"Musical Instruments in a 1592 Inventory of the Marquis Ferdinando d'Alarçon"

Musical Instruments in a 1592 Inventory of the Marquis Ferdinando d'AlaronAuthor(s): Alberto Mammarella and Lisa NavachSource: The Galpin Society Journal, Vol. 59 (May, 2006), pp. 187-205Published by: Galpin SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25163866 .Accessed: 24/05/2013 18:36

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ALBERTO MAMMARELLA

Musical Instruments in a 1592 Inventory of

the Marquis Ferdinando d'Alargon

Francesco Orso da Celano's1 Primo Libro de} Madrigali a cinque voci was printed in Venice in 1567 by Claudio da Correggio and

dedicated to Ferdinando d'Alarcon,2 Marquis of the Valle Siciliana. The d'Alarcons3 were an aristocratic

('nobilissima') Spanish family that probably settled in Italy at the time of don Ferdinando Ruiz d'Alarcon. Lodovico Antinori4 described him as 'one of Charles V's most distinguished generals, who lead the Spanish infantry with great valour and courage during the

Italian war; Francis I and Clement VII's soldiers fell into the Imperial hands and gave themselves up to

him; among other privileges, he received from the

Emperor the seigniory ofthe Valle Siciliana'.5 Don Ferdinando, who was highly esteemed as

general and as a royal advisor to Pedro de Toledo,6

proved to be one of the most valuable elements of the

Imperial army in the Italian war against France. He was commander in chief of the first army in the battle of Pavia (1525) and was in charge of taking Francis I

1 Francesco Orso da Celano was born in Celano (AQ), Abruzzo, in the 1540s and died in Naples after 1578. He was

one of the most progressive composers of 1550s. Unfortunately we have little biographical information about him.

He is discussed in: Henry W. Kaufmann, 'Francesco Orso da Celano, a neapolitan madrigalist of the second half of

the sixteenth century', Studi Musicali IX (1980) 1, pp. 215-265; 77 Primo Libro de Madrigali di don Francesco Orso

da Celano, con due madrigali cromatici nel fine, nuovamente posto in luce da Claudio da Correggio, a cinque voci,

(Venice: Claudio da Correggio, 1567), RISM 134; NV 2069. See also the critical edition of his book of madrigals: Francesco Orso, il Primo Libro di Madrigali (...) con due madrigali cromatici nel fine, edited by Jessie Ann Owens, (New York-London: Garland, 1996); Alberto Mammarella, Francesco Orso da Celano e i suoi Madrigali cromatici, degree

dissertation, (University of Chieti, A.A, 1999-2000). 2 Ferdinando IV d'Alarcon. See the family tree in Appendix I. 3 Information about the d'Alarcon family can be found in: Filonico Alicarnasseo, Vite di alcune persone illustri

del secolo XVI, ms. X. B. 67, in the Biblioteca Nazionale 'Vittorio Emanuele III* of Naples, cc. 232-33; Carlo De Lellis, Discorsi delle famiglie nobili del Regno di Napoli, (Naples: Honofrio Saulo, 1654), pp. 389-393; Juan Suarez De Alarcon, Comentarios de los Hechos del Senor Alarcon, Marquez de la Valle Siciliana, y Renda, (Madrid: Diego Diaz de la

Carrera, 1665), pp. 442-451; Antonio Ludovico Antinori, Corografia storica degli Abruzzi, facsimile edition, L'Aquila, Deputazione Abruzzese di Storia Patria, vol. 42, coll. 41-45, 52, 57, 60; Henry W. Kaufmann, op. cit., pp. 223-226; Luciano Moricca, La casa De Mendoza nei suoi sedici rami principali, (Rome: Centro studi araldico genealogico, 1952); Adelmo Marino, La valle Siciliana sotto i Mendoza, in La Valle Siciliana o del Mavone, edited by Luisa Franchi

dell'Orto, (Teramo: Cassa di Risparmio di Teramo, 1983), (Documenti dell'Abruzzo teramano, I), pp. 55-66. Gabriele

Di Cesare, Attraverso la Valle Siciliana, (Centro Culturale Aprutino, Bellante, Edigrafital, 1992), pp. 49-78. 4 Antonio Ludovico Antinori (L'Aquila, 1704-1778) was the most important eighteenth century historian and epigrapher

of Abruzzo; see Dizionario biografico degli italiani, (Rome: Istituto dell'enciclopedia italiana, 1960) vol.1, pp. 458-460. 5 Antonio Ludovico Antinori, op. cit., vol. 42, col. 57. The Valle Siciliana is situated within the province of Teramo, in

the valley ofthe river Vomano and includes the villages of Tossicia, Castelli, Isola del Gran Sasso, Colledara, Pietracamela

and Pretara. 6 Pedro di Toledo was viceroy of Charles V in the Kingdom of Naples in 1532-53, and was responsible for aspects of

the Spanish rule of Naples.

187


188 The Galpin Society Journal

.-/2J___iiiL_^ _^BSal__________________?^^ A&&xt&lLi_>*?&?g?ai__ ____________W_^_B__M_y_B__B_e_H_S8B6gs^_a ^_^^^___a_???????????????????????????????_???_li^_ ri5>??v^ t MffiffBlllffl^

Figure 1. Wfesterw Wew o/v/*z Chiaia in the eighteenth century: in the middle, the tower of Palazzo d'Alarcon.

to Spain as a prisoner. He had no male heirs, but his only daughter, Isabella Ruiz d'Alarcon, married Pietro Gonzales Hurtado de Mendoza. He established the right of primogeniture for Isabella and Pietro's descendants, so that his name, possessions and rank

would not be lost.7 The sole condition - that every male first-born receiving the inheritance should be named after don Ferdinando d'Alarcon

- creates

great confusion today, because there are so many Ferdinandos. Appendix I shows the family tree of the d'Alarcon family from 1532 up to 1630.8

Among other privileges, in 1532 don Ferdinando I received from Charles V a palace. It was in Naples near Porta Donnorso,9 next to the monastery of S.

Pietro a Maiella, and had once belonged to the pro French Enrico Pandone. Probably around 1563 65, during the restoration and extension of the

palace, don Ferdinando met Francesco Orso who was then prior of the monastery nearby. Kaufmann

has identified the Marquis of the Valle as Pietro Gonzales de Mendoza,10 fourth Marquis ofthe Valle Siciliana. Therefore, Ferdinando IV is the dedicatee

of Francesco Orso's book of madrigals.11 Ferdinando d'Alarcon was the first nobleman to

build a palace on the Neapolitan coast of Chiaia, at that time often exposed to barbarian incursions.12 Palazzo Chiaia, with its watch tower, was the most ancient and impressive palace on the coast. During the mid-eighteenth century, it was described as

having a great art collection and gardens full of flowers and rare plants.13 At that time, the Marquis lost the palace because a member of the Mendoza

family married don Giuseppe Castellar, and their

daughter later married the prince of Torella who

belonged to the Caracciolos. This short outline indicates the political

importance, wealth and fame ofthe Marquises ofthe Valle and their rise as feudal lords ofthe Kingdom of

Naples. Their rise was connected to humanistic ideas and characterized by 'an intimate relationship that had to be established between virtues and nobility, so that the latter would not shape its rights of

supremacy as a simple chain of abuses'.14 However, the

noble class stood foremost in mid-sixteenth century

7 Carlo De Lellis, op. cit., p. 394. 8 For Appendix I, see below, p.204. 9 Antonio Colombo, Tl Palazzo dei Principi di Conca', Napoli nobilissima, 9, (1900), fasc. IX, pp. 129-132, 172-175,

185-190. 10

Henry W. Kaufmann, op. cit., pp. 224-225. 11 Aurelio Della Faya's Secondo Libro de Madrigali a cinque voci, published posthumously by Angelo Gardano in

Venice in 1570, was also dedicated to Ferdinando IV In this case, the dedication was written by two of his 'disciples' - Don Giovan Battista Bolsi e Aurelio Pittore di Lanciano - who supervised this edition on the composer's behalf.

The dedication informs us that 'Father Aurelio la Faia when active as maestro di cappella in Lanciano and intent on becoming famous, found it difficult to present something to Your Illustrious Lordship'. See Emil Vogel, Alfred

Einstein, Francois Lesure, Claudio Sartori, Bibliografia della musica italiana vocale profana pubblicata dal 1500 al

1700, (Pomezia-Geneve: Staderini-Minkoff, 1977), pp. 463-464, n.705. 12 Carlo Celano, Notizie del bello, dell'antico e del curioso della citta di Napoli (...) divise in died giornate, (Naples:

Salvatore Palermo, 1692), giornata IX, p. 267; Fabio Colonna di Stigliano, T palazzi della Riviera', Napoli nobilissima, 8 (1900), fasc. Ill, pp. 33-37, fasc. IX, pp. 129-133; Gino Doria, I palazzi napoletani, edited by Giovanni Aloisio, with an article by Gerard Labrot, Naples, Banco di Napoli, 1986, p. 163; Gerard Labrot, Palazzi napoletani. Storie di Nobili

e Cortigiani, 1520-1750, (Naples: Electa, 1993). 13 Fabio Colonna di Stigliano, op. cit., p. 130; Gerard Labrot, Collections of Paintings in Naples 1600-1780, (Munich

London-New York-Paris: Saur, 1992). 14 Claudio Donati, L'idea di nobilta in Italia. Secoli XIV-XVIII, (Rome-Bari: Laterza, 1988), pp. 52-150; Renata Ago,

Lafeudalita in eta moderna, (Rome-Bari: Laterza, 1998), pp. 115-121, 137-160.


