Roman School
Encyclopedia
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. Many of the composers had a direct connection to the Vatican
and the papal chapel
, though they worked at several churches; stylistically they are often contrasted with the Venetian School of composers, a concurrent movement which was much more progressive. By far the most famous composer of the Roman School is Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
, whose name has been associated for four hundred years with smooth, clear, polyphonic
perfection. However, there were other composers working in Rome, and in a variety of styles and forms.
The music of the Roman School can be seen as the culmination of a development of polyphony through the infusion of music of the Franco-Netherlandish school during the last hundred years. Franco-Netherlandish composers had long been coming to Italy to live and work—Josquin
, Obrecht
, Arcadelt
, and many others made the long journey, and their musical style was decisive on the formation of the Italian styles. Under the guidance of the Vatican, and with the choir of the Sistine Chapel
being one of the finest of the time, it was perhaps inevitable that the stylistic center of sacred polyphony would turn out to be Rome.
The Council of Trent
, which met from 1543 to 1563, had a significant impact on the music of the Roman School: indeed it can be argued that these reforms in the Roman Catholic Church
, which were part of the Counter-Reformation
, defined the music of the Roman School. The Council of Trent recommended that sacred music, especially for use in church, be written in a dignified, serious style. The Council allowed polyphony—a common misconception is that they banned it outright, but this is false—however they did require that text which was sung be clearly understandable. In addition, while they did not ban the use of secular melodies as source material for masses
and motet
s, such use was discouraged.
The combination of the reforms of the Council of Trent with the presence of the extremely talented composers inheriting the Franco-Netherlandish style, was the production of a body of music which has sometimes been held to represent the peak of perfection of Renaissance
polyphonic clarity. The subject matter of "16th Century Counterpoint" or "Renaissance Polyphony" as taught in contemporary college music curricula is invariably the codified style of the Roman School, as it was understood by Johann Fux
in the early 18th century. It is important to recognize, though, that the "Palestrina style" was not the only polyphonic style of the time, though it may have been the most internally consistent. The polyphonic style of Palestrina may have been the culmination of a hundred years of development of the Franco-Netherlandish style, but it was one of many streams in the late 16th century, and significantly contrasts with the music of the Venetian school to the north, as well as the music being produced in France and England at the same time.
Other composers living and working in Rome, while not considered members of the Roman School, certainly influenced them. The most famous of these is probably Luca Marenzio
, whose madrigals were wildly popular in Italy and elsewhere in Europe; some of the composers of the Roman School borrowed his expressive techniques, for instance word-painting, for occasional use in a liturgical setting.
While the Roman School is considered to be a conservative musical movement, there are important exceptions. Rome was the birthplace of the oratorio
, in the work of Giovanni Francesco Anerio
and Emilio de' Cavalieri
; the score for Cavalieri's Rappresentatione di Anima et di Corpo is the earliest printed score which uses a figured bass. The style is similar to the style of monody being developed in Florence
at approximately the same time; indeed there was considerable competition between composers in those two musical centers. The success of Rappresentatione was such that the monodic style became common in much Roman music in the first several decades of the 17th century.
Later composers of the Roman School included Gregorio Allegri
, composer of the famous Miserere
(c.1630). This piece was guarded closely by the papal chapel; it was considered so beautiful that copies were not allowed to circulate. A favorite story involves the 14-year-old Mozart
, who made the first illegal copy by transcribing it from memory after hearing it only twice. Many of the later composers of the Roman School continued to write in the polyphonic style of the 16th century, known then as the stile antico
, or the prima pratica
, in distinction to the newer styles of monody
and concertato
writing which defined the beginning of the Baroque
era.
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...
, during the 16th and 17th centuries, therefore spanning 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. The term also refers to the music they produced. Many of the composers had a direct connection to the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
and the papal chapel
Sistine Chapel
Sistine Chapel is the best-known chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope in Vatican City. It is famous for its architecture and its decoration that was frescoed throughout by Renaissance artists including Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio...
, though they worked at several churches; stylistically they are often contrasted with the Venetian School of composers, a concurrent movement which was much more progressive. By far the most famous composer of the Roman School is Giovanni Pierluigi da 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...
