Tarquinio Merula (1594 or 1595 – December 10, 1665) was an Italian composer, organist, and violinist of the early Baroque era. Events 1041 - Empress Zoe of Byzantium elevates her adoptive son to the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire as Michael V Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest The organ (from Greek όργανον – organon "organ instrument tool" is a Keyboard instrument of one or more divisions each The violin is a bowed String instrument with four strings usually tuned in Perfect fifths It is the smallest and highest-pitched member Baroque music describes an era and a set of styles of European classical music which were in widespread use between approximately 1600 and 1750. Although mainly active in Cremona, stylistically he was a member of the Venetian school. Cremonese redirects here For the football team see US Cremonese Cremona is a City in northern Italy, situated In music history the Venetian School is a term used to describe the Composers working in Venice from about 1550 to around 1610; it also describes He was one of the most progressive Italian composers of the early 17th century, especially in applying newly developed techniques to sacred music.
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Life
He was born in Cremona, where he probably received early musical training, and where he was first employed as an organist. In 1616 he took a position as organist at S Maria Incoronata in Lodi, where he remained until 1621, at which time he went to Warsaw, Poland to work as an organist at the court of Sigismund III Vasa. Lodi ( pronounced) is a town in Lombardy, Italy, on the right bank of the River Adda. Warsaw (Warszawa; also known by other names) is the Capital and Largest city of Poland. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Sigismund III Vasa (Zygmunt III Waza ( 20 June 1566
In 1626 he returned to Cremona, and in 1627 became maestro di cappella at the cathedral there, but he only remained for four years, moving to Bergamo to accept a similar position in 1631. Kapellmeister (kəˈpɛlˌmaɪstər is a German word designating a person in charge of music-making Bergamo ( Bèrghem in Lombard, antiquated Wälsch-Bergen in German) is a town in Lombardy, Italy, about Alessandro Grandi, his predecessor, had died in the terrible plague of 1630 (which affected many cities in northern Italy, including Venice), and he faced the formidable task of rebuilding the musical institution there after many of its members had died. Alessandro Grandi (1586 – after June 1630 but in that year was a northern Italian composer of the early Baroque era writing in the new Concertato Venice ( Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venesia or Venexia) is a city in Northern Italy, the capital of the
Unfortunately Merula got into trouble with some of his students, and was charged with indecency; he chose to return to Cremona, where he remained until 1635. During this period in his life he seems to have had numerous troubles with his employers, possibly of his own making; after fighting with the administrators at Cremona over a variety of issues, he returned to Bergamo, serving this time at a different church, but was disallowed from using any musicians from his former place of employment. In 1646 he went back to Cremona for the final time, serving as maestro di cappella at the Laudi della Madonna until his death in 1665.
Music and influence
Merula was a key figure in the early development of several forms which were to mature later in the Baroque era, such as the cantata, the aria, the sonatas da chiesa and da camera, variations on a ground bass, and the sinfonia. A cantata (derived from the Italian word 'cantare' meaning 'to sing' is a vocal composition with an instrumental Accompaniment and often This article is about the musical term "aria" For other meanings or uses of the word see Aria (disambiguation. Usage of sonata The Baroque applied the term sonata to a variety of works though most works in the Baroque Period were fugues and toccatas Sonata da chiesa ( Italian: Church sonata) is an instrumental composition dating from the Baroque period generally consisting of four movements Sonata da camera is Italian for "chamber sonata" Sonata da camera is a type of Trio sonata intended for secular performance Variation form Variation form include Ground bass, Passacaglia, Chaconne, and theme and variations In Music, an Ostinato (derived from Italian: "stubborn" see also Oscillation) is a motif or phrase which is persistently Sinfonia is the Italian (Spanish and also Portuguese word for Symphony (see that article for etymology
In sacred music Merula followed the lead of Monteverdi, and often used the techniques of the elder composer; however he also did some new things, such as writing motets for solo voice accompanied by strings. In Western music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions His publications of 1639, 1640, and 1652 include masses which are written using ostinato basses, including the Ruggiero and the Romanesca. For other uses see Mass (disambiguation The Mass, a form of sacred musical composition, is a choral composition that In Music, an Ostinato (derived from Italian: "stubborn" see also Oscillation) is a motif or phrase which is persistently In Music, an Ostinato (derived from Italian: "stubborn" see also Oscillation) is a motif or phrase which is persistently In Music, an Ostinato (derived from Italian: "stubborn" see also Oscillation) is a motif or phrase which is persistently Some of his music is reminiscent of the concertato style of Giovanni Gabrieli, and a modern sense of tonality prevails throughout. Concertato is a term in early Baroque music referring to either a genre or a style of music in which groups of instruments or voices share a melody usually Giovanni Gabrieli (c 1554/1557 &ndash August 12 1612 was an Italian Composer and organist. Tonality is a system of Music in which specific hierarchical pitch relationships are based on a key "center" or tonic.
Merula's secular music includes solo madrigals with instrumental accompaniment, sometimes using the Monteverdian stile concitato tremolo effect, and in formal design prefiguring the later Baroque cantata with its division into aria and recitative. A madrigal is a type of Secular vocal music composition written during the Renaissance and early Baroque eras Stile concitato or " agitated style " is a Baroque style developed by Claudio Monteverdi with effects such as having rapid repeated Tremolo, or tremolando, is a Musical term with several meanings A regular and repetitive variation in Amplitude for the duration He wrote one opera, La finta savia, produced in 1643, and based on a libretto by Giulio Strozzi. Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto A libretto is the text used in an extended Musical work such as an Opera, Operetta, Masque, sacred or secular Oratorio and Strozzi is the name of an ancient and noble Florentine family which was already famous by the 14th century Among his instrumental music are numerous ensemble canzonas, whose sectional structure looks ahead to the sonata da chiesa, and his writing for strings—especially the violin—is exceptionally idiomatic, also looking ahead to the highly developed writing of the late Baroque. In music a canzona (also Canzone) was a 16th-century multipart vocal setting of a literary canzone and a 16th - and 17th-century instrumental
He also wrote canzonettas, dialogues, keyboard toccatas and capriccios, a Sonata cromatica, and numerous other pieces which display an interest in just about every contemporary musical trend in north Italy. In music a canzonetta (pl canzonette, canzonetti or canzonettas) was a popular Italian secular vocal composition which originated around 1560 Toccata (from Italian toccare, "to touch" is a Virtuoso piece of music typically for a keyboard or Plucked string instrument See Capriccio for other uses of the term A capriccio or caprice (sometimes plural caprices, capri or in
A complete edition of his works was published in 1974 in Brooklyn, New York (T. Merula: Opere complete, ed. A. Sutkowski).
External links
- Free scores by Tarquinio Merula in the Werner Icking Music Archive (WIMA)
References and further reading
- Article "Tarquinio Merula", in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. The Werner Icking Music Archive, often abbreviated WIMA, is a web archive of Public domain Sheet music. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd. , 1980. ISBN 1-56159-174-2
- Stephen Bonta: "Tarquinio Merula", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed January 9, 2005), Grove Music Online
- Manfred Bukofzer, Music in the Baroque Era. Manfred Bukofzer ( March 27, 1910 &ndash December 7, 1955) was a German - American Musicologist and humanist New York, W. W. Norton & Co. , 1947. ISBN 0-393-09745-5
- Eleanor Selfridge-Field, Venetian Instrumental Music, from Gabrieli to Vivaldi. New York, Dover Publications, 1994. ISBN 0-486-28151-5
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