Lorenzo Tracetti, generally known as Lorenzino del Liuto, was among the most famous lutenists of his day, exercising a strong influence on lute music in Italy and in other countries, where surviving copies of his work bear witness to his reputation. Born in Rome, he probably spent much of his life there. From 1570 to 1572 he was in the service of Cardinal Ippolito II at the Villa d’Este, and he was said to have received the papal Knighthood of the Golden Spur.

Lute Music

Some seventy lute pieces by Lorenzino survive and combine technical demands with an atmosphere of poetic melancholy. They include instrumental versions of madrigals, dances, and contrapuntal fantasias, in writing that takes the lute to its technical limit.