Maestro Piero(Magister PieroorPiero) (born before 1300, died shortly after 1350) was an Italian composer of the latemedievalera. He was one of the first composers of theTrecentowho is known by name, and probably one of the oldest. He is mainly known for hismadrigals.
No details are known of his life other than what can be inferred from his music, and from an illustration which probably contains his picture. He is depicted as a man of 50–60 years old in aBologneseillustration from the first half of the 14th century, so he was probably born before 1300. Unlike many of the Trecento composers, he was not aFlorentine,since he does not appear in the chronicle byFilippo Villani,which includes all of the musicians active there throughout the 14th century. Piero was possibly fromAssisi,and is known to have been inMilanandVerona,employed by theViscontianddella Scalafamilies, respectively; in addition, he may have been inPaduawithAntonio della Scalabefore going to Verona, along with composerGiovanni da Cascia(Giovanni da Firenze). He was also associated with composerJacopo da Bolognaduring this period, and the three composers appear to have engaged in a contest to set the same madrigal text, effectively forming a madrigal cycle: the date of this contest was in or after 1349, very near the end of Piero's life. There is no trace of any activity by Piero, or Giovanni da Cascia, after 1351; one or both composers may have died in theBlack Deathwhich swept through northern Italy during this time.
A total of eight compositions by Piero have survived, plus two morecaccewhich have been attributed to him based on stylistic similarities. All eight are secular pieces: sixmadrigals,and twocacce.All eight of the attributed compositions are preserved in theBiblioteca Nazionalein Florence. Two of his works are preserved in theRossi Codex.[1]
Piero's madrigals are the earliest surviving works in that form which arecanonic.The madrigals are for two voices, and the two cacce are for three; what distinguishes his work from that of his contemporaries is his frequent use of canon, especially in theritornellopassages in his madrigals. Piero's works clearly show the evolution of the three-voice canonic caccia form from the madrigal, in which the canonic portion of the madrigal became a two-voice canon, over a tenor, characteristic of the caccia.
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians,ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980.ISBN1-56159-174-2
Richard H. Hoppin,Medieval Music.New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1978.ISBN0-393-09090-6
Kurt von Fischer/Gianluca d'Agostino: "Gherardello da Firenze", "Piero", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (Accessed January 14, 2006),(subscription access)
