ABSTRACT
The letter was sent from Pesaro by Paolo Animuccia, brother of Giovanni Animuccia and maestro di cappella to the Duke of Urbino, to Simone Fortuna, one of the Duke’s secretaries, in Rome. Animuccia declares that he is sure that the new pope would want to have the music of the chapel redone ‘so that the words can be understood and be accompanied by the devout music necessary for ecclesiastical functions’. Boundless self-confidence will only carry a person so far, after all, and the cardinal must have known enough about music to be able to judge Palestrina’s superiority to Animuccia. So in spite of his sensitivity to modern currents in music and his quickness in taking advantage of new opportunities, Paolo Animuccia remained in Urbino, leaving us, instead of the massive ‘reform’ he said he was contemplating, only a few works and this glimpse into his character and ambitions.
