Life
Alessandro Piccinini was an Italian lutenist and composer born in Bologna in 1566 into a musical family; his father, Leonardo Maria Piccinini, taught lute to Alessandro and his brothers Girolamo and Filippo. He held appointments at the Este court in Ferrara from 1582 to 1597 and later served Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini, papal legate at Bologna and Ferrara. Alessandro Piccinini died around 1638, probably in Bologna. He is best remembered for two published volumes, Intavolatura di liuto et di chitarrone, libro primo (1623) and the posthumous Intavolatura di liuto (1639), issued by his son Leonardo Maria. The 1623 volume’s extensive preface offers a detailed performance manual and includes Piccinini’s claim to have invented the archlute.
Impact
Alessandro Piccinini was a central figure in transforming the chitarrone and lute into vehicles for idiomatic solo virtuosity, developing the toccata as a free, improvisatory genre for plucked strings. His modifications to the chitarrone and claimed invention of the archlute expanded the technical and expressive range of Italian continuo instruments, while his detailed performance instructions remain a primary source for understanding 17th-century Italian lute and theorbo technique.
Repertoire
Toccata I, 1623
The opening toccata of Piccinini’s landmark 1623 collection, an improvisatory showpiece establishing the genre for solo lute and chitarrone.
Alessandro Piccinini – Toccata I in G minor — Performed by Silvia Kopacova · theorbo
Piccinini – Toccata and Corrente – Archlute – Polivios — Performed by Polivios · archlute
Toccata Cromatica, 1623
A chromatically adventurous toccata showcasing Piccinini’s harmonic experimentation within the Intavolatura di liuto et di chitarrone.
Piccinini – Toccata Cromatica (Bor Zuljan – archlute) — Performed by Bor Zuljan · archlute
Piccinini, Alessandro: Toccata Cromatica — Performed by PratumMusicum · lute/theorbo ensemble