Folger’s New Season Begins “Music for Machiavelli”
By Nancy DeSanti
When you think of Niccolò Machiavelli, most likely the first thing that comes to mind is “The Prince,” his famous book of political philosophy. The name Machiavelli is synonymous with political deceit, cynicism and the ruthless use of power. Less well known is the side of Machiavelli which loved music, and wrote carnival songs for the Medici family. And so, the Folger Shakespeare Library decided to start off its fall 2019/2020 with “Music for Machiavelli: Florence Circa 2500” to highlight this less well-known part of his life.
It’s the first in the “Bella Italia” series of five programs devoted entirely to early Italian music. The concert was performed by the Folger Consort, the early music ensemble-in-residence at the Folger Shakespeare Library specializing in music from the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods. The performance took place September 29, 2019, at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Capitol Hill. The wonderful singers and musicians brought the music to life using their beautiful voices and instruments including the viola, lute and trombone.
Among the audience favorites were Canzona de’ naviganti (Song of the sailors), Fortunata desperate (Hopeless fortune), Canto de’ diavoli (Song of the devils) and In te, Domine, speravi (In you, Lord, I have put my hope). Machiavelli, a true Renaissance man of Florence of the 1500s, was also a playwright who composed the music for his two comedic stage plays. He was, however, most enthusiastic about the role of music in theater. In Machiavelli’s time, being well-educated meant being able to read music and play several instruments. For example, the famous Lorenzo de Medici owned four organs, an organetto, other keyboard instruments, fiddles, lutes and a harp.
Although we do not know what instruments Machiavelli played, if any, it is known that music provided him with a welcome distraction and he turned his poetic talents to composing songs. Machiavelli apparently enjoyed writing canti carnivaleschi. Something of a Florentine speciality, canti carnivaleschi were sung during the city’s annual carnival celebrations and were always full of jokes and double entendres. How many Machiavelli wrote is unclear, but six have survived, and two were performed during the Folger program. For the revival of his comedy La Mandragola in 1526, Machiavelli added a canzona after each act, and two of these were included on the Folger program.
After the Medicis’ return to power in Florence in 1512 and Machiavelli’s resulting banishment from political life, he had more time on his hands and he began to think about music more seriously — and to explore its application beyond mere amusement. He was particularly interested in looking at the role of music in war, given how difficult it was to communicate orders, especially in the midst of battle. In L’Arte della Guerra (completed in 1519), Machiavelli pointed out that music (especially with trumpets) might be an effective means of directing an army (as he acknowledged, this was not an entirely novel idea, but rather something that the Romans and Greeks had known a thousand years before). So one of the songs performed by the Folger was Alla battaaglia, presto (To the battle, quickly!).
If you missed this first “Bella Italia” program, the next one will be a special one in December. Then there will be 8 concerts for the Christmas program, “Gloria! A Baroque Italian Christmas,” on December 13-18. The Folger Consort will perform Vivaldi’s much-beloved Gloria (RV589), written around 1715 and first performed by the all-female choir and orchestra of the Ospedale della Pietà, directed by Vivaldi himself. Other seasonal music from the Italian High Baroque will include Alessandro Scarlatti’s Christmas Cantata (“O di Betlemme altera, povertà venturosa”) and Corelli’s magnificent Christmas Concerto.
For AMHS members, the Folger Shakespeare Library is offering a special discount for these concerts. Instead of the $42 regular ticket price, we can buy tickets for $30 by going to the website www.folger. edu/events/gloria and using the promo code ITALIANA30. ❚