Girolamo Frescobaldi facts for kids

Girolamo Frescobaldi

Girolamo Alessandro Frescobaldi (born September 1583 – died 1 March 1643) was a famous musician from the Duchy of Ferrara, which is now part of northern Italy. He was one of the most important composers of music for keyboard instruments. His music was popular during the late Renaissance and early Baroque times.

Frescobaldi was a child prodigy, meaning he was very talented from a young age. He learned music from Luzzasco Luzzaschi in Ferrara. Many other composers also influenced his style. Girolamo Frescobaldi became the main organist at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. This was a very important job. He held this position from 1608 to 1628 and again from 1634 until he died.

Frescobaldi's published music collections were very important in the 1600s. His work inspired many famous composers. These included Johann Jakob Froberger, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Henry Purcell. Pieces from his well-known organ music collection, Fiori musicali (published in 1635), were used as examples for learning music even in the 1800s.

Girolamo Frescobaldi's Early Life and Training

Frescobaldi was born in Ferrara, Italy. His father, Filippo, was a wealthy man. He might have been an organist too, as both Girolamo and his half-brother Cesare became organists. Frescobaldi studied with Luzzasco Luzzaschi. Luzzaschi was a famous composer of madrigals and an organist for the Duke of Ferrara.

Even though much of Luzzaschi's keyboard music is lost today, people at the time said he was a very skilled musician. Frescobaldi was known as a child prodigy. He traveled to many major cities in Italy. He quickly became famous for his performances. Important noblemen supported his music. Many great composers visited Ferrara when Frescobaldi was young. These included Claudio Monteverdi and John Dowland.

Frescobaldi's Time in Rome and Travels

When he was in his early twenties, Frescobaldi moved from Ferrara to Rome. He was an organist at the church of Santa Maria in Trastevere in 1607. He also worked for Guido Bentivoglio, an important church leader. Frescobaldi went with Bentivoglio on a trip to Flanders (modern-day Belgium). This was the only time Frescobaldi traveled outside Italy.

While he was abroad, Frescobaldi was chosen to be the organist at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. This happened on July 21, 1608. He stayed in Flanders for a while longer. He also stopped in Milan to publish some of his keyboard music. He finally started his job at St. Peter's on October 31, 1608. He worked there, on and off, until he died.

Family Life and Later Career

In February 1613, Frescobaldi married Orsola Travaglini. They had five children together. From 1610 to 1621, Frescobaldi also worked for Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini.

In 1614, Frescobaldi received a very good job offer from the Duke of Mantua. He accepted the offer and moved there. However, he was not happy with how he was treated in Mantua. So, he returned to Rome by April 1615. He continued to publish his music. He released two books of toccatas and a book of ricercars and canzonas in 1615.

Besides his work at St. Peter's Basilica, Frescobaldi also taught music. He sometimes played at other churches. The years from 1615 to 1628 were very busy for him. During this time, he created many important instrumental pieces. These included more toccatas, ricercars, canzonas, and capriccios.

In November 1628, Frescobaldi moved to Florence, Italy. He worked for the Grand Duke of Tuscany, who was part of the powerful Medici family. He was the highest-paid musician there. He also served as the organist for the Florence baptistery for one year. He stayed in Florence until 1634. While there, he published two books of arias (songs).

Frescobaldi returned to Rome in April 1634. He was called to work for the important Barberini family, including Pope Urban VIII. This was a great honor for any musician. He continued his job at St. Peter's. He also worked for Cardinal Francesco Barberini. In 1635, Frescobaldi published Fiori musicali, one of his most important collections. He also reprinted older collections in 1637. Frescobaldi died on March 1, 1643, after being sick for 10 days. He was buried in Santi Apostoli church. His tomb was lost when the church was rebuilt later. Today, there is a grave in the church honoring him as a father of Italian music.

Frescobaldi's Musical Style and Works

Frescobaldi was one of the first great composers to focus mainly on instrumental music. He brought a lot of emotion to instrumental pieces. Keyboard music was the most important part of his work. He published eight collections of keyboard music during his life. Some of these were reprinted under his guidance. More pieces were published after he died or were passed down in handwritten copies.

His collection of instrumental ensemble canzonas, called Il Primo Libro delle Canzoni, was published in 1628. He made many changes to these pieces for a new edition in 1634. This shows how much Frescobaldi cared about making his music perfect.

Frescobaldi's main period of composing began in 1615. One of his 1615 publications was Ricercari, et canzone. This work used an older, pure style of ricercar. He did not let fast notes or triple rhythms take away from this pure style. Another 1615 publication was Toccate e partite. This book created an expressive style for keyboard music. Frescobaldi did not always follow the usual rules for composing. Because of this, no two of his works have the same structure.

