Music and dance at the time of Amerigo Vespucci, the man who
gave America its name
(In the quincentenary of his
death)
Luigi Vanvitelli –
Sala del Mappamondo –
Fermo
Artists: from 6 to 9
(dancers, contraltista, viellas, recorders,
transversa, bagpipe, bombard, crumhorns, chalumeaux, positive organ, hurdy
gurdy, lute, early guitar drums)
The noble Florentine Amerigo Vespucci could count
on a first-rate cultural background, strengthened by his work in the service of
Lorenzo the Magnificent: Stagio’s son, he was a pupil of his own uncles Giorgio
Antonio (canon in Florence Cathedral), Guido Antonio (friar in San Marco) and
Bartolomeo (professor at Padua University), but also of Paolo del Pozzo
Toscanelli (astronomer and famous cartographer) and of Marsilio Ficino, the
well-known philosopher. From Florence to Seville, where he defended the
interests of Medici family and where he knew Cristobal Colon, later in Portugal,
where he shipped not to look for gold and wealth, but to describe the new
territories and people and, above all, to prove that the new continent was not
Asia. The “Piloto Mayor de Castilla” lived an extraordinary epoch, when
musicians and “dance professors” create masterpieces in an astonishing
crescendo. The humanistic
experience creates a refined and elegant coreutic art, codified in precise
written forms by the great Masters like “..lo spectable
e nobele cavaliero Messer Domenichino Piacentino, magister di buone maniere et
del danzare…” and his most famous pupil “Magister Guglielmi Hebraei
Pisauriensis”, authors of books considered to be real milestones in the history
of dance. The program, far from being exhaustive, proposes a kind of “ideal
travel” and has the aim of evoking atmospheres, sound and images of that time.
The whole of the material comes from original codices and manuscripts and the
performance is the result of a meticulous work of research and reconstruction of
costumes, instruments, music and choreographies.
CURRICULUM: The professional group La Rossignol presents Italian Renaissance music and dances. Their study of direct
sources, added to historical, organologic and iconographic research and
particular attention to the spectacular aspect of their work, has brought group
members since 1987 to intense artistic activities in Italy, Switzerland, France,
Germany, Israel, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Russia, Greece, India, China, Japan,
Romania, Cyprus, Spain, Syria, Lebanon, Morocco, Slovenia, Hungary, Bulgaria,
Malta, Turkey, Pakistan, Austria, Poland, Brazil, Albania, Taiwan, Mexico,
Vatican City, Australia, Kenya, Croatia, Sweden, Colombia, Bolivia, Netherlands,
Denmark, Finland, Scandinavia, Kazakhstan, Venezuela, Hong Kong, U.S.A… with
concerts and shows of great prestige. Their portfolio includes collaboration
with the greatest world broadcasting companies, consultancies and artistic
direction, training and refresher courses, the composition of music for theatre
shows and medieval dancing. La Rossignol can count on a vast repertoire and a solid
international experience, thus providing many forms of
entertainment: concerts, shows, stages and historical
evocations. Their skills matured in over 20 years of professional experience in
the field of ancient music and dance allow them to prepare programs and teams
chosen according to the occasion, the aims, environment and specific needs of
their clients. La Rossignol
recorded more than 20 CDs dedicated ti early music. Further information in www.larossignol.com.
TECHNICAL NEEDS: stage with fixed lights from the top for the musicians,
and from the front for the dancers; one table to lean instruments and music
stands; n. 3 chairs (without armrests) or stools, possibly ancient ones;
dressing rooms near the stage; a light socket (220volt).
sam
