I. Atalante Migliorotti - A Man of Great Judgment In 1620 Francesco Rognono described the lirone’s inventor as a man of great judgment. But it took over 400 years to discover his name. It was Atalante Migliorotti, a Florentine who lived during the magnificent era of the Medici, when poetry, painting, sculpture, architecture and music – and the ancient singing of songs to the Orphic lyre returned. This episode takes us from Atalante’s apprenticeship with Leonardo to his successful career as a musician at the Italian courts. His life from 1500 is revealed in episode V: The Sacred Academy of the Medici.

II. The Singers of San Martino Today a rather shabby alleyway in Florence was once a prestigious and popular venue for an impressive number of acclaimed performers who improvised song and poetry to the lira da braccio during the 15th century. I am wholly indebted to Blake Wilson whose impressively encyclopedic Singing to the Lyre in Renaissance Italy inspired this episode.

III. Singing Orphic Hymns After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, a multitude of Greek scholars fled to Italy, and especially Florence, bringing with them a cache of ancient manuscripts. Lorenzo de Medici who had already collected some himself set up the Neoplatonic Academy outside of Florence at the Medici villa in Carregi. He appointed Marsilio Ficino (1433–1499), the expert on Platonic philosophy to lead the assemblage. Ficino, who had already translated all of Plato’s works into Latin, also provided members with his translations of the 87 ancient Orphic hymns. Chanting, praising and communing with the cosmos brought healing, purifying and balancing to the mind and body and soul through music. And bowing the lira da braccio had a central role in lending a smooth, serene and shimmering soundscape through its own magical pathway to the divine. Here we can see a clear connection with the lira and the lirone. Both possess that unique sound world that can inspire and guide the singer towards expressive delivery. There is much more to this story, but for the present it will have to wait.

IV. An Ancient Roman Garden Another lesser-known site in Florence today is the small villa with a Roman garden that became a haven for the humanists of the neo-Platonic academy that closed after the death of Lorenzo and the Medici exile from Florence in 1494. For much of this episode I am indebted to Anthony M. Cummings’ The Maecenas and the Madrigalist.

V. The Sacred Academy of the Medici Following the Medici return to Florence in 1512, a new academy was established to revive Lorenzo’s 15th-century Platonic Academy. His son, Giovanni who became Pope Leo X in 1513 granted the academy a charter with the right to crown poets and orators. The members’ favorite musicians were Atalante Migliorotti and Bernardo Accolti, whose diverse performing styles may ultimately reveal the lirone’s true role in accompanying vocal music. Again, my indebtedness to both Blake Wilson and Anthony M. Cummings.