Bartolomeo Tromboncino

This Italian composer was one of the most prolific and important composers of frottolas in the early part of the sixteenth century. Besides being one of the earliest composers to use this form he did so with polyrhythmic settings, an innovation considering the conventions of the times. Tromboncino composed approximately one hundred and seventy frotollas but many were not copied due to an application for a patent to Lorrenzo d'Medici that may have been granted. Sacred works by Tromboncino included seventeen laude in basic homorhythmic textures with complementary sections scored polyrhythmically. He served a number of tense and stressful years in Mantua as well as in Ferrara for Lucrezia Borgia. ~ Keith Johnson