Conclusions

Looking at the results of the previous chapters, I can draw several conclusions about Bovicelli's diminution style. It is clear that Bovicelli is a composer who fits within the late 16th-century Italian tradition. Many aspects of his ornamentation reflect the characteristics of this period:

• The note values he uses (semibrevis – subsemifusa)
• The use of consonant intervals
• Ornaments move stepwise as much as possible
• The use of standard figures, such as a trill with a turn
• The use of the modal system, in this case G-dorian
• A focus on the corresponding range

Perhaps more interesting, however, are the aspects that are typical of Bovicelli’s personal style and not necessarily of the broader late 16th-century Italian diminution tradition:

• The use of a range wider than an octave plus a third
• The application of downward octave leaps
• The use of the accento in many different forms
• The frequent use of dotted notes
• The extensive use of rhythmic sequences
• The exclusion of written tremolos
• The use of raddoppiate
• In longer diminutions, pitch deviations of a second from the original melody (creating dissonance)
• Changing the pitch of the initial note
• Altering the note value and sometimes the pitch of the final note

One conclusion that can be drawn from this is that Bovicelli was progressive and aimed to explore a deeper layer of music: emotion and drama. This urge to introduce emotional expression is not typical of the 16th-century Italian diminution style, where ornaments were expected to be light, fluent and ‘easy-going’.¹ This 16th-century approach is more evident in Bassano’s work: he focusses on a smooth melodic flow, avoids dotted rhythms, maintains the original pitch for the beginning and ending notes, and excludes ‘lazy’ figures like various forms of accenti, while also making minimal use of rhythmic sequences. Although Bassano does not entirely conform to the idealized image of the 16th-century Italian style—for example, his diminutions often cover a wider range and include the use of a seventh interval—he aligns much more closely with the conventional framework of his time.

The broad and extensive conclusion is that Bovicelli, through his innovative elements and search for drama and emotion, was already anticipating the stylistic developments that would prevail in the following decades. 

Tips 

In this part, I will give you some tips for creating your own diminutions in Bovicelli's style.

First and foremost, it is essential to be familiar with the late 16th century Italian style in general. For those new to this style, I have three initial recommendations:

1. Listen to Renaissance music recorded by various musicians.
2. Play music by composers from the (late) 16th century, ideally with written-out ornaments—either by the composer himself or by another musician from our time. When playing diminutions by musicians from our time, I would like to invite you to explore the approach of the musician in question. I mean this in a simple way: for example, take a look at the program booklet included with a CD. This way, you can discover different perspectives from various performers.
3. Read up on sources and literature on this topic. This will help you recognize stylistic elements more quickly. You can find highly valuable sources in my bibliography.

1. The Theoretical Approach

This approach starts with consciously applying and writing out diminutions based on the theoretical aspects discussed in this study.

• Start simple: Create shorter ornaments with longer note values rather than overly fast diminutions.
• Begin stepwise: Try an ascending or descending run first. If necessary, add an interval at the start of this passage to ensure that it ends on the correct note.
• Incorporate Bovicelli’s standard ornaments: Use standard elements such as the trill, the turn, and—importantly—the accento. The accento is particularly effective and easy to apply. For example, when applied to initial notes: start a third lower and resolve towards the original note with a dotted rhythm. (Its duration is never the full note value but always half).

2. The Practical Approach

This is the approach that 16th-century musicians themselves used to apply—by actively doing. Here’s how you can approach it:

• Study Bovicelli’s examples of ornamentation (found in Chapter 3 of Regole) and choose one—preferably a short one to start with.
• Play an unornamented piece and try to apply only this single ornament, only by ear. This process is truly trial and error; mistakes will happen, so be patient. Over time, you will develop a better intuition for integrating this ornament naturally.
• Once you are comfortable with applying this single ornament, move on to another, momentarily forgetting the previous one.
• After mastering several short ornaments, you can begin combining two, later more, different figures into more elaborate embellishments.

By following the first approach, the theoretical one, you can learn to write and play more complex ornaments at an earlier stage, which is not the case with the second approach. However, the great advantage of the second approach is that it strengthens your improvisational skills—something that is not actively developed in the first.

That said, these two methods are not mutually exclusive—on the contrary, I highly recommend using both!

If you can write your own diminutions in the style of composers such as Bassano or Bovicelli and incorporate stylistic characteristics, it leads to a profound and thorough understanding of the style. You gain knowledge of the general practice and truly internalize the musical language.

My personal goal in pursuing this depth is to recognize and, most importantly, to be able to write in the style of a specific composer, so that I can later apply this knowledge in my own way. The extent to which I write my own diminutions depends on the context, but my aim is to combine the stylistic characteristics of different composers to shape my own approach, improvising while creating diminutions.

To achieve this, a number of follow-up studies would logically be the next step after this research. First, it would be interesting to examine how Bovicelli himself applied these ornaments in practice. I have already analyzed chapter 3 of his Regole, but it would be very interesting to compare these findings with those from chapter 4, where he puts these ornaments into practice. Another follow-up study could involve a similar in-depth exploration of the style of another late 16th-century composer, like Girolamo Dalla Casa. This would help to map out more broadly which aspects belong to the common language and which are specific to the composer/place/time.

Previous page