Girolamo Cavazzoni
Encyclopedia
Girolamo Cavazzoni (c. 1525 – after 1577) was an Italian
organist
and composer
, son of Marco Antonio Cavazzoni
. Little is known about his life except that he worked at Venice
and Mantua
, and published two collections of organ music. These collections only contain music written before about 1549, but are of high quality, and established the traditional form of imitative ricercar
s and canzona
s.
in 1543, and Cavazzoni informs the reader in the preface that he is "not much more than a boy" (anchor quasi fanciullo), which indicates Cavazzoni was around 17 at the time. Cavazzoni's reputation must have been considerably high already at that time, since he was able to secure a privilege from the Venetian council to publish this collection. The second collection of Cavazzoni's music, Intabulatura d'organo, carries no publication date (it appeared somewhere between 1543 and 1549) and contains no biographical details.
By 1552 Cavazzoni may have been working in Urbino
, and from 1565 to 1566 he supervised the building of the organ in the court church of S Barbara in Mantua
. The composer was apparently on good terms with Guglielmo X Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, and worked as organist at S Barbara. The last known mention of Cavazzoni is from 1577, naming him as organist of that church.
es. All of this music dates from before 1552, thus Cavazzoni's late work is completely unknown. Cavazzoni's published collections mostly contain liturgical
music: hymn
s, alternatim
masses
, and alternatim Magnificat
settings. Cavazzoni's writing in these works is distinguished by the freedom with which he treats chant melodies: unlike most of his predecessors and contemporaries, who sought to present the chant clearly and without serious changes, Cavazzoni derives multiple themes from a single chant by stretching or omitting notes, changing the rhythmic design, etc. Cavazzoni would also employ innovative structures in his works. For example, in Magnificat settings he treats portions of the chant imitatively, and since each verse is different and presenting a decorated form of the melody, Cavazzoni's settings are effectively miniature variation
sets. In hymn settings, Cavazzoni sometimes employs fore-imitation: anticipatory imitative sections before the actual chant is set, and/or between verses.
The most historically important works by Cavazzoni are his ricercars and canzonas, from which the history of imitative ricercars and canzonas starts, as far as is known. The four ricercares of Intavolatura libro primo are multi-sectional works consisting essentially of series of imitative expositions of different subjects. Interestingly, the two surviving ensemble ricercares by Cavazzoni do not share these characteristics: there are no sections, no clearly defined cadential points, and the works are quite short compared to their keyboard counterparts. Cavazzoni's two canzonas, also contained in Intavolatura libro primo, are similar in design. They employ short, lively subjects derived from those in works by other composers.
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...
organist
Organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...
and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, son of Marco Antonio Cavazzoni
Marco Antonio Cavazzoni
Marco Antonio Cavazzoni was an Italian organist and composer. All of his extant music is contained in the print Recerchari, motetti, canzoni [...] libro primo, which was published in Venice in 1523...
. Little is known about his life except that he worked at 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 Mantua
Mantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
, and published two collections of organ music. These collections only contain music written before about 1549, but are of high quality, and established the traditional form of imitative 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 and canzona
Canzona
In the 16th century an instrumental chanson; later, a piece for ensemble in several sections or tempos...
s.
Life
Practically nothing is known about Cavazzoni's life. The approximate year of his birth can be surmised from his remarks in the preface to Intavolatura libro primo, the first collection of his music to be published. The volume was printed in VeniceVenice
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...
in 1543, and Cavazzoni informs the reader in the preface that he is "not much more than a boy" (anchor quasi fanciullo), which indicates Cavazzoni was around 17 at the time. Cavazzoni's reputation must have been considerably high already at that time, since he was able to secure a privilege from the Venetian council to publish this collection. The second collection of Cavazzoni's music, Intabulatura d'organo, carries no publication date (it appeared somewhere between 1543 and 1549) and contains no biographical details.
By 1552 Cavazzoni may have been working in Urbino
Urbino
Urbino is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of Federico da Montefeltro, duke of Urbino from 1444 to 1482...
, and from 1565 to 1566 he supervised the building of the organ in the court church of S Barbara in Mantua
Mantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
. The composer was apparently on good terms with Guglielmo X Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, and worked as organist at S Barbara. The last known mention of Cavazzoni is from 1577, naming him as organist of that church.
Works
Cavazzoni's surviving oeuvre comprises two collections published during his lifetime, and two ensemble ricercarRicercar
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...
es. All of this music dates from before 1552, thus Cavazzoni's late work is completely unknown. Cavazzoni's published collections mostly contain liturgical
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
music: 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, alternatim
Alternatim
Alternatim refers to a technique of liturgical musical performance. A specific part of the ordinary of the Mass would be divided into versets. Each verset would be performed antiphonally by two groups of singers, giving rise to polyphonic settings of half of the text. One of these groups may...
masses
Mass (music)
The Mass, a form of sacred musical composition, is a choral composition that sets the invariable portions of the Eucharistic liturgy to music...
, and alternatim Magnificat
Magnificat
The Magnificat — also known as the Song of Mary or the Canticle of Mary — is a canticle frequently sung liturgically in Christian church services. It is one of the eight most ancient Christian hymns and perhaps the earliest Marian hymn...
settings. Cavazzoni's writing in these works is distinguished by the freedom with which he treats chant melodies: unlike most of his predecessors and contemporaries, who sought to present the chant clearly and without serious changes, Cavazzoni derives multiple themes from a single chant by stretching or omitting notes, changing the rhythmic design, etc. Cavazzoni would also employ innovative structures in his works. For example, in Magnificat settings he treats portions of the chant imitatively, and since each verse is different and presenting a decorated form of the melody, Cavazzoni's settings are effectively miniature variation
Variation (music)
In music, variation is a formal technique where material is repeated in an altered form. The changes may involve harmony, melody, counterpoint, rhythm, timbre, orchestration or any combination of these.-Variation form:...
sets. In hymn settings, Cavazzoni sometimes employs fore-imitation: anticipatory imitative sections before the actual chant is set, and/or between verses.
The most historically important works by Cavazzoni are his ricercars and canzonas, from which the history of imitative ricercars and canzonas starts, as far as is known. The four ricercares of Intavolatura libro primo are multi-sectional works consisting essentially of series of imitative expositions of different subjects. Interestingly, the two surviving ensemble ricercares by Cavazzoni do not share these characteristics: there are no sections, no clearly defined cadential points, and the works are quite short compared to their keyboard counterparts. Cavazzoni's two canzonas, also contained in Intavolatura libro primo, are similar in design. They employ short, lively subjects derived from those in works by other composers.
List of works
- Intavolatura cioe recercari, canzoni, himni, magnificati [...] libro primo (Venice, 1543)
- Ricercar I
- Ricercar II
- Ricercar III
- Ricercar IV
- Canzon sopra Il est bel et bon
- Canzon sopra Faultre d'argent
- Christe redemptor omnium
- Ad coenam agni providi
- Lucis creator optime
- Ave maris stella
- Magnificat primi toni
- Magnificat octavi toni
- Intabulatura d'organo, cioe misse, himni, magnificat [...] libro secondo (Venice c.1543–1549)
- Missa Apostolorum
- Missa Dominicalis
- Missa de Beata Virgine
- Veni creator Spiritus
- Pange lingua gloriosi
- Exsultet coelum laudibus
- Iste confessor
- Jesu nostra redemptio
- Jesu corona virginum
- Deus tuorum militum
- Hostis Herodis impie
- Magnificat quarti toni
- Magnificat sexti toni
- 2 ensemble ricercares à 4 (1540) and à 3 (1551)