MUSIC CLEF ORIGINS 1

We, along with our Viols, have been invited to play music composed for a double-celebration!

Count Bardi is hosting an event honoring the scholarly publication by his friend, Vincenzo Galilei, of his music theory book — Dialogo della musica antica et modern. (Dialogue of ancient and modern music)

While walking to our destination, the enchanting aroma of the banquet is gloriously propelled through the air by light breezes flowing through the castle archways. In addition, the harmonious tones of gently played lute music are also wafting through the air, whetting our musical-appetites as well.

We make our way to the rehearsal room, and there is a tray of light appetitzers on the table for us to enjoy as we tune our instruments and review our music. We were told that Bartolomeo Scrappi is the invited guest chef for the next week. He is preparing foods from his five-volume culinary masterpiece that had over 1,000 unique recipes, and even called it a “Food Opera!” Yum!

There’s one hitch. The music looked different from what we were used to reading. We had no clue how to decipher it! Claudio was pretty sure that he could figure it out, but soon learned that he was mistaken.

What should we do?