n

the

Renaissance,

he

lute was likenedto the ancient

yre

nd held

in

high

esteem.The humanist aolo

Cortese,

n

his admiration

for

music,

praises

above all

singing

to the ute.31

hought

to be an instrument f

Orpheus,32

he ute was

played by

poet-improvisers

ho

accompanied

recitations t all levels of

ociety,

rom tineranttreet

ingers

entertaining

rowds

n

piazza,

to court

performers,espected

or

roficiency

n the

ute,

uch as Pietrobono

del Chitarino

1417-97)

and Serafino

Aquilano (1466-1500),

o the mateurnoblemen. utes

performed

lone

as solo instruments,s accompanimentto the voice, in duet with another ute or a bowed stringed

instrument,

nd

in

trios nd

larger

nsembles of soft nstruments.

Music

performed

n the ute

n

the Renaissance ncluded

improvised

nd memorizedworks from he

unwritten

radition,33hansons,frottole,34

nstrumental

ieces,35

nd also laude.36 he lauda

developed

in

medieval Florence

by

confraternitiesf laudesi and

disciplinati,

ut

by

the late fifteenth

entury

t had

become

widely ung

n

northern nd central

taly.37

lauda is a

sung

praise

or

prayer

hence tsname

-

and

its exts nclude exaltations o the

VirginMary

nd

penitential

rayers

o Christ. he

repertoire

xhibits va-

riety

f musical

styles

from hort

monophonie

tunes to

strophic

hordal harmonizations o

simple

poly-

phony.Though

number f audewere notated nd transmitted

n

manuscript

nd

printed

ooks,

many

were

sung

from

memory

r

mprovised

rom

ormulae,

nd others ransmitted

nly

with he

yrics

nd the

phrase

cantasicome

( to

be

sung

ike ),

followed

by

thename of familiar

ong.38

he auda

genre

ncludes

pieces

suitablefor ntimate olo or chamber

ettings

s well as for

arge-scalegroup

consumption;

t

played

a vital

part nprivatedevotions and paraliturgicalervices nthecourts,ntheprocessions nd ritualsof the ay

confraternitiesnd

religious

orders,

nd

in

sacred theatricalworks.39 music familiar o both

aymen

nd

clergy,

he auda was

regularly

erformed

y

voices and

stringed

nstruments,

ncluding

he

ute,

n

a

variety

of soft nsembles. Venice's confraternities the scuole

grandi

nd the scuole

piccole

were notable music

patrons,

egularly iring tring

musicians

in

particular

ute,

ira da

braccio,

nd

harp

-

to

play

aude or heir

processions

nd

confraternity

eremonies.40wo books of aude

published

n

Venice

by

Petrucci bout 1508

contain

many

works

n

the

style

of a solo

song

with nstrumental

ccompaniment ppropriate

or ute and

bowed

string

nstrument uo or for olo lute.41 he instruments ould

accompanying singer

r

singers y

performing

he ower voices.

59



10/13

Katherine

owers,

Music-Making ngels

n talianRenaissance

ainting Symbolism

nd

Reality

Despite

its

importance

n

Italian Renaissance

music,

the lute did not

perform

n

liturgical

ervices.

According

o sources ofMass

performance including

hurch

ay

records,

yewitness

ccounts,

heological

declarations,

nd

iconography

Masses with

polyphonic

music were

performedy

voices,

accompaniedby

the

organ42

nd,

on

special

occasions,

by

wind

instruments,

or

xample,

hawms and sackbuts.Documents

for he1475

wedding

Mass

in

Pesaro ofCostanzo Sforza nd Camilla of

Aragon,

for

xample,

as well as the

1493

wedding

Mass of Maximilian and Bianca Maria Sforza

n

Milan,

describe

umptuous performanceswithnumerouswind nstrumentsuch as

piffari,

nd tromber

trombetti,

s well as

singers.43

onathan

lixon

has shown that the Venetian confraternitiesired instrumentalistsf

strings

nd wind instruments or

ceremonies,

n

particular rocessions

on

major

feast

days,44

etonly

wind instrumentsan be documented

serving

t Mass.

