After studying the literature and playing many of Bovicelli’s pieces and ornaments during this research, I gained a broader sense of his usage of stylistic elements. In my view, his approach is rich and full of character, offering remarkable variety. He explores a broad range of possibilities, incorporating diverse intervals, sequences, alternating note values, and rhythmic contrasts. This makes the music feel lively and unexpected, keeping the listener curious about what comes next. Perhaps this is the essence of Bovicelli’s diminution style: it constantly surprises the listener through its endless variety.
I have aimed to capture this varied and distinctive style in writing my own diminutions on the piece Anchor che col partire, incorporating the same stylistic ornaments that I have found in the previous chapter, findings and discussion. This piece is a well-known madrigal composed in 1547 by Cipriano de Rore, who was particularly admired by composers later in the century.1 Choosing this piece allows me to replicate Bovicelli's ornamentation style within that context.
Below, you will find a PDF file with diminutions written by me, along with a video recording by Duo Helia, featuring Manou Schreiner on the lute.
First, I will provide an overview of the ornaments I incorporated.
To begin with, I use dotted figures, especially with a dotted fusa (eighth note), as Bovicelli frequently included them. Next, I have mainly used stepwise motion in the ornaments and followed the intervals Bovicelli also used: mainly thirds, but also fourths, fifths, and octave leaps.
Furthermore, you will find rhythmic sequences (the repetition of a rhythmic figure), a melodic sequence (the repetition of a motif), and standard figures such as the trill and the trill with a turn. Additionally, I have included ornaments with specific names: the accento and the raddoppiate. The accento begins a third or second below the main note before resolving upward into it, and also exists in an elaborate form in descending lines. The raddoppiate (a motif repeated at double speed) is also present.
As Bovicelli himself often does, the initial and final notes of phrases are frequently ornamented. This can be done with the accento or by breaking up the final note before resolving back to it, as seen in the very last note of the piece.
Lastly, in some cases, an interval is marked where the ornamented note is compared to the original note. Sometimes, this is a second—a dissonant interval, as Bovicelli also uses.
A few extra notes:
- Dotted figures appear frequently throughout the piece. I do not mark them everywhere, only at the beginning and when a dotted figure with a new note value appears for the first time.
- Stepwise passages occur often; I only mark the first instance.
- Interval leaps of a third are very common and are not specifically indicated, as they are often part of a passage or sequence, for example.
