Contrafactum is a practice where the original text of a musical piece is varied, but the notes of its monody or polyphony remain unchanged.
Composition History
During the 15th and 16th centuries, contrafacta often involved adapting spiritual texts to melodies of profane origin, such as frottole, strambotti, and odes.
Performer Biography
Anonima Frottolisti, an ensemble dedicated to European Humanism repertoire, has performed internationally and contributed to soundtracks for docu-fictions and the Sky series 'Lucrezia Borgia'.
Historical Context
The practice of contrafactum, which involves inserting a profane text into a sacred melody, has existed since the twelfth century.
Recording & Production
The album was recorded in 24-bit digital format at Giottomusic studio in Perugia, with Francesco Ciarfuglia as sound engineer and mixing, and Valentina Burini for editing.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Anonima Frottolisti aims to compare secular and religious musical universes from the 15th and 16th centuries to create a unified aesthetic taste.
Compositional Technique
Many Laude Spirituali, or spiritual lauds, include a 'cantasi come' (to be sung like) direction, indicating that a new poetic text should be sung to the music of a known profane piece.
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