L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 20 L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2017 " Quant'è bella giovinezza, che si fugge tuttavia! / Chi v u o l e s s e r l i e t o , s i a / d i doman non c'è certezza." Tomorrow has no certainty, s o d a n c e a n d s i n g a n d l o v e t o d a y . T h i s i s t h e m e s s a g e Lorenzo de Medici delivers in his Triumph of Bacchus, written in 1490. Even today, the poetic lyrics of his "canto carnasciale- sco," or carnival song, power- f u l l y r e v e r b e r a t e f r o m t h e streets of Medieval Florence, where they were first inked on paper. S o w h o w a s L o r e n z o d e Medici and what are the "canti carnascialeschi"? Lorenzo was born in 1449 and was the son of Pietro de Medici. After the sud- d e n d e a t h o f h i s f a t h e r , h e assumed the role of leader of the republic of Florence at the y o u n g a g e o f t w e n t y . Undeniably a brilliant man of many talents, Lorenzo was a banker, merchant, politician, poet, philosopher, patron of the arts, and lover of music. It is no wonder his name has notably g o n e d o w n i n h i s t o r y a s "Lorenzo il Magnifico." Perhaps what is most honor- able about this man is that he VINCENZA DI MAGGIO had the ability to navigate his way through an aristocratic- bourgeois society, while main- taining a rare sensibility for the popular class. He enjoyed writ- ing and conversing in the plain, vernacular humor of the masses, but could also lead dignified discussions on the highest, most c u l t i v a t e d f o r m s o f a r t a n d music. Prior to Lorenzo's involve- ment, Florence's Carnevale fes- tivities consisted of "traditional jousts and parades" that, accord- ing to Patrick Macey, retired Professor of Musicology at the U n i v e r s i t y o f R o c h e s t e r ' s Eastman School of Music, "tes- t i f i e d t o p a t r i c i a n p o w e r i n Florence." In his book titled Bonfires Songs: Savonarola's Musical Legacy, Macey writes that Lorenzo "Promoted a new kind of celebration that empha- sized the donning of masks, so that the idle 'giovani' (youths in their twenties, whose age ren- dered them ineligible to hold public office) could mimic the artisan class and in the process inject a more 'popular' flavor into carnival." I n h i s l i f e t i m e , L o r e n z o w r o t e e l e v e n " c a n t i c a r - nascialeschi," or carnival songs. On the surface, the first songs seemed to innocently poke fun at various professions, such as bakers selling cialdoni (a type o f p a s t r y ) . A c l o s e r l o o k a t them, however, reveals a wily side to Lorenzo's personality. The texts are cunningly laced with obscene sexual innuendos and hidden double meanings. Youths would dress up in masks mimicking the various profes- s i o n s t h e s o n g s d e s c r i b e d . Taking advantage of their dis- guise, they would emphasize the e r o t i c a c t s t h e t e x t s i m p l i e d w i t h o u t e m b a r r a s s m e n t . Florence's Carnevale celebra- tions were coated with these playful connotations until 1478 w h e n , a s a r e s u l t o f a P a z z i s c h e m e , L o r e n z o w a s b a d l y i n j u r e d a n d h i s b r o t h e r , Giuliano, killed. Following the incident, festivities were sus- pended for ten years. Perhaps due to his deteriorat- ing health and the effects of his gout, he could sense his immi- nent death. When the celebra- tions resumed in 1488, Lorenzo wrote songs that were no longer filled with the lewd language of his earlier works. These new songs held profound philosophi- cal truths that continue to res- onate even today. His Triumph of Bacchus is the most beautiful and famous of his carnival songs. The poetic t e x t f e a t u r e s B a c c h u s t h e Roman god of wine, revels, and j o y , a n d h i s w i f e A r i a d n e , d a u g h t e r o f M i n o s , K i n g o f Crete. As the story goes, after helping her lover Theseus defeat the Minotaur and escape from the Labyrinth of Crete, Ariadne was abandoned by him on the island of Naxos, where she was later rescued and comforted by t h e g o d B a c c h u s . D u r i n g C a r n e v a l e , t h e s o n g o f t h e Triumph of Bacchus rang jubi- l a n t l y t h r o u g h t h e s t r e e t s . A c c o m p a n i e d b y a l i v e l y brigade of singers and dancers (representing nymphs), these m y t h o l o g i c a l f i g u r e s r o d e through the crowds on elabo- rately decorated carri, or floats. In his poem Lorenzo writes of joy, the ecstasy of love, and the bountiful pleasures of youth. He celebrates life and happi- ness. His words are intoxicating, and yet the bliss is accompanied by a bitter, melancholy truth: our youth is temporary. Time, and life is fleeting. Death is inevitable, and tomorrow is not promised. His words encourage y o u n g m e n a n d w o m e n t o rejoice in their lives and the beauty of their youth without limitation, before it is too late. T h o u g h h e c o u l d n ' t h a v e known it at the time, the text is a l s o a f o r e s h a d o w i n g o f t h e grim future of the republic of Florence. Under Lorenzo's rule art, music, and literature thrived beautifully, but almost immedi- ately after his death in 1492, the a u s t e r e D o m i n i c a n p r i e s t Girolamo Savonarola rose to power. Several of Lorenzo's songs and melodies were merci- lessly destroyed in the Bonfire of the Vanities in 1497, when Savonarola ordered the burning of all precious books, artworks, musical instruments, and other objects that were thought to be immorally excessive. Quant'è bella giovinezza, che si fugge tuttavia! chi vuol esser lieto, sia: di doman non c'è certezza. Quest'è Bacco ed Arïanna, belli, e l'un dell'altro ardenti: perché 'l tempo fugge e ingan- na, sempre insieme stan contenti. Queste ninfe ed altre genti sono allegre tuttavia. Chi vuol esser lieto, sia: di doman non c'è certezza. Questi lieti satiretti, delle ninfe innamorati, per caverne e per boschetti han lor posto cento agguati; or da Bacco riscaldati ballon, salton tuttavia. Chi vuol esser lieto, sia di doman non c'è certezza. Queste ninfe anche hanno caro da lor essere ingannate: non può fare a Amor riparo, se non gente rozze e ingrate: ora insieme mescolate suonon, canton tuttavia. Chi vuol esser lieto, sia: di doman non c'è certezza. Questa soma, che vien drieto sopra l'asino, è Sileno: così vecchio è ebbro e lieto, già di carne e d'anni pieno; se non può star ritto, almeno ride e gode tuttavia. Chi vuol esser lieto, sia: di doman non c'è certezza. Mida vien drieto a costoro: ciò che tocca oro diventa. E che giova aver tesoro, s'altri poi non si contenta? Che dolcezza vuoi che senta chi ha sete tuttavia? Chi vuol esser lieto, sia: di doman non c'è certezza. Ciascun apra ben gli orecchi, di doman nessun si paschi; oggi siam, giovani e vecchi, lieti ognun, femmine e maschi; ogni tristo pensier caschi: facciam festa tuttavia. Chi vuol esser lieto, sia: di doman non c'è certezza. Donne e giovinetti amanti, viva Bacco e viva Amore! Ciascun suoni, balli e canti! Arda di dolcezza il core! Non fatica, non dolore! Ciò c'ha a esser, convien sia. Chi vuol esser lieto, sia: di doman non c'è certezza. Details of the vault ceiling decorated by Annibale Carracci of the Galleria Farnese in the Farnese Palace in Rome Lorenzo de Medici's Triumph of Bacchus: "Di doman non c'è certezza" LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE

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