Stefano Venturi del Nibbio ( fl. 1592–1600) was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance, active in Venice and Florence. In addition to composing madrigals in a relatively conservative style, works which were published as far away as England, he collaborated 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 ...

on one of the earliest operas, '' Il rapimento di Cefalo'' (1600). Very little is known about Venturi del Nibbio's life. In 1592 he was in Venice, presumably to supervise the printing of his first two books of madrigals (''Il primo libro de madrigali'', and ''Il primo libro de madrigali pastorali'', both for five voices), and in 1593 or 1594 he moved to Florence. After 1594 his known musical connections are all Florentine, and no unambiguous mentions of his name after 1600 have yet been found.Strainchamps, Grove online He had a reputation as a skilful composer of vocal music, both secular and sacred, in the conservative

polyphonic Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, h ...

style in a time and place in which a new musical style was quickly developing:

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 the '' stile rappresentativo'', developments which in retrospect demarcated the beginning of the

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 in music. In 1600 he collaborated with one of the chief practitioners of this new style, Caccini, in the music for the opera ''Il rapimento di Cefalo'', by composing two choruses; since they are lost along with most of the music for the opera, it is not known to what degree they may have borrowed from the new musical language. Also in 1600, Venturi wrote some sacred music, for two choirs, for the nuptial banquet celebrated in the

Duomo ''Duomo'' (, ) is an Italian term for a church with the features of, or having been built to serve as, a cathedral, whether or not it currently plays this role. Monza Cathedral, for example, has never been a diocesan seat and is by definition not ...

on 5 October for the marriage of

Henri 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 monarch ...

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 consort of France, Queen of France and List of Navarrese royal consorts, Navarre as the second wife of King Henry IV o ...

.Carter, n.68 Venturi published a total of five books of madrigals. The earliest book, ''Il primo libro de madrigali'' of 1592, included two madrigals which were published in London with English words, one by

Thomas Morley Thomas Morley (1557 – early October 1602) was an English composer, theorist, singer and organist of the Renaissance. He was one of the foremost members of the English Madrigal School. Referring to the strong Italian influence on the Englis ...

in his 1598 ''Madrigals to Five Voyces''. In the introduction to the book Morley praised the work, and Venturi himself, as an exemplary composer of madrigals.

Notes

References

*Carter, Tim. "Rediscovering ''Il rapimento di Cefalo''". Journal of Seventeenth-Century Music, Vol. 9 No. 1, 2003 (?) *Strainchamps, Edmond. "Venturi del Nibbio, Stefano." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/29174 (accessed October 11, 2009).

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Venturi Del Nibbio, Stefano Italian classical composers Italian male classical composers Renaissance composers Madrigal composers 16th-century births 17th-century deaths

Notes

References

Further reading

External links