Motus Profundus

"Motus Profundus" 2021

In the 15th century, musical life in Italy was flourishing - flos florum! - Europe´s most famous musicians and composers worked in church chapels and at court. What remains today are not only their tombstones but also a lot of their music in modenese manuscripts: secular music, motets and masses. The manuscripts do not have to be treated as mere artifacts of the past but as a tool to revive the musical heritage we were given. 

MS {alpha}.X.1.11. - possibly copied by Guillaume Dufay (ca. 1400-1474) himself is full of his beautiful motets. This led us to Dufay´s chansons and to the music of the closely related Gilles Binchois (ca. 1400-1460). A few decades later, Alexander Agricola (1446-1506) based some of his most interesting secular and sacred music on their chansons, such as Je ne vis onques, Comme femme desconfortée and Le serviteur hault guerdonné. Exploring Agricolas biography, we found the way back to Modena, to the famous manuscript MS {alpha}.M.5.24. and a composition by Matteo da Perugia (around 1400). This connection is amongst other things established by an interesting musical genre, lamentation or epitaph:

Transforming the death of a person into music does not only express grief. Additionally it reflects the impact and fame they had during their lifetime. Nowadays these pieces are giving us a great opportunity to honor them far beyond their historical impact.