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Ficino's Musica Humana: Musico-Astrological Improvisation
Document Type: Open Access
Degree Program
Music
Degree Type
Master of Music (M.M.)
Year Degree Awarded
2008
Month Degree Awarded
May
Primary Subject Category
Music
Secondary Subject Category
Theater
Keywords
15th-century Florentine improvvisatore, poesia per musica, frottola versification forms, immortality mind and Soul, naturalism, capitola
Advisor(s) or Committee Chair
Eisenstein, Robert
May, Ernest
Abstract
The improvvisatore tradition in Florence Italy during the second half of the quattrocento featured poet-musicians who sang poetry for music (poesia per musica) accompanied by the lira (da braccio). This thesis researches Florentine literati and threads of humanism in relation to poetry written for music. By doing so, philosophical and literary trends are analyzed in relation to the Florentine improvvisatore style: frottola versification forms and divinus furor.
Marsilio Ficino’s (1433-1499) direction at the Platonic Academy (founded c. 1463) outside Florence in the hills of Carregi influenced some of the greatest artists and musicians of his time. This thesis focuses on lyric improvisation as a means of connecting mind and body with the universe. In doing so, Ficino’s music-spirit-theory and astrological program are looked at in light of the Platonic sources. The instrument of the improvvisatore, the lira, will be analyzed in relation to affect (ethos) and wellness for mind (soul) and body
Recommended Citation
Clauss, Greg A., "Ficino's Musica Humana: Musico-Astrological Improvisation" (2008). Masters Theses. Paper 109.
http://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses/109
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