Giovanni Giorgi (late 17th or early 18th century – June 1762) (Latin: ''Joannis de Georgiis'') was a priest and an Italian composer. His style of polychoral church compositions are influenced by earlier

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 such as Orazio Benevoli, but also incorporate later Roman Baroque features and (after about 1758) some elements of early Classical style.S. Gmeinwieser, ''New Grove''F. Filiatrault, ''Roma Triumphans''

Life

Giorgi is reputed to have originated from Venice, but few details of his life are known. In 1719 he was appointed ''maestro di cappella'' at the papal

Basilica of St. John Lateran The Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran ( it, Arcibasilica del Santissimo Salvatore e dei Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano), also known as the Papa ...

, Rome, in succession to Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni. Many of Giorgi's early compositions were written during his time in Rome. By January 1725 he was in Lisbon where he took up the post of court ''mestre de capela''. He died in Lisbon in 1762.

Works

Many Portuguese records were lost in the

1755 Lisbon earthquake The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon earthquake, impacted Portugal, the Iberian Peninsula, and Northwest Africa on the morning of Saturday, 1 November, Feast of All Saints, at around 09:40 local time. In combination with ...

, but in Giorgi's case around 600 compositions have been preserved both in the Lateran archives in Rome and at Lisbon Cathedral. Most are vocal works and many are for liturgical use. Someparticularly the later worksincorporate concerted instrumental parts. His extant works include:Catalogued works according to L. Feininger ''Catalogus thematicus et bibliographicus Joannis de Georgiis operum sacrarum omnium'', Volumes 1 to 3, Trento, 1962-1971. Cited in ''New Grove'' * 162 motets, some for 2 to 4 voices; also some for 8 or 16 voices * 33 mass settings for 2, 4, 8 and 16 voices; some with instrumental parts * 145

gradual The gradual ( la, graduale or ) is a chant or hymn in the Mass, the liturgical celebration of the Eucharist in the Catholic Church, and among some other Christians. It gets its name from the Latin (meaning "step") because it was once chanted ...

settings for 2, 4 and 8 voices; some with instruments * 137

antiphon An antiphon ( Greek ἀντίφωνον, ἀντί "opposite" and φωνή "voice") is a short chant in Christian ritual, sung as a refrain. The texts of antiphons are the Psalms. Their form was favored by St Ambrose and they feature prominentl ...

s for 2 to 4 voices; some with instrumental parts * 162 psalms for 4, 5 and 8 voices; some with organ parts * 152 offertory settings for 8 voices; one with instruments * 49 hymns for 4 voices * 20

responsories A responsory or respond is a type of chant in western Christian liturgies. Definition The most general definition of a responsory is any psalm, canticle, or other sacred musical work sung responsorially, that is, with a cantor or small group si ...

for 4 or 8 voices * Lamentations for 8 voices * 5 cantatas for solo soprano and organ *

Madrigal A madrigal is a form of secular vocal music most typical of the Renaissance music, Renaissance (15th–16th c.) and early Baroque music, Baroque (1600–1750) periods, although revisited by some later European composers. The Polyphony, polyphoni ...

s for 5 voices

Recordings

* ''Giovanni Giorgi: Motetos de Natal e Páscoa,'' Coro de Câmara da Universidade de Aveiro directed by Cristiana Spadaro. Published 2015 a
MPMP / UA 1

Includes Motets n.º 24-27 and 48-52

* ''Giovanni Giorgi: Ave Maria'', Choeur de Chambre de Namur, and Cappella Mediterranea directed by Leonardo García-Alarcón. Published June 2011 a
Ricercar RIC 313
::The CD features eight works by Giorgi: ''Ave Maria'' (a 4); a mass setting, ''Messa a due Cori tutti piena'', for the Capella Reale in Lisbon; and the offertory settings ''Angelus Domini descendit de cælo'' (a 8); ''Improperium expectavit cor meum'' (a 4); ''Dextera Domini'' (a 4); ''Tui sunt caeli'' (a 8); ''Ascendit Deus in jubilatione'' (a 8); and ''In omnem terram'' (a 8; in five sections). * ''Roma Triumphans'', Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal directed by Christopher Jackson. Published 2008 as Atma SACD 22507. ::Includes three settings by Giorgi: Offertory ''Terra Tremuit'' and motets ''Haec Dies'' and ''Veni Sancte Spiritus''. (Other pieces on this CD are by much earlier composers

Marenzio Luca Marenzio (also Marentio; October 18, 1553 or 1554 – August 22, 1599) 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 f ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Palestrina Palestrina (ancient ''Praeneste''; grc, Πραίνεστος, ''Prainestos'') is a modern Italian city and ''comune'' (municipality) with a population of about 22,000, in Lazio, about east of Rome. It is connected to the latter by the Via Pre ...

, Orazio Benevoli and Ugolini).

Notes

References

* Siegfried Gmeinwieser, "Giorgi, Giovanni" ''New Grove Music Dictionary of Music and Musicians''. * Francois Filiatrault
CD booklet notes for ''Roma Triumphans''
2007. Translated by Sean McCutcheon. * Jolando Scarpa
Giovanni Giorgi
biography and critical notes (in Italian) at Werner Icking Music Archive (WIMA).

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Giorgi, Giovanni Italian Baroque composers Year of birth unknown 1762 deaths Italian male classical composers Portuguese classical composers 18th-century Italian composers 18th-century Italian male musicians