Though

our

understanding

f Mass

performance

n

Italy

be

incomplete,45

e do not have

evidence that

uggests

utes were

regularly layed during iturgical

ervices t this ime.

Hence the auda is the

only

sacred

genre

a

worshiper

n

Renaissance

taly

would

recognize

n

perfor-

mance with

lute,

nd thusthe

genre

worshiper

would

equate

with

ngel

utenist

erformance. propose

then hat

ngel

musicians

n

the conicMadonna Enthroned

epresent

auda

performance.

s

performers

f

laude,

he

ngels

would be

fulfilling

heir

ecognized

duties,

o

praise

God and to ead humans nto

praise.46

Pseudo

Dionysius Areopagita)

provided

a Medieval foundation or

hought

n

angels,

followed

by

Jacobus

de

Voragine, mong

others,

escribing

heir ine

orders,

heir

inging raises

of Sanctus 47 ithout

easing,

and the Gloria

n

excelsisDeo . The lauda

repertoire

ontains

ongs

of

praise

with mitations fthese exts.

Moreover,children dressed as

angels sang

laude to the

Virgin Mary

in

contemporaneous processions,

including

one

performance

with an iconic Madonna Enthroned

ainting

when

Mantegna's

Madonnadella

Vittoria

Paris,Louvre)

was

processed

around Mantua

n

1496

n

honorof

Gonzaga military victory

ver

Charles VIII at Forno o the

prior

year.

A

contemporary

escribedthe event as such:

All

the

religious

rders,

ogether

ith he

greaterart

f he

populace, athered

t San Sebastiano

church here he

mage

f he

lorious irgin

hatmesser ndrea

Mantegna

ad

finished,

ecorated

most

olemnly,

as raised nto

large

latform,

nd above twas a

youth

ressed s God the ather

and two

prophets

n each ide

ofhim];

n one ide

of

he

platform]

ere hreeittle

boys

ressed

as]

angels

who

ang

ertain

aude,

48

Lauda-play ng angels

aid the

purpose

ofthe conic Madonna Enthroned

ainting.

o be

sure,

here re

manyreadings

of he conic

altarpiece

within he rt

history

iterature,

oth

pecific

works and the

category

as a whole.

An

early-nineteenth-century

ttempt

o characterize heMadonna Enthroned

ubject rought

he

term acra onversazione,s if heVirginMaryand saints rehavinga holy, vensilent, onversation.49ome

would

emphasize

the Madonna Enthroned

ltarpiece'

role as an altar

decoration,

hus

presuming

that

altarpiece

magery

would be

closely

associated with Mass service .50

n

describing

Cima da

Conegliano's

altarpiece

for he

Conegliano

cathedral

fig.

],

Peter

Humfrey uggested

altarpieces

might

epresent

Mass

performance,

n

particular,

he celestial Mass of the Church

Triumphant, parallel

to Mass service

n

the

earthly

church,

the Church Militant.51

owever,

an

interpretation

hat sees the Madonna Enthroned

altarpiece

s

depicting nly

elestialMass would limit he

painting's ubject

o Mass

service,

nd not ccount

for heviewer's

understanding

f the

ngel's

lute

performance.52

hus

I

would

argue against

n

interpreta-

tion

imiting

heMadonna Enthroned o

depicting

elestialMass.

Rather,

would notethat

ngel

musicians'

lauda

performance

onfirms nothermore recent iew

promotedby

Charles

Hope,

Paul

Hills,

and others.

Theirview holds the conic Madonna

Enthroned,

hough

n

altarpiece,

s

simply

n

image

to assist all de-

votions.BothHills and

Hope support

heir

nterpretation

ith

ontemporary ritings ncluding

rt

heory,

theological tatements, ermons, nd artist-patronontracts, hich do notdistinguish healtarpiecefrom

other evotional

mages.53

regory

he

Great,

homas

Aquinas

and

others,

stablished he

purpose

of acred

images

as

teaching

he

faith,

n

particular

o the lliterate s books for he

unlettered ,

einforcing

he me-

mory in

that

mages

are said to be more

enduring

han

words),

and

exciting

he

spiritual

motions.54 his

spiritual

xcitement s reiterated

y

Bonaventure nd otherswho

emphasize

the affective

ossibilities

f

images.

