Francesco Passarini (November 10, 1636 - September 23, 1694) was an Italian composer and organist. His last name is given variously as Pasarini, Passarino, and Passerini. A native of

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

, Passarini was the son of Antonio and Angela Cuppini; his name at birth was Camillo. He took holy orders as a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

on January 28, 1652 in the same city. His musical training is unknown, though it has been posited that he studied under Agostino Filippucci. His career was peripatetic, typical of friar-musicians, and can be traced largely through his own hand; he indicated the place and date of composition on his manuscripts, and just before his death compiled an inventory of music items in his collection. He began working in his native city, moving to

Ferarra Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

to work as an organist in 1662 and remaining there for one year; 1664 found him in Correggio before returning to Bologna, where he was a '' maestro di cappella'' for a decade. His first works to see publication were issued in Bologna in 1671 and 1672; by the latter date he had taken a post at

San Giovanni in Persiceto San Giovanni in Persiceto (from 1912 to 1927: ''Persiceto''; Western Bolognese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, northern Italy. Located in the northern part of the Metropolitan City, bordering with the province ...

. 1673 saw Passarini named ''maestro di cappella'' at Venice's

Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari The Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, usually just called the Frari, is a church located in the Campo dei Frari at the heart of the San Polo district of Venice, Italy. The largest church in the city, it has the status of a minor basil ...

, and he remained in that city until 1680, continuing to produce work throughout this period. Reelected to his Bologenese post on March 31, 1681, he soon took a leading position in the city's musical life. In 1691 he went to

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 ...

, to become ''maestro di cappella'' at Santa Croce, and from 1692 until 1693 he was working in

Pistoia Pistoia (, is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typi ...

; his last compositions date to this time. Late in 1693, he was reinstated to his position in Bologna, despite his precarious health, to which reference is made in the minutes of the order; he died in that city the following year. Passarini's work is mainly religious in nature, ranging from

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 ...

to polychoral work and encompassing instrumental pieces and

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 ...

s in addition to

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Margar ...

s and other choral settings. Much of his music is preserved in

, although pieces can be found in collections in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, Florence, and

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...

as well. He composed a large number of works featuring cornetto as well, only a handful of which have survived; these indicate that he used the instrument mainly as a second trumpet, rather than for its own qualities.

References

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{{Authority control 1636 births 1694 deaths Italian classical composers Italian male classical composers Italian classical organists Male organists 17th-century Italian composers 17th-century male musicians 17th-century keyboardists Italian Franciscans 17th-century Italian Christian monks Musicians from Bologna