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Cucurucu

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Cucurucu in a 17th-century etching by Jacques Callot

Cucurucu is the brother of Pulcinella, and a zanni character in commedia dell'arte. Like Pulcinella, Cucurucu's name is probably derived from a bird noise.[1][2][3]

He figures in the comic madrigal "Chichilichichì Cucurucù," attributed to Giovanni Domenico da Nola, and the madrigal "Chi Chi Li Chi" by Andrea Gabrieli, along with Lucia and Martina.[4] A sketch by Jacques Callot shows him with another zanni, Razullo.[5][6]

References

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  1. ^ Pierre Louis Duchartre -The Italian Comedy 2012 -- Page 220 "But, strangely enough, the new version looked remarkably like one of Pulcinella's earliest costumes, or, if not his, at any rate that of his brother Cucurucu. For it may be pointed out that Cucurucu was an onomatopoeic name derived from the derived from the crow of a cock, and since Pulcinella's name was derived in precisely the same fashion, the relation between the two characters is very close...."
  2. ^ William F. Fry Sweet Madness - 1968 Page 112 "There is a puppet called Punch who was derived from Pulcinella (English, “Punchinello”) who was derived from Pulliciniello who seems to have been derived from polcino and who was related to Cucurucu who seems to have been derived in turn from Cicurrus. Quite an impressive lineage."
  3. ^ Philip John Stead Mr. Punch -1950 Page 19 "Further probability is lent to the bird explanation by the argument that Pulcinella descends from Cicurrus and is figured in Cucurucu, whose name and cock-feathers are significant. The latter-day notion that Punch and Judy descend from ..."
  4. ^ Andrea Gabrieli, Arthur Tillman Merritt - Recent Researches in the Music of the Renaissance 1983- Page x "In certain cases it is difficult even to determine what combination of syllables makes up a single word.12 The protagonists in Andrea's Chi chi li chi are Cucurucu, Lucia, and Martina; Caroso mio and mastro Martino seem to be merely incidental ..."
  5. ^ Naomi Ritter Art as Spectacle: Images of the Entertainer Since Romanticism - 1989 - Page ii "Jacques Callot, Razullo and Cucurucu, from Balli di Sfessania. Courtesy of the National ..."
  6. ^ William J. Roberts France: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present 2004 "An artist with a wide repertoire, however, Callot has among his lighter subjects the figures Razullo et Cucurucu and Scaramuche et Fricasso. Callot's prints were especially admired in the 19th century by the romantics."