Mammarella? 1592 Inventory 189

Italian life, especially during the years of 'growing stability' (1545-63) that followed the 1530-40s. The

study of the dynastic events of the d'Alarcons and their local policies within a broader political context is an important step in the historical analysis of 'the

society and its representation, the manifold aspects of power, the expression of the political thought in

early modern Italy'.15 In Francesco Orso da Celano's book of madrigals,

the dedication printed on the verso ofthe title-page of each part-book describes the musical education and interests ofthe Marquis ofthe Valle.16 The dedication

points out that the Marquis was able to sing well and to play several instruments, as well as having such

a good knowledge of music history and theory that he deserves the title of 'prince and true professor of music' (prencipe e di vero professore della musica). Significantly, 'his professors' (i professori suoi) refers to musicians active in the d'Alarcon entourage,

probably those 'family musicians' usually enrolled as

performers or as singing and instrumental teachers.

Costanzo Festa, Ghiselin Dankerts, Orlando di Lasso and Giaches de Wert are only some of the most famous 'family musicians' in sixteenth century Naples.17

The presence of excellent musicians in sixteenth

century Naples is confirmed and described in detail

by Scipione Cerreto. In his treatise Della prattica musica vocale et strumentale,18 he lists musicians

active in Naples, divided into composers and

musicians according to the instrument played; there are players of lute, organ, viol, seven-course guitar,

trombone, shawm, and cornett.

After Ferdinando I settled in Naples many musicians were enrolled into the service of the

d'Alarc,on family. Recent research into documents of the Sanseverino family, particularly of both the

prince of Salerno and Bisignano, confirms that the

d'Alarr;ons took on trumpet players (trombetti) after 1539 to supplement their own musicians for special occasions, celebrations and ceremonies.19

The prestige of the d'Alar^ons together with the documents proving the 'regular' presence of

trumpets and the large number of treble instruments, such as cornetts, trumpets and trombones listed

in the inventory raise the possibility that there was a permanent band of shawms in the service of this family and it is possible there was a true alta

cappella.20 This is supported by the presence in the

inventory of a bass-trombone, as used in bands of

shawms.21 It was the habit of honourable gentlemen to recruit at least a few trombetti players.22 A much studied case is that of the Este family in Ferrara.23

Many fifteenth- and sixteenth-century chronicles

report the varied activities of bands of shawms and trombones. They were used for ceremonial music,

and also for court dances at special occasions such as weddings or celebrations welcoming special guests.24

Even without specific documents, as in our case,

15 Angelantonio Spagnoletti, Le dinastie italiane nella prima eta moderna, (Bologna: II mulino, 2003).

16 The dedication is transcribed in Appendix II. 17 Keith A. Larson, Condizione sociale del musicisti del Cinque e Seicento, in Musica e societd a Napoli dalXValXIX

secolo, edited by Lorenzo Bianconi and Renato Bossa, (Florence: Olschki, 1983), pp. 61-77. For an outline ofthe musical

life of aristocratic circles in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Naples, see also: Elena Barassi, 'Costume e pratica musicale in Napoli al tempo di Giambattista Basile', Rivista italiana di musicologia II/l (1967), pp. 74-111.

18 Scipione Cerreto, Della pratica musica vocale et strumentale, (Naples: Giacomo Carlino, 1601), pp. 153-160.

19 Cesare Corsi, Le carte Sanseverino. Nuovi documenti sul mecenatismo musicale a Napoli e nellltalia meridionale nella prima meta del Cinquecento, in Fonti d'archivio per la storia della musica e dello spettacolo a Napoli tra XVI e

XVIII secolo, edited by Paologiovanni Maione, (Naples, Editoriale scientifica, 2001, pp. 1-40: 30. 20 On the alta cappella and the band of shawms, see: Peter Downey, Problems of Form, Instrumentation and Function

in the 15th Century Alta Capella, in Music Fragments and Manuscripts in the Low Countries; Alta Capella; Music

Printing in Antwerp and Europe in the 16th Century: colloquium proceedings Alden Biezen 23.06.1995, 24.06.1995,

Antwerpen 23-25.08.1995, edited by Eugeen Schreurs, Henri Vanhulst, (Leuven-Peer: Alamire, 1997), pp. 147-167; Lorenz Welker, Wind ensemble in the Renaissance, in Companion to Medieval & Renaissance music, edited by Tess

Knighton and David Fallows, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997), pp. 146-153; Timothy J. McGee, 'Misleading

iconography: the case ofthe "Adamiri Wedding Cassone"', Imago Musicae IX-X, (1992-1995) pp. 139-157:147-155. 21 For further details see the inventory, entry [148]. 22 A typical late-mediaeval custom that persisted during the sixteenth century. From the end ofthe thirteenth century

onwards, in Italy, as well as in Europe, every town used to have in its service a certain number of trumpet players, who

worked as heralds and for ceremonies or popular celebrations. 23 Lewis Lockwood, La musica a Ferrara nel Rinascimento, (Bologna: II Mulino, 1987), pp. 26-28, 83-86, 128-129,

178-182. 24 Maurizio Padovan, Dalpoggio alpie del ballo, in Strumenti, Musica e ricerca, Atti del Convegno internazionale,



one can easily imagine that the number and type of instruments changed according to the occasion and circumstances. Shawms and trumpets were definitely employed for ceremonies and open-air performances, while shawms only (with the occasional addition of a

trumpet) were more for private use.

Francesco Orso's dedication does not tell us which instruments Ferdinando d'Alarcon was able to play and which ones he owned, but there are some

suggestions from the Dominican father Serafino Razzi in 1575. During a trip in Abruzzo in 1574-77, Razzi reports his stay in Tossicia25 on 24 July, 1575:

Later we remounted our horses and continued for

three miles, following the rivers of the noble land of

Tossicia, so called because of the many venomous

snakes living in the walls of its citadel. This is the

land of Don Fernando Alrcone [sic], illustrious

Marquis of the Valle Siciliana, son of the great

captain who fought the battle of Pavia and took the

King of France prisoner. As many people say, he is

courteous, Catholic and enjoys spiritual things.26 He lives most of the time in Naples, but sometimes,

especially during the summer, he settles in his

marquisate, where he has a rich library, with many secular books, finely bound. Since he enjoys music,

both vocal and instrumental music, we saw in one of

his rooms almost all sorts of musical instruments. We

also saw the chapel highly decorated, full of sacred

objects, a rich altar and the organ: there were also

royal and papal vestments, that his father received as

a gift by Pope Clement VII, after the sack of Rome,

for having fought here as a good Christian.27

Although a complete list of all the instruments is

missing, the compiler Serafino Razzi talks about a room full of all sorts of musical instruments ('tutte le sorte di instrumenti musicali'). This evokes thoughts of all the instruments in use in the second half of the sixteenth century (lutes, cornetts, recorders

and flutes, viols, trumpets). If the music library and collection in the summer palace of the Marquis of the Valle Siciliana was so rich, one can suppose that in his palace at Naples the library and collection

were even richer. This speculation has finally been

supported by the recent discovery of the Inventory of the objects found in the cabinet left by the late Marquis of the Valle on the last day of September 1592. This

inventory is preserved in the State Archive in Naples (section 'Notai') and consists of twelve numbered

folios, inserted between f. 328v-329r of document 332/12 ofthe notary Damiano De Forte.28

The dynastic history of the d'Alarcon family is

complex, not least because all the male heirs of the

family were named Ferdinando. The first part of De Forte's document dated 29 July 1594 is quite useful:

[c. 328v] On July 29 ofthe seventh indiction in 1594, in Naples, exactly in Posillipo in the spot called Tomacello, in

our presence, the illustrious gentleman don Federico

Capizio Tomacello, Marquis of Chiusano, at present trustee of the illustrious gentleman don Ferdinando

d'Alarcon Mendoza, confessed [omissis] in front of

us, of his own accord, that he received [omissis] by Don Alvaro de Mendoza, at the moment not present,

24 (continued) Cremona 28-29 October 1994, edited by Elena Ferrari Barassi, Marco Fracassi, Gianpaolo Gregori,

(Cremona: Ente triennale internazionale degli strumenti ad arco, 2000), pp. 147-162. 25 A small village in the province of Teramo, within the Valle Siciliana (see above, footnote 5). 26

This aspect ofthe Marquis d'Alarcon can probably be connected with the opening madrigal of Aurelio della Faya's secondo book of madrigals, Locar sopra gli abissi, a spiritual madrigal based on the text by Francesco Beccuti called

il Coppetta. Already set to music by Cesare Tudino in his Primo libro de madrigali a cinque voci con sei madrigali

spirituali (Roma, Dorico, 1564), Locar sopra gli abissi was used by several musicians before 1626. Marco Della Sciucca,

I madrigali spirituali di Cesare Tudino d'Atri: Tradizione e invenzione, unpublished paper read at the seventeenth

International Congress of the International Musicological Society, Leuven (Belgium), Mgr. Mencie Instituut,

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 2 August 2002.1 am indebted to Marco Della Sciucca, for having placed his paper at

my disposal. 27

'Dopo rimontando a cavallo ci stendemmo tre miglia piu avanti, secondando i due fiumi che fuori della terra

nobile, detta Tossicia, dal tossico e dalle molte serpi che si trovano nelle muraglie della rocca di lei. E questa la

terra deH'ill.mo signor marchese della Valle Siciliana, Don Fernando Alrcone [sic], figlio di quel gran capitano che si trovo alia presa del re di Francia a Pavia; e gli fu dato il detto re in custodia. E questo signore, come dicono,

molto cortese e cattolico, e si diletta molto delle cose spirituali. Stanza per la maggior parte del tempo a Napoli. Et

alcuna volta ancora, e massimamente la estate costuma di venirsene a questo suo marchesato. Onde si tiene una

bella libreria, di libri per lo piu volgari, e signorilmente legati. E perche diletta detto signore della musica, di voci e

di suoni, vedemmo in una sua stanza quasi di tutte le sorte di instrumenti musicali. Vedemmo ancora la cappella cotanto bella et adorna quanto dir si possa, ripiena di cose sacre,con ricco altare et organo: e con paramenti regii, e papali havuti dal padre di questo marchese, da papa Clemente VII dopo il sacco di Roma al quale egli si trovo e si

porto christianamente con esso papa'. Serafino Razzi, La vita in Abruzzo nel Cinquecento. Diario di un viaggio in

Abruzzo negli anni 1574-1577, (Cerchio (AQ): Adelmo Polla, 1990), pp. 49-50. 28 I am grateful to many people who helped me in the present research, particularly to: Dr. Carmelina Belli and



and once tutor of the illustrious Marquis of the

Valle the following valuable (jocalia)29 furniture [omissis], ie. ... It should be inserted [omissis] all

the possessions described in the following inventory have been left to me as they are preserved; this is

how this property was handed over to the Marquis ofthe Valle Siciliana himself and assigned to him by the Sacred Council and by decree of the illustrious Charles Fenicio...30

This document reveals which properties Ferdinando IV acquired, and also that don Alvaro de

Mendoza31 was one of his tutors and housefathers. This is probably don Ferdinando,32 his nephew who died very young and unmarried. As a result, the title of don Ferdinando was acquired by his brother don Pietro Gonzales de Mendoza, who become the

Marquis of the Valle Siciliana. A marginal note

reports the appointment of Giulio Bonocore as

'special' proxy ofthe marquis.

