Giovanni Battista Doni facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Giovanni Battista Doni
Portrait, engraving by Gaetano Vascellini (1745-1805) after G. Irabattesi
Born	13 March 1595  Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany
Died	1 December 1647  (aged 52) Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany
Occupation	Music theorist, musicologist, writer
Employer	University of Florence

Giovanni Battista Doni (born 1595 – died 1647) was an Italian expert in musicology and a humanist. He spent a lot of time studying ancient music. He is famous for changing the musical note "Ut" to "Do" in the solfège system.

During his lifetime, Doni was a well-known lawyer, classical scholar, and music expert. From 1640 to 1647, he taught at the University of Florence. He was also an important member of the Accademia della Crusca. This was a top academic group in Florence and Italy. They had published the first Italian dictionary and grammar in 1612.

Doni's Life

Giovanni Battista Doni was born in Florence. He studied many subjects at different universities. He learned Greek, rhetoric, poetry, and philosophy at the Universities of Florence and Bologna. He also studied mathematics and law at the University of Rome.

Later, he continued his law studies in Bourges, France. It is thought he learned from a group of legal scholars. This group focused on studying early Roman law. This approach was admired because it valued ancient laws over the power of kings.

Important Connections

Doni earned a special degree from the University of Pisa. In 1621, he traveled to Paris with Neri Corsini. There, he met other important thinkers like Marin Mersenne. The Corsini family of Florence became key contacts for Doni. Neri Corsini later became a cardinal, a high-ranking church official. Doni often worked with powerful religious families during this time.

Working with the Barberini Family

In 1622, Doni returned to Florence. He then began working for Cardinal Francesco Barberini. Doni moved with him to Rome. Cardinal Barberini was a very important figure. He was the nephew of Maffeo Barberini, who became Pope Urban VIII. Francesco Barberini had studied with the famous scientist Galileo Galilei. Later, Barberini was part of the group that investigated Galileo. However, he was one of three members who did not agree to condemn Galileo.

Doni traveled with Cardinal Barberini on important trips. They went to Paris and then to Madrid in 1625. These journeys gave Doni great chances to learn about ancient music. He even created a special double lyre. He named it the Lyra Barberina to honor his patron.

Opera in Florence

Around 1640, Giovanni Doni moved back to Florence. He got married and became a professor at the university. He continued his studies of ancient music and music theory. Opera was actually invented in Florence. Vincenzo Galilei, Galileo's father, was a key person in creating this new type of theater.

Doni encouraged Cardinal Barberini to create an ancient style of opera. Doni believed that ancient music did not have a regular beat. Instead, the rhythm followed the words of the poetry. This idea led to new theatrical productions in 1640. Doni helped guide these projects. He also wrote a history of ancient theater. This book was not published until after he died.

Doni passed away just seven years after returning to Florence. His main contribution was his deep study of classical music theory from ancient times. Between 1635 and 1639, he wrote a book called Treatise on Music for the Theatre. This book gives important details about early opera.

Solfège System

In the 11th century, a music expert named Guido of Arezzo created a six-note musical scale. It went like this: ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la. Giovanni Battista Doni later called these the "Aretinian syllables" after Guido. The names came from the first words of a Latin hymn called Ut queant laxis. Each syllable matched a note on the scale. This system later became known as solfège.

Giovanni Doni is famous for changing the note "Ut" to "Do". He convinced others to make this change. He argued that "Do" was easier to say than "Ut". He also said that "Do" was short for "Dominus," which means "The Lord" in Latin. Some experts also believe Doni wanted to include a part of his own name in the musical system forever.

A seventh note, "Si," was added later to complete the scale. "Si" came from "Sancte Iohannes," meaning "St. John the Baptist." In English-speaking countries, "Si" was changed to "Ti" by Sarah Glover in the 19th century. This was done so that each syllable would start with a different letter. "Ti" is used in tonic sol-fa and in the popular song "Do-Re-Mi".

Doni's Works

• Compendio del trattato de' generi et de' modi della musica (1635)
• Annotazioni sopra il compendio (1640)
• Trattato della musica scenica (part of Lyra Barberina Vol. II - Rome 1640)
• De praestantia musicae veteris (1647)
• A description of the Lyra Barberina was published in 1763.
• The Inscriptiones Antiquae were published after his death by Antonio Francesco Gori in 1731.

See also

In Spanish: Giovanni Battista Doni para niños