Luzzasco Luzzaschi (1547-1607)

[Carlo Gesualdo]

Okay, were do I start this post Luzzaschi was an amazing composer for sure and over shadow, by bigger names that would come later on in Italy.

Yet he an awesome composer, of polyphony and instrumental music, that no one hardly talk about or give him his credits of importance in Italian music of renaissance, would like to know why?

I happen to have one LP of him called concerto Delle Dame di Ferrara on Harmonia Mundi, a very pretty LP nice execution Sergio Vartolo on keyboard complimented by lovely female vocalists, top notch vinyl.
And also a CD on Brilliant Classics of his complete keyboard music that I like a lot, amazing stuff, so underrated sadly I need more record of him.

His there better record I'm not aware of I'd like to know more. Quite Charming stuff, music that is irresistible.

Here the man biography

Luzzasco Luzzaschi (c. 1545 – 10 September 1607) was an Italian composer, organist, and teacher of the late Renaissance. He was born and died in Ferrara, and despite evidence of travels to Rome[1] it is assumed that Luzzaschi spent the majority of his life in his native city. He was a skilled representative of the late Italian madrigal style, along with Palestrina, Wert, Monte, Lassus, Marenzio, Gesualdo and others.

Biography
As a pupil of Cipriano de Rore, Luzzaschi developed his craft and eventually came to be an influential pedagogue himself. Anthony Newcomb writes:

The members of the Roman school, beginning with Ercole Pasquini and succeeded by Frescobaldi himself, were entirely trained by Luzzaschi. The neapolitians around Gesualdo and Macque admired and closely followed Luzzaschi's work; some came north to study with Luzzaschi personally."[2]

In 1564, Luzzaschi was appointed as principal organist to the d'Este court. His facility as a keyboard player must have been paramount, for his competence on Nicola Vicentino's microtonal archicembalo was actively documented throughout his career.

Luzzaschi is widely remembered due to his association with the famous Concerto delle donne, a private female vocal ensemble founded by Alfonso II, Duke of Ferrara. In addition to his duties as court organist, as director for the ensemble he composed expert madrigals that required virtuosic vocal skill and advanced musicianship. Expressing a highly ornamented soprano line, his famous publication, Madrigali...per cantare, et sonare, a uno, e doi, e tre soprani of 1601 contained repertory performed by this expert troupe.[3]

Works
Luzzaschi's surviving canon is limited to: seven books (1571 through 1604) of madrigals for five voices; the 1601 Madrigali per cantare et sonare a 1-3 soprani; a collection of five-part motets; and four keyboard works. While reference to three books of four-voice ricercars by Luzzaschi indicates that he was actively composing instrumental work, the books themselves appear to be lost.[4]

Il primo libro de madrigali a cinque voci (1571)
Sources

p.s  I'm listening to his madrigal book  tonight