Annibale Stabile
Encyclopedia
Annibale Stabile was an Italian
composer of the Renaissance
. He was a member of the Roman School
of composition, and probably was a pupil of Palestrina
. He was active mainly at Rome
but moved briefly to Kraków
, Poland
at the end of his life.
, and was likely a boy singer at St. John Lateran in 1544 and 1545. An "Annibale contralto" is also listed at the same church in 1555 and 1556; since it is unlikely that a twenty-year-old would have been listed as a contralto
, this may have been a different person; alternatively it has been proposed that Annibale was born in the mid 1540s. Stabile himself mentioned that he studied with Palestrina, who was maestro di cappella at St. John Lateran in 1555 and 1556.
Stabile became maestro di cappella at St. John Lateran in 1575, and retained that position until 1578, at which time he moved on to a similar position at the Collegio Germanico. Since Giovanni Dragoni
also held the position of maestro di cappella at St. John Lateran, beginning in 1576, the two must have shared the post for two years. In 1582 Stabile was ordained a priest
; and in 1590 he changed jobs again, this time becoming maestro di cappella at Santa Maria Maggiore, where he was employed from 1591 to 1594. He went to Poland
in early 1595, serving King Sigismund III Vasa
, who frequently employed Italian musicians, but Stabile died after being in Kraków
only two months. The cause of his death is not indicated, but the journey to Poland was not without risk; the renowned madrigal
composer Luca Marenzio
also died after a trip to Poland (1599), which he claimed ruined his health.
es, motet
s, litanies
, hymn
s, and other sacred pieces, in nine separate publications. Two of his collections of masses were first published in Warsaw in 1979, as Msze królewskie (Royal Masses), which he wrote for his employer Sigismund III. One of his masses — the Missa cantantibus organis — is for the unusual combination of 12 independent voices, and was a collaboration with Palestrina and others. Only the Kyrie
, Credo
and Crucifixus survive from this work.
Stabile's style was similar to that of Palestrina, especially in his vocal music; although he normally wrote music somewhat less contrapuntally
complex than that of his teacher, he occasionally indulged in canon
, especially in his motet
s. His secular music, mainly madrigals, were often light in character, an unusual feature for a member of the Roman School, whose music was most often noted for its reverence, if not severity.
He published three books of madrigals. The second of the three he wrote in collaboration with Giovanni Maria Nanino
(1581). All three of these collections were published in Venice
, a friendlier environment for publication of light secular music, and the most active center of music publishing in Italy in the late 16th century.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
composer of the Renaissance
Renaissance music
Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance. Defining the beginning of the musical era is difficult, given that its defining characteristics were adopted only gradually; musicologists have placed its beginnings from as early as 1300 to as late as the 1470s.Literally meaning...
. He was a member of the Roman School
Roman School
In music history, the Roman School was a group of composers of predominantly church music, in Rome, during the 16th and 17th centuries, therefore spanning the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. The term also refers to the music they produced...
of composition, and probably was a pupil of Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was an Italian Renaissance composer of sacred music and the best-known 16th-century representative of the Roman School of musical composition...
. He was active mainly at Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
but moved briefly to Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
at the end of his life.
Life
Records of his early life are inexact, but he was probably born in NaplesNaples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, and was likely a boy singer at St. John Lateran in 1544 and 1545. An "Annibale contralto" is also listed at the same church in 1555 and 1556; since it is unlikely that a twenty-year-old would have been listed as a contralto
Contralto
Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...
, this may have been a different person; alternatively it has been proposed that Annibale was born in the mid 1540s. Stabile himself mentioned that he studied with Palestrina, who was maestro di cappella at St. John Lateran in 1555 and 1556.
Stabile became maestro di cappella at St. John Lateran in 1575, and retained that position until 1578, at which time he moved on to a similar position at the Collegio Germanico. Since Giovanni Dragoni
Giovanni Dragoni
Giovanni Andrea Dragoni was an Italian composer of the Roman School of the late Renaissance, a student of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, and a prominent composer and maestro di cappella in Rome in the late 16th century...
also held the position of maestro di cappella at St. John Lateran, beginning in 1576, the two must have shared the post for two years. In 1582 Stabile was ordained a priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
; and in 1590 he changed jobs again, this time becoming maestro di cappella at Santa Maria Maggiore, where he was employed from 1591 to 1594. He went to Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
in early 1595, serving King Sigismund III Vasa
Sigismund III Vasa
Sigismund III Vasa was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, a monarch of the united Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1587 to 1632, and King of Sweden from 1592 until he was deposed in 1599...
, who frequently employed Italian musicians, but Stabile died after being in Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
only two months. The cause of his death is not indicated, but the journey to Poland was not without risk; the renowned madrigal
Madrigal (music)
A madrigal is a secular vocal music composition, usually a partsong, of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Traditionally, polyphonic madrigals are unaccompanied; the number of voices varies from two to eight, and most frequently from three to six....
composer Luca Marenzio
Luca Marenzio
Luca Marenzio was an Italian composer and singer of the late Renaissance. He was one of the most renowned composers of madrigals, and wrote some of the most famous examples of the form in its late stage of development, prior to its early Baroque transformation by Monteverdi...
also died after a trip to Poland (1599), which he claimed ruined his health.
Music
Stabile wrote massMass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
es, motet
Motet
In classical music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions.-Etymology:The name comes either from the Latin movere, or a Latinized version of Old French mot, "word" or "verbal utterance." The Medieval Latin for "motet" is motectum, and the Italian...
s, litanies
Litany
A litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Jewish worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions...
, hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
s, and other sacred pieces, in nine separate publications. Two of his collections of masses were first published in Warsaw in 1979, as Msze królewskie (Royal Masses), which he wrote for his employer Sigismund III. One of his masses — the Missa cantantibus organis — is for the unusual combination of 12 independent voices, and was a collaboration with Palestrina and others. Only the Kyrie
Kyrie
Kyrie, a transliteration of Greek κύριε , vocative case of κύριος , meaning "Lord", is the common name of an important prayer of Christian liturgy, which is also called the Kýrie, eléison ....
, Credo
Credo
A credo |Latin]] for "I Believe") is a statement of belief, commonly used for religious belief, such as the Apostles' Creed. The term especially refers to the use of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed in the Mass, either as text, Gregorian chant, or other musical settings of the...
and Crucifixus survive from this work.
Stabile's style was similar to that of Palestrina, especially in his vocal music; although he normally wrote music somewhat less contrapuntally
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
complex than that of his teacher, he occasionally indulged in canon
Canon (music)
In music, a canon is a contrapuntal composition that employs a melody with one or more imitations of the melody played after a given duration . The initial melody is called the leader , while the imitative melody, which is played in a different voice, is called the follower...
, especially in his motet
Motet
In classical music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions.-Etymology:The name comes either from the Latin movere, or a Latinized version of Old French mot, "word" or "verbal utterance." The Medieval Latin for "motet" is motectum, and the Italian...
s. His secular music, mainly madrigals, were often light in character, an unusual feature for a member of the Roman School, whose music was most often noted for its reverence, if not severity.
He published three books of madrigals. The second of the three he wrote in collaboration with Giovanni Maria Nanino
Giovanni Maria Nanino
Giovanni Maria Nanino was an Italian composer and teacher of the late Renaissance. He was a member of the Roman School of composers, and was the most influential music teacher in Rome in the late 16th century...
(1581). All three of these collections were published in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, a friendlier environment for publication of light secular music, and the most active center of music publishing in Italy in the late 16th century.