Huck
I had a private shock about book reality at 24th of december.
My mother brought 2 books with songs (including also Christmas songs) produced around 1935 for Christmas singing. The book was made in a cheap way, smaller as the usual height for small books nowadays, having some content, but - actually - not thick. The original price was given: 4 RM (Reichsmark). This shocked me. 4 RM meant: 1/10th of the monthly income of a humble landworker, as my mother could tell me. 70 years ago.
A second information shocked me again. The book told, that it was printed 700.000 times. So expensive and so often printed - what a relation. First shock: How much books a humble land-worker have have had at home, when texts have been expensive in this way - 70 years ago. What a difference between me and them, my informative world and theirs.
And actually the high number of reprints told: How important was singing ..... that, as it seems, so much persons spent so much money for a simple textbook for songs. O yes, this was before the farspread use of radio, tape-recorder, music in Tv and on CD, and free music out of internet. Personal singing was more or less killed, not long ago, last century. Not totally ... but ...
Returning to the theme Tarot in 15th century. Some seems to see thousands of decks already produced around 1470 ... a mass-market already developed, a change from 14 to 22 as a really difficult step ...
There are some documents, which are described by Dummett from Bologna in 1477/1479 in his Italian contributions ..
http://www.tarocchinobolognese.it/storia_2.php
.. I don't know the details, havinbg not access to the complete text of "Il Mondo et l'Angelo", but I know, that the production numbers in this time still are low, not very remarkable, not a real definte sign of a functioning mass market. As far I remember my informations, the productions reach the 100,s but not the 1000,s. Italy consists of 8.000.000 or some more inhabitants, how much did know already these Trionfi decks? That's the urgent question, and all, what I can think about it, is, that in 1479 they are still not too much, still it is a rare item.
Differences between Ferrarese orders, Milanese orders, Tarocchi Bolognese, relative similaraties between Piemont and Bologna region can have late reasons, they must not naturally reach back as a logical derivement of the earliest times.
There is a statement of middle 16th century, that Tarot is still something for the higher classes. Perhaps not true for all regions of Italy, but an alarming comment, if one build theories to the origin of Tarot.
Singing was important in the Germany of my parents. I look at all these famous German componists, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner etc., yes, there was something special about music just in my country, but opera was invented in Italy, not here. Italians of 15th century learned music from northern influences, especially after the council of Constance (1415). They went own ways since then, with a focus on singing. We see Leonello (a first great influence on Tarot) develop in the 40ies and hear, that he raised the numbers of singers at his local court music group. We see, that these Carnival Trionfi in Florence in the 70ies are famous for her songs, and that even Loenzo de Medici contributed to them. We know, that Lorenzo himself was a good singer and that Marsilio Ficino played an instrument.
Songs are easier transported in society than Trionfi cards, which had been expensive. Till now this factor is more or less overlooked. Songs are part of "oral tradition".
Some material to Music in Ferrara:
http://trionfi.com/0/d/55/
This is only a start ... by far not enough. Actually one has to dig in these informations about music in 15th century, with the eye focused on Trionfi-questions. There is an answer somehow to evaluate the Trionfi card evelopment, as the "festivity of Trionfo" has natural relation to the playing card decks.
My mother brought 2 books with songs (including also Christmas songs) produced around 1935 for Christmas singing. The book was made in a cheap way, smaller as the usual height for small books nowadays, having some content, but - actually - not thick. The original price was given: 4 RM (Reichsmark). This shocked me. 4 RM meant: 1/10th of the monthly income of a humble landworker, as my mother could tell me. 70 years ago.
A second information shocked me again. The book told, that it was printed 700.000 times. So expensive and so often printed - what a relation. First shock: How much books a humble land-worker have have had at home, when texts have been expensive in this way - 70 years ago. What a difference between me and them, my informative world and theirs.
And actually the high number of reprints told: How important was singing ..... that, as it seems, so much persons spent so much money for a simple textbook for songs. O yes, this was before the farspread use of radio, tape-recorder, music in Tv and on CD, and free music out of internet. Personal singing was more or less killed, not long ago, last century. Not totally ... but ...
Returning to the theme Tarot in 15th century. Some seems to see thousands of decks already produced around 1470 ... a mass-market already developed, a change from 14 to 22 as a really difficult step ...
There are some documents, which are described by Dummett from Bologna in 1477/1479 in his Italian contributions ..
http://www.tarocchinobolognese.it/storia_2.php
.. I don't know the details, havinbg not access to the complete text of "Il Mondo et l'Angelo", but I know, that the production numbers in this time still are low, not very remarkable, not a real definte sign of a functioning mass market. As far I remember my informations, the productions reach the 100,s but not the 1000,s. Italy consists of 8.000.000 or some more inhabitants, how much did know already these Trionfi decks? That's the urgent question, and all, what I can think about it, is, that in 1479 they are still not too much, still it is a rare item.
Differences between Ferrarese orders, Milanese orders, Tarocchi Bolognese, relative similaraties between Piemont and Bologna region can have late reasons, they must not naturally reach back as a logical derivement of the earliest times.
There is a statement of middle 16th century, that Tarot is still something for the higher classes. Perhaps not true for all regions of Italy, but an alarming comment, if one build theories to the origin of Tarot.
Singing was important in the Germany of my parents. I look at all these famous German componists, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner etc., yes, there was something special about music just in my country, but opera was invented in Italy, not here. Italians of 15th century learned music from northern influences, especially after the council of Constance (1415). They went own ways since then, with a focus on singing. We see Leonello (a first great influence on Tarot) develop in the 40ies and hear, that he raised the numbers of singers at his local court music group. We see, that these Carnival Trionfi in Florence in the 70ies are famous for her songs, and that even Loenzo de Medici contributed to them. We know, that Lorenzo himself was a good singer and that Marsilio Ficino played an instrument.
Songs are easier transported in society than Trionfi cards, which had been expensive. Till now this factor is more or less overlooked. Songs are part of "oral tradition".
Some material to Music in Ferrara:
http://trionfi.com/0/d/55/
This is only a start ... by far not enough. Actually one has to dig in these informations about music in 15th century, with the eye focused on Trionfi-questions. There is an answer somehow to evaluate the Trionfi card evelopment, as the "festivity of Trionfo" has natural relation to the playing card decks.
