Giovanni Croce facts for kids
Giovanni Croce (born 1557 – died 1609) was a talented Italian composer. He lived during the late Renaissance period and was part of the famous Venetian School of music. He was especially known for writing madrigals, which are songs for several voices without instruments. He was one of the most important madrigal composers in Venice, alongside famous names like Monteverdi.
A Musician's Life
Giovanni Croce was born in Chioggia, a fishing town near Venice. This was the same town where another famous musician, Gioseffo Zarlino, was born. When Croce was only eight years old, he moved to Venice. He joined the boys' choir at St. Mark's Cathedral. Zarlino, who was the music director there, had found him singing in a choir in Chioggia.
Croce later became a priest in 1585. He may have worked at the Santa Maria Formosa church. During this time, he also continued to sing at St. Mark's. He likely helped direct music at Santa Maria Formosa while working at the cathedral.
After Zarlino passed away, Croce became the assistant music director at St. Mark's. This was when Baldassare Donato was the main director. When Donato died in 1603, Croce took over as the chief music director, known as maestro di cappella. Sadly, the singing quality at St. Mark's went down during his time. This was probably because Croce's health was getting worse, not because he wasn't a good musician. He died in 1609. After him, Giulio Cesare Martinengo took the job until 1613, when Monteverdi became the director.
His Music and Influence
Croce wrote less of the grand, multi-choir music that composers like Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli were famous for. However, he did compose a large mass for four choirs. He also wrote several Psalm settings for three choirs, though only one has survived. Even though his music isn't as famous today, he was very well-known in his time. He had a big impact on music in Italy and other countries.
When writing sacred (religious) music, Croce often used older styles. He wrote music for separate choirs singing back and forth, like Adrian Willaert. He also used a style called "parody mass," similar to composers from the Roman School. But later in his career, he started writing in a newer, more modern style. This style tried to mix the new ideas of composers like Viadana with the grand Venetian multi-choir sound. One collection of his, published after he died in 1610, featured music for solo voices with instruments.
Most of Croce's religious music was for two choirs. This included three masses and two books of motets (short religious songs). Much of his music was not too difficult to sing. Because of this, many of his pieces, especially his non-religious ones, became popular with amateur singers. One collection of his motets from 1597 was clearly made for smaller church choirs.
Croce was also one of the first composers to publish music with "continuo" parts. These were special parts for instruments like the organ that played a continuous bass line. This helped guide the singers.
Croce's musical style was more like Andrea Gabrieli's than Giovanni Gabrieli's. He liked Andrea's calmer, clearer sound. Croce was very important in developing the canzonetta and the madrigal comedy. Canzonettas were light, catchy songs. Madrigal comedies were like short musical plays. He wrote a lot of fun, easy-to-sing music. Some of his collections were even funny and satirical. For example, his Mascarate piacevoli et ridicolose per il carnevale (1590) set funny scenes from Venetian carnivals to music. Some of these songs were even in local dialects!
Croce was one of the first composers to use the word "capriccio" as a title for a song. He used it for one of his canzonettas in his 1595 collection called Triaca musicale. Both this collection and the Mascarate piacevoli were meant to be sung by people wearing costumes and masks at the Venetian carnivals.
His canzonettas and madrigals became popular in the Netherlands and England. They were reprinted in a famous English music book in 1597. This book helped start the big craze for madrigal writing in England. Croce's music stayed popular there. The English composer Thomas Morley even called Croce a master composer. Croce might have been the biggest influence on Morley's music. The famous lutenist John Dowland also visited Croce in Italy.