[c. 328v] On May 24 of the seventh indiction in 1595, in

Naples, in our presence, the gentleman Giulio

Bonocore, according to the notarial deed drawn

up in the present year 1595 by the notary Scipione Castaldo of Naples for the illustrious gentleman

Marquis of the Valle Siciliana, declared to stand

proxy of all the following assets. Giulio Buonocore

confessed of his own accord that he received all the

following possessions -

except for those of Palazzo

Chiaia - that are listed here in the inventory drawn

up by unknown person. The inventory being part of

the present notarial deed was left to me, the aforesaid

notary, on the same day of the drawing up of this

document: July 29, 1594.

Bonocore was therefore empowered to receive all

the possessions listed, except for those in the second

part of the document and listed at the end of the Notamento under the heading 'Robe della casa di Chiaia'.

Having established its historical and family context we can finally describe and discuss the inventory. According to the notary Damiano De Forte, the Notamento delle robe was compiled 'scripto mano aliena' (by a foreign hand). The inventory which

comprises 12 unnumbered folios, enumerates

253 items, 49 of which directly or indirectly refer to musical instruments or are connected with

musical objects. Although the inventory has little information about the dimensions, construction o:

makers of the instruments, it reveals the stunning contents of one ofthe most important South-Italian musical collections at the end of the sixteenth

century. Almost every entry has a double cross, as

if checked twice, but some entries have only one

cross, probably because the item was lost or had deteriorated between one survey and the next.34 The

anonymous compiler was not alone while drawing

28 (continued) ?>r Raffaele Della Vecchia of the State Archive in Naples, as well as Dr. Annamaria De Cecco of the State

Archive in Chieti. 29

The archaic term 'jocalia' is used here to underline the great value of the items in the inventory. See the entry

'Jocalia', in: Vocabolario universale della Lingua Latina, edited by Nicola Comerci, (Naples: Stabilimento letterario

tipografico dell'Ateneo, 1831), vol. II, p. 534. 30 'Die Vigesimonono mensis Iuli septime Indictionis 1594: Neapoli et proprie a posillipo in loco detto del

Tomancello in nostri presentia constitutus Illustrissimus Dominus Don Federicus Capituis Tomacellus marchio

Chisanj ad presens curator Illustrissimi Domini Don Ferdinandi de Alarcon et de Mendoza Marchionis Vallis Sicule

qui sponte confexus sese coram nobis [omissis] se ipsum recepisse [omissis] ab Illustrissimo Domino Don Alvaro de Mendoza absente [omissis] olim balio et tutore eiusdem Domini Marchionis Vallis infrascripta bona mobilia jocalia et sese ... videlicet: Inseratur [omissis] omnia bona descripta in sequenti inventario ut iacent mihi consignato per ipsas partes: que quidem bona sic recepta sunt presenti Dominis Marchionis Vallis, illaque fuisse sibi assignata ordine Sacri

Consilii et mediante decreto interposto per illustrissimum Carolum Fenicium ...' 31 Son of Don Ferdinando II (Pedro Gonzales de Mendoza) and Isabella Ruiz d'Alarcon. See Appendix I, as well as:

Carlo De Lellis, op. cit., p. 395. 32 Son of don Ferdinando III and donna Eleonora Sanseverino. See Appendix I, and Carlo De Lellis, op. cit., p. 396. 33 'Die Vigesimoquarto mensis Maj, septime Indictionis 1595, Neapoli in nostri presentia constitutus magnificus

Julius Bonocore de Neapolis procurator ad infrascripta signanter ut dixit mediante procuratione stipulata per

magnificum notarium Scipione Castaldi de Neapoli de presenti anno 1595. Illustrissimi Domini Marchionis Vallis

Sicule [omissis] sponte confessus est coram nobis [omissis] scriptum [...] habuisse et [c. 329r] recepisse infrascripta bona omnia contenta et descripta in infrascripto inventario scripto mano aliena et in instrumento protocollo existenti

mihique predicto notaro consignato tempore quo fuit stipulata infrascripta quetatio et sub infrascripta Die 29 Iuli 1594 ad unguem ut jacent preterquae bona existentia in Domo Chiaje videlicet'. The list drawn after the document of

the 'Robe della casa di Chiaia' includes a limited number of entries. 34 Ofthe musical instruments, these items have only one cross: [160], [182], [189], [190], [191], [201].



up this inventory: four entries35 report the expression che dice Romano... (as Romano says...) followed by a

detailed description. No doubt Romano was close to the Marquis of the Valle, he was probably in

charge of the collection36 and knew all the objects well. This would explain the precision in the item

descriptions, such as a consort of recorders...in the

crumhorn case, two cloth bags for the Buttafuoco,

a clarino or trumpet (uno conserto di frauti...posti dentro la cascia delle storte, due veste di Bottafoco, uno chiarino seu trombetta), all of which reveal musical knowledge. Let us focus our attention on the items concerning musical instruments and music books, providing further remarks in the footnotes and in the

commentary which follows the inventory.37

Inventory of the objects found in the cabinet Notamento delle robe che si trovano nella Guardaroba

left by the late Marquis ofthe Valle on the last che lascio il quondam Signor Marchese della Valle a

day of September 1592 ultimo de Settembre 15923S

[140] A large case of recorders containing sixteen Una cascia difrauti grande co[n] sidici pezi defrauti tra

small and large [recorders] grande etpiccoli

[141] Another similar large case of recorders Unaltra cascia de frauti similmente grande co unite tre

containing three large and small [recorders] pezi defrauti tra grandi etpiccoli

[142] Another large case of recorders containing Unaltra cascia de frauti grande co dudici pezi de frauti twelve large and small [recorders] grandi etpiccoli

[143] Another large case of recorders containing eight Unaltra cascia defrauti grande de pezi otto tra grandi et

large and small [recorders39] piccoli

[144] Another small case of large recorders containing Unaltra cascietta di frauti grande di pezi undid tra

eleven large and small [recorders] grandi etpiccoli

[145] Another small case of recorders containing Unaltra cascietta di frauti di pezi sette tra grandi et

seven large and small [recorders] piccoli

[146] A large case of recorders containing three large Una cascia di frauti grandi di tre pezi grandi

[recorders]

[147] A case of recorders containing five large and Una cascia de frauti de cinque pezi tra grandi et piccoli small [recorders]

[148] A large trombone of biffali Un trombone de biffali grande

[149] A small case of six flutes Una cascietta di traverzi di pezi seie

[150] Another case of seven flutes Unaltra cascia di traverzi di pezzi sette

[151] A case of five mute cornetts Una cascia di cornetti muti dipezi cinque

[152] Another case of four mute cornetts Unaltra cascia di cornetti muti dipezi quattro

[153] A case of drones containing four intact drones Una cascia di bordoni con quattro bordoni sani

35 These entries, all concerning non-musical items, are: [121], [133], [225] and [250]. For example, entry [121]: a

case similar to a locked casket that according to Romano holds relics, of which the Marquis handed to him the keys

(Una cascia ferrata in modo de scrigno piccolo serrata che Romano dice che vi sono reliquie et la chiave la diede al Sr

Marchese). 36 We have not been able to establish whether one ofthe d'Alarcon's servants had specific responsibility for the music

cabinet ? guardaroba della musica ?

comparable to the one in the service of the Medicean court in Florence. See

Mario Fabbri, 'La collezione medicea degli strumenti musicali in due sconosciuti inventari del primo seicento', Note

d'archivio, I (1983), pp. 51-62; Piero Gargiulo, 'Strumenti musicali alia corte medicea: nuovi documenti e sconosciuti

inventari (1553-1609)', Note d'archivio, III (1985), pp. 55-71; Pierluigi Ferrari, Ancora sulla collezione medicea di

strumenti musicali: gli inventari inediti del 1670 e 1691, in Studi in onore di Giulio Cattin, edited by Francesco Luisi,

(Rome: Torre d'Orfeo, 1990), pp. 227-265. 37 The entries in the inventory concerning non-musical items are omitted here; they are the subject of research by

Neapolitan scholars that we hope will be published. 38 On the top right of the same folio, the following inscription is written in a different hand: This inventory of twelve

folios has to be inserted as it is in the notarial deed drawn by Mr. Federico Tomacello, at present Don Alvaro de

Mendoza; thus it has been given to me, the notary Damiano De Forte, on 29 July 94 and I made a copy of it. ('Questo inventario de carte dudeci ut iacet se inserisca dentro la quietanza fatta dal Signor Federico Tomacello al Signor Don

Alvaro de Mendoza presente cossi estata consegnata a me notaro Damiano De Forte Die 29 Iuli 94 et ita data copia). 39 There is another marginal note in a different handwriting: 'one is missing' (ne manca uno).



