A conversation with Robert Saxton about Diego Ortiz (1510-1576?)this morning – music at its purest, most practical and exquisite; Diego Ortiz was a composer/performer from Spain who came to Italy in the later 16th Century. He played the ‘Viola Bastarda’ and published a wonderful Trattado das Glosas , which alongside the Bassano Ricercate e Cadentie, is the most important collection/guide to composition/improvisation on string instruments. Ortitz’s Clasulas work a little bit like makamlar, or even Klee’s ‘line going for a walk’, exploring the various twists and turns avaible in the hortizontal approach to a musical resting
