All sources are Wikipedia.
Selection of Pieces for Inclusion in this Book
All pieces are from two publications by Petrus Phalesius, namely Theatrum Musicum in 1563 and Luculentum Theatrum Musicum in 1568 (both referred to as Theatrum Musicum in these arrangements), but only those pieces identified as fantasia are included.
Notes on the Publisher
Peeter van der Phaliesen, Latinised as Petrus Phalesius, French versions of name Pierre Phalèse and Pierre de Phaleys (ca 1510 – 1575) was a Flemish bookseller, printer and publisher. Aside from a number of literary and scientific works, his printing press is mainly known for its publications of music. Phalesius was the principal publisher of music active in the sixteenth-century Low Countries. By 1575 the Phalesius press had published about 180 music books.
The majority of Phalesius’s output is dedicated to sacred music—masses, motets and magnificats—the rest being a mix of French chansons, Italian madrigals, Flemish songs and instrumental works. Vocal and instrumental works are both represented. Because Phalesius put out a number of lute publications during the early years of his activity, some music historians believe that he may himself have played the lute.
Phalesius borrowed from many composers and did not hesitate to include works from collections of other publishers. Many pieces are by Clemens non Papa and other Flemish composers such as Lassus and Rore, while some of his instrumental pieces are obviously borrowed from the Parisian publishers Le Roy and Ballard.
Many of the pieces are duplicated between Theatrum Musicum in 1563 and Luculentum Theatrum Musicum in 1568 (both referred to as Theatrum Musicum in these arrangements). In these cases, the earlier version is used as the primary folio for the arrangement in this book.
Notes on the Composers and Pieces
Fantasia: A fantasia or fantasie is a musical composition with its roots in the art of improvisation. The term was first applied to music during the 16th century, at first to refer to the imaginative musical “idea” rather than to a particular compositional genre. Its form and style consequently ranges from the freely improvisatory to the strictly contrapuntal, and also encompasses more or less standard sectional forms (i.e. it sometimes but doesn’t always follow the “rules”).
All the pieces in this book should be played using varying tempos and styles to fit the mode of the music.
The following are the identified composers or arrangers:
Petrus Phalesius identified some composers for the intabulations when naming the pieces. Some have been identified or attributed subsequently. Spellings have been adjusted for some names.
Anonymous or Unknown or Not Specified is used when no specific composer has been identified or attributed for the piece.
Giovanni Giacomo Albuzio (16th Century) was an Italian Renaissance composer and lutenist.
Bálint Bakfark (ca 1507-1576) was a Hungarian composer of Transylvanian Saxon origin,[1] and lutenist of the Renaissance. He was enormously influential as a lutenist in his time, and renowned as a virtuoso on the instrument. While Bakfark almost certainly wrote an enormous amount of music, very little was printed: a commonly given reason was that it was simply too difficult for others to play.
Pietro Paolo Borrono (ca 1490 – 1563), Petro Paulo da Milano or Petter Paul Borrono was an Italian composer and lutenist of the Renaissance.
Giovanni Maria de Crema (ca 1492–1550) was an Italian composer and lutenist of the Renaissance. Almost nothing is known about the life of Giovanni Maria da Crema. The fifteen ricercare attributed to him are among the most beautiful of his time.
Simon Gintzler (ca 1490 – 1550) was a German composer and lutenist. Simon Gintzler was a lutenist to the prince bishop of Trento and administrator of Bressanone, Cardinal Cristoforo Madruzzo. He published a text of music containing six original pieces and about thirty contrapuntal imitative transcriptions (ricercari, motets, madrigals and French songs) by authors such as Josquin des Prés, Philippe Verdelot, Adrian Willaert, etc.
Adrian Le Roy (ca 1520–1598) became an accomplished musician and entered the service of, first, Claude de Clermont, then, Jacques II (Baron de Semblançay and Viscount of Tours), both members of the aristocracy who had influence at court. Le Roy and his cousin Robert Ballard founded the printing firm “Le Roy & Ballard”, and in August 1551 obtained a royal privilege from Henry II to print music Le Roy achieved renown as a composer and arranger of songs and instrumentals, his published work including at least six books of tablature for the lute, five volumes for the guitar and arrangements for the cittern.1
Francesco da Milano (also know as Francesco Canova da Milano, Il divino, Francesco da Parigi and more) (1497 – 1543) was an Italian lutenist and composer. Francesco’s music was widely known and studied including five volumes of lute music published in Milan in 1536. He is the author of at least 140 tabulations, of which about 40 are transcriptions of chansons (songs) of other composers. One of the defining characteristic features of Francesco’s style is the manipulation and development of short melodic motifs within a “narrative” formal outline. Francesco’s reputation rests on his ricercars and fantasias.
Guillaume Morlaye (ca 1510 – 1558) was a French Renaissance era lutenist, composer and music publisher. He was a pupil of Albert de Rippe and lived and worked in Paris. In 1552 he received a ten-year license to publish music from Henry II, and between 1553 and 1558 published four lute collections in cooperation with Michel Fezandat and six lute collections compiled by Albert de Rippe. He also published three books of his own four-course Renaissance guitar compositions during 1552–53, including fantasies and dances, and also lute arrangements of Pierre Certon and Claudin de Sermisy.
Luys de Narváez (flourished 1526 – 1549), also Luis de Narváez, was a Spanish composer and vihuelist. Narváez was very highly regarded during his lifetime, particularly for his vihuela playing; he was reported to be able to improvise four parts over another four at sight. Los seys libros del delphin de musica de cifras para taner vihuela or Del Delphin for short, was published in Vallodolid in 1538. This polyphonic music for the vihuela includes the earliest known variation sets (or diferencias in Spanish).
Jean-Paul Paladin or Giovanni Paolo Paladino (fl 1540-1560) was an Italian composer and lutenist from Milan. From 1516-22 he was lutenist to Francois I, from 1544 with Charles III of Lorraine, and from 1548-53 with Queen Mary of Scotland. Paladino published three books of lute music in Lyons in 1549, 1553 and 1560.
Antonio Rotta (ca 1495-1549) was an Italian lutenist, composer and music teacher of the Renaissance period in Padua which was part of the Republic of Venice and renowned for its university. Rotta was not only virtually unrivaled in Italy as a lutenist, but was also an excellent teacher and had grown quite rich by giving lessons on the lute.
Enrique de Valderrabano (ca 1500 – after 1557) was a Spanish vihuelist and composer. His Libro de música de vihuela intitulado Silva de Sirenas was published in Valladolid, Spain, in 1547 and has seven parts containing fugas, contrapuntos, sonetos, bajas, vacas, discantes, pavanas, proverbios, canciones, romances, and villancicos—ordered by level of difficulty. It is considered an important source of knowledge on the vihuela music of the Spanish Renaissance of the sixteenth century and European instrumental music in general, as it includes transcriptions of pieces by other significant composers of the time.
Raphael Viola – no information.