Piffaro

"They are four brethren, all excellent and esteemed above all others in this city in their virtue," was the report from Edmond Harvel, King Henry VIII's agent in Venice, upon hearing the Bassanos. Not long after, many members of this Italian (and likely Jewish) family of wind players and instrument builders moved to Henry VIII's court, while others remained in Italy as important members of the Venetian musical scene. Over the next few decades, this family extended the frontiers of instrumental music. The wind players of Piffaro look at one of the most potent examples of musical immigration in 16th century Europe - the story of the Bassano family.