[154] A case of eight crumhorns Una cascia de storte di otto pezi

[155] Another case of ten crumhorns Unaltra cascia de storte di pezzi dicie

[156] A consort of seven recorders in the case of the Uno consierto di frauti di pezzi sette posti dentro la cascia

crumhorns dele storte

[157] Seven large and small size flutes in the same Sette traverzi di frauti tragrande etpiccoli posti dentro la

case medesimo cascia

[158] A large cornett and three small cornetts Uno cornettone storto et tre cornetti storti piccoli

[159] Two large recorders Due frauti grandi

[160] A small recorder Uno frauto piccolo

[161] Two bifari Due bifari

[162] A recorder of Indian walnut [wood] Uno frauto de noce d'lndia

[163] A mute cornett and its cloth bag Una cornetta muta co la sua vesta

[164] A consort of five viols without strings, four of Uno conserto di viole ad arco di pezzi cinque sensa corde

which [are] almost new le quattro quasi nove

[165] An old and broken bass viol Una viola ad arco detto bascio rotta et vechia

[166] A very large lute without strings with its cloth Uno liuto grandiss[im]o sensa corde co la sua vesta

_bag_

[167] Four large and small harps without strings Quattro arpe tra grande etpiccole sensa corde

[168] A lute with two necks and its cloth bag Uno liuto ad dui manichi co la sua vesta

[169] Three lutes, two of which normal [size], and one Tre liuti dui ordinarij et uno piccolo de ebano co le cascie

small ebony lute, with their cases

[170] A large broken vihuela Una viola ad mano grande et rotta

[171] A small broken lute Uno liuto piccolo rotto

[172] Four broken vihuela cases and three broken lute Quatro cascie de viola e tre de liuto rotte

cases

[173] Another old case of a vihuela Unaltra cascia vecchia de viola ad mano.

[175] A cittern with strings Una cetola con corde

[182] A bag of pegs and other music items of yellow Una sacha di piruli et altri per just[amentji de musicha cloth di tela gialla

[187] Two Buttafuoco cloth bags and another cloth Due veste di Bottafoco et unaltra vesta di dui traversi

bag for two flutes

[188] Four viol bows without hair Quattro archi di viole sensa pili

[189] A trombone of old Cypriot copper Uno trombone di ramo cipro vecchio

[190] Four old broken trumpets of the same material Quattro trombette vecchie rotte del Istesso

[191] A clarino or trumpet of the same material Uno chiarino seu trombetta del istesso

[192] Nine Cypriot copper pieces for playing Novi pezi de ramo cipro per sonar frauti recorders

[197] Four music books with wood covers Quattro libri de M[usic]a co le coperte di tavole

[198] Another m[usic] book with red wood covers Un altro libro de M[usic]a co la coperta rosso sopra tavole

[199] Eight large songbooks with leather covers Octo libri de cantare grandi co le coperte di carta di coiro

[200] Two other songbooks made of 'Royal paper' Due altri libri de cantare decarta Hale

[201] A group of unbound motets Uno mazo de mottetti no ligati [202] Two hundred and fifteen songbooks by different Libretti da cantare de diversi autori n?ducento et quindice

authors - some with, some without covers - alcune co coperte et altre sensa

[203] Several sheets and scattered quinternions to Diverse carte et quinterni sciolti de cantare et alcune

sing some - Historie et orationi

[207] Seven yellow cloth bags for cornetts Sette veste de panno giallo de cornetti



The document is often vague and inaccurate. The

following comments on some of the more complex entries are discussed in the order they appear in the

inventory. Unfortunately, the entire d'Alarcon music collection is now lost, so it is sometimes impossible to know which of the possible interpretations is correct.

[148] A large trombone of biffali (Un trombone de

biff ali grande) This entry is particularly interesting because of the expression 'de biffali grande', is previously unknown. 'Biffali' probably corresponds to pifferi, referring to the family of shawms, predecessors of the modern oboe. In De organographia, chapter X

concerning 'Pommern' and 'Bombardoni',

Praetorius defines only the treble size (Discant) of the trombone with the Italian word 'Biffaro' (and

with the German Schalmeye), while in the Tuning Table in chapter IV he calls them indistinctly Bombyces, Pommern, Pifferi, Schalmeyen.^ In his Della Pratica musica, Book Three, Scipione Cerreto is even more precise when discussing the

meaning ofthe Chromatic Genre and listing many instruments, among which the wind instruments:

Biffali, Tromboni, Cornetti & altri simili.^1 This

passage confirms that biffali was actually a wind instrument used in late sixteenth-century Naples. Therefore a large trombone of biffali could indicate a bass trombone used in a band of shawms. It is well known that a band of shawms often included many sorts of wind instruments.42 The correspondence Biffali-Piffari is etymologically sound. At the time of the inventory, a transformation from -1- to -r

was quite normal in South Italy; in the Neapolitan dialect it is connected with the last syllable of

proparoxytone words. Although it is not particularly frequent in South Italy, the transformation of

-p- to -b- is normal, especially if intervocalic

and connected with lenition. The passage from -e- to -a- is connected with the tendency to

reduce atonic vowels by vocalic strengthening.43 The description as Targe' (grande) is particularly interesting. Compared with the later entry [189]

which describes 'A trombone of old Cypriot copper (un trombone de ramo cipro vecchio), there is a clear intention to differentiate the sizes of the two trombones, though the compiler provides no further information which identifies different sizes. In Syntagma Musicum, Praetorius defines

Quart-posaun and Octav posaun - 'trombone

major' and 'double trombone or at the low octave';

our Targe trombone of biffalV probably belongs to one of these two sizes.44

[153] A case of drones with four intact drones (Una cascia di bordoni con quattro bordoni sani)

The term bordoni is quite puzzling. There is no evidence of other instruments called bordoni, so this may be a misspelling of sordone, i.e. sordun. This is a double-reed wind instrument made of a wooden pillar with two or three small parallel bores joined together and ending in a hole on the side. Both Lodovico Zacconi (Pratica di musica,

1592) and Praetorius (Syntagma musicum) report that there were five sizes: treble, alto, tenor, bass and great bass.45 In my opinion we are dealing with

low-pitched instruments. The augmentative ending -oni clearly refers to a large instrument. We cannot

discount the possibility that the compiler used the word bordoni with reference to the bagpipe's single note reed pipes. Sixteenth-century bagpipes had a variable number of drones, according to their

tuning. Praetorius listed four type of bagpipes, each with a different number and tuning of the drones: Grosse Bock, Schaperpfeiff, Hummelchen, Dudey.46

40 See Michael Praetorius, Syntagma Musicum, facsimile edited by Arno Forchet, (Kassel: Barenreiter, 2001), vol. II

De organographia, pp. 36-37 and cap. IV pag. 22. 41 See Scipione Cerreto, op. cit., pp. 175-176. 42 See Eleanor Selfridge-Field, La musica strumentale a Venezia da Gabrieli a Vivaldi, (Turin: ERI, 1980), pp. 21-22;

Peter Downey, op. cit. pp. 147-167; Lorenz Welker, op. cit., pp. 146-153. 43 See Gerard Rohlfs, Grammatica storica della lingua italiana e dei suoi dialetti, (Turin: Einaudi, 1966), (Manuali di

letteratura, filologia e linguistica, 3), vol. 1, pp. 220, 308-10.1 am grateful to Danilo Costantini and Marcello Maria De

Giovanni for all the useful suggestions concerning the above-mentioned issue. 44 See Michael Praetorius, op. cit., p. 32-33, plate VI, VIII; Klaus Winkler, Die Posaune und ihr Repertoire:

Wechselbeziehungen zwischen Musik umd Umwelt vom 15. Jahrhundert bis zum 18. Jahrhundert, in Musikgeographie: Weltliche und geistliche Blasermusik in ihren Beziehungen zueinander und zu ihrer Umwelt, (Bochum: Brockmeyer,

1990), pp. 17-55; Posaunen und Trompeten: Geschichte, Akustik, Spieltechnik, edited by Monika Lustig, (Blankenburg

am Harz: Stiftung Kloster Michaelstein, 2000) (Michaelsteiner Konferenzberichte, 60). 45 Michael Praetorius, op. cit., p. 39, plate X; Ludovico Zacconi, Pratica di musica, (Venice: Girolamo Polo, 1592), p. 218. 46 Michael Praetorius, op. cit., p. 42-43, plate IV, XI, XIII; Nico Staiti, Simultaneously played multi-pipe wind



[156] A consort of seven recorders in the case of the crumhorns (Uno consierto di frauti di pezzi sette posti dentro la cascia dele storte)

It is likely that the term consierto indicates a set of instruments, probably recorders, each one of

a different size as described in Praetorius,47 or most likely treble, alto, tenor and bass. During the

Renaissance, consorts of recorders, and others of

viols, were the first consorts to match the vocal

registers and play unaccompanied polyphonic music.48 It appears quite anomalous that recorders

were kept in a crumhorn case as these instruments

did not normally play together. However, there could be other reasons, such as the decrepitude of the recorder case. Consorts of recorders, cornetts

or crumhorns were usually supplied in special cases

which were often decorated and valuable.49

[158] A large cornett and three small cornetts (Uno cornettone storto et tre cornetti storti piccoli)

Cornettone storto refers to the tenor cornett.

