Gherardello da Firenze (also Niccolò di Francesco) (c. 1320-1325 – 1362 or 1363) was an Italian composer of the trecento. He was one of the first composers of the period sometimes known as the Italian ars nova. Events January 20 - Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland April 6 - The Scots reaffirm their independence by signing the Declaration of Arbroath. ... Events Muhammed Tughlaq succeeds his father Ghiyas al-Din Tughlaq as Sultan of Delhi. ... Centuries: 13th century - 14th century - 15th century Decades: 1310s 1320s 1330s 1340s 1350s - 1360s - 1370s 1380s 1390s 1400s 1410s Years: 1357 1358 1359 1360 1361 - 1362 - 1363 1364 1365 1366 1367 See also: 1362 state leaders Events Under Edward III, English replaces French as Englands national language, for the... Centuries: 13th century - 14th century - 15th century Decades: 1310s 1320s 1330s 1340s 1350s - 1360s - 1370s 1380s 1390s 1400s 1410s Years: 1358 1359 1360 1361 1362 - 1363 - 1364 1365 1366 1367 1368 See also: 1363 state leaders Events Magnus II, King of Sweden, is deposed by Albert of Mecklenburg. ... From mille trecento, Italian for 1300. ... Landini, the most famous composer of the trecento, playing a portative organ (illustration from the 15th century Squarcialupi Codex) The trecento was a period of vigorous activity in Italy in the arts, including painting, architecture, literature, and music. ...

Life

Gherardello was a member of a musical family, and both his brother Jacopo and his son Giovanni were also composers; however, none of their music survives. He was probably born in or near Florence, and spent most of his life there. In 1343 he appears in the records of the cathedral of Florence, Santa Reparata (this was before the building of the main cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore) as a clerk. Later he became a priest, and then served as chaplain of Santa Reparata from 1345 until 1351 — during the years that the Black Death ravaged the city. Probably around 1351 he joined the order of the Vallombrosa, a Benedictine order with an abbey about 30 km from Florence. Details of the last years of his life are lacking, and his death date is inferred from a sonnet written in 1362 or 1363 mourning his death, which occurred at Florence. Founded 59 BC as Florentia Region Tuscany Mayor Leonardo Domenici (Democratici di Sinistra) Area  - City Proper  102 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 356,000 almost 500,000 3,453/km² Time zone CET, UTC+1 Latitude Longitude 43°47 N 11°15 E www. ... Below the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore there are remains of a paleo-christian cult area and the building of Santa Reparata Ever since the barbaric ages there was an area in the north of Florence which was dedicated to the christian cult of the time and up to... The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is the cathedral church, or Duomo, of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Florence, noted for its distinctive dome. ... Illustration of the Black Death from the Toggenburg Bible (1411). ... Vallombrosa is a Benedictine abbey 21 miles (33 km) south-east of Florence, in the Apennines, surrounded by forests of beech and firs. ... ... Francesco Petrarca or Petrarch, one of the best-known of the early Italian sonnet writers The term sonnet is derived from the Provençal word sonet and the Italian word sonetto, both meaning little song. ...

Music

Although Gherardello was renowned during his time for his sacred music, little of it has survived. A Gloria and an Agnus Dei, both by Gherardello, are among just a handful of mass movements by Italian composers from before 1400. The style of Gherardello's mass movements is similar to that of the madrigal, although more restrained emotionally: they are for two voices, which sing together most of the time, with occasional passages where they sing in alternation. Gloria in Excelsis Deo (Latin for Glory to God in the highest) is the title and beginning of the great doxology (song of praise) used in the Roman Catholic mass and, in translation, in the services of many other Christian churches. ... The title Lamb of God may refer to: Lamb of God (religious), one of the titles given to Jesus in Christianity. ... This article discusses the Mass as a standard form of classical music composition. ... Events Henry IV quells baron rebellion and executes The Earls of Kent, Huntingdon and Salisbury for their attempt to have Richard II of England restored as King Jean Froissart writes the Chronicles Medici family becomes powerful in Florence, Italy Births December 25 - John Sutton, 1st Baron Dudley, Lord Lieutenant of... The Trecento-Madrigal is an Italian musical form of the 14th century (ca. ...

Gherardello's secular music has survived in greater abundance. Ten madrigals, all for two voices; five ballatas, all for a single voice; and a very famous caccia, Tosto che l'alba, which is for three voices, survive. Stylistically his music is typical of the early trecento, with the voices usually singing the same words at the same time, except for the caccia, in which the upper two voices sing a quickly moving canon, and the lowest voice sings a freely-composed part in longer notes. The ballata (plural: ballate) is an Italian poetic and musical form which was in use from the late 13th to the 15th century. ... Look up canon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Most of Gherardello's music has been preserved in the 15th century Squarcialupi Codex, although several other manuscripts, all from Tuscany, contain works of his. A portrait on the pages of the Codex devoted to his music is most likely him (each composer in that illuminated manuscript is pictured). (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... Illustration from the Squarcialupi Codex, showing Francesco Landini playing a portative organ The Squarcialupi Codex (Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Med. ... Tuscany (Italian Toscana) is a region in central Italy, bordering on Latium to the south, Umbria and Marche to the east, Emilia-Romagna and Liguria to the north, and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west. ... In the strictest definition of illuminated manuscript, only manuscripts decorated with gold or silver, like this miniature of Christ in Majesty from the Aberdeen Bestiary (folio 4v), would be considered illuminated. ...

See also

• Music of the trecento

Landini, the most famous composer of the trecento, playing a portative organ (illustration from the 15th century Squarcialupi Codex) The trecento was a period of vigorous activity in Italy in the arts, including painting, architecture, literature, and music. ...

References and further reading

• The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980. ISBN 1561591742
• Gustave Reese, Music in the Renaissance. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1954. ISBN 0393095304
• Richard H. Hoppin, Medieval Music. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1978. ISBN 0393090906
• Kurt von Fischer/Gianluca d'Agostino: "Gherardello da Firenze", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (Accessed December 20, 2005), (subscription access)