Emilio de' Cavalieri (c. 155011 March 1602), or Emilio dei Cavalieri, the spellings "del" and "Cavaliere" are contemporary typographical errors, was an
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
, producer,
organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...
, diplomat,
choreographer
Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...
and
dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
r at the end of the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
era. His work, along with that of other composers active in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
,
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
and
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
, was critical in defining the beginning of the musical
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
era. A member of the
Roman School
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 produ ...
of composers, he was an influential early composer of
monody
In music, monody refers to a solo vocal style distinguished by having a single melodic line and instrumental accompaniment. Although such music is found in various cultures throughout history, the term is specifically applied to Italian song of ...
, and wrote what is usually considered to be the first
oratorio
An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...
.
Life
![Cappella de' Cavalieri a Santa Maria in Aracoeli](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Cappella_de%27_Cavalieri_a_Santa_Maria_in_Aracoeli.jpg)
Cavalieri was born in Rome of an aristocratic and musical family. He was the son of
Tommaso de' Cavalieri
Tommaso dei Cavalieri (—1587) was an Italian nobleman, who was the object of the greatest expression of Michelangelo's love. Michelangelo was 57 years old when he met Cavalieri in 1532. The young noble was exceptionally handsome, and his appea ...
(c. 1509–1587), a close friend of
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...
. He probably received his early training there, and was working as an organist and music director in the period from 1578 to 1584. He spent much of his time in Rome as an organiser of
Lent
Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...
en oratorios. While in Rome he became associated with Cardinal
Ferdinando de' Medici.
In 1587, Ferdinando de' Medici succeeded his brother as Grand Duke of Tuscany, and in 1588 he brought Cavalieri to Florence as an overseer of artists, craftsmen and musicians. Cavalieri was master of ceremonies for the extremely opulent ''
intermedi
The intermedio (also intromessa, introdutto, tramessa, tramezzo, intermezzo, intermedii), in the Italian Renaissance, was a theatrical performance or spectacle with music and often dance, which was performed between the acts of a play to cele ...
'' that the
Medici
The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Muge ...
family required for events such as weddings. Count
Giovanni de' Bardi
Giovanni de' Bardi (5 February 1534 – September 1612), Count of Vernio, was an Italian literary critic, writer, composer and soldier.
Biography
Giovanni de' Bardi was born in Florence.
While he received a deep classical education, becoming pr ...
, the founder and patron of the
Florentine Camerata
The Florentine Camerata, also known as the Camerata de' Bardi, were a group of humanists, musicians, poets and intellectuals in late Renaissance Florence who gathered under the patronage of Count Giovanni de' Bardi to discuss and guide trends in t ...
, also collaborated on these productions. In May 1589, the festivities for the marriage of Grand Duke Ferdinando to
Christina of Lorraine
Christina of Lorraine or Christine de Lorraine (16 August 1565 – 19 December 1637) was a member of the House of Lorraine and was the Grand Duchess of Tuscany by marriage. She served as Regent of Tuscany jointly with her daughter-in-law during ...
included a performance of
Girolamo Bargagli's ''
La pellegrina'', with six especially elaborate ''intermedi.'' The 1st number of the final ''intermedio'' (6) was initially a piece by Bardi but was replaced in the actual ''intermedio'' by Cavalieri's virtuosic number based on the ''
Aria del Gran Duca
Aria del Gran Duca is a popular melody and ground bass
In music, an ostinato (; derived from Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in t ...
'' which became popular all over Europe and occurs in many arrangements and variations such as that made by
Peter Philips
Peter Philips (also ''Phillipps'', ''Phillips'', ''Pierre Philippe'', ''Pietro Philippi'', ''Petrus Philippus''; ''c.''1560–1628) was an eminent English composer, organist, and Catholic priest exiled to Flanders. He was one of the greatest ke ...
in
Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, . Cavalieri may have gotten some of his ideas for
monody
In music, monody refers to a solo vocal style distinguished by having a single melodic line and instrumental accompaniment. Although such music is found in various cultures throughout history, the term is specifically applied to Italian song of ...
directly from Bardi, since Cavalieri was not a member of the Camerata during its period of activity a few years earlier. He may have developed his rivalry with
Giulio Caccini
Giulio Romolo Caccini (also Giulio Romano) (8 October 1551 – buried 10 December 1618) was an Italian composer, teacher, singer, instrumentalist and writer of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He was one of the founders of the genre ...
, another extremely important and influential early monodist during this period.
In the 1590s, while still in Florence, Cavalieri produced several
pastorale
Pastorale refers to something of a pastoral nature in music, whether in form or in mood.
