Costanzo Festa
Costanzo Festa (* 1490 in Piedmont ; † April 10, 1545 in Rome ) was an Italian composer .
He possibly studied with Jean Mouton in Paris and was papal choir singer from 1517 and later director of this choir. As a composer he was one of the founders of the Roman School of the High Renaissance , but at the same time also a pioneer as an early madrigalist . Festa was the first well-known Italian exponent of the imitating vocal style, but also one of the very first madrigal composers (next to Adrian Willaert ) in the a cappella style.
In his works three voices predominate, homophony (music) as well as close connection to the verse structure and the rhyme order of the poetry determine the musical form. Close imitating inserts and interposed homophonic blocks essentially distinguish Festa's compositions from the style of the English and Dutch composers.
Festa's compositions are indeed written in a cappella style; but it does not at all reduce the value of his works if - as was customary at the time - only the upper part is sung and the lower parts are played on instruments.
When Festa died in Rome in 1545, he left behind a book of 3-part madrigals, a 4-part Magnificat , 8-part litanies and many motets and madrigals in compilations.
literature
- The small encyclopedia , Encyclios-Verlag, Zurich 1950, volume 1, page 500
- Alberto Iesuè: Festa, Costanzo. In: Fiorella Bartoccini (ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 47: Ferrero-Filonardi. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 1997, with a short biography of Sebastiano Festa .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Festa, Costanzo |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Italian composer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1490 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Piedmont |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 10, 1545 |
| Place of death | Rome |