Agostino Agazzari facts for kids
Agostino Agazzari was an Italian composer and music expert. He lived a long time ago, from 1578 to 1640. He wrote many pieces of music and also wrote important books about how music works.
Life Story
Agostino Agazzari was born in Siena, Italy. His family was well-known and important. He first worked in Rome, where he taught at a school called the Roman College.
In 1607, Agazzari moved back to Siena. There, he became the organ player at the main church. Later, he became the choirmaster, which means he led the church choir. He was a close friend of Lodovico Grossi da Viadana. Lodovico was famous for helping to create a new music style called basso continuo.
Agazzari wrote many different kinds of music. He composed religious songs and madrigals, which are songs for several voices. He also wrote a special play with music called Eumelio in 1606. This play was similar to another famous work by Emilio de' Cavalieri called Rappresentatione di Anima, et di Corpo. That work was very important in the history of oratorio music.
Agazzari wrote Eumelio very quickly. He said he was asked to write the music only one month before the show. He composed all the music in just two weeks! Then, he spent the last two weeks getting the music ready and rehearsing with the performers. This was a very impressive thing to do, even by today's standards.
Agazzari is most famous for his book Del sonare sopra il basso. He wrote it in 1607. This book was one of the first and most important guides about basso continuo. This new way of writing music became very popular across Europe because of his book. For example, a German composer named Michael Praetorius used many ideas from Agazzari's book in his own work.
Basso continuo was a new style that was already being used by musicians. Agazzari's book helped explain it to everyone. His ideas were based on the music of his friend Lodovico Grossi da Viadana. Lodovico had published a collection of religious music in 1602. It was the first time basso continuo was used in sacred music.
Most of Agazzari's music was religious. He wrote many motets, which are short pieces for two or three voices with instruments. These motets always used basso continuo, with the organ playing the main supporting part.
However, his madrigals were different. They were sung a cappella, meaning without instruments. They sounded more like older music from the Renaissance period. This shows that Agazzari was both modern and traditional in his music. It was unusual because his modern music was religious, and his traditional music was not. Most composers at that time did the opposite.
Agazzari passed away in Siena.
Books About Music
Agazzari wrote two important books about music:
- Del sonare sopra'l basso con tutti li stromenti e dell'uso loro nel conserto (1607): This book explains how to play music using basso continuo with different instruments.
- La musica ecclesiastica dove si contiene la vera diffinitione della musica come scienza, non più veduta, e sua nobilità (1638): This book talks about church music and defines music as a science.