In Baroque music, a pastorale is a movement of a melody in thirds over a drone bass, recalling the Christmas music of ''pifferari'', players of the traditi ...
s (a semi-dramatic predecessor to opera, set in the country, with shepherds and shepherdesses as common characters). In addition to his musical activities, he was employed as a diplomat during this time, assisting in papal politics, including buying the votes of key cardinals for the elections of popes
Innocent IX and
Clement VIII
Pope Clement VIII ( la, Clemens VIII; it, Clemente VIII; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1592 to his death in March 1605.
Born ...
who were expected to favour the Medici.
During the 1590s he made frequent diplomatic trips to Rome, remaining active in the musical life there, and was connected with the
Congregation of the Oratory of St Philip Neri.
He premiered his famous ''
Rappresentatione di Anima, et di Corpo
''Rappresentatione di anima et di corpo'' (Portrayal of the Soul and the Body) is a musical work by Emilio de' Cavalieri to a libretto by Agostino Manni (1548-1618). With it, Cavalieri regarded himself as the composer of the first opera or orator ...
...'' in February 1600; this piece is generally held to be the first
oratorio
An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...
. According to Roman records the piece was produced twice that year at the Oratorio de Filippini adjacent to
Santa Maria in Vallicella
Santa Maria in Vallicella, also called Chiesa Nuova, is a church in Rome, Italy, which today faces onto the main thoroughfare of the Corso Vittorio Emanuele and the corner of Via della Chiesa Nuova. It is the principal church of the Oratorians, ...
, and was witnessed by thirty-five cardinals.
In 1600 Cavalieri produced ''Euridice'', one of the first
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
s, by
Jacopo Peri
Jacopo Peri (20 August 156112 August 1633), known under the pseudonym Il Zazzerino, was an Italian composer and singer of the transitional period between the Renaissance and Baroque styles, and is often called the inventor of opera. He wrote th ...
(
libretto
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...
by
Ottavio Rinuccini
Ottavio Rinuccini (20 January 1562 – 28 March 1621) was an Italian poet, courtier, and opera librettist at the end of the Renaissance and beginning of the Baroque eras. In collaborating with Jacopo Peri to produce the first opera, '' Dafne'', i ...
); this was part of an elaborate set of festivities for the wedding of
Henry IV of France
Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...
and
Maria de' Medici
Marie de' Medici (french: link=no, Marie de Médicis, it, link=no, Maria de' Medici; 26 April 1575 – 3 July 1642) was Queen of France and Navarre as the second wife of King Henry IV of France of the House of Bourbon, and Regent of the Kingd ...
. Unfortunately for Cavalieri, he was not given control of the main event, the production of ''
Il rapimento di Cefalo''—his rival Giulio Caccini took over from him—and he left Florence in anger, never to return.
Emilio de' Cavalieri died on 11 of March 1602 in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
. He is buried in Cappella de' Cavalieri in
Santa Maria in Aracoeli
The Basilica of St. Mary of the Altar of Heaven ( la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae de Ara coeli in Capitolio, it, Basilica di Santa Maria in Ara coeli al Campidoglio) is a titular basilica in Rome, located on the highest summit of the Campidoglio. I ...
. Emilio de' Cavalieri tomb disappeared during renovations in XVIII century. In March 2002 a replacement plaque commemorating his burial was placed in the chapel. The plaque states:
EMILIO DE' CAVALIERI
ROMAN GENTLEMAN,
INNOVATIVE AND TALENTED COMPOSER,
CREATOR OF THE FIRST OPERAS,
SUPERINTENDENT OF ALL THE MUSICIANS
AND ARTISTS AT THE COURT OF THE MEDICI,
CONSERVATOR OF THE ROMAN SENATE AND PEOPLE.
BURIED HERE 11 MARCH 1602
ON THE FOUR HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS DEATH
Works
Cavalieri claimed to be the inventor of the ''stile rappresentativo'', what is now usually known as
monody
In music, monody refers to a solo vocal style distinguished by having a single melodic line and instrumental accompaniment. Although such music is found in various cultures throughout history, the term is specifically applied to Italian song of ...
, and he made the claim with considerable irritation: "everyone knows I am the inventor of
his style" he said in a letter of 1600, "and I said so myself in print." Caccini seems to have got more of the credit, perhaps deservedly so, because of his early association with Bardi and
Vincenzo Galilei
Vincenzo Galilei (born 3 April 1520, Santa Maria a Monte, Italy died 2 July 1591, Florence, Italy) was an Italian lutenist, composer, and music theorist. His children included the astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei and the lute virtuoso and ...
in the 1570s in Florence, where the style was first discussed and probably invented. Comparing himself to Caccini, he said of their two styles: "
ymusic moves people to pleasure and sadness, while theirs
.e. Caccini's and Peri'smoves them to boredom and disgust."
