My passion for the Renaissance began with an interest in literature, painting and history. I’ve always loved history in general, and Renaissance history in particular. It was an incredibly dynamic time, and people had a very strong impression of the richness of their era. This feeling was connected, at least during the early part of Renaissance, to a sincere belief in the advent of a new Golden Age, as Lorenzo de’ Medici’s motto Il tempo si rinuova, which can be translated as “time returns”, proves. It was a tremendously active and optimistic period, full of hope in progress and in humanity. It ended with the religious wars.

In France the religious conflict between Catholics and Protestants quickly degenerated into civil war, which only emphasised the ineffectiveness of royal authority. As Montaigne so aptly showed, the religious question was used to rationalise uncontrolled behaviour and lust. The vigorous spirit of the early part of the century, which was progressing towards freedom for mankind, is also present in the works of Rabelais and Montaigne. This gave way to the doubt and disillusion that take over in the last chapters of Montaigne’s Essays.

The early Renaissance—the end of the fifteenth and the beginning of the sixteenth century—was exactly Rabelais’ period. It was an extraordinarily balanced era in terms of European civilisation; it was exquisite! This was expressed in a truly stupendous flowering of creativity. When you think what was happening in Florence at the time, and in Venice, Milan, Mantua, Rome... and in France as well!

Renaissance music is thought to be an important field nowadays, but not so long ago it was a marginal part of Renaissance studies. The art of music wasn’t taken into consideration as one of the branches of humanism.

Yes, I used to wonder why the music of the period was never mentioned. Was it because there hadn’t been any? Did the Renaissance, which was so inventive otherwise, neglect music? I found some answers in sixteenth-century books. One was Rabelais’ project for education, where he devoted many pages to music. Another was Castiglione’s Il libro del cortegiano. Other answers came from paintings... so many of them include musicians. I wanted to help people experience the music that was being heard in those paintings. I wanted to play the instruments that were played back then, to rediscover the sound world of Michelangelo, Raphael and Titian.

I wanted to help people experience the music that was being heard in those paintings. I wanted to play the instruments that were played back then, to rediscover the sound world of Michelangelo, Raphael and Titian

Current perceptions of the Renaissance are based mainly on language and images; that is, on literature and the visual arts. The musical part of the heritage seems so far removed from us now, but at the time music was ever-present. People were continually surrounded by music!

Yes, music had a central role as part of the system used to represent the world. People in the sixteenth century believed that the universe was a closed system made of spheres that fitted one inside the other. Each sphere made a sound when it moved, but these were imperceptible to the human ear. This was the famous music of the spheres. It was essential for sixteenth-century people to be in tune with this celestial harmony. Music making had a spiritual dimension in the Renaissance, as music made it possible to relate the microcosm to the macrocosm. People believed that elevated thinkers could hear the music of the spheres if their souls were pure enough. They also felt they could reconcile themselves with the various planets by following Marsilio Ficino’s advice and playing the appropriate pieces on the seven-stringed lira da braccio, the humanists’ favorite instrument.