, whose name has been associated for four hundred years with smooth, clear, polyphonic
Polyphony
In music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ....
perfection. However, there were other composers working in Rome, and in a variety of styles and forms.
History and characteristics
While composers had almost certainly been working in Rome continuously for the thousand years since the time of Gregory the Great, the development of a consistent style around the middle of the 16th century, due in part to the musical requirements of the Counter-Reformation, led to their being grouped together by music historians under this single label.The music of the Roman School can be seen as the culmination of a development of polyphony through the infusion of music of the Franco-Netherlandish school during the last hundred years. Franco-Netherlandish composers had long been coming to Italy to live and work—Josquin
Josquin Des Prez
Josquin des Prez [Josquin Lebloitte dit Desprez] , often referred to simply as Josquin, was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance...
, Obrecht
Jacob Obrecht
Jacob Obrecht was a Flemish composer of the Renaissance. He was the most famous composer of masses in Europe in the late 15th century, being eclipsed by only Josquin des Prez after his death.-Life:...
, Arcadelt
Jacques Arcadelt
Jacques Arcadelt was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance, active in both Italy and France, and principally known as a composer of secular vocal music...
, and many others made the long journey, and their musical style was decisive on the formation of the Italian styles. Under the guidance of the Vatican, and with the choir of the Sistine Chapel
Sistine Chapel
Sistine Chapel is the best-known chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope in Vatican City. It is famous for its architecture and its decoration that was frescoed throughout by Renaissance artists including Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio...
being one of the finest of the time, it was perhaps inevitable that the stylistic center of sacred polyphony would turn out to be Rome.
The Council of Trent
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent was the 16th-century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. It is considered to be one of the Church's most important councils. It convened in Trent between December 13, 1545, and December 4, 1563 in twenty-five sessions for three periods...
, which met from 1543 to 1563, had a significant impact on the music of the Roman School: indeed it can be argued that these reforms in the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, which were part of the Counter-Reformation
Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648 as a response to the Protestant Reformation.The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort, composed of four major elements:#Ecclesiastical or...
, defined the music of the Roman School. The Council of Trent recommended that sacred music, especially for use in church, be written in a dignified, serious style. The Council allowed polyphony—a common misconception is that they banned it outright, but this is false—however they did require that text which was sung be clearly understandable. In addition, while they did not ban the use of secular melodies as source material for 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 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, such use was discouraged.
The combination of the reforms of the Council of Trent with the presence of the extremely talented composers inheriting the Franco-Netherlandish style, was the production of a body of music which has sometimes been held to represent the peak of perfection of 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...
polyphonic clarity. The subject matter of "16th Century Counterpoint" or "Renaissance Polyphony" as taught in contemporary college music curricula is invariably the codified style of the Roman School, as it was understood by Johann Fux
Johann Fux
Johann Joseph Fux was an Austrian composer, music theorist and pedagogue of the late Baroque era. He is most famous as the author of Gradus ad Parnassum, a treatise on counterpoint, which has become the single most influential book on the Palestrina style of Renaissance polyphony...
in the early 18th century. It is important to recognize, though, that the "Palestrina style" was not the only polyphonic style of the time, though it may have been the most internally consistent. The polyphonic style of Palestrina may have been the culmination of a hundred years of development of the Franco-Netherlandish style, but it was one of many streams in the late 16th century, and significantly contrasts with the music of the Venetian school to the north, as well as the music being produced in France and England at the same time.
Other composers living and working in Rome, while not considered members of the Roman School, certainly influenced them. The most famous of these is probably 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...
, whose madrigals were wildly popular in Italy and elsewhere in Europe; some of the composers of the Roman School borrowed his expressive techniques, for instance word-painting, for occasional use in a liturgical setting.
While the Roman School is considered to be a conservative musical movement, there are important exceptions. Rome was the birthplace of the oratorio
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
, in the work of Giovanni Francesco Anerio
Giovanni Francesco Anerio
Giovanni Francesco Anerio was an Italian composer of the Roman School, of the very late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He was the younger brother of Felice Anerio...
and Emilio de' Cavalieri
Emilio de' Cavalieri
Emilio de' Cavalieri was an Italian composer, producer, organist, diplomat, choreographer and dancer at the end of the Renaissance era. His work, along with that of other composers active in Rome, Florence and Venice, was critical in defining the beginning of the musical Baroque era...