Typically in an elongated S shape, it was pitched a fifth below the common curved cornett and had a

key for the little finger. According to Munrow, the tenor cornett in C was so long that the bore had a double curve instead of single. Because of this, in

England it was called lysarden.50

[161] Two bifari (Due bifari) As in the case of drones, we can only speculate about

the term bifari. It may be a misspelling of the term

piffero in its generic meaning of shawm. The relation

bifaroIpifaro (piffaro) can be linguistically explained

as the sonorization of the -p- and its consequent

passage to -b-. As mentioned above,51 although not

common in South Italian phonetics, this passage is connected with the intervocalic position of-p-, here

referring to the vowels of the word due. Moreover,

the term bifero could derive from piffero.52 The term

bifaro could also be considered etymologically as

the fusion of the Latin word bifer with the Middle Latin pifer.53 But bifaro could also refer to a popular instrument, probably made of two parts (suggested by bi-5*), such as the Calabrian double recorder. This idea is plausible because on 30 June 1532 Ferdinando

d'Alarcon was rewarded for his services to Charles V

by the gift of Rende and other estates in North and South Calabria.55 The Calabrian double recorder is characterized by protruding beaks (which make it easier to hold with the teeth) and big holes on the back or front which are used to tune the two pipes to each other. This instrument exists in two types, of

which the first is more common: 1) a paro -

pipes of the same length and diameter, usually held close and

parallel to each other; 2) a mezza chiave -

diverging pipes of different length and diameter. The double recorder is common in Calabria; it closely resembles

bagpipe chanters and shares with them the same

repertory of pastoral songs and tarantelle.56

An alternative hypothesis is that the term bifaro corresponds to what is now called bifara or pifara. This double-reed wind instrument has a slightly cone

shaped pipe terminating with an accentuated bell,

eight front holes, the thumbhole and two windholes on the bell. A sort of lip disc at the base ofthe reed is

placed on the copper duct. The first references to this

46 (continued) [mtruments in Sicily, in Studia Instrumentorum Musicae Popularis, (Stockholm: Musikmuseet, 1989), vol. 9, pp. 66-86; Roberto Leydi

- Febo Guizzi, Le zampogne in Italia, (Milan: Ricordi, 1985), Strumenti musicali

popolari in Italia, 1. 47 Michael Praetorius, op. cit., pp. 33-34, plate IX. 48 Howard Mayer Brown, The recorder in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, in The Cambridge companion to the

recorder, edited by J. M. Thomson, (New York, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), pp. 1-25. 49 For example, the precious case containing six late-sixteenth century crumhorns preserved at the Brussels Museum

of Musical Instruments. 50 Michael Praetorius, op. cit., p. 35-36, plate VIII; David Munrow, Instruments of the Middle Ages and Renaissance,

(London: Oxford University Press, 1976), pp. 69-70. 51 See inventory item [148]. 52 Francesco D'Ascoli, Nuovo vocabolario dialettale napoletano, (Naples: Adriano Gallina editore, 1993), p. 113. For

the transformation of-e- into -a-, see above, footnote 43. 53

Pifer derives from pfeiffen and has an onomatopoeic origin. Salvatore Battaglia, Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, vol. XIII, (Turin: UTET, 1986), p. 440; Battaglia mentions the following variants ofthe term piffero: pefaro,

pifaro, pifero, piffano, piffaro. 54 Bifer is composed oibi (two, double) and/er deriving horn few (to take).

55 Carlo De Lellis, op. cit., p. 394.

56 Antonello Ricci and Roberta Tucci, 'Folk musical instruments in Calabria', Galpin Society Journal XLI, (1988),

pp.36-58; Roberta Tucci, 'Sulla classificazione del doppio flauto in Calabria', Studi Musicali XXII, (1994), 2, pp. 395-411.



instrument date from the seventeenth century, when it was played during religious and civil ceremonies and processions, often accompanied by a tabor. The

bifara was well known in Calabria and Sicily, thus

explaining - for the reasons mentioned above- its

presence in the d'Alarcon collection.

[162] A recorder of Indian walnut (Uno frauto de noce dTndia)

In this case, the compiler probably focuses on the wood in order to emphasise its 'exotic' quality compared with Italian walnut. However, it is difficult to understand what the compiler meant by Indian walnut. It could be the American walnut57 that reached Europe after the discovery of America

through the Spanish and Portoguese commercial routes. But it could also refer to the Indian walnut, i.e. the Indian Albizzia,58 used for fine carpentry, furniture and boats. Coconut was also called Indian

walnut or Nux Indica.59 Nux Indica was already known during the fourteenth century, and was described in Arabian texts;60 it is included in a drug list by Saladin of Asculos and in a Swiss treatise dated 1479. However, the date of this inventory and the Spanish origin of the family suggests that this wood is the American walnut and that the reference to 'Indian' is simply a consequence of its geographical origin.

[163] A mute cornett and its cloth bag (Una cornetta muta co la sua vesta)

Vesta refers to the cloth covering used to contain and protect the instrument.

[164] A consort of five viols without strings, four of which almost new (Uno conserto di viole ad arco di pezzi cinque sensa corde le quattro quasi nove)

These are probably viola-da-gambas, although the term could refer also to violins. The first hypothesis is more likely, because the instruments in the

inventory were used probably by their illustrious amateur owner; therefore violins, generally played at the time by professional musicians, are less likely. The term conserto does not help us to identify the sizes of the five instruments. Silvestro Ganassi describes only three sizes of the viol in Regola Rubertina and Lettione seconda (1542-3). Woodfield has shown that the viol consort in sixteenth century Italy was typically comprised of bass and tenor viols. Such consorts had quite a limited range, but when a

wider range was required, other instruments -

flute,

recorder or treble viol - could be added later for the

soprano parts. Woodfield confirms that at the end of the sixteenth century many sizes of viol were in use,

ranging from double-bass to treble.61 In his Libro del

Cortegiano, Baldassarre Castiglione reports for the first time that viol consorts were suitable for upper class amateurs. In Book II, Gaspare Pallavicino asks

Federico Fregoso which type of music a nobleman should play. Fregoso answers that he should sing, sing and 'recitar' with the viol, play all fretted

instruments, 'and also the music of four viols, which is very gentle and artificial'.62

The absence from this inventory of any functional bows suggests that either the bowed instruments were not in constant use, or it was normal to keep instruments without their strings and ancilliary equipment, only bringing them into a working state

57 The American walnut (Juglans nigra L.), better known as Black Walnut, is a ductile wood, similar to, though less valuable than, Italian walnut. Gugliemo Giordano, / legnami del mondo: dizionario enciclopedico con notizie

sopra oltre 4200 specie legnose completo di termini e significati ad uso di studiosi, tecnici, operatori economici, (Rome:

II Ceriolo, 1983), p. 699. 58 This is the popular name for Albizzia Lebbek Benth and for the Albizzia Xanthoxylon, belonging to the family

leguminosae of India, Ceylon and Burma. Gugliemo Giordano, op. cit., pp. 384, 992-993. 59

John Gerard, The Herball or generall historie ofplantes. Gathered by John Gernade of London master in chirurgerie

very enlarged and amended by Thomas Johnson citizen and apothecarye of London, (London: Adam Islip, Joice Norton

and Richard Whitakers, 1636). 60 Nux indie or Nucula Indica, Nucis Indiae, or Indian Nut in English and Neregil in Arabic. Hans Minner, 'Thesaurus

medicaminum'. Pharmaziehistorische untersuchungen zu einer alemannischen drogenkunde des spaetmittelarters, edited by Ursula Schmitz, (Wiirzburg: Jal-Verlag, 1974), (Quellen und Studien zur Geschichte der Parmazie, Bd. 13), p. 163.

61 For further information, see: Michael Praetorius, op. cit., p. 44-46, plate XX and XXI; Ian Woodfield, La viola

da gamba dalle origini al Rinascimento, edizione italiana edited by Renato Meucci, (Turin: EDT, 1997), pp. 136-158,

207-218. 62

Baldassarre Castiglione, // libro del cortigiano, edizione critica a cura di A. Quondam, (Milano: Mondadori, 2002),

p. 115: 'e non meno diletta la musica delle quattro viole de arco, la qual e soavissima ed artificiosa'.



when they were required. This could also apply to other instruments in the inventory (e.g. [166], [167]) but it does seems unlikely.

[167] Four large and small harps without strings (Quattro arpe tra grande et piccole sensa

corde) The presence of the harp in this collection is consistent with the popularity of this instrument in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Naples. In

Della Pratica musica, Scipione Cerreto describes the harp, particularly the harp with a double row of strings, and lists the most excellent harpists in

Naples.63 The instrument Cerreto describes is the

typical Neapolitan harp; it was, however, invented by Giovan Battista Giacometti known as 'del Violino', from Brescia.64 Giovan Leonardo dell'Arpa, a well

known sixteenth-century Italian harp virtuoso,

was responsible of 'introducing the double harp in

Naples'.65 The harp was also popular in sixteenth

century Spain, as shown by the treatises of Alonso Mudarra66 and Juan Bermudo67 and by the harpist Francisco Martinez, a contemporary of Bermudo,

who probably played the harp with additional chromatic strings.68 The Neapolitan passion for the

harp, of which the d'Alarcon and Mendoza family is a clear example, is probably due to the Spanish rule

on Naples. The inventory does not reveal what kind of harps they had, only that there were at least two different sizes.69

[168] A lute with two necks and its cloth bag (Uno liuto ad dui manichi co la sua vesta)

This entry represents an important point in the

history ofthe origin ofthe theorbo and chitarrone.70 Renato Meucci established that 157871 was the terminus ante quern the chitarrone was invented,

and considers 'definitively reliable' the words of Alessandro Piccinini declaring he was the inventor of the extended neck in 1594.72 It is therefore interesting that in 1592 the Marquis of the Valle already possessed an instrument similar to the chitarrone,

although described as 'a lute with two necks'. The

compiler notes that it is a lute, which would be well

understood, and its defining feature of two necks, without clarifying whether it was a chitarrone or a theorbo. As chitarrones normally appear to be lutes with additional bass strings tied to a second

pegbox extending upwards from the main one, the instrument described in the inventory is probably a chitarrone. On the other hand, in his Musurgia Universalis, Athanasius Kircher affirmed that 'the theorbo was named after a Neapolitan vagrant that was one of the first to develop the fingerboard

63 Scipione Cerreto, op. cit., p. 158.

64 Giovan Battista Giacometti called del Violino (Brescia, c. 1550 -

?); see Vincenzo Giustiniani, Discorso sopra la

musica de' suoi tempi (1628), (Lucca: Giusti, 1878), modern edition in: Angelo Solerti, Le origini del melodramma,

