Giovanni Legrenzi facts for kids

An old painting of Giovanni Legrenzi from the 1700s.

Giovanni Legrenzi (born August 12, 1626 – died May 27, 1690) was an Italian composer and organist from the Baroque period. He wrote operas, songs, and instrumental music. Legrenzi was one of the most important composers in Venice in the late 1600s. His music greatly influenced the development of the Baroque style in northern Italy.

His Life Story

Early Life and First Job (1626–1655)

Giovanni Legrenzi was born in Clusone, a town near Bergamo, which was part of the Republic of Venice. His father, Giovanni Maria Legrenzi, was a professional violinist and also composed music. Giovanni likely learned music at home and practiced at the local church.

Legrenzi got his first job in Bergamo as an organist at Santa Maria Maggiore, a beautiful church known for its music. In 1651, he became a priest. He continued to be involved in music and was named First Organist in 1653. His first published music, for Mass and Vespers, came out in 1654.

Moving to Ferrara and Venice (1656–1670)

Legrenzi left his job in Bergamo in late 1655. In 1656, he became the music director (maestro di cappella) at the Academy of the Holy Spirit in Ferrara. This academy was a group of people who put on church services with music. It had a small but very good music program. This job gave Legrenzi plenty of time to work on other projects.

By the early 1660s, he had published eight books of music. He also started writing operas, with his first ones performed in Venice in 1664. We don't know much about what Legrenzi did between 1665 and 1670. He didn't have a permanent job for a few years, but he wasn't in financial trouble. He owned land and earned money from his published music, some of which had already been printed a second time.

Success in Venice (1670–1690)

By 1670, Legrenzi was living in Venice. He became a music teacher at a place called Santa Maria dei Derelitti (also known as Ospedaletto) and stayed there until 1676. He was very busy publishing more music, getting new music jobs, especially for oratorios, and performing.

In 1676, he almost became the music director at San Marco, one of the most important churches in Venice. He lost by only one vote. Later that year, he became the choir director at another hospital, Ospedale dei Mendicanti. He stayed there until 1682, when he became the assistant music director at San Marco. By this time, he was one of the top opera composers, getting ten new opera jobs in five years.

In April 1685, Legrenzi finally became the main music director (maestro di cappella) at San Marco. He was likely getting sick around this time. His last few years were difficult due to illness. He died on May 27, 1690, from a painful kidney stone illness.

Legrenzi's music continued to be important after his death. His great-nephew, Giovanni Varischino, inherited his music and books. He helped publish four more of Legrenzi's works after he passed away.

His Music

Legrenzi wrote many different kinds of music popular in northern Italy in the late 1600s. This included church music, operas, oratorios (like a play with music, usually on a religious theme), and instrumental music. He is best known for his instrumental sonatas (pieces for instruments). However, he mostly wrote church music that had a very dramatic feel. Even much of his instrumental music was likely used in church services.

Legrenzi composed nineteen operas between 1662 and 1685. Some of his most successful operas were Achille in Sciro (1664), La divisione del mondo, I due cesari (1683), Il Giustino (1683), and Publio Elio Pertinace (1684). His operas were very popular and were performed in grand ways during his time. However, like his oratorios, only a few of them have survived to today.

Today, more people are becoming interested in Legrenzi's music as his scores become easier to find. Early music groups often perform his instrumental sonatas and church music. Some of his surviving operas have even been performed again. For example, La divisione del mondo and Il Giustino have been performed at major music festivals.

Some famous musicians who studied with Legrenzi include Antonio Lotti, Francesco Gasparini, Tomaso Albinoni, and Giovanni Varischino.

One of his most famous pieces is the song Che fiero costume from his opera Eteocle e Polinice. This song has been sung by famous opera singers like Ezio Pinza and Luciano Pavarotti.