David

Freedberg

described the

widespread

use of

mages

for

private

nd

public

meditation nd

prayer

n

the Renaissance.55 ixten

Ringbom

codified the term

empathetic

meditation to describe the

worshiper's

motionalreaction

during mage-assisted

meditation.56

ozens ofRenaissance devotionalma-

nuals

promote

ffective,

mage-assisted

evotions nd such meditationwas

widespread,part

f

onfraternity

60



11/13

Music in Art

XXIX/

-2

(2004)

ritual,

nd

private

devotions.

Music-making ngels singing

audefulfill nother ftheir uties

according

o

late medieval sources

ncluding

aint Antoninus:

hey

id the

piety

nd devotion of

mortals,

nd this

hey

do

by serving

s role models and

cueing

theviewer

directly y gesture.57

heir

harmingmusic-making

n-

hances theMadonna Enthroned

ainting's

ffect s a devotional

mage, ntensifyingworshiper's piritual

emotionswhile

in

empathetic

meditation.

Notes

1

Emanuel

internitz,

On

Angel

oncerts

n

he 5th en-

tury:

Critical

pproach

oRealismnd

ymbolism

n

Sacred

Painting,,/

usicalnstrumentsnd heir

ymbolism

nWesternrt

(New

Haven: ale

University

ress,

979),

37.

2

Emanuel

Winternitz,

Early

iolins

n

Paintingsy

Gaudenzioerrarind is

chool ,


Symbolism

nWesternrt

94-109,

irst

ublished

n

The ommon-

wealth

f

Music:

Writings

nMusicn

History

Artand ulturen

Honor

f

urtachs

New

ork: he ree

ress,

965)

nd aterx-

panded

or

Winternitz,

audenzioerrariHis

chool

nd he

arly

Historyf he iolinVarallo:ocietaera Conservazioneelle

Opere

'Arte

n

Valsesia,

967).

3

Mary

emnant,

usicalnstruments

f

heWest

New

ork:

St.Martin's

ress,

978),

0;

an

Harwood,

iana

oulton,

nd

Davidvan

Edwards,

.v.

Lute ,

heNewGrove

ictionaryf

MusicndMusicians2nd d.

London:

acmillan,

001),

ol. 5.

PaulBeier sed he

xample

f

ngel

musicians

n

discovering

early

ute

echnique

n

Right

and osition

n

Renaissanceute

Technique ,

ournal

f

he ute

ocietyf

merica

II

1979),

-12.

The

ngel

utenists

n

Giovanni

ellini's

anGiobbe

ltarpiece

serve s an

example

f

developing

ute

lectrumractice

or

Stefanooffolo

n

is ntichitrumentieneziani

Venezia:

rsena-

le

Editrice,

987),

4-35,

nd

Douglas

lton mithraws

pon

angel

musicians

n

his

history

f he ute

nA

Historyf

he ute

fromntiquity

o he enaissance

[Lexington,

A]:

ute

ociety

f

America,002).4

Emanuel

internitz,

The isual rtsnd he istorian

of

Music ,


ymbolism

nWesternrt

32.

5

E.

Winternitz,

On

Angel

oncerts ,

38.

6

The

atalogue

as reated

y xamining

he

hotographs

at he hoto

tudy

ollectiont he

Getty

esearchnstitute

n

Los

Angeles

nd hoset he ototecaf he unsthistorisches

n-

stitut

n

Florence,

s well s

reproductions

n

art xhibition

catalogues

ndmodern

ublications.

chose o

begin

ith

450,

whereinhe enaissance

tyle

as

ully

mbraced,

nd ndwith

1530,

twhichimemannerist

tyle

eveloped.

7

Illustration

n

hilip

ylands,

almalVecchio:

'opera

om-

pletaMilano:

ondadori,

988),

4.

