Petrucci: Harmonice Musices Odhecaton / Fretwork

Various Composers: Ottaviano Dei Petrucci Harmonic Musices Odhecaton Fretwork

The year 1501 saw the issue of the very first polyphonic score ever printed, the Harmonice Musices Odhecaton ['offering in 100 songs&apos']. This anthology permitted the diffusion of the works of the most famous European composers of the second half of the 15th century. It was the Venetian Petrucci who guided this vast undertaking: more an entrepreneur than a musician, he himself invented the ingenious system which made it possible to print the collection.