Annibale Padovano facts for kids

Annibale Padovano (born 1527 – died March 15, 1575) was an Italian composer and organist. He lived during the late Renaissance period and was part of the Venetian School of music. He was one of the first composers to create the keyboard toccata, a type of musical piece.

Annibale Padovano's Early Life and Career

Padovano was born in Padua, Italy, which is why he was called "Padovano." Not much is known about his very early life.

Working at St. Mark's in Venice

Padovano first appeared in records at St. Mark's Basilica in Venice on November 30, 1552. He was hired as the first organist there. His yearly salary was 40 ducats. He worked at St. Mark's until 1565.

During this time, St. Mark's also started to hire a second organist. Claudio Merulo was the second organist for the last eight years Padovano worked there. Having two organists allowed them to play on two separate organs at the same time. These organs were placed in different parts of the huge cathedral. This was a very important step for the music of the Venetian school. They were already using choirs of singers placed in different spots to create special sound effects. When Padovano left, Merulo took over as the first organist.

Moving to Graz

In 1566, Padovano left Venice. He moved to the Habsburg court in Graz, a city in what is now Austria. Many musicians from Venice moved to Habsburg lands. These areas were usually friendly with Venice. Padovano became the director of music in Graz in 1570. He died there five years later.

Padovano's Music and Influence

Annibale Padovano published several books of music. These included a book of motets (choral pieces), a book of masses (church music), and two books of madrigals (vocal pieces). However, he is mostly remembered for his instrumental music.

Important Instrumental Compositions

Padovano was an important early composer of ricercars. A ricercar is a type of instrumental piece that was a bit like an early version of a fugue. Many of the tunes he used in his ricercars came from plainchant, which is a very old style of church singing. He added many fancy musical decorations to these tunes. He also often broke up the main tune into smaller parts. He then developed these smaller parts in a way that was quite "modern" for his time. This style of developing musical ideas became common much later.

Famous Toccatas

Perhaps Padovano's most famous pieces are his toccatas. These were likely some of the earliest examples of the toccata as we know it today. A toccata is a piece that sounds like it's being made up on the spot. It often has many fast and fancy musical decorations. Padovano's toccatas often included sections where different musical lines copied each other. These sections were placed between parts that sounded more like improvisation. He also changed the meter (the rhythm pattern) from two beats to three beats. This was another idea that later became common in Venetian music.

Mass for 24 Voices

While he was in Bavaria, Padovano wrote a very large mass. This piece was for 24 voices, meaning it used three separate choirs of eight voices each. This huge composition was probably performed for the wedding of Duke Wilhelm V of Bavaria to Renata of Lorraine. The Huelgas Ensemble, led by Paul Van Nevel, has recorded this special piece of music.

See also

In Spanish: Annibale Padovano para niños