Leonard Meldert

Leonard Meldert (* around 1535; † April 8, 1610 in Orvieto ) was a Franco-Flemish composer , organist and conductor of the late Renaissance , who worked mainly in Italy.

Live and act

The information about Leonard Meldert's life is still sparse and fragmentary. The composer's place of birth has not yet been determined with certainty. There are references to Liège or the diocese of Liège in a few older sources, but their accuracy has not yet been confirmed. The music researcher Simone Sorini has shown that there are three villages called “Meldert” in Flanders , and one of them is now part of the city of Aalst in East Flanders near the border with Flemish Brabant . Documents from the Orvieto archive show that his name also appears as Lionardo or Leonardo and as Melderti or Malderti in the course of the Italianization that was customary at the time, with the addition of van ("van Meldert") being omitted .

Music researchers believe it is possible that Meldert was a student of Orlando di Lasso in 1568 , who had worked as a musician and composer at the ducal Bavarian court in Munich since 1556 . The first direct evidence of Meldert's work is his five-part madrigal Duolsi Giunon aver più lume , which was published in 1569 by the publisher Girolamo Scotto in Venice in the collection Musica de Virtuosi della florida Capella dell'Illustrissimo ed Eccellentissimo Signo Duca di Baviera . In 1570 his motet Erat quaedam foemina was included in the four-part collection Disieme livre de chansons a quatre parties d'Orland de Lassus et autres , which was published in Paris . From 1571 he was active at the court of Guidobaldo II della Rovere in Urbino , until the Duke's death in 1574. When Guidobaldo's successor, his son Francesco Maria II della Rovere , came to power, the composer was together with others Fired from the court orchestra musicians; this happened for certain political motives, which were justified by a financial reorganization at the request of the new duke.

Meldert then stepped likely in Ravenna in the private services of Giulio Feltrio della Rovere , Cardinal of Urbino and Archbishop of Ravenna, a brother of the late Guido Baldo, where the composer in 1578 his Primo libro di madrigali a 5 voci dedicated. Giulio della Rovere had a close relationship with his nephew Francesco Maria, and on the basis of this relationship, Meldert perhaps also hoped to be able to return to Urbino. In the madrigal book mentioned there is also a wedding song ( Coppia rara e gentile ), which was dedicated to the wedding of Francesco Maria to Lucrezia d'Este in 1570. According to the few available sources, he also had his own connection to the ruling family d'Este in Ferrara , because he was able to work with Lucrezia for a short time during the reign of Guidobaldo; Lucrezia was a sponsor of the famous composer Luzzasco Luzzaschi (1545–1607) and probably brought about an artistic exchange between the Flemish and the Ferranese composer, as noted in Luzzaschi's Terzo libro di madrigali a cinque voci (1582).

According to the music researcher F. Piperno, Meldert was active again in Urbino from 1578 onwards, as Kapellmeister of the cathedral there ; In the same year he was the first to set the poem Tirsi morir volea by Giovanni Battista Guarini to music, which was then set to music by many other madrigal composers. According to Simone Sorini, based on documents in Urbino's archives, Meldert was definitely conductor in Urbino from September 1581 to March 1590. The archives of the town's band still contain the Responsori di natale ( Responsories for Christmas), which were probably written by the same author. On April 1, 1590, Meldert became Kapellmeister at Orvieto Cathedral; from September 22, 1593 to March 3, 1594 he was also organist and conductor at the Cathedral of Loreto . In 1593 his six-part madrigal Cresci bel verde was reprinted by the publisher Gardano in what would become the famous Il Lauro verde collection, an important collection that brings together the most important polyphonists of the time.

In 1603 or 1604 Leonard Meldert's Magnificat was transferred to the “Codex 24” of the music archive in Milan Cathedral , and in 1604 three of his masses were also transferred . The first, Missa Ave Maris stella , and the second are written in the typical Franco-Flemish style, while the third, Missa Lauda Syon , can be traced back to the homorhythmic style according to the new rules of the Council of Trent . These works can also be found in manuscript no.163 of the Orvieto Cathedral Music Archives. In 1609, Meldert's madrigal Il felici ora ch'Orfeo was included in another important collection, namely Sonetti novi sopra le ville di Frascati ; this composition was dedicated to Felice Anerio , who was director of the Sistine Chapel at the time. On April 8, 1610, Meldert died in Orvieto, leaving his inheritance to his wife Laura Mazzante and his step-sons Alisandro and Luca Mazzante.

meaning

Since Meldert has only recently become accessible to musicological research as a composer, detailed studies of his compositions are still pending. It seems certain that he initially proceeded from the Orlando di Lasso style and later attempted to open up to a more homophonic spelling of his compositions, as was characteristic of many masters of the 5th generation of Franco-Flemish music on the threshold of the age of figured bass have stood.

Works

• Madrigal “Duolsi Giunon di non aver più lume” with five voices, in the collection Musica de Virtuosi della florida Capella dell'Illustrissimo ed Eccellentissimo Signo Duca di Baviera, Venice 1569
• Motet “Erat quaedam foemina” for four parts, in the collection Disieme livre de chansons a quatre parties d'Orland de Lassus et autres, Paris 1570
• "Primo libro dei madrigali a cinque voci", Venice 1578
• "Responsori del natale", Urbino 1581–1590
• Madrigal “Cresci bel verde” with six parts, in the Il Lauro verde collection , Venice 1593
• Magnificat, Milan 1603
• Mass No. 1, "Ave maris stella", Orvieto 1604
• Mass No. 2, Orvieto 1604
• Mass no. 3 “Lauda Syon”, Orvieto 1604
• Madrigal “Felice ora ch'Orfeo” in the Sonetti novi sopra le ville di Frascati collection , Rome 1609

Literature (selection)

• Giovanni Tebaldini: L'archivio musicale della Cappella Lauretana, catalogo storico / critico , Ammin. Di San Casa, Loreto 1921
• Bramante Ligi: La Cappella musicale del Duomo d'Urbino , in: Note d'archivio per la storia musicale, anno II, 1925
• Musica e musicisti nella Cattedrale di Padova , Note d'archivio per la storia musicale, anno XVIII, 1941
• Biancamaria Brumana and Galliano Ciliberti: Orvieto Una cattedrale e la sua musica (1450-1610) , Olschki, Florence 1990, pages 62-67
• F. Piperno: L'immagine del Duca. Musica e spettacolo alla corte di Guidobaldo II Duca di Urbino , Olschki, Florence 2001
• Fernando Sulpizi: Vita con le cose avvenute al P. Baccelliere Fra Lodovico Zacconi di Pesaro dell'ordine Eremitani di San Agostino , Edition Hyperprism, Corciano (PG) 2005

Web links

• Works by and about Leonard Meldert in the catalog of the German National Library
• Sheet music and audio files by Leonard Meldert in the International Music Score Library Project

swell

1. ↑ Simone Sorini: Leonard Meldert - L'ultimo grande maestro fiammingo in Italia. Opere sacre ritrovate e nuove ipotesi interpretative , Edizioni LaPoliedrica, 2014