Girolamo Conversi
Encyclopedia
Girolamo Conversi was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance
. His music, which was popular from the 1570s through the 1590s, was noted for its combination of the light canzone alla napolitana with the literary and musical sophistication of the madrigal
. He appears to have written only secular vocal music.
. In 1575 he dedicated a book of madrigals to Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle
, the Spanish Viceroy of Naples
, and described himself as being in that man's service. Whether he lived in Naples at the time, or elsewhere in the Spanish Kingdom of Naples
, is not known. Since his only publications after 1575 are reprints – in copious quantity – he may have died around that year. Unusually for a popular composer of the time, he seems to have held no positions either in aristocratic courts or religious institutions for which records have been kept.
, also known as the canzone alla napolitana, with the more serious and literary character of the madrigal. The combination was successful, and Conversi's music was reprinted often during the late 16th century; his music appeared in anthologies as far away as England. His first collection, a book of canzoni alla napoletana for five voices originally published in 1572, went through no less than seven reprints before 1589. Another publication of Conversi's, possibly posthumous, is a volume of madrigals for six voices which appeared in 1584, but which was probably a reprint of an earlier volume, the original for which has been lost. Yet another book of madrigals, for five voices, is mentioned in a 1604 catalogue of publications by the Florentine Giunti firm of booksellers and printers, but no copy of it has yet been found.
Conversi rarely (if ever) set verse by living poets, preferring writers such as Petrarch
, Pietro Bembo
, Castiglione
, and Luca Contile. Nowhere is his tendency to use sharp contrasts to underline and enhance his texts more apparent than in his setting of Petrarch's Zefiro torna, a setting which was evidently known to Claudio Monteverdi
, whose own version in his Sixth Book of Madrigals is considerably more famous. The form of the poem is a Petrarchan sonnet, and Conversi sets the octave
, which celebrates the return of springtime, with a quick and light patter of notes drawn from the pastoral Neapolitan canzona; and the sestet, in which the lover mourns the loss of his beloved, arrives in a sombre and slow G minor.
Some of Conversi's vocal textures show the influence of instrumental music, as they have homophonic
and dancelike sections easily playable on instruments without changing a note. Orazio Vecchi was likely familiar with these works, as is evident from his own compositions in the style. While Vecchi held a post in Correggio in the 1580s, it is not known if the two men were acquaintances.
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...
. His music, which was popular from the 1570s through the 1590s, was noted for its combination of the light canzone alla napolitana with the literary and musical sophistication of the 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....
. He appears to have written only secular vocal music.
Life
Little is known of his life but what can be inferred from the dedications to his madrigal books. He was born in Correggio in Reggio EmiliaProvince of Reggio Emilia
The Province of Reggio Emilia is one of the eight provinces of the Italian Region of Emilia-Romagna. The capital city, which is the most densely populated comune in the Province, is Reggio Emilia....
. In 1575 he dedicated a book of madrigals to Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle
Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle
Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle , Comte de La Baume Saint Amour, was a Burgundian statesman, made a cardinal, who followed his father as a leading minister of the Spanish Habsburgs, and was one of the most influential European politicians during the time which immediately followed the appearance of...
, the Spanish Viceroy of Naples
Naples
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 described himself as being in that man's service. Whether he lived in Naples at the time, or elsewhere in the Spanish Kingdom of Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
, is not known. Since his only publications after 1575 are reprints – in copious quantity – he may have died around that year. Unusually for a popular composer of the time, he seems to have held no positions either in aristocratic courts or religious institutions for which records have been kept.
Music and influence
Conversi's music is distinguished by its marriage of the lightness of the Neapolitan villanellaVillanella
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...
, also known as the canzone alla napolitana, with the more serious and literary character of the madrigal. The combination was successful, and Conversi's music was reprinted often during the late 16th century; his music appeared in anthologies as far away as England. His first collection, a book of canzoni alla napoletana for five voices originally published in 1572, went through no less than seven reprints before 1589. Another publication of Conversi's, possibly posthumous, is a volume of madrigals for six voices which appeared in 1584, but which was probably a reprint of an earlier volume, the original for which has been lost. Yet another book of madrigals, for five voices, is mentioned in a 1604 catalogue of publications by the Florentine Giunti firm of booksellers and printers, but no copy of it has yet been found.
Conversi rarely (if ever) set verse by living poets, preferring writers such as Petrarch
Petrarch
Francesco Petrarca , known in English as Petrarch, was an Italian scholar, poet and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch is often called the "Father of Humanism"...
, Pietro Bembo
Pietro Bembo
Pietro Bembo was an Italian scholar, poet, literary theorist, and cardinal. He was an influential figure in the development of the Italian language, specifically Tuscan, as a literary medium, and his writings assisted in the 16th-century revival of interest in the works of Petrarch...
, Castiglione
Castiglione
-Places:Towns in Italy, many of which were simply called Castiglione prior to the unification of Italy in the 19th century:* Castiglion Fibocchi, in the province of Arezzo* Castiglion Fiorentino, in the province of Arezzo...
, and Luca Contile. Nowhere is his tendency to use sharp contrasts to underline and enhance his texts more apparent than in his setting of Petrarch's Zefiro torna, a setting which was evidently known to Claudio Monteverdi
Claudio Monteverdi
Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, gambist, and singer.Monteverdi's work, often regarded as revolutionary, marked the transition from the Renaissance style of music to that of the Baroque period. He developed two individual styles of composition – the...
, whose own version in his Sixth Book of Madrigals is considerably more famous. The form of the poem is a Petrarchan sonnet, and Conversi sets the octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
, which celebrates the return of springtime, with a quick and light patter of notes drawn from the pastoral Neapolitan canzona; and the sestet, in which the lover mourns the loss of his beloved, arrives in a sombre and slow G minor.
Some of Conversi's vocal textures show the influence of instrumental music, as they have homophonic
Homophony
In music, homophony is a texture in which two or more parts move together in harmony, the relationship between them creating chords. This is distinct from polyphony, in which parts move with rhythmic independence, and monophony, in which all parts move in parallel rhythm and pitch. A homophonic...
and dancelike sections easily playable on instruments without changing a note. Orazio Vecchi was likely familiar with these works, as is evident from his own compositions in the style. While Vecchi held a post in Correggio in the 1580s, it is not known if the two men were acquaintances.