Everything about Venetian School totally explained
In music history, the
Venetian School is a term used to describe the
composers working in
Venice from about
1550 to around
1610; it also describes the music they produced. The Venetian
polychoral compositions of the late 16th century were among the most famous musical events in Europe, and their influence on musical practice in other countries was enormous. The innovations introduced by the Venetian school, along with the contemporary development of
monody and
opera in
Florence, together define the end of the musical
Renaissance and the beginning of the musical
Baroque.
Several major factors came together to create the Venetian School. The first was political: after the death of
Pope Leo X in 1521, and the sack of Rome in 1527, the musical establishment in Rome, long dominant in European culture, was eclipsed: many musicians either moved elsewhere or chose not to go to Rome, and Venice was one of several places having an environment conducive to creativity.
Another factor, possibly the most important, was the existence of the splendid Basilica
San Marco di Venezia (commonly known as St. Mark's), with its unique interior with opposing choir lofts. Because of the spacious architecture of this basilica, it was necessary to develop a musical style which exploited the sound-delay to advantage, rather than fought against it: thus the
Venetian polychoral style was developed, the grand antiphonal style in which groups of singers and instruments played sometimes in opposition, and sometimes together, united by the sound of the organ. The first composer to make this effect famous was
Adrian Willaert, who became
maestro di cappella of St. Mark's in
1527, and remained in the position until his death in
1562.
Gioseffo Zarlino, one of the most influential writers on music of the age, called Willaert "the new
Pythagoras," and Willaert's influence was profound, not only as a composer but as a teacher, since most of the Venetians who followed studied with him.
Yet another factor which promoted the rich period of musical creativity was
printing. In the early 16th century Venice, prosperous and stable, had become an important center of music publishing; composers came from all parts of Europe to benefit from the new technology, which then was only a few decades old. Composers from northern Europe—especially
Flanders and
France—were already renowned as the most skilled composers in Europe, and many of them came to Venice. The international flavor of musical society in the city was to linger into the 17th century.
In the
1560s, two distinct groups developed within the Venetian school: a progressive group, lead by
Baldassare Donato, and a conservative group, led by Zarlino who was then
maestro di cappella. Friction between the two groups came to a head in
1569 with a dramatic, public fight between Donato and Zarlino during the Feast of St. Mark. Members of the conservative branch tended to follow the style of
Franco-Flemish polyphony, and included
Cipriano de Rore, Zarlino, and
Claudio Merulo; members of the progressive group included Donato,
Giovanni Croce, and later
Andrea and
Giovanni Gabrieli. An additional point of contention between the two groups was whether or not Venetians — or at least Italians — should be given the top job of
maestro di cappella at St. Mark's. Eventually the group favoring local talent prevailed, ending the dominance of foreign musicians in Venice; in
1603, Giovanni Croce was appointed to the job, followed by
Giulio Cesare Martinengo in
1609 and
Claudio Monteverdi in
1613.
The peak of development of the Venetian School was in the
1580s, when Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli composed enormous works for multiple choirs, groups of brass and string instruments, and organ. These works are the first to include
dynamics, and are among the first to include specific instructions for ensemble
instrumentation. Organists working at the same time included
Claudio Merulo and
Girolamo Diruta; they began to define an instrumental style and technique which moved to northern Europe in the succeeding generations, culminating in the works of
Sweelinck,
Buxtehude, and eventually
J.S. Bach.
The term
Venetian School is sometimes used to distinguish it from the contemporary, and usually more musically conservative,
Roman School. Other important centers of musical activity in Italy at the same time included
Florence (the birthplace of opera),
Ferrara,
Naples,
Padua,
Mantua and
Milan.
Composers
Major members of the Venetian school include:
Further Information
Get more info on 'Venetian School'.
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