“We are much beholden to Machiavelli and others, that write what men do and not what they ought to do”

- Sir Francis Bacon, “The Advancement of Learning” (1605)

Machiavelli: Ruminations on ‘The Prince’ was composed for the European Brass Band Association’s 8th European Composers Competition (2022). The work is inspired by the writings of renaissance politician, soldier, diplomat and philosopher: Niccolò Machiavelli.

Machiavelli is perhaps one of the most vilified and most misunderstood philosophical figures in modern history. He is often viewed as a dark and immoral character: ‘Muderous Machiavel’ became a favourite reference in Elizabethan plays, including those of Shakespeare and ‘Old Nick’, the popular nickname for Satan, is derived from Machiavelli’s name. However, there is considerably more depth to Machiavelli’s teachings than this dramatic viewpoint.

Machiavelli lived during Florence’s golden age in the 15th Century at a time when the city was the principal centre for Western arts and sciences. The son of Bernado Machiavelli, an educated humanist who practiced law, he received a humanist education and went on to attend lectures at the University of Florence where he would develop an interest in the study of ancient history, philosophy and rhetoric.

In 1512, Florence fell to the Spanish and the then Gonfalonier (civic magistrate), Piero Soderini, fled the city. The young republic was dissolved and the powerful Medici family were reinstalled by the Spanish as de-facto rulers after being ousted by the French in 1494. In February 1513 Machiavelli, now Second Chancellor, was accused falsely of Conspiracy and was arrested and imprisoned for 22 days. He was tortured for information then banished to his small family farm at Sant’Andrea, 7 miles south of Florence.

During his isolation he would often spend hours reading historical texts of ancient Rome. He was known to dress in clothing of that period and eat classical dishes whilst studying ancient literature. In his own words: ‘I enter the ancient courts of men of antiquity.... I forget every trouble, I do not fear poverty, death does not dismay me; I given myself over entirely to them’. It was here, and during this time, that he would write his most famous work: ‘The Prince’.

‘The Prince’, which Machiavelli called his ‘little book’, belongs to a well-established genre of advice- books for princes. Machiavelli hated his enforced absence from Florence’s political action and hoped, naively, given his republican credentials, that his tract would bring him favour and re-employment with the Medici family.

The book itself is very much in the style of classical and civic humanism but in certain respects, ones that shocked Machiavelli’s contemporaries, he broke decisively with that tradition. Wisdom, Strategy, Strength, Bravery and Ruthlessness are some of the core themes of the book as well as the separation of private and political morality. Machiavelli argued that the main responsibility of a good ruler is to defend the state from internal and external threats to stable governance and that being a good politician is not the same, nor compatible, with being a good person in the traditional sense.

Within the book, Machiavelli extols the ancient examples of leaders like Moses, Cyrus (founder of the Persian empire), Theseus (the legendary king of Athens), and Romulus (the mythical founder of Rome), as well as the more historical Philip of Macedonia, who paved the way for Alexander the Great.

Without context, it is easy to portray Machiavelli as an immoral and duplicitous advocate of power politics but this ignores his teachings of active citizenship and political participation. Simply, ‘The ends justify the means’ is one way of interpreting Machiavelli’s writing but a fairer view would be that ‘the ends justify the means in order to protect the state’. Above all, his teachings show that he was a pragmatist, who dealt with the world as it was, not as it should be.

My music is structured in three acts with a prologue:

1. The Medici

2. Sant’Andrea

3. Virtù Vince Fortuna (ability wins over fortune).

Rather than approach the work as a chronological narrative, the music represents my thoughts and reflections whilst reading the book and the historical context surrounding its creation and author. Various pieces from other composers are quoted through the work including ‘Caput ejus aurum optimum’ (His head is the finest gold) by fellow renaissance figure Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.

The music received its world premiere by Grimethorpe Colliery Band under the direction of Dr. David Thornton on the 29th April 2022 at Birmingham Town Hall, UK.