Published Works

Here are some of the music collections Legrenzi published:

• Concerti Musicali per uso di Chiesa. Op. 1 (1654)
• Sonata a due, e tre. Op. 2 (1655)
• Harmonia d'affetti Devoti a due, tre, e quatro, voci. Op. 3 (1655)
• Sonate dà Chiesa, e dà Camera, Correnti, Balletti, Alemane, Sarabande a tre, doi violini, e violone. Libro Secondo. Op. 4 (1656)
• Salmi a cinque, tre voci, e due violini. Op. 5 (1657)
• Sentimenti Devoti Espressi con le musica di due, e tre voci. Libro Secondo. Op. 6 (1660)
• Compiete con le Lettanie & Antifone Della B.V. a 5. voci. Op. 7 (1662)
• Sonate a due, tre, cinque, a sei stromenti. Libro 3. Op. 8 (1663)
• Sacri e Festivi Concerti. Messa e Salmi a due chori con stromenti a beneplacito. Op. 9 (1667)
• Acclamationi Divote a voce sola. Libro Primo. Op. 10 (1670)
• La Cetra. Libro Quarto di Sonate a due tre e quattro stromenti. Op. 10 (1673)
• Cantate, e Canzonette a voce sola. Op. 12 (1676)
• Idee Armoniche Estese per due e tre voci. Op. 13 (1678)
• Echi di Riverenza di Cantate, e Canzoni. Libro Secondo. Op. 14 (1678)
• Sacri Musicali Concerti a due, e tre voci. Libro Terzo. Op. 15 (1689)
• Balletti e Correnti a cinque stromenti, con il basso continuo per il cembalo. Libro Quinto Postumo. Op. 16 (1691)
• Motetti Sacri a voce sola con tre strumenti. Op. 17 (1692)
• Sonate a 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 e 7 istrumenti con tromba, o senza, overo flauto Op. 18 (1693) (no copy survives)
• Voci geniali, raccolte in duetti e terzetti Op. 19 (1698) (no copy survives)

Note: Two collections were published as opus 10. This was likely a mistake by the publisher.

Unpublished Works

Many of Legrenzi's works exist only as handwritten copies. Some of the most important ones include:

• A Mass for five voices with instruments, found in Oxford.
• A Mass for five voices found in Loreto, dated 1689.
• A Mass for 16 voices (four choirs) and organ, kept in the Vatican Library.
• A full setting of the "Dies irae" sequence from the Requiem Mass for two choirs and instruments.
• A unique setting of Matins for Christmas Day for two choirs and instruments.
• A motet (a short piece of sacred music) for 6 voices called Intret in conspectu, which Handel used in his oratorio Samson.
• A psalm setting for solo alto, strings, and continuo, which seems to be written in Legrenzi's own handwriting.
• A psalm setting for five voices, strings, continuo, and a trumpet called Laudate pueri.
• A motet for solo soprano, strings, and continuo called Spirate aure serenae.

There are also other church pieces, several cantatas (vocal pieces), and an unusual 'serenata' (a type of evening music) called Notte, madri d'horrori.

Operas

• Nino, il giusto (1662)
• Achille in Sciro (1663)
• Zenobia e Radamisto (1665)
• Tiridate (1668)
• Eteocle e Polinice (1674)
• La divisione del mondo (1675)
• Adone in Cipro (1676)
• Germanico sul Reno (1676)
• Totila (1677)
• Antioco il grande (1681)
• Creso (1681)
• Pausania (1681)
• Lisimaco riamato da Alessandro (1682)
• Ottaviano Cesare Agusto (1682)
• I due cesari (1683)
• Il Giustino (1683)
• L'anarchia dell'imperio (1683)
• Publio Elio Pertinace (1684)
• Ifianassa e Melampo (1685)

Oratorios

• Oratorio del giuditio (1665)
• Lamenti Profetici nella Passione di Cristo (1671)
• Sedecia (1671)
• Il creation del mondo (1672)
• Sisara (1672)
• Moisè (1672)
• La vendita del cuor humano (or Il prezzo del cuor humano) (1673)
• La morte del cor penitente (1673)
• San Giovanni Battista (1673)
• Adamo et Eva (1674)
• Gli sponsali d'Ester (1675)
• Decollatione di S. Giovanni (1678)
• Erodiade (lib. Neri) (1687)
• Erodiade (lib. Piccioli) (1687)

See also

In Spanish: Giovanni Legrenzi para niños