8

See or

xample

oward

ayer

rown,

Trecento

ngels

and he nstrumentshey lay , odernusicalcholarship.d.

by

dward lleson

London:

riel

ress,

980),

12;

ndRichard

Rastall,

TheMusical

epertory ,

he

conographyf

eaven.d.

by

liffordavidson

Kalamazoo:

edieval

nstitute,

994),

67-

168.

9

SeeEdward.

Lowinsky,Ockeghem's

anon or

hirty-

SixVoices:

n

ssay

n

Musical

conography ,

ssays

nMusicol-

ogy

nHonor

f ragan

lamenacnHis 0th

irthday.

d.

by

Gus-

taveReese ndRobert

.

now

Pittsburgh:niversity

f itts-

burgh

ress,

969),

58.

10

Illustration

n

Bernard

erenson,

talianictures

f

he e-

naissance:enetianchool

New

ork: haidon

ublishers,

957),

pl.

97.

11

H.M.

Brown,

Trecento

ngels ,

sp. p.

19-123.

12

As

opposed

o the

haut,

r

oud,

nstrumentsuch s

shawmnd rombone.dmund .

Bowles,

Haut ndbas: he

Grouping

fMusicalnstruments

n

heMiddle

ges ,

usica

Disciplina

III

1954),

15.

13

For discussionf he ealismf heira abraccio

lay-

ed

by ngels

eeKatherine

owers,

The ira a braccio

n

the

Angel's andsn talian adonnanthronedaintings ,usic

inArt

XVI/

-2

spring-fall

001),

0-30.

14

Descriptions

f he ute nclude ichael

raetorius,

e

organographia,

econd

art

f

yntagmatis

usici

Wolfenbuttel,

1618).

oward

ayer

rown,

ixteenth-Century

nstrumentation:

TheMusic

or

he lorentinentermedii

Rome:

mericannstitute

of

Musicology,

973),

9;

an

Harwood,

Briefistoryf

he ute

(London:

he ute

ociety,

975),

.Mantuanocumentsround

1500

egarding

utes orsabella 'Este

estify

o

variety

f ute

sizes,

escribingarge

Hutto

rande )

nd mall nstruments

( Huttoiccolo );

documentrom523 lsodescribes liutto

mezzano .

illiam

.

Prizer,

Lutenistst he ourt fMantua

in

he ate ifteenthnd

arly

ixteenth

enturies ,

ournal

f

he

Lute

ocietyf

merica

III

1980),

8-19.

15

D.A.

mith,

Historyf

he

ute,

5.

16Sebastian

irdung

nMusica

etutschtBasel, 511), ro-

motedhe ew

leven-string,

ix-courseute ver he

ine-string,

five-course

ute,

aying

someutenists

lay

nnine

trings

hich

have

nly

ive

ourses,

ome

lay

n leven

trings

hich ave

six ourses.ne oes otearns

much,

t eemso

me,

ith ine

strings

Quoted

nd ranslated

n

eter

anner,

Beforeetrucci:

The ute

n

he ifteenth

entury ,

ournal

f

he ute

ocietyf

America

1972),

1.

17

Illustration

n

Winternitz,

Importance

f

Quattrocento

Intarsias ,

l.

7b.

Toffolohows

surviving

artinaiserute eld

n

he

Conservatoire

oyal

e

Musique

nBrussels.tefano

offolo,

n-

tichitrumentieneziani

Venezia:

rsenale

ditrice,

987),

5.

19

D.A.

mith,

Historyf

he ute

61-62,

rovideshoto-

graphf he erleute,ow eldn he unsthistorischesuse-um, ienna.

20

Robert

pencer,

How oHold Lute: istoricalvidence

from

aintings ,

arly

usic

II/

October975),

52-354.

21

Anthony

aines,

Fifteenth-Century

nstrumentsnTinc-

toris's e nventionet UsuMusicae

Galpinociety

ournal

II

(1950),

1.

22

I.

Harwood,

.

Poulton,

ndD.van

dwards,

.v.

Lute ,

TheNewGrove

ictionaryf

Music ndMusicians.ewis ock-

wood,

usicnRenaissanceerrara

Cambridge:

arvard niver-

sity

ress,

984),

06.

