Lodovico Zacconi
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Lodovico (or Ludovico) Zacconi (11 June 1555 – 23 March 1627) was an
Italian composer 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 ...
and
musical theorist Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...
of the late
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
and early
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 ...
eras. He worked as a singer,
theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
, and writer on music in northern Italy and Austria; for a time he was in the employ of Archduke Karl of Graz, and worked in
Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...
and
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.


Biography

Born in
Pesaro Pesaro () is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Marche, capital of the Province of Pesaro e Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the Marche, ...
, in the
Marche Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the ...
, Zacconi became an
Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...
friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...
at
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
, where he was ordained priest. In 1577 he was in Venice studying at the church of San Stefano, and at some point in the following six years he was accepted by
Andrea Gabrieli Andrea Gabrieli (1532/1533Bryant, Grove online – August 30, 1585) was an Italian composer and organist of the late Renaissance. The uncle of the somewhat more famous Giovanni Gabrieli, he was the first internationally renowned member of the Ven ...
as a student of counterpoint. In 1584 he auditioned at
San Marco San Marco is one of the six sestiere (Venice), sestieri of Venice, lying in the heart of the city as the main place of Venice. San Marco also includes the island of San Giorgio Maggiore. Although the district includes Piazza San Marco, Saint ...
as a singer, and was accepted; however he seems to have declined the position. Also at this time he met
Zarlino Gioseffo Zarlino (31 January or 22 March 1517 – 4 February 1590) was an Italian music theorist and composer of the Renaissance. He made a large contribution to the theory of counterpoint as well as to musical tuning. Life and career Zarlino w ...
, the prominent Venetian School theorist; he was to mention the meeting in the second part of his ''Prattica di musica'' (1622). On 20 July 1585, he joined the musical establishment of Archduke Karl of Graz, a position he retained until Karl's death in 1590. Subsequently, he joined the chapel of
Wilhelm V, Duke of Bavaria William V (29 September 1548 – 7 February 1626), called ''the Pious'', (German: ''Wilhelm V., der Fromme, Herzog von Bayern'') was Duke of Bavaria from 1579 to 1597. Education and early life William V was born in Landshut, the son of Albe ...
, which was directed by
Orlande de Lassus Orlande de Lassus ( various other names; probably – 14 June 1594) was a composer of the late Renaissance. The chief representative of the mature polyphonic style in the Franco-Flemish school, Lassus stands with Giovanni Pierluigi da Palest ...
. In 1596 he left the employ of
Wilhelm Wilhelm may refer to: People and fictional characters * William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm" * Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Other uses * Mount ...
, returning to Italy; in the following years he worked as a prior at Pesaro, and as a preacher and administrator in both Italy and
Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
. He retired to Pesaro in 1612, where he remained until his death (at Fiorenzuola di Focara, near Pesaro).


Works

Zacconi's fame rests on his great work ''Prattica di Musica'', first published in 1592 at Venice, of which a second volume appeared in 1619 (or, according to other sources, 1622). His theoretical works are conservative, and make no mention of the emerging Baroque style, in spite of his studies with the distinguished Venetian composer
Andrea Gabrieli Andrea Gabrieli (1532/1533Bryant, Grove online – August 30, 1585) was an Italian composer and organist of the late Renaissance. The uncle of the somewhat more famous Giovanni Gabrieli, he was the first internationally renowned member of the Ven ...
. His most important works are the two books of ''Prattica di musica'' (''Musical Practice'') which he published in Venice in 1592 and 1622. These two volumes—containing four works—treat exhaustively of musical theory, and are copiously illustrated. The directions for rendering
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 ...
music are of the highest value, especially the
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 Pren ...
illustrations. He deals fully with the six Authentic and six Plagal Modes, studiously omitting the Locrian and Hypolocrian Modes. But he also treats of orchestral instruments—their compass and method of playing—and gives valuable information as to the scoring of early
opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
s and
oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...
s. In fact he covers the whole ground of music, as practised at the close of the 16th century. Zacconi's treatises are an invaluable guide to the study of performance practice of vocal music of the very late Renaissance. Parts of his work were incorporated by
Michael Praetorius Michael Praetorius (probably 28 September 1571 – 15 February 1621) was a German composer, organist, and music theorist. He was one of the most versatile composers of his age, being particularly significant in the development of musical forms ba ...
into his ''Syntagma musicum'' (1618), and by
Pietro Cerone Pietro Cerone (1566–1625) was an Italian music theorist, singer and priest of the late Renaissance. He is most famous for an enormous music treatise he wrote in 1613, which is useful in the studying compositional practices of the 16th century. ...
into his ''Melopeo y maestro'' (1613).


Sources


Further reading

* *
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. *
Edward Foreman Edward Foreman (1937 – 2018) was an American operatic bass, scholar of singing technique, and teacher. He was founder and editor of the Pro Musica Press (Minneapolis), which reprinted historical treatises in facsimile and transcription, and al ...
''Late renaissance singing : Giovanni Camillo Maffei, Discourse on the voice and the method of learning to sing ornamentation, without a teacher (1562) ; Lodovico Zacconi, the practice of music, book one, chapters LVIII-LXXX (1592) ; Giovanni Battista Bovicelli, Rules, passages of music (1594); Giovanni Luca Conforto, Brief and easy method ... (1603?)'' with English translation, Pro Music Press, 2001 {{DEFAULTSORT:Zacconi, Lodovico Italian music theorists Italian male classical composers Italian Baroque composers Renaissance composers People from Pesaro 1555 births 1627 deaths 17th-century Italian composers 17th-century male musicians