Antonino Barges
Encyclopedia
Antonino Barges was a Franco-Flemish
composer of the Renaissance
, active in Venice
and Treviso
. While known as a composer of light popular secular forms such as the villotta
, he also wrote motet
s and a Requiem
. He was a friend and probably a student of Adrian Willaert
, the founder of the Venetian School, and was listed as a witness to Willaert's last will and testament.
Little is known about his early life. He was born in Barges. Like many of his countrymen, he received a good musical education in the Low Countries
, and either in youth or early adulthood came to Italy, where employment prospects for singers and composers were better than at home. By 1550 he had become maestro di cappella (choirmaster) at the church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari (known as the Ca' Grande) in Venice, a prestigious post. He left Venice in 1555, going to Treviso, where he became a Franciscan and joined the convent of San Francesco. Further records show that he was employed at Treviso Cathedral
between 1562 and 1565 as maestro di cappella. No further records of his life have yet been found, and he has not yet been the subject of a dedicated scholarly biography.
Barges venerated his teacher and friend Willaert, and mentioned him glowingly in the dedication to his first book of villotte (Di Antonino Barges maestro di cappella alla Casa grande di Venetia il primo libro de villotte a quatro voci con un'altra canzon della galina novamente da lui composte & date in luce, Venice: Gardano, 1550): "l'unico inventore della vera e buona musica" ("the sole inventor of music which is true and good.") Indeed, friendship is a theme of the dedication: in addition to the reference to Willaert, Barges characterizes his relationship with Girolamo Fenaruolo, the dedicatee, as a friendship, and mentions their mutual friends Stefano Taberio and Marco Silvio. If Barges's dedication is to be believed, these men were among the first to hear and sing his songs, but the songs might also have found a home in Domenico Venier's salon.
Barges published only this one book of light secular music, although it contains music besides villottas such as a dozen villanesca
s and four madrigals not by Barges but by Andrea Patricio (composers at this time often admitted a few works by others into their publications). Other music by Barges included some sacred works, including two motets for four voices, published in 1563, an Alleluia
, and a Requiem for four voices (not dated). It is not known if he wrote this for Willaert. The style of the secular music is as light as anything found in northern Italy at the time: dancelike, quick, often triple meter, and often with nonsense syllables in a "patter
" style.
Barges also wrote three instrumental ricercar
s.
Franco-Flemish School
In music, the Franco-Flemish School or more precisely the Netherlandish School refers, somewhat imprecisely, to the style of polyphonic vocal music composition in Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries, and to the composers who wrote it...
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...
, active 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...
and Treviso
Treviso
Treviso is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 82,854 inhabitants : some 3,000 live within the Venetian walls or in the historical and monumental center, some 80,000 live in the urban center proper, while the city...
. While known as a composer of light popular secular forms such as the villotta
Villotta
Villotta is a kind of popular song found mainly in northern Italy, especially near Venice. Often using folk music or folk songs in dialect, the structure of the modern villotta entails four hendecasyllabic lines of verse followed by a refrain...
, he also wrote 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 and a Requiem
Requiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead or Mass of the dead , is a Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal...
. He was a friend and probably a student of Adrian Willaert
Adrian Willaert
Adrian Willaert was a Flemish composer of the Renaissance and founder of the Venetian School. He was one of the most representative members of the generation of northern composers who moved to Italy and transplanted the polyphonic Franco-Flemish style there....
, the founder of the Venetian School, and was listed as a witness to Willaert's last will and testament.
Little is known about his early life. He was born in Barges. Like many of his countrymen, he received a good musical education in the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
, and either in youth or early adulthood came to Italy, where employment prospects for singers and composers were better than at home. By 1550 he had become maestro di cappella (choirmaster) at the church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari (known as the Ca' Grande) in Venice, a prestigious post. He left Venice in 1555, going to Treviso, where he became a Franciscan and joined the convent of San Francesco. Further records show that he was employed at Treviso Cathedral
Treviso Cathedral
The Cathedral of Treviso is a church in Treviso, Veneto, northern Italy, dedicated to St. Peter.The church originates from the 6th century AD, in the area where once were a temple, a theatre and, perhaps, some baths. In the 11th-12th centuries the church was remodeled in Romanesque style...
between 1562 and 1565 as maestro di cappella. No further records of his life have yet been found, and he has not yet been the subject of a dedicated scholarly biography.
Barges venerated his teacher and friend Willaert, and mentioned him glowingly in the dedication to his first book of villotte (Di Antonino Barges maestro di cappella alla Casa grande di Venetia il primo libro de villotte a quatro voci con un'altra canzon della galina novamente da lui composte & date in luce, Venice: Gardano, 1550): "l'unico inventore della vera e buona musica" ("the sole inventor of music which is true and good.") Indeed, friendship is a theme of the dedication: in addition to the reference to Willaert, Barges characterizes his relationship with Girolamo Fenaruolo, the dedicatee, as a friendship, and mentions their mutual friends Stefano Taberio and Marco Silvio. If Barges's dedication is to be believed, these men were among the first to hear and sing his songs, but the songs might also have found a home in Domenico Venier's salon.
Barges published only this one book of light secular music, although it contains music besides villottas such as a dozen villanesca
Villanella
In music, a villanella is a form of light Italian secular vocal music which originated in Italy just before the middle of the 16th century...
s and four madrigals not by Barges but by Andrea Patricio (composers at this time often admitted a few works by others into their publications). Other music by Barges included some sacred works, including two motets for four voices, published in 1563, an Alleluia
Alleluia
The word "Alleluia" or "Hallelujah" , which at its most literal means "Praise Yah", is used in different ways in Christian liturgies....
, and a Requiem for four voices (not dated). It is not known if he wrote this for Willaert. The style of the secular music is as light as anything found in northern Italy at the time: dancelike, quick, often triple meter, and often with nonsense syllables in a "patter
Patter song
The patter song is characterized by a moderately fast to very fast tempo with a rapid succession of rhythmic patterns in which each syllable of text corresponds to one note...
" style.
Barges also wrote three instrumental ricercar
Ricercar
A ricercar is a type of late Renaissance and mostly early Baroque instrumental composition. The term means to search out, and many ricercars serve a preludial function to "search out" the key or mode of a following piece...
s.