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Se pronto non sarà, S.21 (ballata a2)Genre: Other Secular Polyphony
Pr. Instrument: Voice
The strange and fabulous light of nonsense, in the sense that birdsong is delightful musical nonsense, shines all over this funny little piece. It could be effectively played very lightly or with considerable expressiveness. The latter would produce an atmosphere like a picnic under heavy rain clouds, the former like the genius (Landini) giggling into his organetto after too much wine.
Whereas the early Landini tends to be tied more to dance forms than the later and is consequently more straightforward, here the two lines often act with a giddy independence. Except for during the short outbursts of sixteenth notes in the top line, it never remains clear for long which voice is the "leader," which the follower, the two at times being virtually interchangeable.
You'll find surprising also the great abundance of rhythmic and melodic ideas—the two voices easily take the space of three, and the lack of the extra voice is no handicap. Rather, it allows the composer more melodic freedom; he enters a compositional space in which he acknowledges no muse but his inventive sense of play.
© All Music Guide



