L'Aminta and Il Pastor Fido

Milano: Dalla Tipografia di Commercio, 1824. Leather. Very Good. 6.5" by 4". None. Poems from two of Italy's great Renaissance poets. No poet was more influential on music history in the late Renaissance and Baroque eras than Guarini. While Guarini's work may be seen as lacking the deep feeling and sentiment of Torquato Tasso, his rival at the Estensi court, it was precisely this quality which commended it to musical setting at a time when excessive emotionalism had become unfashionable. Tasso's Aminta is a pastoral drama of very simple plot, but of exquisite lyrical charm. It appeared at the moment when music, under Palestrina's impulse, was becoming the main art of Italy. The honeyed melodies and sensuous melancholy of Aminta exactly suited and interpreted the spirit of its age. Its influence, in opera and cantata, was felt through two successive centuries. Binders label of R Carswell and Son, Belfast to front pastedown. In a half calf binding. Externally sound, with just slight wear to the leather. Internally, firmly bound. Bright with scattered spotting throughout, and just a few small tidemarks. Very Good