Giorgio Mainerio (c. 1530s – 3 or 4 May 1582) was an Italian

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

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 ...

, and

occultist The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism an ...

. He started his career as a

presbyter Presbyter () is an honorific title for Christian clergy. The word derives from the Greek ''presbyteros,'' which means elder or senior, although many in the Christian antiquity would understand ''presbyteros'' to refer to the bishop functioning as ...

and would only later start his musical career in the 1560s. Most of the songs he made were in the 1570s and were mainly

church music Church music is Christian music written for performance in church, or any musical setting of ecclesiastical liturgy, or music set to words expressing propositions of a sacred nature, such as a hymn. History Early Christian music The onl ...

. He dabbled in occultism and was later investigated for it. Before his death, he suffered from health issues.

Biography

Mainerio was born in

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

between 1530 and 1540. His father is thought to have been Scottish given that Giorgio signed ''Mayner'' as his family name. During his education he studied

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

, but he did not immediately begin a musical career. In 1560, being a

, he sought work as a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

and ''altarista'' by the church of ''Santa Maria Annunziata'' in

Udine Udine ( , ; fur, Udin; la, Utinum) is a city and ''comune'' in north-eastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Alps (''Alpi Carniche''). Its population was 100,514 in 2012, 176,000 with t ...

. In Udine, Mainerio spent ten years (from 1560 to 1570) and there, thanks to his previous musical knowledge and to the lessons given to him by two local contrapuntists, Gabriele Martinengo (

Maestro di cappella (, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...

from 1562 to 1567) and Ippolito Chamaterò (Maestro di cappella from 1567 to 1570), he started his musical career. After three years in Udine he became interested in

occultism The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism an ...

(

astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of Celestial o ...

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

and

necromancy Necromancy () is the practice of magic or black magic involving communication with the dead by summoning their spirits as apparitions or visions, or by resurrection for the purpose of divination; imparting the means to foretell future events; ...

) and there were rumours that—together with some women—he was attending night-rites. The

Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

Aquileia Aquileia / / / / ;Bilingual name of ''Aquileja – Oglej'' in: vec, Aquiłeja / ; Slovenian: ''Oglej''), group=pron is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river N ...

started a preliminary investigation but the case was closed for lack of evidence. After the investigation, Mainiero had more troubles with his colleagues in the Chapter of Udine and, after applying for a position at the Patriarchal Basilica of Aquileia, he quit partially the job in Udine, motivating his decision with "impellent although honest reasons". He was accepted at Aquileia and moved there, living in the quiet and isolated

Patriarchate Patriarchate ( grc, πατριαρχεῖον, ''patriarcheîon'') is an ecclesiological term in Christianity, designating the office and jurisdiction of an ecclesiastical patriarch. According to Christian tradition three patriarchates were esta ...

. In 1578 he became ''Maestro di cappella'' at the church of '' S. Chiesa d'Aquilegia''. During the last years of his life he had problems with his health and often left the church in favour of travels to

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 ...

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...

, and thermal baths. His death was announced to the Chapter on 4 May 1582.

Works

Mainerio mainly wrote works of Musica Sacra, although he published a collection of popular songs and dances, such as ''Il primo libro de' balli''. ''Magnificat octo tonorum...cum quatuor vocibus'' containing a ''Regina coeli'' was published by Mainerio and printed in

by G. Bariletto in

1574 __NOTOC__ Year 1574 ( MDLXXIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * February 23 – The fifth War of Religion against the Huguenots begins ...

. ''Il primo libro de balli accomodati per cantar et sonar d'ogni sorte de instromenti di Giorgio Mainerio Parmeggiano Maestro di Capella della S. Chiesa d'Aquilegia'' was printed by Gardano in Venice in

1578 __NOTOC__ Year 1578 (Roman numerals, MDLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 31 – Battle of Gembloux (1578), Battle of Ge ...

. Later, he published another ten ''Magnificat''s collected under the title of ''Sacra cantica Beatissimae M. Virg. omnitonum sex vocum parium canenda'', integrated by a

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 ...

(also six-part) named ''O sacrum convivium'': they were all printed in Venice in

1580 __NOTOC__ Events January–June * January 31 – Portuguese succession crisis of 1580: The death of Henry, King of Portugal, with no direct heirs, leads to conflict between his potential successors, including King Philip II of ...

by Angelo Gardano.

Popular culture

An adaptation of Mainerio's ''Schiarazula Marazula'' appears as "Ballo in Fa diesis minore" on

Angelo Branduardi Angelo Branduardi (born 12 February 1950) is an Italian folk/folk rock singer-songwriter and composer who scored relative success in Italy and European countries such as France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and Greece. Biography Branduardi wa ...

's 1977 album ''

La pulce d'acqua ("The Water Flea") is an album by Italian singer-songwriter Angelo Branduardi. It was released in 1977 by Polydor. A French edition, entitled , was released in 1979; an English edition, entitled ''Fables and Fantasies'' and with lyrics written b ...

'' (English edition as ''Fables and Fantasies'', 1980). Mainerio's character appears in a story of the popular Italian comics book/ horror ''

Dampyr ''Dampyr'' is an Italian comics, Italian comic book series created by Mauro Boselli (writer), Mauro Boselli and Maurizio Colombo (writer), Maurizio Colombo and first published by Sergio Bonelli Editore in 2000. Plot Characters *Harlan Draka, a ...

'', issued monthly by

Sergio Bonelli Editore Sergio Bonelli Editore (formerly CEPIM and other names) is a publishing house of Italian comics founded in 1940 by Gian Luigi Bonelli (1908–2001). It takes its name from its former president, comic book writer Sergio Bonelli (1932–2011), son of ...

. The story, entitled ''Il musicista stregato'' ("The Bewitched Musician") and published in #107 of the regular series in February 2009, was written by

Mauro Boselli Mauro Boselli (born 22 May 1985) is an Argentine professional association football, footballer who plays as a striker (association football), striker for Estudiantes de La Plata. Boselli began his career at Argentine Primera División, Argenti ...

on a plot by Mario Faggella and drawn by Mario Rossi (Majo). It reinterprets real aspects of Mainerio's life (particularly his interest in occultism and magic) in a fantastic tone, combining them with some myths of

Friulan Friulian ( ) or Friulan (natively or ; it, friulano; de-AT, Furlanisch; sl, furlanščina) is a Romance language belonging to the Rhaeto-Romance family, spoken in the Friuli region of northeastern Italy. Friulian has around 600,000 speakers, ...

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

such as ''agane'', female water demons similar to Scottish ''

bean nighe The (Scottish Gaelic for 'washerwoman' or 'laundress'; ) is a female spirit in Scottish folklore, regarded as an omen of death and a messenger from the Otherworld. She is a type of ( ga, bean sídhe, anglicized as "banshee") that haunts desola ...

s''.

External links

*http://www.classicalarchives.com/early/m.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20070206085104/http://www.recorderhomepage.net/crumcds.html *http://www.crystalrecords.com/brass_ensembles.html#CD562 *http://www.hoasm.org/IVG/Mainerio.html * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mainerio, Giorgio 16th-century births 1582 deaths Italian classical composers Italian male classical composers Musicians from Parma Renaissance composers