; the score for Cavalieri's Rappresentatione di Anima et di Corpo is the earliest printed score which uses a figured bass. The style is similar to the style of monody being developed in Florence
Florence
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....
at approximately the same time; indeed there was considerable competition between composers in those two musical centers. The success of Rappresentatione was such that the monodic style became common in much Roman music in the first several decades of the 17th century.
Later composers of the Roman School included Gregorio Allegri
Gregorio Allegri
Gregorio Allegri was an Italian composer of the Roman School and brother of Domenico Allegri; he was also a priest and a singer. He lived mainly in Rome, where he would later die.-Life:...
, composer of the famous Miserere
Miserere (Allegri)
Miserere, full name "Miserere mei, Deus" by Italian composer Gregorio Allegri, is a setting of Psalm 51 composed during the reign of Pope Urban VIII, probably during the 1630s, for use in the Sistine Chapel during matins, as part of the exclusive Tenebrae service on Wednesday and Friday of Holy...
(c.1630). This piece was guarded closely by the papal chapel; it was considered so beautiful that copies were not allowed to circulate. A favorite story involves the 14-year-old Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
, who made the first illegal copy by transcribing it from memory after hearing it only twice. Many of the later composers of the Roman School continued to write in the polyphonic style of the 16th century, known then as the stile antico
Stile antico
Stile antico, literally "ancient style", is a term describing music from the sixteenth through the twentieth centuries. It refers to a manner of composition which is historically conscious, as opposed to stile moderno...
, or the prima pratica
Prima pratica
Prima pratica refers to early Baroque music which looks more to the style of Palestrina, or the style codified by Gioseffo Zarlino, than to more "modern" styles. It is contrasted with seconda pratica music...
, in distinction to the newer styles of monody
Monody
In poetry, the term monody has become specialized to refer to a poem in which one person laments another's death....
and concertato
Concertato
Concertato is a term in early Baroque music referring to either a genre or a style of music in which groups of instruments or voices share a melody, usually in alternation, and almost always over a basso continuo...
writing which defined the beginning of the 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...
era.
Composers
Members of the Roman School, including some who were active in Rome for only part of their careers, are as follows:- Giovanni Pierluigi da PalestrinaGiovanni Pierluigi da PalestrinaGiovanni 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...
(c1525–1594) - Tomás Luis de VictoriaTomás Luis de VictoriaTomás Luis de Victoria, sometimes Italianised as da Vittoria , was the most famous composer of the 16th century in Spain, and one of the most important composers of the Counter-Reformation, along with Giovanni da Palestrina and Orlando di Lasso. Victoria was not only a composer, but also an...
(1548–1611) - Giovanni AnimucciaGiovanni AnimucciaGiovanni Animuccia was an Italian composer of the Renaissance and was involved in the heart of Rome’s liturgical musical life, and one of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina's most important contemporaries...
(c1520–1571) - Felice AnerioFelice AnerioFelice Anerio was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras, and a member of the Roman School of composers. He was the older brother of another important, and somewhat more progressive composer of the same period, Giovanni Francesco Anerio.-Life:Anerio was born in Rome and...
(c1564–1614) - Giovanni Francesco AnerioGiovanni Francesco AnerioGiovanni Francesco Anerio was an Italian composer of the Roman School, of the very late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He was the younger brother of Felice Anerio...
(c1567–1630) (Younger brother of Felice) - Gregorio AllegriGregorio AllegriGregorio Allegri was an Italian composer of the Roman School and brother of Domenico Allegri; he was also a priest and a singer. He lived mainly in Rome, where he would later die.-Life:...
(1582–1652) (Composer of the famous MiserereMiserere (Allegri)Miserere, full name "Miserere mei, Deus" by Italian composer Gregorio Allegri, is a setting of Psalm 51 composed during the reign of Pope Urban VIII, probably during the 1630s, for use in the Sistine Chapel during matins, as part of the exclusive Tenebrae service on Wednesday and Friday of Holy...
) - Paolo BellasioPaolo BellasioPaolo Bellasio was an Italian composer and organist of the late Renaissance. He is generally considered to be a member of the Roman School, though unusually for the group he seems to have written only madrigals....
