Giovanni Andrea Dragoni (or Draconi, c. 1540 – December 1598) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

composer of the

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 ...

of the late

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

, a student of

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina ( – 2 February 1594) was an Italian composer of late Renaissance music. The central representative of the Roman School, with Orlande de Lassus and Tomás Luis de Victoria, Palestrina is considered the leading ...

, and a prominent composer and ''maestro di cappella'' 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 ...

in the late 16th century. He left numerous sacred and secular works, almost all vocal, and was especially noted for his often-reprinted books of

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

Life

Dragoni was born at

Meldola Meldola ( rgn, Mèdla) is a town and ''comune'' near Forlì, in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. History The area of Meldola was inhabited since very ancient times. The Romans built here a large aqueduct (still existing under the ground) which served the mi ...

, not far from

Forlì Forlì ( , ; rgn, Furlè ; la, Forum Livii) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. It is the central city of Romagna. The city is situated along the Via ...

, but details of his early life are lacking. He studied with Palestrina, as he indicated in the dedication to his first book of madrigals (1575). The next year he acquired the prestigious position of ''maestro di cappella'' at one of Rome's most prominent churches and musical establishments,

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 ...

, and he retained this position for the rest of his life. In 1594, towards the end of his life, Cardinal del Monte appointed Dragoni to assess the progress on the revisions to liturgical chant, part of the extensive reforms following from the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described a ...

. Dragoni died in Rome.

Music

Dragoni's output was extensive, but much of his sacred music, kept in the St. John Lateran archive, has been lost, including a collection of settings of the

Lamentations of Jeremiah The Book of Lamentations ( he, אֵיכָה, , from its incipit meaning "how") is a collection of poetic laments for the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. In the Hebrew Bible it appears in the Ketuvim ("Writings") as one of the Five Megillot ...

(along with similar settings by

Annibale Stabile Annibale Stabile (c.1535 – April 1595) was an Italian composer of the Renaissance. He was a member of the Roman School of composition, and probably was a pupil of Palestrina. He was active mainly at Rome but moved briefly to Kraków, Poland at ...

), as well as a volume of settings of the

Magnificat The Magnificat (Latin for " y soulmagnifies he Lord) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary, the Canticle of Mary and, in the Byzantine tradition, the Ode of the Theotokos (). It is traditionally incorporated into the liturgical servic ...

. He wrote at least six books of motets, of which five have been lost. He published seven books of madrigals, for four, five, and six voices, between 1575 and 1594. They were often reprinted, attesting to their popularity. Influences on Dragoni included his teacher Palestrina, especially early in his career, and later the renowned madrigalist

Luca 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 fo ...

. Dragoni's style emphasized clearly intelligible text setting, but by the 1590s his music shows an increasing emphasis on soprano and bass lines, as well as an understanding of motivic unity, both characteristics of the developing Baroque style. In addition he experimented with

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 ...

textures in some of his later works, a feature more prominent in Venetian than Roman music.

References and further reading

* Patricia Ann Myers: "Giovanni Dragoni", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (Accessed June 23, 2006)
(subscription access)
*

Gustave Reese Gustave Reese ( ; 29 November 1899 – 7 September 1977) was an American musicologist and teacher. Reese is known mainly for his work on medieval and Renaissance music, particularly with his two publications ''Music in the Middle Ages'' (1940) ...

, ''Music in the Renaissance''. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1954. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dragoni, Giovanni Italian classical composers Roman school composers 1540s births 1598 deaths 16th-century Italian composers Italian male classical composers Renaissance composers 16th-century classical composers