Stefano Landi

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Stefano Landi , also Steffano Landi (born February 26, 1587 in Rome , † October 28, 1639 ibid) was an Italian singer, conductor and composer .

Life

At the age of eight, Stefano Landi was accepted as a boy soprano at the Collegio Germanico-Ungarico in Rome in 1595 . The Italian composer Asprilio Pacelli (1570-1640) may have been a classmate or teacher.

After Landi received his first commissions in 1599, he began studying music at the Seminario Romana in 1602. In the records of the seminary in 1607 he was mentioned as a composer and conductor of a pastoral carnival. In 1611 his name appeared as an organist and singer. In 1614 he got a job as Kapellmeister in the church of Santa Maria della Consolazione in Rome. The Italian composer Agostino Agazzari (1578-1640), Kapellmeister at the Seminario Romano, was possibly a teacher of Landis.

In 1618 Landi moved to northern Italy where he published a five-part madrigal in Venice ; apparently he was called to Padua as Kapellmeister . There he began composing his first opera, La morte d'Orfeo. It was probably part of a wedding celebration. His experiences in Padua and Venice were crucial in developing his own style. From now on he was in close contact with composers of the Venetian school, who were less popular in traditionally oriented Rome.

In 1620 he returned to Rome, where he spent the rest of his life. His patrons included the Borghese family , Cardinal Moritz von Savoyen (1593–1657) and Pope Urban VIII. For the Barberini family, his most important patrons, he wrote his most famous work, the opera Il Sant'Alessio in 1631. During these years He was particularly active, various masses , arias and responsories were created , mainly in the early Baroque, conservative style of the composer Palestrina , which was considered the sacred form of music of that time.

Landi is regarded as one of the most important musicians of the first half of the 17th century and with his works exerted a considerable influence on the development of the cantata and Roman opera.

In 1636 his health deteriorated dramatically. He died on October 28, 1639 in Rome and was buried in the church of Santa Maria in Vallicella .

Works

Operas

Web links
personal data
SURNAME Landi, Stefano
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Landi, Steffano
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian singer, conductor and composer
DATE OF BIRTH February 26, 1587
PLACE OF BIRTH Rome
DATE OF DEATH October 28, 1639
Place of death Rome