Smallpox left him blind, but the Muses recompensed him with an extraordinary gift: Francesco Landini was one of the most prominent figures of the Italian trecento. All Florence went wild for the musical talents of the genius organist and composer. Legend has it that even the birds stopped singing when he played his portative organ (‘organetto’). He was also a talented organ maker and tuner, an excellent singer and gifted poet. Landini’s texts are bursting with light and colour; references to the eyes form a conspicuous leitmotif. Landini’s view of the world was not curtailed by darkness: a cosmos rich in realistic details and fantastical ideas unfolded within the Florentine’s mind. Sollazzo Ensemble blows the wind into Maestro Landini’s wings and his marvellous panorama of sound.
Program
F. Landini: Creata fusti, cantasi come questa fanciulla amor, Conviens a fede, Adiou adiou douce dame iolie, Lasso! di donna vana inamorato, Cara mia donna, O fanciulla giulia, Ochi dolenti mie, and others
Performers
Jonatan Alvarado, voice | Roger Helou, organetto | Christoph Sommer, lute | Anna Danilevskaia, vielle
