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HARPSICHORD DECORATION—A REFLECTION OF RENAISSANCE IDEAS ABOUT MUSIC

HARPSICHORD DECORATION—A REFLECTION OF RENAISSANCE IDEAS ABOUT MUSIC ThonlllS McG«lry A prominent feature of leisure at all levels of Renaissance society was an "immense enthusiasm for music."1 And sources as diverse as Boccaccio's Decameron (1353), Baldassare Castiglione's II Iibro dei cortegiano (1528), the Tischreden (1566) of Martin Luther, and Thomas Morley's A Plaine and Easie Introduction to Practicall Musicke (1597) give insights into the role of domestic music making in Renaissance society, as weIl as into the degree of musical skill expected of a member of "polite" society. Such diverse music making of course required musical instruments. And among those used in the Renaissance were keyboard instruments: harpsichords, spinets, virginals, and clavichords. As with many other such ostensibly utilitarian objects in Renaissance life, great care and expense were often lavished on the decoration of these instruments: they were often painted with allegorical, mythological, or pastoral scenes; veneered and covered with inlay-work and sculpture; or embellished with semi-precious stones. Some decorative schemes gave great prominence to written inscriptions or mottoes. Such instruments were obviously intended to serve as works of art and signs of wealth as much as musical instruments. Baldassare Castiglione reported that his ideal ruler, Federigo da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, included "every kind of http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Explorations in Renaissance Culture Brill

HARPSICHORD DECORATION—A REFLECTION OF RENAISSANCE IDEAS ABOUT MUSIC

McGeary, Thomas
Explorations in Renaissance Culture , Volume 6 (1): 1 – Dec 2, 1980
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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© Copyright 1980 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
0098-2474
eISSN
2352-6963
DOI
10.1163/23526963-90000037
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

ThonlllS McG«lry A prominent feature of leisure at all levels of Renaissance society was an "immense enthusiasm for music."1 And sources as diverse as Boccaccio's Decameron (1353), Baldassare Castiglione's II Iibro dei cortegiano (1528), the Tischreden (1566) of Martin Luther, and Thomas Morley's A Plaine and Easie Introduction to Practicall Musicke (1597) give insights into the role of domestic music making in Renaissance society, as weIl as into the degree of musical skill expected of a member of "polite" society. Such diverse music making of course required musical instruments. And among those used in the Renaissance were keyboard instruments: harpsichords, spinets, virginals, and clavichords. As with many other such ostensibly utilitarian objects in Renaissance life, great care and expense were often lavished on the decoration of these instruments: they were often painted with allegorical, mythological, or pastoral scenes; veneered and covered with inlay-work and sculpture; or embellished with semi-precious stones. Some decorative schemes gave great prominence to written inscriptions or mottoes. Such instruments were obviously intended to serve as works of art and signs of wealth as much as musical instruments. Baldassare Castiglione reported that his ideal ruler, Federigo da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, included "every kind of

Journal

Explorations in Renaissance Culture – Brill

Published: Dec 2, 1980

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