Michelagnolo Galilei
Encyclopedia
Michelagnolo Galilei (18 December 1575 – 3 January 1631) was an Italian composer and lute
nist of the late Renaissance
and early Baroque
eras, active mainly in Bavaria
and Poland
. He was the son of music theorist
and lutenist Vincenzo Galilei
, and the younger brother of the renowned astronomer Galileo Galilei
.
. He learned to play the lute at an early age, like his father. Most likely he was destined for a career in Florence, but when his father died in 1591, the sixteen-year-old lutenist was put in the charge of his older brother Galileo Galilei
, who was in Padua
.
Some other employment had to be found for Michelagnolo, so in 1593 he went to Poland, where foreign musicians were much in demand. Most likely he went there with the powerful Lithuanian-Polish Radziwiłł family. Poland had several sophisticated musical establishments at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries, especially at Kraków: Luca Marenzio
, one of Italy's most famous madrigal composers, went to Poland for a time, as did lutenists Diomedes Cato
and Valentin Bakfark. Lutenists were particularly in demand, and a considerable quantity of lute music was printed in Poland, in cities such as Kraków, Gdańsk, Toruń and Vilnius.
Michelagnolo came back from Poland in 1599, in a second failed attempt to gain employment in Florence in the court of Grand Duke Ferdinando de' Medici
, but returned in 1600 to his previous Polish employer. He stayed there until 1607, at which time he was hired by the Munich
Hofkapelle of Duke Maximilian I
.
Munich had had one of the most progressive musical establishments in the region since the mid-16th century, having employed Orlande de Lassus
; Galilei was another of many talented Italian musicians who went there to live and work. He remained in Munich for the rest of his life, fathering eight children, at least three of whom also became lutenists.
His relationship with his brother Galileo became especially difficult in his last years. Many of the letters between the two have been preserved; Michelagnolo ceaselessly implored his elder brother for money, and for help with his difficult children (Vincenzo, born in 1608, was particularly troublesome).
His music consists of dances such as galliard
s, voltas
and correntes, grouped loosely into suites, organized by musical mode. Each suite is preceded by a toccata
, and the book closes with two paired passamezzos and saltarello
s. Stylistically they are written in the most modern manner of the time, with dissonances, ornaments, and functional tonal
progressions indicative of the developing early Baroque style. His musical style was particularly influential in southern Germany, as shown by the demand for his music, even when he was still in Poland.
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
nist of the late 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...
and early Baroque
Baroque music
Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
eras, active mainly in Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
and 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...
. He was the son of music theorist
Music theory
Music theory is the study of how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures in composers' techniques across or within genres, styles, or historical periods...
and lutenist Vincenzo Galilei
Vincenzo Galilei
Vincenzo Galilei was an Italian lutenist, composer, and music theorist, and the father of the famous astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei and of the lute virtuoso and composer Michelagnolo Galilei...
, and the younger brother of the renowned astronomer Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei , was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations and support for Copernicanism...
.
Life
Galilei was born in FlorenceFlorence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
. He learned to play the lute at an early age, like his father. Most likely he was destined for a career in Florence, but when his father died in 1591, the sixteen-year-old lutenist was put in the charge of his older brother Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei , was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations and support for Copernicanism...
, who was in Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...
.
Some other employment had to be found for Michelagnolo, so in 1593 he went to Poland, where foreign musicians were much in demand. Most likely he went there with the powerful Lithuanian-Polish Radziwiłł family. Poland had several sophisticated musical establishments at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries, especially at Kraków: 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...
, one of Italy's most famous madrigal composers, went to Poland for a time, as did lutenists Diomedes Cato
Diomedes Cato
Diomedes Cato was an Italian-born composer and lute player, who lived and worked entirely in Poland. He is known mainly for his instrumental music...
and Valentin Bakfark. Lutenists were particularly in demand, and a considerable quantity of lute music was printed in Poland, in cities such as Kraków, Gdańsk, Toruń and Vilnius.
Michelagnolo came back from Poland in 1599, in a second failed attempt to gain employment in Florence in the court of Grand Duke Ferdinando de' Medici
Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1587 to 1609, having succeeded his older brother Francesco I.-Biography:...
, but returned in 1600 to his previous Polish employer. He stayed there until 1607, at which time he was hired by the Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
Hofkapelle of Duke Maximilian I
Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria
Maximilian I, Duke/Elector of Bavaria , called "the Great", was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire. His reign was marked by the Thirty Years' War ....
.
Munich had had one of the most progressive musical establishments in the region since the mid-16th century, having employed Orlande de Lassus
Orlande de Lassus
Orlande de Lassus was a Franco-Flemish composer of the late Renaissance...
; Galilei was another of many talented Italian musicians who went there to live and work. He remained in Munich for the rest of his life, fathering eight children, at least three of whom also became lutenists.
His relationship with his brother Galileo became especially difficult in his last years. Many of the letters between the two have been preserved; Michelagnolo ceaselessly implored his elder brother for money, and for help with his difficult children (Vincenzo, born in 1608, was particularly troublesome).
Music
Most of Galilei's music was for ten-course lute, and most was published in his first book, Il primo libro d'intavolatura di liuto (Munich, 1620), which used tablature notation. Some of his pieces appeared singly in other publications.His music consists of dances such as galliard
Galliard
The galliard was a form of Renaissance dance and music popular all over Europe in the 16th century. It is mentioned in dance manuals from England, France, Spain, Germany and Italy, among others....
s, voltas
Lavolta
The volta is an anglicised name for a Renaissance dance for couples from the later Renaissance. This dance was associated with the galliard and done to the same kind of music. Its main figure consisted of a turn and lift in a sort of closed position, which could be done either to the right or to...
and correntes, grouped loosely into suites, organized by musical mode. Each suite is preceded by a toccata
Toccata
Toccata is a virtuoso piece of music typically for a keyboard or plucked string instrument featuring fast-moving, lightly fingered or otherwise virtuosic passages or sections, with or without imitative or fugal interludes, generally emphasizing the dexterity of the performer's fingers...
, and the book closes with two paired passamezzos and saltarello
Saltarello
The saltarello was a lively, merry dance first mentioned in Naples during the 13th century. The music survives, but no early instructions for the actual dance are known. It was played in a fast triple meter and is named for its peculiar leaping step, after the Italian verb saltare .-History:The...
s. Stylistically they are written in the most modern manner of the time, with dissonances, ornaments, and functional tonal
Tonality
Tonality is a system of music in which specific hierarchical pitch relationships are based on a key "center", or tonic. The term tonalité originated with Alexandre-Étienne Choron and was borrowed by François-Joseph Fétis in 1840...
progressions indicative of the developing early Baroque style. His musical style was particularly influential in southern Germany, as shown by the demand for his music, even when he was still in Poland.