Domenico Massenzio (28 March 1586 - 23 October 1657) was an Italian baroque composer.
His lifetime «coincides perfectly with the conception and implementation of the Counter-Reformation, the largest-scale operation of ideological communication ever carried out in Europe».
He worked at the
Seminario Romano (1612),
Collegio Inglese (1624-6),
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, ...
(1626-7).
His first two collections of music (the 'Sacrae cantiones' in 1612 and the 'Motecta
..liber secundus' in 1614), were dedicated respectively to
Cardinal Odoardo Farnese and to
Cardinal Benedetto Giustiniani (1544-1621), a Jesuit and a great appreciator of music.
Between 1629 and 1636 Massenzio published eight books of music. In 1631 he wrote the ''Sacri Mottetti'' «to be sung by ordinary voices or again by nuns». He also tried to export his music (the ''Psalmi Davidici'' of 1636) into the new lands of
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
.
[Nigro, Antonella: ''Domenico Massenzio. A new biography with unpublished documents'', 2008, ''Opera Omnia'']
p. XLV
/ref>
After 1646 Domenico Massenzio did not publish any further music until his death.
Works, editions and recordings
* Domenico Massenzio da Ronciglione, ''Opera Omnia'', Critical Edition by Claudio Dall'Albero - Mauro Bacherini, Rugginenti, Milan, 2008
* Hill, John Walter: 'Roman monody, cantata, opera'
* ''The office of compline'' (polyphonic setting). Choir of St John's College, Cambridge, dir. George Guest
George Guest CBE FRCO (9 February 1924 – 20 November 2002) was a Welsh organist and choral conductor.
Birth and early life
George Guest was born in Bangor, Gwynedd. His father was an organist and Guest assisted him by acting as organ b ...
, Meridian, 1988
* ''Tullio Cima, Domenico Massenzio e la musica del loro tempo: atti del convegno internazionale (Ronciglione, 30 ottobre-1° novembre 1997)'': Fabio Carboni, Valeria De Lucca, Agostino Ziino - 2003
* Franchi, Saverio - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Vol. 71 (2008)
''MASSENZIO, Domenico''
References
17th-century Italian composers
Italian male composers
1586 births
1657 deaths
17th-century male musicians
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