Franchinus Gaffurius

Franchinus Gaffurius ( Franchino Gaffori, Gaffurio, Gafori; * January 14, 1451 in Lodi, † June 25, 1522 in Milan ) was an Italian conductor and composer.

He was educated at the Benedictine monastery of his hometown for the theologians and musicians and worked after ordination, first at the court of the Gonzaga in Padua. Between 1477 and 1488 he worked in Genoa and Naples, but then returned to his native city. 1484 he was appointed Kapellmeister at the Cathedral of Milan where he acquired high reputation. He held until his death this point.

He was a very productive composer and created next to a Stabat mater several fairs, Magnificat, hymns and motets, but also instrumental compositions and secular works.

He is the author of the 1492 published Theorica musicae in which he portrayed, among others, the legend of Pythagoras in the smithy on the alleged discovery of the mathematical basis of musical harmony in a forge. In 1518 he published his treatise De harmonia musicorum instrumentorum ( "On the Harmony of musical instruments ").

His high reputation rested but also on his work as a music theorist and teacher, choir director and conductor. He managed to improve the quality of the Milan Cathedral Choir and the court orchestra considerably.

Text output

• Fran Gaffurio: Theoricum opus musice discipline, ed. Cesarino Ruini, Libreria Musicale Italiana, Lucca 1996, ISBN 88-7096-039-0 ( reprint of Naples in 1480 with introduction by the editor )
• Fran Gaffurio: Theorica musice, ed. of Ilde Illuminati and Fabio Bellissima, Edizioni del Galluzzo, Firenze 2005, ISBN 88-8450-161- X ( Latin text and Italian translation )