There are several aspects of music history that a typical music historian can pursue. Perhaps the most popular topic is the study of the life and works of a specific composer or school of composers. Another common subject for study is the evolution of music composition and theory, and how they have changed and have been changed by various composers and compositional philosophies. Sometimes a form of music, such as the madrigal or the symphony, will be considered by music historians. Periodically a music historian will even choose to study the evolution of specific musical instrument, such as the violin. Rarely studied independent of the other subjects is the history of a specific instrumental ensemble. I feel this is a ripe topic for deeper scholarship and consideration. The dynamic and progressive nature of ensembles is as interesting as that of compositional theory, musical forms, the works of a composer, or any other aspect of music history. It is impossible to fully understand a composer's works without understanding the instruments or ensembles they composed for. Rimsky-Korsakov, for example, would never be viewed as an excellent orchestrator had he not had an orchestra to write for. We have to understand the orchestra and instruments with which Rimsky-Korsakov worked to understand the choices he made in composing his music. Likewise, we must understand the ensemble Giovanni Gabrieli wrote for and worked with to understand his ground-breaking compositions. It is the history of certain wind ensembles in Italy during the Renaissance that I have chosen to study.
The Venetian composer Giovanni Gabrieli is noted in many history books for two innovations: he was one of the very first composers to indicate dynamic markings and he was the first composer to indicate specific instruments for specific lines of music. That Giovanni Gabrieli was one of the first composers to designate dynamics is not controversial, however, to claim that any one person was the very first to do any one thing requires more justification. Denis Arnold clarifies the claim of Giovanni's innovation of instrumentation with his statement that, "Specific instruments are indicated for specific parts; the writing shows that this arises from an act of creative imagination. For us, it is commonplace to think in these terms: in Gabrieli's time it was not." Giovanni, p. 156This trend in musical thought is obviously central to the history of music and the creation of such institutions as the symphony orchestra. What I wanted to know, upon learning of this proto-instrumentation, was what manner of ensemble could be so interesting that it inspired this historical change of thought? It was this curiosity that sparked my study of the pifarri, which are ensembles of wind instruments in Renaissance Italy. What little I knew of the history of these ensembles inspired in me a strong desire to learn more.
Inevitably, my study expanded from the specific instrumentation at St. Marks for which Giovanni Gabrieli wrote, to a study of wind ensembles in Italy over an almost two hundred year period. Within this time period I have identified and studied three relatively stable and distinct ensembles, although I do not claim that these were the only wind ensembles that existed in Italy during this time period. The ensembles I have chosen to study are: the heraldic trumpet players known as trombetti, the ensemble containing shawms and either bombardes or trombones, and the cornett and trombone ensemble. I have investigated the instruments involved in these ensembles, the venues and locations in which they played, in what situations, for what occasions, what their repertoire might have been, their social role, and the amount of time the ensembles existed.