Il Transilvano

This great treatise on the organ playing by the franciscan monk Girolamo Diruta was the first published in Italy, under the title of Il Transilvano. In the first part, all the features of organ playing are discussed : position of the body, of the hand, fingering, ornaments, etc.

The book contains also many lightening on aesthetics and style. Then, Diruta completed his dialogue with a choice of pieces, in all genres of music, where, along of his own pieces, Diruta offers works by the prominents masters of his time : Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli, Luzzasco Luzzaschi, Claudio Merulo and others.

In the second part, published in 1609, he talk about improvisation and compostion. Therefore, he gave the rules of counterpoint and exposes the modal theory of his time, with many examples. After that, he explains how to register in accordance with the mood of each mode.

These important books on the organ encountered a big success and were engraved several times during Diruta’s life.