Storia della notazione musicale
A.Y. 2026/2027
Learning objectives
Music is expressed in performance, while notation is above all an expedient. However, if interpreted beyond its function, it can become a privileged reflection of the idea of music that different historical periods have expressed. Through direct engagement with sources, the course investigates the cultural and anthropological values that the musical sign has brought into play over the centuries, as well as the process that led to the formation of modern musical notation.
Expected learning outcomes
Students will be able to understand the meaning of musical signs and the historical reasons for which they were conceived, recognizing their aesthetic and symbolic values, their relationship with performance practice, and the ways in which notation today relates to music publishing and digital tools.
Lesson period: First semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course can be attended as a single course.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
First semester
Course syllabus
"The Seduction of Sign: The Chansonnier Cordiforme"
At the height of the Italian Renaissance, the Chansonnier Cordiforme was created: a unique and unconventional object that, beneath the appearance of an elegant heart-shaped music manuscript, preserves the cultural, philosophical, and political tensions of Europe on the threshold of modernity.
This course will reveal the secrets of early Renaissance music, enabling participants to read premodern musical notation (white mensural notation) and decipher the hidden meanings embedded in musical signs: not only those useful for modern performance, but also the clues that reveal how music was conceived during that period, within a network of political and cultural relationships that closely resembles today's forms of digital communication.
Starting from the Chansonnier Cordiforme, participants will explore:
- how music was used to communicate ideas, power, and identity;
- how to read ancient manuscripts and transform them into living tools for musical interpretation;
- the compositional strategies hidden behind the most celebrated songs of the period;
- why Renaissance music can still speak to us today about politics, persuasion, and seduction.
At the height of the Italian Renaissance, the Chansonnier Cordiforme was created: a unique and unconventional object that, beneath the appearance of an elegant heart-shaped music manuscript, preserves the cultural, philosophical, and political tensions of Europe on the threshold of modernity.
This course will reveal the secrets of early Renaissance music, enabling participants to read premodern musical notation (white mensural notation) and decipher the hidden meanings embedded in musical signs: not only those useful for modern performance, but also the clues that reveal how music was conceived during that period, within a network of political and cultural relationships that closely resembles today's forms of digital communication.
Starting from the Chansonnier Cordiforme, participants will explore:
- how music was used to communicate ideas, power, and identity;
- how to read ancient manuscripts and transform them into living tools for musical interpretation;
- the compositional strategies hidden behind the most celebrated songs of the period;
- why Renaissance music can still speak to us today about politics, persuasion, and seduction.
Prerequisites for admission
Rudiments of musical theory
Teaching methods
Lecture format, with seminar-like activities
Teaching Resources
Course materials will be provided during the semester on the instructor's website: https://www.examenapium.it/daolmi/#teorie
The course will primarily rely on the following:
- Bibliography provided during the course.
- Davide Daolmi, Storia della musica: Dalle origini al Seicento (Firenze: Le Monnier, 2019).
The course will primarily rely on the following:
- Bibliography provided during the course.
- Davide Daolmi, Storia della musica: Dalle origini al Seicento (Firenze: Le Monnier, 2019).
Assessment methods and Criteria
The exam can be taken in a traditional form, or through the creation of a multimedia communication (written report, podcast, video). Passing the exam awards 6 credits (CFU), while participation in the seminar awards 3 CFU.
Non-attending students: the exam consists of a written assignment on a topic previously agreed upon with the lecturer. To take the exam as a non-attending student, it is necessary to have attended either the "Thesis Laboratory in Music" or the "STRIM Laboratory".
Non-attending students: the exam consists of a written assignment on a topic previously agreed upon with the lecturer. To take the exam as a non-attending student, it is necessary to have attended either the "Thesis Laboratory in Music" or the "STRIM Laboratory".
PEMM-01/C - Musicology and Music History - University credits: 6
Lessons: 40 hours
Professor:
Daolmi Davide
Professor(s)