Medici, Cosimo I (EN)

Medici Cosimo I, original name Cosimo de’, also called Il Grande, *12 June 1519 Florence, †21 April 1574 Castello (near Florence), from 1569, the first Grand Duke of Tuscany. A patron of music, he expanded and reorganized the musical ensemble operating at the cathedral and baptistery, organized lavish artistic and musical performances for major state and family occasions; in 1539, he specially commissioned F. Corteccia, appointing him as maestro di cappella responsible for the musical direction of these performances. His ducal entourage also included many singers, dancers, musicians, and composers (including A. Striggio, G. Caccini, J. Peri, and E. de Cavalieri). After the death of Cosimo I de’ Medici, the continuation of these initiatives, which were of great significance for the development of musical drama, was carried on by his two sons, Ferdinando I and Francesco I. In 1600, on the occasion of the wedding of Francesco’s daughter Maria de’ Medici to Henry IV, Il rapimento di Cefalo by Caccini and L’Euridice by Peri were staged in Florence.

Literature: J. Haar A Gift of Madrigals to Cosimo I. The Ms. Florence, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Magi. XIX, 130, “Rivista Italiana di Musicologia” I, 1966; A Renaissance Entertainment. Festivities for the Marriage of Cosimo I, Duke of Florence, in 1539, ed. A. Minor, B. Mitchell, Columbia (Missouri), 1968.

***

The Medici, House of Medici, an Italian merchant and banking family, from the 16th century a ducal house, initially ruling Florence and later the whole of Tuscany. Under their rule in the 15th century, Florence became the cultural capital of Italy and the birthplace of the Renaissance. The Medici’s patronage played a major role in the development of architecture, sculpture, painting and music, extending throughout Tuscany. There were three lines of the family, two of them — the line descended from Cosimo (1389–1464) and the line of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany beginning with Cosimo’s brother Lorenzo (1395–1440) — played the most important role in the history of Italy.

Literature: A. Solerti Musica, ballo e drammatica alla corte medicea dal 1600 al 1637, Florence 1905, reprint Bologna 1969; G.F. Young The Medici, London 1909, reprint 1930; B. Becherini Relazioni di musici fiamminghi con la corte dei Medici. Nuovi documenti, “La rinascita” IV, 1941; F. Schevill The Medici, New York 1949, reprint 1960; F.A. D’Accone The Singers of San Giovanni in Florence during the 15th Century, “Journal of the American Musicological Society” XIV, 1961; M. Fabbri Alessandro Scarlatti e il Principe Ferdinando dei Medici, Florence 1961; A.M. Nagler Theatre Festivals of the M. 1539–1637, New Haven (Connecticut), 1964, reprint 1976; Feste e apparati medicei da Cosimo I a Cosimo II, ed. G. Bartelà, A. Tofani, Florence 1969; F.A. D’Accone The Musical Chapels at the Florentine Cathedral and Baptistry during the First Half of the 16th Century, “Journal of the American Musicological Society” XXIV, 1971; H.M. Brown Psyche’s Lament. Some Music for the Medici Wedding in 1565, in: Words and Music, commemorative book of A.T. Merritta, Cambridge (Massachusetts), 1972; F. Hammond Musicians at the Medici Court in the Mid-Seventeenth Century and Musical Instruments at the Medici Court in the MidSeventeenth Century, «Analecta Musicologica» XIV, XV, 1974, 1975.