Among Cavalieri's secular compositions were
madrigal
A madrigal is a form of secular vocal music most typical of the Renaissance (15th–16th c.) and early Baroque (1600–1750) periods, although revisited by some later European composers. The polyphonic madrigal is unaccompanied, and the number o ...
s, monodies, and pieces he wrote for ''intermedi''; his sacred compositions included a setting of the
Lamentations
The Book of Lamentations ( he, אֵיכָה, , from its incipit meaning "how") is a collection of poetic laments for the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. In the Hebrew Bible it appears in the Ketuvim ("Writings") as one of the Five Megillot ...
of Jeremiah, and the ''
Rappresentatione di Anima, et di Corpo
''Rappresentatione di anima et di corpo'' (Portrayal of the Soul and the Body) is a musical work by Emilio de' Cavalieri to a libretto by Agostino Manni (1548-1618). With it, Cavalieri regarded himself as the composer of the first opera or orator ...
.'' This work, probably the most historically important composition of Cavalieri to survive, consists of alternating speech,
strophic
Strophic form – also called verse-repeating form, chorus form, AAA song form, or one-part song form – is a song structure in which all verses or stanzas of the text are sung to the same music. Contrasting song forms include through-composed, ...
songs,
recitative
Recitative (, also known by its Italian name "''recitativo''" ()) is a style of delivery (much used in operas, oratorios, and cantatas) in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms and delivery of ordinary speech. Recitative does not repea ...
-like sections and madrigalian parts; subsequent oratorios often used it as a starting-point. It is the first work to be published with a
figured bass
Figured bass is musical notation in which numerals and symbols appear above or below (or next to) a bass note. The numerals and symbols (often accidentals) indicate intervals, chords, and non-chord tones that a musician playing piano, harpsic ...
. Most importantly, however, it was an attempt to demonstrate, at musically conservative Rome, that the modern monodic style was consistent with the aims of the
Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...
and could be adapted to a religious as opposed to a secular purpose. The quick adoption of the modern musical style by other Roman composers attests to its effectiveness in this regard. Cavalieri was followed by other
Roman School
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 produ ...
composers of the 17th century who included
Domenico Mazzocchi
Domenico Mazzocchi (baptised 1592 in Civita Castellana21 January 1665 in Veja) was an Italian Baroque composer of only vocal music, of the generation after Claudio Monteverdi.
He was a learned Roman lawyer, studied music with Giovanni Maria Nanin ...
,
Giacomo Carissimi
(Gian) Giacomo Carissimi (; baptized 18 April 160512 January 1674) was an Italian composer and music teacher. He is one of the most celebrated masters of the early Baroque or, more accurately, the Roman School of music. Carissimi established the ...
and
Alessandro Scarlatti
Pietro Alessandro Gaspare Scarlatti (2 May 1660 – 22 October 1725) was an Italian Baroque composer, known especially for his operas and chamber cantatas. He is considered the most important representative of the Neapolitan school of opera.
...
.
Most of his music is in the most advanced style of the time. His four-part vocal music usually has a highly
ornamented and expressive melodic line; the differentiation of the melodic line from the others is one of the defining features of the early Baroque. Some historians believed that Cavalieri was the originator of the
trill
TRILL (Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links) is an Internet Standard implemented by devices called TRILL switches. TRILL combines techniques from bridging and routing, and is the application of link-state routing to the VLAN-aware cus ...
.
Sometimes he experimented with the
Enharmonic scale
In music theory, an enharmonic scale is "an maginarygradual progression by quarter tones" or any " usicalscale proceeding by quarter tones". The enharmonic scale uses dieses (divisions) nonexistent on most keyboards,John Wall Callcott (1833). ...
, or
enharmonic
In modern musical notation and tuning, an enharmonic equivalent is a note, interval, or key signature that is equivalent to some other note, interval, or key signature but "spelled", or named differently. The enharmonic spelling of a written n ...
chromaticism which required
microtonal
Microtonal music or microtonality is the use in music of microtones— intervals smaller than a semitone, also called "microintervals". It may also be extended to include any music using intervals not found in the customary Western tuning of t ...
tunings; apparently he built a special
pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...
in the 1590s for playing this kind of music.
Sources
Primary (paratextual material)
*
:(English translations of prefaces to 17th-century Italian operas by Cavalieri, Caccini, Peri, Rinuccini, and others. Includes Italian originals.)
Secondary or tertiary
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', (MacMillan,1992). entries under Cavalieri, Peri, and ''Rappresentatione''.
*
* Claude V. Palisca: "Emilio de' Cavalieri", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed November 17, 2005)
(subscription access)
Notes
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cavalieri, Emilio de
Italian male classical composers
Italian Baroque composers
Roman school composers
Italian male dancers
Italian classical organists
Male classical organists
Diplomats from Rome
1550s births
1602 deaths
Musicians from Rome
Renaissance composers
16th-century Italian musicians
16th-century Italian composers
16th-century dancers
16th-century Italian diplomats