Antonio Squarcialupi

Antonio Squarcialupi (27 March 1416 – 6 July 1480) was a Florentine organist and composer. He was the most famous organist in Italy in the mid-15th century. Life He was born in Florence to a butcher named Bartolomeo with the family name of Giovanni; however he took the name of Squarcialupi, a well-known family from Tuscany, by mid-century, possibly to disguise his less than aristocratic origins. Most of his early life must have been spent in Florence, and he likely studied with both organist Giovanni Mazzuoli (also called Jovannes de Florentia, who was a pupil of Francesco Landini), as well as Matteo di Pagolo da Prato. He acquired the post of organist at the Orsanmichele in Florence in 1431, but only remained there for two years, moving instead to the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, at which post he remained for the rest of his life. He has been honored with a bust in this church. Music and influence Squarcialupi was part of the court of Lorenzo de’ Medici, and was also a colleague of Guillaume Dufay; there are numerous laudatory references to him in the middle of the 15th century, some, for instance that of diarist Luca Landucci, comparing him in stature to figures such as th