Audio Anthology of Italian Literature Recording #2 "Il Canzoniere" of Francesco Petrarca (selected poems) and the 15th-16th Century Literature (Alberti-Leonardo-Guicciardini) Read by Moro Silo Running time: 60 min. Cassette $19.95 CD $29.95
Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374) was a precursor of the Humanist thought of the Renaissance with its full evaluation of earthly existence. He was the author of numerous philosophical, religious and poetic works in Latin, but his major works, "I Trionfi", and "Il Canzoniere", are written in the vernacular. In the latter collection of poems, he examines his soul, analyses his unrequited love for Laura (whoever the lady may have been) and probes his inner - unresolved - crises.
Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472) and Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) were both thinkers and artists whose sweeping interests embody the spiritual ideals and morals of the century. Leon Battista Alberti was a man of many talents: architect, theorist, mathematician, physicist and scholar, as well as the author of treatises on sculpture and architecture, written in both the vernacular and Latin. More than any other Leonardo da Vinci represents the ideal Renaissance man, versatile and open to all experience; his genius found expression in painting, sculpture, philosophy, mathematics and the study of the sciences, but he was also important as a writer thanks to his treatise on painting.
Francesco Guicciardini (1483-1540), one of the most prominent historian and writer of Renaissance, had a philosophy based on the same basic principles as Machiavelli's: the individual, with his passions and actions, is the driving force of history. His acute sense of history, is evident in his major work, "History of Italy".
FRANCESCO PETRARCA: From "Il Canzoniere" (Selected poems) : Voi ch'ascoltate (1'12'') Era il giorno ch'al sol (1'07'') Solo et pensoso (1'16'') Erano i capei (1'11'') Chiare, fresche et dolci acque (4'04'') Italia mia (6'44'') Di pensier (5'34'') O cameretta (1'10'') Oimé il bel viso (1'24'') La vita fugge (1'11'') Zephiro (1'06'') Né per sereno (1'28'') I' vo piangendo (1'23'')
LEON BATTISTA ALBERTI: From "Libri della famiglia": Libro 3- Proemio Dignità del volgare (12'10'' ) LEONARDO DA VINCI: Pittura e Poesia ( 6'01'') FRANCESCO GUICCIARDINI: From " Storia d'Italia" - Libro I°- Cap.I° OProemio (11'40'')