(Turin: Fratelli Bocca, 1903), p. 124; Elio Durante and Anna Martelletti, L'arpa di Laura, (Florence: SPES, 1982),

pp. 19-21, 39-41, 73-108. 65 Elio Durante and Anna Martelletti, op. cit., p. 21. 66 Alonso Mudarra, Tre libros de musica en cifras para vihuela, Siviglia, 1546, facsimile edited by J. Tyler, (Monaco:

Editions Canterelle, 1980). 67

Juan Bermudo, Declaracion de instrumentos musical, Osuna, 1555, facsimile edited by M. S. Kastner, (Kassel-Basel:

Barenreiter, 1957). 68 Robert Stevenson, Juan Bermudo, (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1960), pp. 58-59. 69 Michael Praetorius, op. cit., p. 59, plate XVIII, XIX; Scipione Cerreto, op. cit., pp. 154-160; Dinko Fabris, L'arpa

napoletana, simbolismo estetico-sonoro di uno strumento musicale del primo Seicento, in: Modernitd e coscienza

estetica, edited by F. Canizza, (Naples: Tempi moderni, 1986), pp. 211-262; Dinko Fabris, L'arpa a Napoli nell'epoca del Viceregno Spagnolo, in De musica hispana et aliis: misceldnea en honor al Prof Dr. Jose Lopez-Calo, S.J., en su 65?

cumpleanos, (Santiago de Compostela: Universitas de Santiago de Compostela, 1990), vol. 1, pp. 241-262; Dinko Fabris, The harp in Naples, 1500-1700, in Historische Harfen: Beitrage zur Theorie und Praxis historischer Harfen, (Dornach: Internationales Harfen-Zentrum, 1991), pp. 43-59; Hannelore Devaere, The Baroque double harp in Kingdom of Naples,

(Utrecht: Stichting voor Muziekhistorische Uitvoeringsprakijk, 1994), pp. 13-80. 70 On this issue, see the recent article by Renato Meucci, Da 'chitarra italiana'a 'chitarrone': una nuova interpretazione,

in Enrico Radesca di Foggia e il suo tempo. Atti del Convegno di studi, Foggia, 7-8 April 2000, edited by Francesca Seller,

(Lucca: Libreria musicale italiana, 2001), pp. 37-57. 71 The date of the inventory of the workshop of the Neapolitan makers Orazio Albanese and Giovanni Tommaso

Martino. Francesco Nocerino, 'La bottega dei 'violari' napoletani Albanese e Martino in un inventario inedito del 1578',

Liuteria, musica e cultura, (1999-2000), pp. 3-9. 72

Alessandro Piccinini, Intavolatura di liuto et di chitarrone, (Bologna, 1623), modern edition with preface by O.

Cristoforetti, (Bologna: SPES, 1983), p. [IX].



of the lute and to add several bass strings'.73 This could lead us to suppose that the 'lute with two necks' was actually a theorbo. Whether chitarrone

or theorbo, this instrument confirms the Marquis' interest in the full modern range of musical styles and practices; as a result, his musical collection was

continually updated and modernized. Newly built instruments would convey the idea of a nobleman a la page. It is currently impossible to describe this instrument more precisely, but this entry supports and supplements recent studies which have revealed how crucial was the last decade of the sixteenth

century in the evolution of the lute.

[169] Three lutes, two of which are normal [size], and a small ebony lute, with their cases (Tre liuti dui ordinarij et uno piccolo de ebano co le cascie)

These are small and medium sized lutes, but

unfortunately there is no information about the crucial matter of the number of courses. The

inventory of the workshop of the instrument makers Orazio Albanese and Giovanni Tommaso

Martino, recently discovered by Francesco

Nocerino, mentions a 'seven stringed lute of Naples' and a 'seven stringed small lute (liutello) of Naples', neither of which instruments have previously been known. Unfortunately our inventory does not do

justice to the exceptional variety of instruments built during the sixteenth century by satisfying our hunger for detail.74

[170] A large broken vihuela (Una viola ad mano

grande et rotta) This entry refers obviously to the vihuela de mano

interestingly described here as Targe' (grande), i.e. a clear indication of a specific size; however there is no evidence that enables us to know this instrument's exact size. In De invenzione et usu musicae,75

Tinctoris attibutes the origin of the vihuela to mid fifteenth century Spain, although he does not offer a precise date. According to Woodfield, the vihuela, which was well established in the Kingdom of

Aragon and particularly in Valencia, was introduced to Italy through Rome and Naples,76 in the towns ruled by the Borgia family and the states ruled by the Aragonese. The presence of the vihuela in Rome, and later in the Papal states, follows the elections of popes Callistus III77 and Alexander VI,78 both of whom belonging to the Borgia family, the most influential family in Valencia. The first books of vihuela music appeared in Naples (which had been under Aragonese rule since 1441) under Alfonso V 'el magnanimo'. In 1536 Francesco (Canova) da

Milano published his Intavolatura per viola over liuto.79 In 1558 Bartolomeo Lieto's Dialogo quarto...

per intavolare... con viola da mano over liuto80

provides the notation for this instrument. However, at the end ofthe century, the vihuela was superseded by the guitar.

[175] A cittern with strings (Una cetola con corde) The cittern (cetola) has a flat pear-shaped body, a crooked pegbox and metal strings. Also called citola,

73 Athanasius Kircher, Musurgia universalis, (Rome: Grignani Ludovico, 1650), p. 108. 74

Francesco Nocerino, op. cit., pp. 3-9. 75

Anthony Baines, 'Fifteenth-century Instruments in Tinctoris's "De inventione et usu musicae"', Galpin Society

Journal III, (1950), pp. 19-26: 22. 76 See Ian Woodfield, op. cit., pp. 46-70, 93-113, 207-217; Stefano Lorenzetti, 'Viola da mano e viola da arco:

Testimonianze terminologiche nel Cortegiano (1528) di Baldassar Castiglione', Liuteria musica e cultura, (1996),

pp. 2-22. Stefano Lorenzetti, Musica e identita nobiliare nell'Italia del Rinascimento. Educazione, mentalita,

immaginario, (Florence: Olschki, 2003), (Historiae musicae cultores. Biblioteca), pp. 85-90: 'Viola da mano'e 'Viola

da arco'. On the use of the vihuela for vocal accompaniment or for consort and solo performances, see: Antonio

Corona-Alcalde, 'The viola da mano and the vihuela: Evidence and suggestions about their construction', Lute:

Journal ofthe Lute Society XXIV/1, (1984), pp. 3-32. 77

Alonso Borgia, bishop of Valencia was elected pope in 1445 with the name of Calistius III. He brought many of his

countrymen to work at the papal court. 78 Alexander VI, in the world Rodrigo Borgia, was the nephew of Callistus III, who designated him bishop of

Valencia in 1458. 79 Francesco da Milano's virtuoso musical practice reveals that during the early sixteenth century lute and vihuela

were interchangeable. See Francesco da Milano, Intavolatura per viola overo lauto, facsimile with a preface by

N. d'Arthur, (Geneva: Minkoff, 1988). 80 See Bartolomeo Lieto, Dialogo quarto di musica, (Naples: Mattio Cancer, 1559), facsimile edited by Patrizio

Barbieri, (Lucca: Libreria Musicale Italiana, 1993).


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Figure 2. Buttafuoco: (left) Roma, S. Maria sopra Minerva, a detail of The Assumption ofthe Virgin, fresco by Filippino

Lippi, 1488-93. (middle) Altamura, Cathedral, sixteenth-century anonymous crib, (right) Matera, Cathedral, crib by Altobello Persio and Sannazaro d'Alessano, 1534.

cetera, citara, cetrola, cithara and cetra in sixteenth

and seventeenth-century Neapolitan sources, the

cittern is commonly associated with popular and amateur use because of its undemanding technique and low cost. Its inclusion in the collection of the

Marquis disagrees with Scipione Cerreto's statement: "This instrument appears to be perfect because it can be used for any type of composition; however, in Naples it is not used by aristocracy'.81 This entry gives evidence of a non-popular use ofthe cittern, ten

years before than Cerreto's statement. Twenty years

earlier, a completely different situation obtained in

Brescia, where the cittern was used and appreciated by noblemen and by members of the Virchi family, the most important builders of citterns. Vincenzo Galilei asserted that 'the cittern was first used by the English and on the island the best instruments were built; but nowadays those most reputed by the English are built in Brescia; nevertheless the cittern is used and appreciated by aristocracy'.82

However, less than 50 years later, the cittern was in

decline, as Giovan Battista Doni reported: 'Anyway, the Cittern ... is in the hands of the lower class, hosts and peasants: because of a fatal succession of human things, what was once most esteemed is now

contrarily vile and despicable'.83 Alternatively, the

entry could simply refer to a bowl (ciotolalcetola) full of strings.

[182] A bag of pegs and other music items of

yellow cloth (Una sacha di piruli et altri per just[ament]i de musicha di tela gialla)

Piruli are the pegs used to hold the strings and to

adjust their tension in order to tune them.

[187] Two cloth bags of a Buttafuoco and another cloth bag for two flutes (Due veste di Bottafoco et unaltra vesta di dui traversi)

This entry is particularly interesting because it mentions two buttafuoco, even if dealing only with

81 'tale strumento non patisce imperfettione alcuna, per essere in quello tutte le voci atte a sonare qualsivoglia Canto

armonico, si bene questo strumento non e essercitato da gente nobile nella nostra Citta di Napoli'. Scipione Cerreto,

Dell'arbore musicale, (Naples: Giovanni Battista Sottile, 1608), p. 37. 82 Vincenzo Galilei, Dialogo della musica antica et della moderna, (Florence: Giorgio Marescotti, 1581), p. 147: 'fu la

cetera usata prima tra gli Inglesi che da altre nazioni, nella quale Isola si lavoravano gia in eccellenza; quantunque oggi le piu reputate da loro, siano quelle che si lavorano in Brescia; con tutto questo e adoperata ed apprezzata dai nobili'.