After 1627, Frescobaldi started writing for more than just keyboard instruments. His next four publications were for instrumental and vocal groups. These included both religious and non-religious music. The collections of sacred works (1627) and ensemble canzonas (1628) were written in a more traditional style. This made them suitable for use in church. The Arie musicali, published in 1630, were probably written earlier.

In 1635, Frescobaldi published Fiori musicali. This was his only collection of music specifically for church music. It was also his last collection with completely new pieces. The Fiori explored many different types of music within the structure of a mass. Frescobaldi used an old way of organ improvisation based on a Gregorian chant. This is best seen in Fiori musicali. The organ would play parts of the mass, taking turns with the choir. It would improvise in a contrapuntal (layered melody) style. Music from Fiori musicali was still used to teach counterpoint in the 1700s and 1800s.

Besides Fiori musicali, Frescobaldi's two books of toccatas and partitas (1615 and 1627) are very important. His toccatas could be used in masses or other church events. These toccatas could be short introductions to longer pieces. Or, they could be long pieces on their own. The Secondo libro, written in 1627, expanded on the ideas from the first book. It added more variety with different rhythms and four organ pieces. Both books start with twelve toccatas. These are written in a showy, improvisational style. They mix fast runs of notes with calmer, more thoughtful parts. They also include short sections of layered melodies.

Frescobaldi's music often uses virtuosic techniques. This means it is very difficult to play. Toccata IX from his Secondo libro di toccata has a note from the composer. It says: "Non senza fatiga si giunge al fine" (meaning "Not without toil will you get to the end"). This shows how challenging the piece is. Other notes appear in Fiori musicali. One note talks about a fifth voice that the player should sing at certain moments. Frescobaldi's famous note for this piece is: "Intendami chi puo che m'intend' io" ("Understand me, who can, as long as I can understand myself"). This shows Frescobaldi's new and bold way of composing.

Frescobaldi was influenced by earlier composers like Ascanio Mayone and Giovanni Maria Trabaci. But his music was much more than just a mix of these influences. He was a master of traditional music forms. He also made many new contributions. One important innovation was in tempo (the speed of music). Unlike earlier composers, he included sections with different speeds in his pieces. Some of his published works even had long introductions explaining how to play them at different tempos. He found a way to combine older, strict ways of keeping time with the modern idea of changing tempo.

Frescobaldi also made big contributions to the art of variation. He might have been one of the first composers to combine the ciaccona and passacaglia forms in music. He was also possibly the first to write variations on his own original theme. Before him, variations were usually on folk or popular songs. In his later years, Frescobaldi became more interested in creating complex works from different, unrelated pieces. His last work, Cento partite sopra passacagli, was his most impressive creative piece. It showed his new interest in combining pieces that were first written separately.

Frescobaldi also wrote collections of canzonas, fantasias, capriccios, and other keyboard music. He also published four books of vocal music (songs and religious pieces). One book of religious pieces is now lost. He also wrote one book of ensemble canzonas.

Girolamo Frescobaldi's Lasting Influence

Musicians at the time recognized Frescobaldi as one of the most important keyboard composers. Even critics who didn't like his vocal music agreed that he was a genius at playing and composing for the keyboard. Frescobaldi's music remained very influential until the 1660s. His works continued to shape keyboard music for over a century after he died. Bernardo Pasquini even used Frescobaldi's works as teaching examples.

Many Italian composers were Frescobaldi's students. But the most important was a German composer, Johann Jakob Froberger. Froberger studied with Frescobaldi from 1637 to 1641. Froberger's music was influenced by Frescobaldi. He became one of the most important composers of the 1600s. Like Frescobaldi, his works were still studied in the 1700s. Frescobaldi's music was also known to and influenced many other major composers outside Italy. These included Henry Purcell, Johann Pachelbel, and Johann Sebastian Bach.

Bach is known to have owned several of Frescobaldi's works. This included a handwritten copy of Frescobaldi's Fiori musicali. Bach signed and dated it in 1714 and performed it that same year. Frescobaldi's influence on Bach can be seen most clearly in Bach's early organ pieces. Also, Frescobaldi's toccatas and canzonas, with their sudden changes and different sections, might have inspired the famous stylus fantasticus style of the North German organ school.

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See also

In Spanish: Girolamo Frescobaldi para niños

Images for kids

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  Ferrara, Frescobaldi's birthplace, in 1600

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  A page from Aria detta la Frescobalda (1627), showing early variations on a theme

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  A plaque in Ferrara honoring Girolamo Frescobaldi at his birthplace