61



12/13

Katherine

owers,

Music-Making ngels

n talianRenaissance

ainting Symbolism

nd

Reality

23

Illustration

n

Peter

umfrey,

irnaa

ConeglianoCam-

bridge:ambridgeniversity

ress,

983), l.

99.

24

Chicago,ewberryibrary,

aseMSVM

C.25,

Compo-

sitioneimeser incenzo

apirola,r.,

tto

ombosi,d.,

ompo-

sitioneimeserincenzo

apirola:

ute-book

circa517)

Neuilly-

sur-Seine:ocite

musique

'autrefois,

955);

.

Harwood,

.

Poulton,

ndD. van

dwards,

.v.

/Lute,/,

he ew roveictio-

naryfMusicndMusicians.

25

P.

Danner,

Before

etrucci,r,-7;

William.

Prizer,

The

Frottoland he nwritten

radition ,

tudi usicali

V/

1986),

12;

Kurt

orfmueller,

tudienur auten usiknder rsten

lfte

des 6.

Jahrhunderts

Tutzing:

chneider,

967),

04.

26

P.

Danner,

Before

etrucci ,;

ee lso

Baines,

Tincto-

ris , 4,

ndW.F.

rizer,

The

rottola ,

2.

27

Christopher

age,

The

5th-Century

ute: ew ndNe-

glected

ources ,

arly

usic

X/

January

981),

2-13.

28

Evvi

n anBartolomeoitto nsiemeon ue an-

ciulli he uonanono l iuto Y ltroa

ira;

ll'un e

quali

a

fattoaccorrena

amba

posarvi

u o

trumento,

eman

oste

alle orden tto i

diminuire,

'orecchiontentoll'armoniaa

testa olta

n

lto,

on a bocca

lquantoperta,

'unamaniera

che hi o

guarda

on

u

discredersiinon vere sentirencor

lavoce.l imilea 'altro,he cconcioerato,on no recchio

appoggiato

lla

ira,

ar

he enta'accordamentohe a l uono

con

l

iuto con a vocementrehe acendoenore

gli

on

li

occhi terraa

seguitando,

on enerermovolto'orecchiol

compagno,

he uona canta.

iorgio

asari,

evite ei

i

eccellenti

ittori

scultori

architetti,

d.

by

Licia

Ragghianti

nd

Carlo

agghianti

Milano:

izzoli

ditore,

973),

II,

88. rans-

lationd.from

iorgio

asari,

he ives

f

he ainters

Sculptors

andArchitectsed. and trans,

y

William aunt

New

York:

Dutton,

927),

:195.

29

See K.

Powers,

TheLirada braccio

n

the

Angel's

Hands .

30

To his

nd,

hework f

eier, emnant,arwood,

oul-

ton, mith,offolo,

ndWinternitzscited

n

footnotesand .

31

Nino

irrotta,

Music ndCulturalendencies

n Fif-

teenth-Centurytaly , usic nd ulturen talyromheMiddle

Ages

o he

aroque

Cambridge:

arvard

niversity

ress,

984),

90-93;dem,

usicnd heatre

rom

olizianooMonteverdi

Cam-

bridge:ambridgeniversity

ress,

982),

3.

32

N.

Pirrotta,

usicnd heatre29. he ira abraccio as

also ften

epicted

n

Orpheus's

ands.

33

W.F.

rizer,

The

rottola ,

-12who lsodescribeshe

style

nd

robableerformance

f everal ritten

xamples

f he

unwrittenradition.

34

H. Colin

lim,

Valid nd nvalid

ptions

or

erforming

Frottole ,

a

musique

de ouses

assetemps

e

plus

eau:

ommage

a

Jean-Michel

accaro.d.

by

rancoisesurendHenri anhult

(Paris:

lincksieck,

998),

19. he ditions

y

Ottavianoetrucci

forute nd oice nd or olo ute ncludehe wo ooks f r-

rangementsy

Francescoossinensis

ublishedy

Petrucci

n

1509 nd1511. envenutoisertori,e rottoleer anto liuto

intabulatea ranciscusossinensis

Milano:

icordi,

964).

rinted

music or wo

utes,

ornstancehose

y

Francesco

pinacino,

Joanambrosio

alza,

nd ietroaolo

orrono,

ncludedrran-

gements

nd ntabulationsf ll

genres

fmusic.

