What does Florilegium mean?
We took the name Florilegium from the term used by German composer, Georg Muffat (1653-1704), in his treatise on the Art of String Playing (1695). This treatise discusses the difference, at that time, between the French and Italian styles of playing. At the back of the treatise, he composed a collection of Suites for strings entitled the Florilegium Suites and we have performed these on many occasions.
However, Florilegium has had many different meanings…
– The literal translation of Florilegium is ‘a flourishing’.
– Florilegium is also known to have meant a Miscellany or Collection of things.
– There is also a famous Anthology of Flora and Fauna by Banks – known, not surprisingly, as Banks’s Florilegium!