Biography
Niccolò da Perugia (also Nicolò del Preposto, Latin: Magister Sere Nicholaus Prepositi de Perugia; flourished second half of the 14th century) was an Italian composer of the Trecento, the musical period also known as the Italian Ars Nova. He was a prominent contemporary of Francesco Landini and Gherardello da Firenze, and was primarily active in the cultural hub of Florence.
Biography and historical context
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Little is known for certain about his life; only a few biographical details can be verified from extramusical archival sources. He was likely born in Perugia and may have been the son of the provost (preposto) there, which accounts for his alternative name Nicolò del Preposto. In 1362, he was documented as a visitor to the Florentine monastery of Santa Trinita alongside Gherardello da Firenze. Niccolò was deeply embedded in the Tuscan literary and intellectual elite; a substantial portion of his surviving works consists of musical settings of poems by his close friend, the celebrated Florentine writer Franco Sacchetti. Based on the writing dates of these poems, his peak creative period is securely placed between 1360 and 1375. He might be the historical "Ser Niccolò" recorded as a notable singer of spiritual praise songs (laude) in Florence in 1393. His late career was marked by regional political conflicts: his brilliant three-voice madrigal La fiera testa ("The Fierce Head") was almost certainly written as a political broadside against the expansionist Visconti family of Milan when Florence was at war with them between 1397 and 1400. The title itself serves as a direct heraldic metaphor for the "Biscione" (the man-eating serpent) on the Visconti coat of arms.
Musical style and innovations
A total of 41 compositions by Niccolò have survived with reliable attribution, the vast majority of which are preserved in the monumental Squarcialupi Codex (Codex Squarcialupi), while the remainder reside in secondary Tuscan manuscripts. His extant catalog is entirely secular and vocal, comprising 16 madrigals, 21 ballate, and 4 caccie. Musically, Niccolò stands out for his adherence to an inherently native, conservative Italian style. While his contemporary Landini eagerly absorbed the complex rhythmic syncopations and polyphonic structures of the French Ars Nova, Niccolò deliberately rejected ultramontane influences. His two-voice madrigals prioritize text legibility, linear fluidity, and transparent textures. One of Niccolò’s most distinctive structural innovations was his pioneering development of the ballate minimae (miniature ballades). These exceptionally brief, concise pieces usually set a single line of moralizing or philosophical text, drawing a sharp contrast to the extended, courtly love poetry favored by most Trecento composers. The high quality and catchiness of his secular melodies made them popular vehicles for medieval contrafactum, where his tunes were stripped of their secular words and retrofitted with religious texts for local laudesi brotherhoods.
Main compositions
Ballate
Benche partir da tte, a2 (contrafactum of the lauda "Benedetto colui")Ben di fortuna (text by N. Soldanieri), a2Chiamo non m'e risposto, a2Chi 'l ben sofrir (text by F. Sacchetti), a2Ciascun faccia per se (text by N. Soldanieri or A. Pucci), a2De come ben mi sta, a2Dio mi guardi, a2 (contrafactum of the lauda "Signor, merzé ti chieggio")Donna, posso io sperare, a2 (ballata in dialogue form)Egli e mal far le fusa, a2Il Megli’ è Pur Tacere, a2Io vegio in gran dolo, a2I' son' tuo, donna, a2La donna mia vol, a2Mentre che'l vagho viso, a2Molto mi piace, a2Non piu diró, a2Non si conhece 'l ben, a2Non so che di me fia, a1Senpre con umilta, a2Stato nessun firm'a, a2Tal sotto l'acqua pesce, a2
Madrigals
Cogliendo per un prato, a2Come la gru quando per l'aria vola (text by F. Sacchetti), a2Come selvagia fera (text by F. Sacchetti), a2I' son' c'a seguitar, a2It'a veder ciascun, a2La fiera testa (text by Petrarch?, a3 canonic madrigal)Nel meço a sey paon, a2Nel meço gia del mar (text by F. Sacchetti), a2 (contrafactum of the lauda "Nel meço a due ladron")Non dispregiar virtu (text by Stefano di Cino), a2O Giustitia regin' (text by G. Boccaccio?), a2O sommo specchio, a3Povero pellegrin (text by F. Sacchetti), a2Qual Perseguita Dal Suo Servo Danne, a2 (contains the senhal "Isabella")Quand gli raggi, a2Rott'e la vela, a2Tal mi fa guerra che mi mostra pace (text by N. Soldanieri?), a2Vidi com' amor piacque, a2Virtu loco non ci a (text by N. Soldanieri), a2
Caccie
Dappoi che' l sole, a3Passando con pensier (text by F. Sacchetti), a3State su donne (text by F. Sacchetti), a3
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.