Giovanni Maria Nanino
Encyclopedia
Giovanni Maria Nanino was an Italian composer
and teacher of the late Renaissance
. He was a member of the Roman School
of composers, and was the most influential music teacher in Rome in the late 16th century. He was the older brother of composer Giovanni Bernardino Nanino
.
, and served as a boy soprano
in the cathedral at Viterbo
. In the 1560s he probably studied with Palestrina
at S. Luigi de' Francesi in Rome; at any rate, he became maestro di cappella there after Palestrina left. In 1577 he joined the papal choir as a tenor, and remained in the choir for the rest of his life, occasionally taking the rotating post of maestro di cappella.
During the 1590s he was renowned as a teacher; he and his brother established what is thought to be the first Italian-run public music school in Rome
and many future composers studied with him and sang in his choirs, including Felice Anerio
, Antonio Brunelli
, Antonio Cifra
and Gregorio Allegri
(composer of the famous Miserere
).
—were extremely popular at the time. Almost no collections of madrigals were published in Rome which did not include at least one contribution by Nanino, often in the most prominent position in the book—even ahead of Palestrina. Stylistically his madrigals are extremely varied. While not as comprehensive as Marenzio
, who after all wrote more than 500 madrigals, Nanino's examples of the genre vary from the highly serious, angular and contrapuntal
, to the lightest canzonette
; in expressive intensity he is sometimes compared to Marenzio.
In addition to his famous madrigals, he wrote motet
s, settings of the Lamentations
, canons
, and sacred songs. As of 1980, no complete edition of his works had been prepared, and much of his music remained in manuscript.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and teacher of the late Renaissance
Renaissance music
Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance. Defining the beginning of the musical era is difficult, given that its defining characteristics were adopted only gradually; musicologists have placed its beginnings from as early as 1300 to as late as the 1470s.Literally meaning...
. He was a member of the Roman School
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 produced...
of composers, and was the most influential music teacher in Rome in the late 16th century. He was the older brother of composer Giovanni Bernardino Nanino
Giovanni Bernardino Nanino
Giovanni Bernardino Nanino was an Italian composer, teacher and singing master of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras, and a leading member of the Roman School of composers...
.
Life
Nanino was born in TivoliTivoli, Italy
Tivoli , the classical Tibur, is an ancient Italian town in Lazio, about 30 km east-north-east of Rome, at the falls of the Aniene river where it issues from the Sabine hills...
, and served as a boy soprano
Boy soprano
A boy soprano is a young male singer with an unchanged voice in the soprano range. Although a treble, or choirboy, may also be considered to be a boy soprano, the more colloquial term boy soprano is generally only used for boys who sing, perform, or record as soloists, and who may not necessarily...
in the cathedral at Viterbo
Viterbo
See also Viterbo, Texas and Viterbo UniversityViterbo is an ancient city and comune in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It is approximately 80 driving / 80 walking kilometers north of GRA on the Via Cassia, and it is surrounded by the Monti Cimini and...
. In the 1560s he probably studied with Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was an Italian Renaissance composer of sacred music and the best-known 16th-century representative of the Roman School of musical composition...
at S. Luigi de' Francesi in Rome; at any rate, he became maestro di cappella there after Palestrina left. In 1577 he joined the papal choir as a tenor, and remained in the choir for the rest of his life, occasionally taking the rotating post of maestro di cappella.
During the 1590s he was renowned as a teacher; he and his brother established what is thought to be the first Italian-run public music school in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and many future composers studied with him and sang in his choirs, including Felice Anerio
Felice Anerio
Felice Anerio was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras, and a member of the Roman School of composers. He was the older brother of another important, and somewhat more progressive composer of the same period, Giovanni Francesco Anerio.-Life:Anerio was born in Rome and...
, Antonio Brunelli
Antonio Brunelli
Antonio Brunelli was an Italian composer and theorist of the early Baroque period.He was a student of Giovanni Maria Nanino and served as the organist at San Miniato in Tuscany from 1604 to 1607, then moved to Prato where he served as maestro di capella at the Cathedral there...
, Antonio Cifra
Antonio Cifra
Antonio Cifra was an Italian composer of the Roman School of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He was one of the significant transitional figures between the Renaissance and Baroque styles, and produced music in both idioms.-Life and works:Son of Costanzo and Claudia, Antonio Cifra was born...
and Gregorio Allegri
Gregorio Allegri
Gregorio Allegri was an Italian composer of the Roman School and brother of Domenico Allegri; he was also a priest and a singer. He lived mainly in Rome, where he would later die.-Life:...
(composer of the famous Miserere
Miserere (Allegri)
Miserere, full name "Miserere mei, Deus" by Italian composer Gregorio Allegri, is a setting of Psalm 51 composed during the reign of Pope Urban VIII, probably during the 1630s, for use in the Sistine Chapel during matins, as part of the exclusive Tenebrae service on Wednesday and Friday of Holy...
).
Works
Nanino's output as a composer was not large, but it was distinguished, and his music—especially his madrigalsMadrigal (music)
A madrigal is a secular vocal music composition, usually a partsong, of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Traditionally, polyphonic madrigals are unaccompanied; the number of voices varies from two to eight, and most frequently from three to six....
—were extremely popular at the time. Almost no collections of madrigals were published in Rome which did not include at least one contribution by Nanino, often in the most prominent position in the book—even ahead of Palestrina. Stylistically his madrigals are extremely varied. While not as comprehensive as Marenzio
Luca Marenzio
Luca Marenzio 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 form in its late stage of development, prior to its early Baroque transformation by Monteverdi...
, who after all wrote more than 500 madrigals, Nanino's examples of the genre vary from the highly serious, angular and contrapuntal
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
, to the lightest canzonette
Canzonetta
In music, a canzonetta was a popular Italian secular vocal composition which originated around 1560...
; in expressive intensity he is sometimes compared to Marenzio.
In addition to his famous madrigals, he wrote motet
Motet
In classical music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions.-Etymology:The name comes either from the Latin movere, or a Latinized version of Old French mot, "word" or "verbal utterance." The Medieval Latin for "motet" is motectum, and the Italian...
s, settings of the Lamentations
Book of Lamentations
The Book of Lamentations ) is a poetic book of the Hebrew Bible composed by the Jewish prophet Jeremiah. It mourns the destruction of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple in the 6th Century BCE....
, canons
Canon (music)
In music, a canon is a contrapuntal composition that employs a melody with one or more imitations of the melody played after a given duration . The initial melody is called the leader , while the imitative melody, which is played in a different voice, is called the follower...
, and sacred songs. As of 1980, no complete edition of his works had been prepared, and much of his music remained in manuscript.