(Loo’-ka Ma-rents’yo) c. 1553–99 Italian composer Marenzio spent most of his adult life in Rome, in the service of various cardinals and other patrons. Although he composed Masses and motets, his fame rests on his madrigals. In the 1580s he developed the canzonetta style of madrigal, borrowing the clear textures and lively rhythms of the canzonetta but applying them ...
(Klod Le Zhön) c. 1530–1600 French composer Le Jeune mixed in French humanist circles, participating in the Académie de Poésie et de Musique, a circle of poets and musicians dedicated to reviving the ideals of classical sung verse. He was the principal composer to experiment with musique mesurée, the attempt to set text according to the principles of ancient ...
The six intermedi composed to celebrate the marriage of Ferdinando de’ Medici of Florence and Christine of Lorraine in 1589 were the most spectacular and expensive ever seen. So lavish was the presentation that it completely dominated the play it accompanied – La pellegrina (‘The Pilgrim’) by Girolamo Bargagli. All the texts and music survive, together with the designs for ...
Donizetti’s three-act comic opera, Don Pasquale, full of fun and infectious humour, was first performed at the Théâtre Italien in Paris on 3 January 1843. There was no hint here of Donizetti’s failing health, but as time proved, Don Pasquale was among the last of his remarkable total of 67 operas. The first performance was a ...
1630–80, Italian Nothing is known of the first 30 years of Antonio Sartorio’s life, except that he was Venetian. He made his first appearance in the historical records in 1661, when the first of his 15 operas, Gl’amori infruttuosi di Pirro (‘Pirro’s Hopeless Love’, 1661) was performed in Venice. In 1664, Sartorio was appointed Kappellmeister at ...
(Fer-ra-bos’-ko) Italian musical family This family produced four generations of musicians. Domenico (1513–74), of Bologna, was a composer of early madrigals in the style of Arcadelt. His son Alfonso (1543–88) moved to England as a young man and spent most of his life at the court of Elizabeth I. Morley praised him for his ‘deep skill’ and placed him alongside ...
(Ja’-ko’mo Poot-che’-ne) 1858–1924 Italian composer Puccini wrote 12 operas, three of which rank among the most popular in the world: La bohème, Tosca and Madama Butterfly. The composer came from a long line of musicians. His great-great-grandfather, the first Giacomo Puccini (1712–81), was organist and choirmaster at the cathedral of S Martino in the Tuscan town of Lucca. His ...
The main opportunities for professional music-making in the Renaissance continued to be provided by the church and by royal and ducal courts, particularly those in Italy. They sponsored musical entertainment both on a large scale, such as the lavish Florentine intermedi, and on a more intimate level, in the form of the madrigal. The influence of humanism ...
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