Giovanni Gentile (composer)

Giovanni Gentile (* in Olevano Romano ; † after 1649) was an Italian composer and music teacher.

Live and act

There are only two known mentions of Giovanni Gentile: the only surviving publication Solfeggiamenti et ricercari a due voci and an inventory of the Roman printer Sebastiano Testa, published in 1995 by Patrizio Barbieri .

On the frontispiece of his Solfeggiamenti he is named Signor Giovanni Gentile d'Olevano , hence he was a layman and was born in Olevano Romano, although the existence of at least one other Olevano, namely Olevano di Lomellina , could cast doubt on this. However, the fact that Gentile's artistic practice appeared to only take place in Rome suggests the first hypothesis.

With regard to his teaching activities, we only have evidence from his only surviving publication, the solfeggiamenti a due , as well as the mentioned notes from the inventory of the printer. There is noted under the date December 13, 1729:

Giovanni Gentile nel 1645–49 è registrato come musico in Santo Stefano del Cacco (Roma), assieme a tre nipoti e ad alcuni ospiti, forse suoi allievi. Nelle vicinanze esercitava la sua attività anche lo stampatore Ludovico Grignani, che nel 1642 gli aveva pubblicato i Solfeggi e ricercari a 2 voci.

“Giovanni Gentile was registered as a musician in Santo Stefano del Cacco (Rome) from 1645 to 1649, together with three grandchildren and some guests, possibly his students. The printer Ludovico Grignani, who published the Solfeggiamenti and Ricercari for 2 votes in 1642, also ran his business nearby. "

We have knowledge of a nephew and a pupil of Gentile through the printing of the solfeggiamenti . The dedication to Cardinal Francesco Maria Brancaccio is signed by Marco Aurelio Desideri, who also composed the fourteenth and final solfeggio, while the second is entitled: “By Signor Carlo Gentile, nephew and pupil of the author”.

Works

• Solfeggiamenti et ricercari a due voci. Lodovico Grignani, Rome 1642

literature

• Patrizio Barbieri: Musica, tipografi e librai a Roma: Tecnologie di stampa e integrazioni biografiche (1583–1833). In: Recercare , 7 (1995).

Web links

• Renaissance and Baroque teaching compositions for two voices. (English, description of the solfeggiamenti )