Counterpoints on a Cantus Firmus

Costanzo Festa's (ca. 1490–1545) counterpoints on the basse danse “La Spagna” figure as one of the great pedagogical legacies of sixteenth-century Italy. During his lifetime, Festa referred to contrapuntal studies that he had written on a cantus firmus. While the collection was mentioned by subsequent theorists, for centuries it was presumed lost. Recent research, however, has convincingly shown that 125 counterpoint studies formerly attributed to Giovanni Maria Nanino (ca. 1545–1607) are in fact those by Festa. This edition presents a modern transcription of the studies (from Bologna, Civico Museo Bibliografico Musicale, ms. C36), reviews the evidence on Festa's authorship, speculates on the possible chronology of the works and the origin of the manuscript, and reassesses the biography of Festa, the first major Italian composer of the Renaissance.