83 See Giovan Battista Doni, Lyra Barberina (Ms. cl640) quoted by Dinko Fabris, Paolo Virchi e la tradizione

degli strumenti a Corda, in Liuteria e musica strumentale a Brescia tra Cinque Seicento, atti del convegno, sessione

musicologia, Said, 7 October 1990, a cura di Rosa Cafiero e Maria Teresa Rosa Barezzani, (Brescia: Fondazione

Civilta Bresciana - Annali 5/II, 1992), pp. 65-93: 'La Cetera comunque ... e in potere di persone basse, come Osti

e Contadini: per una fatale disposizione delle cose umane, che quelle erano maggiormente in stima, oggi per il

contrario siano vili e abiette'.



Figure 3. Depiction of a buttafuoco in Manfredo Settala's Milanese collection (Modena, Biblioteca Estense, ms. Compori yH 1.22, c. 34.)

their cases. The buttafuoco has generally been identified as a stringed instrument like a kind of cither whose strings are struck by one hand, while a pipe is played by the other hand; these appear in many iconographical sources (see Figure 2). In

Filippino Lippi's frescoes in the Carafa Chapel of the Church of S. Maria sopra Minerva in Rome, one can admire an angel playing a pipe with the left hand while striking an instrument with a stick held in the

right hand. In the cathedral's sixteenth century crib of Altamura, as well as in Matera, an angel is playing a pipe and striking an instrument. Another example is in the Este Library in Modena where a drawing by Carlo da Sole (Milan, 1650) depicts a buttafuoco that belongs to Manfredo Settala's Milanese collection (see Figure 3). This instrument has a body with curved, hollowed-out ribs. The buttafuoco is often mentioned in Medicean inventories and in

seventeenth-century Neapolitan literature, from Giulio Cesare Cortese and Bartolomeo Zito up to Giambattista Basile.84

[189] A trombone of old Cypriot copper (Uno trombone di ramo cipro vecchio)

This trombone is surely smaller than the trombone de biffali grande [148]. Although it is said to be made of Cypriot copper, this should be understood as brass. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, but

during the sixteenth century pure copper was not

always distinguished clearly from its alloys. Ramo

cipro refers to the fact that much copper had been

extracted on the island of Cyprus since Roman times. Trumpets and trombones were commonly

made of silver, gold-plated silver, or brass, but not of copper. During the sixteenth century, the brass

normally used to make trumpets and trombones contained 63-65% copper; but we can suppose that this instrument was built using brass with a higher proportion of copper, and therefore more reddish in colour; because of this, the compiler of the

inventory could have thought it was simply copper. Alternatively, one might imagine a special polish or other finish that produced a colour more similar to

copper than to brass.85

[190] Four old broken trumpets (Quattro trombette vecchie rotte del Istesso)

This entry obviously concerns trumpets, the term 'trombetta' often appearing in sixteenth- and

seventeenth-century music. Praetorius used the

term as a synonym of small trombone (Gemeine rechte Posaun).86

[191] A clarino or trumpet (Uno chiarino seu trombetta del istesso)

Chiarino refers to the clarino trumpet normally used to play the melody and its virtuoso embellishments.

One ofthe most famous examples of its use is Orfeo's opening Toccata, expressly written for trumpets, where Monterverdi specifies 'un clarino con tre trombe sordine'.87 This entry shows that the compiler of the inventory was either musically knowledgeable

84 John Henry van der Meer, Alcune considerazioni attorno al buttafuoco, in Giovanni Lorenzo Baldano, Libro per

scriver I'intavolatura per sonar sopra le sordelline (Savona 1600), facsimile of the manuscript with an introductory

essay by Maurizio Tarrini, Giovanni Farris, John Henry van der Meer, Associazione Ligure per la Ricerca delle Fonti

Musicali, (Savona: Editrice Liguria, 1995), pp. 203-220; John Henry van der Meer, Das Buttafuoco, in Festschrift Rainer Weber, (Halle an der Saale: Stenkovics, 1999), (Scripta artium, 1), p. 121. For South Italian sculptural cribs

with musical instruments, see Dinko Fabris, 'Presepi scultorei con strumenti musicali del Cinquecento in Puglia', RidlM-RCMI Newsletter XXV/1, (1991), pp. 8-20, Clara Gelao

- Bianca Tragni, II presepe pugliese. Arte e folklore

(Bari: Adda, 1992). 85 I am grateful to Elena Ferrari Barassi, Gabriele Cassone and Christian Bosch for all their suggestions about the

expression 'di rame cipro' (Cypriot copper). 86 Michael Praetorius, op. cit., p. 32, plate XIII.

87 Claudio Monteverdi, L'Orfeo, (Venice: Ricciardo Amadino, 1609), facsimile with an introduction by Wolfgang Osthoff, (Kassel: Barenreiter, 1998).



or was helped by someone with musical expertise.

[192] Nine Cypriot copper pieces for playing recorders (Novi pezi de ramo cipro per sonar

frauti) These consist of S-shaped brass ducts which are used to make it easier to blow the air in the larger sizes of recorders.

[197] Four music books with wood covers (Quattro libri de M[usic]a co le coperte di tavole)

Book covers were sometimes made of wood.

[198] Another m[usic]book with red wood covers

(Un altro libro de M[usic]a co la coperta rosso

sopra tavole) Compared with the following entries, music books

clearly consist of books containing instrumental music. In this case, the book covers are made of red

coloured wood or covered with red paper or cloth.

[199] Eight song books with leather covers (Octo libri de cantare grandi co le coperte di carta di coir6)

These eight books have leather covers, a typical Italian binding. The term 'coiro' stands for leather

(from the Latin corium) and is often found as an alternative for corame.

[200] Two other song books made of royal paper (Due altri libri de cantare decarta Hale)

'Royal paper' (carta reale) refers to a sheet of paper of specific size, approximately 615 x 445 mm.

Western paper sizes changed after the introduction of watermarks and from the fourteenth century onwards were ratified in paper mills' charters. Sheet sizes and names varied between the different regions, although there were some elements in common. In

Bologna paper mills, the paper sizes were imperiale (740x500), reale (615x445), medio (515x345), and rezzuto (450 x 315), starting in the fourteenth

century. In sixteenth century Fabriano, the paper sizes were imperiale, grande, reale, tondo, piano and

fino, while in Tuscany the grande, tondo and piano

sizes were called papale, mezzano and commune

respectively. The latter terms persisted in Rome and

Naples until the eighteenth century.88

[202] Two hundred and fifteen song books by different authors - some with, some without

covers (Libretti da cantare de diversi autori n? ducento et quindice

- alcune co coperte et

altre sensa)

They seem to be part-books, in accordance with

sixteenth-century use.

Item Quantity

Recorders 76

Flutes_20 Bifari 2

Instruments

(in cases or Crumhorns 18

without cases) Trombones_2 Trumpets 4

Clarino 1

Drones 4

Mute cornetts 10

Cornetts 4

Viols_6 Vihuelas 1

Lutes 6

Harps 4

Citterns 1

Broken cases Vihuelas 5 of instruments89 Lutes 3

Cases and bags (Buttafuoco) 2

(not containing (Flute) l90 instruments) ~7Z

~ ~

(Cornett) 7

Music Books of music 230+

Table 1. Summary of musical items in the inventory.

It is interesting to compare this with other inventories from around the same time (see Table 2).91

88 Cfr. Ezio Ornato - Paola Busonero - Paola F. Munafo - Maria Speranza Storace, La carta occidentale nel tardo

medioevo, (Rome: Istituto Centrale per la Patologia del Libro, 2001), vol. II, pp. 267-431; Paul Canart, Lezioni di

paleografia e codicologia greca, (Vatican City: Scuola Vaticana di Paleografia, n.d.), p. 66; Maria Luisa Agati, 77 libro

manoscritto. Introduzione alia codicologia, (Rome: L'erma di Bretschneider, 2004), pp. 103-106 . 89 The description by the anonymous compiler who wrote the inventory suggests these are empty broken cases, but it

is impossible to establish for certain whether they contained instruments or not. 90 This cloth bag was for two flutes. 91 The comparative data is from Pierluigi Ferrari, 'Una collezione di strumenti musicali verso la fine del Cinquecento.

Lo studio di musica di Luigi Baldi', Liuteria, musica e cultura, (1993), pp. 15-21.



Collection Date Total instruments

Raimund Fugger_ 1566 392

Kassel, Court chapel 1573 84

Medici I, Francesco de Medici's collection 1574 109

Graz, instrumentenkammer 1577 183

Verona I, accademia filarmonica 1580 134

Verona II, accademia filarmonica 1585 134

Medici II, Ferdinando de Medici's collection 1587 90

Luigi Balbi_1588_82_ Ferdinando

d'Alarcon_1592_15992 Maurizio Bevilacqua 1593 78

Ambras I, Kunstkammer 1596 34

Ambras II, instrumentkammer in Ruhelust 1596 226

Ferrara, Alfonso II's collection 1598 41

Madrid, Royal Palace_1602_183_ Table 2. Numbers of instruments in comparable inventories.

The tables above show how large and valuable was Ferdinando d'Alarcon's collection, but at the same time point out a strange gap. It is quite unusual to look through such an inventory that mentions no

keyboard instruments; there are no harpsichords, clavichords or organs. This is even stranger if one considers that gravicembali, together with viols and

lutes, were the only instruments that late sixteenth

century theorists prescribed for people's pleasure (l'huomo si dilettasse).93 The absence of keyboard instruments from the inventory can be explained partly because the family chapel94 and the palace were treated separately, so the inventory does not include items belonging in the chapel. But one cannot exclude that their absence is due to their

condition at the time of the inventory; they may have been badly preserved, broken or unusable, but the

inventory mentions numerous other instruments in

such a condition.

Unfortunately, the entire d'Alarcon music

collection is now lost, probably partly because ofthe

changing interest in music of successive members of the family, and partly because of normal events which can impact musical instruments, including wear from use, damage, obsolescence, changes of

ownership, theft and destruction.

