Orazio Benevoli or Benevolo (19 April 1605 – 17 June 1672), was a Franco-Italian composer of large scaled

polychoral 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 prominently ...

sacred choral works (e.g., one work featured forty-eight vocal and instrumental lines) of the mid-Baroque era. He was born 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 ...

, to a French baker and confectioner, Robert Venouot or Vénevot, which name was Italianized to ''Benevolo''. Benevoli was a choirboy at

San Luigi dei Francesi The Church of St. Louis of the French ( it, San Luigi dei Francesi, french: Saint Louis des Français, la, S. Ludovici Francorum de Urbe) is a Roman Catholic church in Rome, not far from Piazza Navona. The church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, ...

(1617–23). Later, he assumed posts as ''maestro di cappella'' at Santa Maria in

Trastevere Trastevere () is the 13th ''rione'' of Rome: it is identified by the initials R. XIII and it is located within Municipio I. Its name comes from Latin ''trans Tiberim'', literally 'beyond the Tiber'. Its coat of arms depicts a golden head of a lio ...

(from 1624); then, at

Santo Spirito in Sassia Church of the Holy Spirit in the Saxon District (Italian: ''La chiesa di Santo Spirito in Sassia'') is a 12th-century titular church in Rome, Italy. It is in '' Borgo Santo Spirito'', a street which got its name from the church, placed in the sou ...

(from 1630); and, eventually, at his old church,

(from 1638). Benevoli served as ''

Kapellmeister (, 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 ...

'' in the court of

Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria (5 January 1614 – 20 November 1662), younger brother of Emperor Ferdinand III, was an Austrian soldier, administrator and patron of the arts. He held a number of military commands, with limited success, and ...

from 1644 to 1646. In 1646, Benevoli returned to

, where he remained for the rest of his life, and where he served as choirmaster at

Santa Maria Maggiore The Basilica of Saint Mary Major ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, ; la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris), or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is a Major papal basilica as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and the larges ...

and at the

Cappella Giulia The Cappella Giulia, officially the Reverend Musical Chapel Julia of the Sacrosanct Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican, is the choir of St. Peter's Basilica that sings for all solemn functions of the Vatican Chapter, such as Holy Mass, ...

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...

. He was made ''Guardiano'' of the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

's Congregazione di Santa Cecilia in the following three years: 1654, 1665 and 1667. His pupils included:

Ercole Bernabei Ercole Bernabei (Caprarola (Latium), 1622 – Munich, 5 December 1687) was an Italian composer, chapel master and organist. Bernabei was born in Caprarola, and became a pupil of Orazio Benevoli in Rome. From 1653 he served as organist at San Lui ...

Antimo Liberati Antimo Liberati (3 April 1617 – 24 February 1692) was an Italian music theorist, composer, and contralto singer. Born in Foligno, Liberati began his musical training began in Rome in 1628 when he was admitted to the choir of San Giovanni in La ...

and

Paolo Lorenzani Paolo Francesco Lorenzani (5 January 1640 – 28 October 1713) was an Italian composer of the Baroque Era. While living in France, he helped promote appreciation for the Italian style of music. Lorenzani was born in Rome and was trained by ...

. Benevoli composed Masses, motets, Magnificats, and other sacred vocal works. Much of his fame as a composer has rested largely on his supposed composition of the fifty-three part '' Missa Salisburgensis'', which musicologists long believed was written by Benevoli in Salzburg Cathedral in 1628. Nevertheless, external and internal evidence subsequently demonstrated that the

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

is in fact the work of

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 ...

Heinrich Ignaz Biber Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber ( bapt. 12 August 1644, Stráž pod Ralskem – 3 May 1704, Salzburg) was a Bohemian-Austrian composer and violinist. Biber worked in Graz and Kroměříž before he illegally left his employer, Prince-Bishop Karl ...

, and that it dates not from 1628 but from 1682.

Works, editions and recordings

Benevoli's sacred compositions frequently make use of four or more choirs. Many of Benevoli's works are massive and in the Colossal Baroque style. Sixteen masses for 8 to 16 voices survive.

Reclam Reclam Verlag is a German publishing house, established in Leipzig in 1828 by Anton Philipp Reclam (1807–1896).Le Concert Spirituel Le Concert Spirituel is a French ensemble specialising in works of baroque music, played on period instruments. Founded by Hervé Niquet in 1987, it is named after the 18th-century concert series Concert Spirituel. The group performs internationa ...

(Niquet). Naxos (1996) * ''Missa Tira Corda a 16'',

Tölzer Knabenchor The Tölzer Knabenchor (Tölz Boys' Choir) is a German boys' choir named after the Upper Bavarian city of Bad Tölz and since 1971 based in Munich. The choir is ranked among the most versatile and sought-after boys' choirs in the world. Histor ...

(

Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden (born 19 June 1937) is a German conductor, especially a choral conductor, and an academic teacher. He founded and conducted the Tölzer Knabenchor. Life Born in Karlovy Vary, Czechoslovakia, Schmidt-Gaden studied conduct ...

) (2010)

References

External links

Orazio Benevoli (1605 - 1672)
at "Here of a Sunday Morning" website

at

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...

* *
A review of debut recording of Orazio Benevoli's Missa Si Deus Pro Nobis, Magnificat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benevoli, Orazio 1605 births 1672 deaths 17th-century Italian composers Italian Baroque composers Italian male classical composers Musicians from Rome Italian people of French descent 17th-century male musicians