Marc'Antonio Ingegneri facts for kids

Marc'Antonio Ingegneri (also spelled Ingegnieri) was an Italian composer who lived during the late Renaissance period. He was born in Verona around 1535 or 1536 and passed away in Cremona on July 1, 1592. Even though he worked mostly in northern Italy, his music style was similar to Palestrina. Because of this, he is often considered part of the Roman School of polyphonic church music. He is also well-known for being the teacher of the famous composer Claudio Monteverdi.

Early Life and Musical Journey

Not much is known about Marc'Antonio Ingegneri's early life. He likely had family from Venice. He probably studied music with Cipriano de Rore in Parma and Vincenzo Ruffo in Verona.

Around 1570, he moved to Cremona. There, he became known as a talented composer and musician. He might have played the organ and was definitely a string player. In 1581, he became the music director (called maestro di cappella) at the cathedral in Cremona. He stayed in this important job for the rest of his life. While working there, he taught Claudio Monteverdi, who later became a very important composer, helping to bridge the gap between the Renaissance and the Baroque periods.

His Music Style and Influences

Ingegneri was good friends with Bishop Nicolò Sfondrato, who later became Pope Gregory XIV. This bishop was deeply involved in the Counter-Reformation and the Council of Trent. These movements aimed to make church music clearer and simpler. This influence can be heard in Ingegneri's music, which often sounds very clear and simple, much like Palestrina's style. In fact, one of his books of twenty-seven Responsoria was thought to be Palestrina's for a long time.

However, some of Ingegneri's music did not follow these new rules perfectly. For example, his four-voice motet called Noe noe was a very complex piece. It was a double canon by inversion, which means it was hard to hear the words clearly. The Council of Trent had specifically asked composers to make sure the words in sacred music were easy to understand.

His masses are usually simple, short, and mostly homophonic. This means all the voices move together, making the words very clear. His madrigals (secular songs) were more traditional. He didn't experiment with new ideas like vivid chromaticism (using notes outside the main scale) or word-painting (making the music sound like the words) as much as other composers of his time, like Luzzaschi and Marenzio.

He wrote two books of masses in 1573 and 1587. He also wrote at least three books of motets, and eight books of madrigals for four to six voices. Some of his works might have been lost over time.

List of Works

Sacred Music

• Liber primus missarum (1573)
• Sacrarum cantionum for 5 voices (1576)
• Sacrarum cantionum for 4 voices (1586)
• Liber secundus missarum for 5 voices (1587)
• Responsoria hebdomadae sanctae, Benedictus and improperia ... and Miserere for 4 and 6 voices (1588)
• Lamentationes Hieremiae for 4 voices (1588)
• Liber sacrarum cantionum for 16 voices and instruments (1596)
• Sacrae cantiones ... liber primus for 6 voices (1591)
• Liber secundus hymnorum for 4 voices (1606)
• Super flumina Babylonis
• A few other works published in collections.

Secular Music

• Il primo libro dei madrigali for 5 and 8 voices (this book is now lost)
• Il secondo libro dei madrigali for 5 voices (1572)
• 9 other books of madrigals
• 10 other madrigals found in various collections.

Recordings

You can find recordings of Marc'Antonio Ingegneri's music on CDs published by Toccata Music. The choir of Girton College, Cambridge has also released recordings of his works.