Musical instruments were an essential part ofthe

gentleman's daily routine. The treatises of that time established the principles the nobleman should follow in his personal choices. For this reason many wind instruments such as 'trumpets, shawms, recorders,

bagpipes, trombones, and so on' were forbidden for noblemen to use, because they 'wear out breath and distort the face, preventing the state of grace'. There were also reservations about 'harps, lyras, citterns,

rebecs and so on', because they were too simple and

'for which different and varied consorts cannot be

easily formed'. However, the instruments forbidden for the nobleman's personal use were acceptable for visual pleasure, also when played by expert

musicians who joined the noblemen to play in the

varij concerti at court or at the palace.95 Instruments

were selected depending on their harmonic and

contrapuntal capabilities and on their flexible use for different places and contexts

- the clamour of

a celebration or the silence of a salon, as well as

consort or solo performance. The Marquis' exceptional music library, consisting

of more than 230 books, scattered motets and several sheets of music and quinternions, would be the clearest evidence of the music played at the palace.

We regret not knowing the content of those books,

92 This total does not include cases. 93 Stefano Lorenzetti, op. cit., pp. 176-181. 94 Razzi describes d'Alarcon house in Tossicia, mentioning separately the room 'with all sorts of musical instruments'

(con tutte le sorte di strumenti musicali) and the chapel 'full of sacred objects, a rich altar and the organ' (ripiena di cose

sacre, con ricco altare et organo). Serafino Razzi, op. cit., pp. 49-50. 95 Stefano Lorenzetti, op. cit., pp. 176-181.



but we can easily imagine the nobleman or one of his musicians intent on singing accompanied by the harp, lute or 'the viol'.96 The scattered motets were sung, as well as probably played also by the instruments

(sonar mottetti), as was common practice from the

late fifteenth century.97 The inventory hints at the importance of music

in nobles' lives, including two particular points in their daily routine: banquets during which

music punctuated the succession of courses, and

afternoons which were officially devoted to pleasure, when music was intertwined with philosophical disputations.98 For the Marquis d'Alarcon, as for

any other gentleman, these contributed to his status as a musical patron. The value of his instrumental

collection, the musical events he organized (whether for pleasure or edifying reasons, for ceremonies or

feasts), and his rich library were all elements that contributed to his identity as a nobleman, and to his status in society.99 It is likely that Palazzo Chiaia accommodated one ofthe most active cultural circles

in Naples and was a landmark for both Spanish and Italian musicians and poets. The palace probably

welcomed the excellent composers and virtuosi of

lute, viol, trombone, cornett and harp mentioned by Scipione Cerreto.100

Finally, a short remark on the status and use of musical instruments. Ferdinando d'Alarcon was

able to sing and play different instruments but, as mentioned above, musical instruments were also

considered as valuable objects to enjoy through both ears and eyes, precious ornamental elements connected with a noble's identity. Sabba Castiglione's Ricordi documents this aspect, underlining how:

'many people like to adorn... their palaces... and

houses and above all their rooms and studies with

different things, according to each person's mind

and taste. This is why some people adorn them with

musical instruments, such as organs, harpsichord, monochords, harps, dolcemeli, and so on, while

some others with lutes, viols, violins, lyras, recorders, cornetts, bagpipes... trombones, and so

on. I greatly appreciate this custom, because these

instruments cause both the ear and the soul to

rejoice. Plato says that souls remember the harmony derived from the circulation of heavenly bodies. In

the same way the eye enjoys these instruments when

they are skilfully created by excellent makers'. This

fascinating affect led nobles to ornate their palaces with 'ogni sorta di strumenti'.101

The inventory of Ferdinando d'Alarcon's musical collection casts new light on Neapolitan music

history, and once again Naples is shown to be one of the most important and active musical centres between the mid-sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.102

(translated by Lisa Navach)

96 Stefano Lorenzetti, op. cit., pp 83-85: 'Cantarealia viola.

97 Kamper Dietrich, La musica strumentale nel Rinascimento, (Turin: ERI, 1976), pp. 65-66.

98 Stefano Lorenzetti, op. cit., pp. 164-173. 99

On the nobles' identity and the patrons' social status, that would require further and deeper investigation, see:

Stefano Lorenzetti, op. cit.; Claudio Annibaldi, 'Towards a theory of patronage in the Renaissance and Baroque: the

perspective from anthropology and semiotica', Recercare X, (1998), pp. 173-182; La musica e il mondo. Mecenatismo e committenza musicale in Italia tra Quattrocento e Settecento, edited by Claudio Annibaldi, (Bologna: II Mulino,

1993). 100

Scipione Cerreto, Delia pratica musica vocale et strumentale, pp. 154-160. The report by Luigi Dentice of a

concert held in Naples in the palace of Giovanna of Aragon is quite interesting. The report represents the opening of

his Secondo discorso della Musica and includes also performers and audience's names. See Luigi Dentice, Duo dialoghi della Musica, facsimile edition edited by Patrizio Barbieri, (Lucca: Libereria musicale italiana, 1988).

101 'molti si dilettano a adornare... palazzi... case, et massime le camere et i studij varij, et diversi ornamenti, secondo

la varieta et diversita de' loro ingegni et fantasie: onde avviene, che alcuni li adorna d'instrumenti musicali come

organi, clavicembali, monocordi, arpe, dolcemeli, baldose et altri simili, e chi liuti, viole, violini, lire, flauti, cornetti, cornamuse [...] tromboni et altri tali: quali ornamento io certo commendo assai perche questi tali instrumenti dilettano

molto all'orecchio, et ricreano molto gli animi, i quali come diceva Platone, si ricordano dell'armonia la qual nasce da i

moti delli circoli celesti: ancora piacciono assai all'occhio, quanto sono diligentemente e per mano d'eccellenti maestri

lavorati'. Sabba Castiglione, Ricordi ovvero ammaestramenti (...) nei quali con prudenti e cristiani discorsi si ragiona di

tutte le materie onorate che si ricercano a un ver gentil'huomo, (Venice: Giovanni Griffo, 1575), p. 112. 102 I am grateful to Elena Ferrari Barassi and Renato Meucci for having read and revised a draft of this article.



APPENDIX 1. THE D'ALARgON FAMILY TREE (from information given by Carlo De Lellis and Juan Suarez De Alarcon)

^^*BH_Br ^^

Figure 4. The d'Alarcon and Mendoza arms.

don Ferdinando Ruiz d'Alarcon (I) (Palomared de Heute, 1444 -

Naples, 1540) + donna Costanca Lison

Isabella Ruiz d'Alarcon (d. 1551) + Pietro Gonzales di Mendoza (don Ferdinando II)

Ferdinando di Mendoza (d. before 1551) + Eleonora Sanseverino103 Giovanni Alvaro Rodrigo104 Diego Anna Caterina e d'Alarcon (III)

Ferdinando (1544-1563) Pietro Gonzales di Mendoza ( Ferdinando IV) (d. after 1558) + Lucrezia Tomacella Isabella

+ Isabella Mendoza104

i i i r\ i Francesco (Ferdinando V) + Lucrezia Coscia Eleonora Andrea Diego Eleonora Claudia Antonia

103 The wedding between Ferdinando III and Eleonora Sanseverino was celebrated in 1542 or 1543. 104 He is mentioned only by Suarez de Alarcon, Comentarios de los Hechos del Senor Alarcon, Marquez de la Valle

Siciliana, y Rendu, p. 449. 105 The daughter of Diego, Ferdinando Ill's brother.



APPENDIX II. Dedication to the Primo Libro di Madrigali a cinque voci by Francesco Orso da Celano106

Dedication to the Primo Libro di Madrigali a Cinque Voci by Francesco Orso da Celano

To the Illustrious Gentlemen and my Master, the

Gentleman Don Ferdinando D'Alarcon, Marquis of

the Valle Siciliana

The Fame my illustrious master enjoys all over

the world for his magnanimity, courtesy and virtues drove me to become your servant and I

was only waiting a good occasion to show you my affection and obligation. Since I have discovered

that your virtues and qualities are even greater

than commonly said, a new spur was added to

the previous desire, that of looking fervently for

every occasion to serve you. As I haven't found

yet another chance, I dedicate to you my music

(although unworthy for your illustrious ears) to

prove to everybody my readiness and will to serve

you. I'm so doing more willingly also because, as

everybody knows, among all the living gentlemen today, nobody is able as you to sing sweetly, to play

many instruments, to appreciate music and to

embellish it; moreover, you treat your musicians

well. For all these reasons, nobody but you can bear the title of prince of music and excellent performer. Therefore, I will send you my compositions, as a

homage and tribute to you. Nevertheless, I did not

do this, so that you could defend my music from envious and evil tongues; a shield so strong and valuable as you should not be used against such weak and cowardly enemies. If these compositions do not satisfy you, please appreciate my good will. I will kiss hands to Your Illustrious Lordship, to

whom I heartily commend myself. Naples, June 25 1567. Don Francesco Orso da Celano, perpetual servant of Your Illustrious Lordship.

Dedicatoria del Primo Libro di Madrigali a Cinque Voci di Francesco Orso da Celano

ALLTLLUSTRISS.MO SIG.RE E / PADRON MIO

OSSERVANDISS. / IL SIG. DON HERNANDO

D'ALARCON / Marchese della Valle Siciliana.

LaFAMA, illustrissimosignormio, cheonoratamente

empie Vorecchie di tutto il mondo della grandezza, cortesia, e virtu di V. S. illustriss. aveva di maniera

inchinatigli desideri miei verso ilservizio di quella, ch'io non aspettavo altro, chalcuna occasioneper

poter dimostrare con segni evidenti Vaffezzione, e la servitu mia. Poi avendo trovato molto piu in

effetto le virtu, e qualita sue di quel, che la fama predic

"Musical Instruments in a 1592 Inventory of the Marquis Ferdinando d'Alarçon"

Documents

don francesco orso

ferdinando dalarcon

madrigali cromatici

ferdinando iv dalarcon

jstor terms

jstor archive

dalarcon family

celano aq