Bonfire Songs Savonarola's Musical Legacy - Oxford Monographs on Music Author:Patrick Macey An underground tradition of sacred songs--Italian laude--thrived in Italy during the sixteenth century. The texts of many were written by the condemned heretic Fra Girolamo Savonarola, who was burned at the stake in Florence in 1498. This study explores the religious and social functions of these laude during Savonarola's time in Florence. It al... more »so reconstructs music for laude written to venerate the friar after his death. In contrast to the popular tone of the lauda is the "high art" music of the Latin motet. Savonarola scorned such elite music, yet a dozen of the most prominent composers from the sixteenth century created elaborate musical settings of his meditations on Psalms 30 and 50. Networks of patronage that gave rise to these motets are traced at courts in Ferrera, France, and England. A complimentary CD features first-time recordings of most of these pieces.« less