“Espone le cose sue partite a tutti per indurli alla meraviglia dell’arte sua”: considerazioni sulle partiture di musica polifonica in Italia fino all’edizione Molinaro dei madrigali di Gesualdo (1613)

The article summarizes the state of research on early Italian scores up to 1615, developing the hypothesis of a specific connection between two eminent lutenists, Carlo Gesualdo and Simone Molinaro. The latter published in 1613 in score the six books of Gesualdo’s Madrigals and two years later his own (only recently discovered) Madrigali a cinque voci con partitura. Lute tablature could be considered a kind of score in which the vertical alignment of the polyphonic lines is fundamental not only when transcribing vocal music but also in composing for the instrument.