(1554–1594) - Antonio CifraAntonio CifraAntonio Cifra was an Italian composer of the Roman School of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He was one of the significant transitional figures between the Renaissance and Baroque styles, and produced music in both idioms.-Life and works:Son of Costanzo and Claudia, Antonio Cifra was born...
(1584–1629) - Domenico AllegriDomenico AllegriDomenico Allegri was an Italian composer and singer of the early Baroque Roman School. He was the second son of the Milanese coachman Costantino Allegri, who lived in Roma with his family, and a younger brother of the more famous Gregorio Allegri...
(c1585–1629) - Marc'Antonio Ingegneri (c1545–1592)
- Giovanni Maria NaninoGiovanni Maria NaninoGiovanni 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...
(1543–1607) - Emilio de' CavalieriEmilio de' CavalieriEmilio de' Cavalieri was an Italian composer, producer, organist, diplomat, choreographer and dancer at the end of the Renaissance era. His work, along with that of other composers active in Rome, Florence and Venice, was critical in defining the beginning of the musical Baroque era...
(c1560–1602) - Annibale StabileAnnibale StabileAnnibale 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.-Life:Records of his early life are inexact, but he was...
(c1535–1595) - Giovanni DragoniGiovanni DragoniGiovanni 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...
(c1540–1598) - Francesco SorianoFrancesco SorianoFrancesco Soriano was an Italian composer of the Renaissance. He was one of the most skilled members of the Roman School in the first generation after Palestrina....
(c1548–1621) - Paolo QuagliatiPaolo QuagliatiPaolo Quagliati was an Italian composer of the early Baroque era and a member of the Roman School of composers...
(c1555–1628) - Ruggiero GiovannelliRuggiero GiovannelliRuggiero Giovannelli was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He was a member of the Roman School, and succeeded Palestrina at St. Peter's.- Life :He was born in Velletri, near Rome...
(c1560–1625) - Giovanni Bernardino NaninoGiovanni Bernardino NaninoGiovanni Bernardino Nanino was an Italian composer, teacher and singing master of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras, and a leading member of the Roman School of composers...
(1560–1623) - Stefano LandiStefano LandiStefano Landi was an Italian composer and teacher of the early Baroque Roman School. He was an influential early composer of opera, and wrote the earliest opera on a historical subject: Sant'Alessio .-Biography:Landi was born in Rome, the capital of the Papal States.In 1595 he joined the Collegio...
(1586 or 1587–1639) - Virgilio MazzocchiVirgilio MazzocchiVirgilio Mazzocchi was an Italian baroque composer.He was born in Civita Castellana, the younger brother of Domenico Mazzocchi. Like his brother, who shared some features of his career, he was largely a composer of sacred vocal music.Mazzocchi is associated with providing music for the papal chapels...
(1597–1646) - Francesco FoggiaFrancesco FoggiaFrancesco Foggia was an Italian composer of the Baroque.-Biography:Foggia was a boy soprano at the Collegium Germanicum of the Jesuits in Rome, and was a student of Antonio Cifra, and Paolo Agostini. Perhaps his family was in contact with Giovanni Bernardino Nanino, 'mastro di capella' at San...
(1604–1688) - Annibale ZoiloAnnibale ZoiloAnnibale Zoilo was an Italian composer and singer of the late Renaissance Roman School. He was a contemporary of Palestrina, writing music in a closely related style, and was a prominent composer and choir director in Rome in the late 16th century.-Life:He was born in Rome, but little...
(c1537–1592) - Bartolomeo Roy (c1530–1599)
- Giovanni de MacqueGiovanni de MacqueGiovanni de Macque was a Franco-Flemish composer of the late Renaissance and early Baroque, who spent almost his entire life in Italy...
(c1550–1614) - Johannes MatelartJohannes MatelartJohannes Matelart was a Flemish composer of the late Renaissance, active in Flanders, Bonn, and Rome....
(before 1538–1607) - Rinaldo del MelRinaldo del MelRinaldo del Mel was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance, mainly active in Italy, and a member of the Roman School of composition...
(c1554–1598) - Giacomo CarissimiGiacomo CarissimiGiacomo Carissimi was an Italian composer, one of the most celebrated masters of the early Baroque, or, more accurately, the Roman School of music.-Biography:...
(1605–1674)