In the family archives of the da Filicaia family in the Florentine Archivio di Stato, there survives a group of letters written by, among others, one Ambrogio Angeni to the young Antonio da Filicaia, the member of an old and wealthy...
moreIn the family archives of the da Filicaia family in the Florentine Archivio di Stato, there survives a group of letters written by, among others, one Ambrogio Angeni to the young Antonio da Filicaia, the member of an old and wealthy patrician family who was away on family business in northern Europe for extended periods of time during the 1480s and 1490s. The letters make frequent and intimate reference to Heinrich Isaac, and reveal a surprising involvement with Lorenzo’s private musical circles, including commissioning and obtaining copies of works from Isaac and other named individuals, works that Ambrogio then sent to Antonio. The letters are full of musical references to new compositions, works by Isaac, preparation for carnival, aesthetic judgments and technical discussions, Lorenzo’s patronage, and a very active local composer previously unknown to musicologists. The letters date from1487-1489 while Antonio was residing in Nantes (Brittany), and they provide an unprecedented view of musical life in Florence at a critical period when carnival celebrations were resurgent, northern repertory was being collected and copied, northern composers (like Isaac) were interacting with local composers, and compositional procedures were changing.