35

W.F.

rizer,

The

rottola ,6-19,

iting

anuscripts

Paris,

ibliothque

ationalee

France,

es. md.7 ndVenice

Bibliotecaarciana

t.XI,66

s well s editions

y

Petruccind

Antico.ee lsoTablaturee uthtalienne.acsimileums. e a

Bibliothque

ationaleParis es.Vmd.ms

7

ca. 1505

Genve:

Minkoff,

981).

36

The

epertoire

f he nstrumentalists reconsideredn

Howard

ayer

rown,

The nstrumentalist's

epertory

n

he

Sixteenth

entury ,

e Concertes oix tdes nstrumentsla

Renaissanceed.

by

Jean-Michel

accaro

Paris:

NRS,

995),

3.

37

Frank .

D'

Accone,

Alcuneote ulle

ompagnie

ioren-

tine ei audesi urante

l

Quattrocento ,

ivistatalianaimusico-

logia 1975),6-114;iulio attin,ChurchatronagefMusic

in

Fifteenth-Centurytaly ;

onathan

lixon,

Music t the

Venetiancuole

randi,440-1540 ,

usicnMedievalnd

arly-

Modern

urope.

d.

by

ain enlon

Cambridge:ambridge

ni-

versity

ress,

981),

1-36 nd

193-208;

nd

William

.

Prizer,

Laude i

popolo

laude i orte:ome

houghts

n he

tyle

nd

Functionf he enaissance

auda ,

amusicaFirenzel

tempo

diLorenzol

Magnifico.

d.

by

iero

argiulo

Firenze:

eo . Ol-

schki,

993),

67-194.

38

On he

tyle

f heaudan he ecadesround

500,

ee

Jonathan

lixon,

The

olyphonic

aude f nnocentiusammo-

nis

Journal

fMusicologyVlll/11990),

9-53;

.F.

rizer,

Laude

di

opolo

;

nd

ylvia enney,

In

raise f he

auda ,

spectsf

MedievalndRenaissanceusic:

Birthdayffering

oGustave

Reese.d.

y

Jan

aRue

New

ork:W.W.

orton,

966),

89-499.

39Jonathanlixonhoroughlyocumentshe erformance

of he auda t he enetiancuole

n

Glixon,

Musict he ene-

tian cuole

randi,440-1540 ;dem,

Far na ella

rocession:

Music nd ublic

eremony

t he enetiancuole

randi

Altro

Polo

Essays

n talian usic

f

he

inquecento.

d.

by

Richard

Charteris

Sydney:niversity

f

ydney

ress,

989),

90-220;

and

dem,

Con antit

rgano:

usict he enetiancuole

iccole

during

he

Renaissance ,

usicnRenaissanceitiesnd ourts:

StudiesnHonor

f

ewisockwood.d.

by

Jessie

nn

wens nd

Anthony

.

Cummings

Warren,

I:Harmonieark

ress,

997),

123-140.

40

Jonathan

lixon,

Lutenists

n

Renaissanceenice:ome

Notes romhe

rchives ,

ournal

f

he ute

ocietyf

mericaVI

(1983),

5.

41

Ibid.,

4.

42Acappella erformanceoriturgyround500, ith r

without

rgan,

as

ut

orth

y

rank .

D'

Accone,

TheMusical

Chapels

t he lorentineathedralnd

aptistryuring

he irst

Half f he 6th

entury ,

ournal

f

he merican

usicological

Society

XIV/1

1971),

-50;

nd

dem,

ThePerformancef

SacredMusic

n

Italy uring

osquin's

ime,

.

1475-1525 ,

Josquin

es rez:

roceedingsf

henternational

osquin

estival-

Conference.

d.

by

dward .

Lowinsky

ith onnie

.

lackburn

(London:

xford

niversity

ress,

976),

01-618.ewis ock-

wood,

MusicnRenaissance

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400-1505:he reation

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In

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One

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ith

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P.

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ould e a

musicalituationetter

ecognizable

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P.

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