Books › Grove's dictionary of music and musicians, 1904 › scan 81
Scan 81
Grove's dictionary of music and musicians, 1904
33 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 56. See the scan on archive.org.
1and is said to have kept it for two years, either from 1588 to 1590, or from 1591 to 1593.
3He was back in Rome in 1595, writing to Dowland, July 13,1 and to Don Diego de Campo, Oct. 20,2 and in the same year is said to have been appointed to the Papal chapel.3 It was now that he lived on such familiar terms with Cardinal Aldobrandino, the Pope's nephew, and taking this into account Peacham's tale may have some truth in it, and Marenzio may have fallen in love with a lady belonging to his patron's family. If, however, he died of a broken heart, as is suggested, it must have been caused simply by the Pope's refusal to allow a marriage.
5Marenzio's principal works are:—9 books of madrigals (a 5), 6 books (a 6), each book containing from 13 to 20 nos., and 1 book (a 4) containing 21 nos.; 5 books of 'Villanelle e Arie alla Napolitana,' containing 113 nos. (a 3) and 1 (a 4); 2 books of four-part motets, many of which have been printed in modern notation by Proske;4 1 mass (a 8), and many other pieces for church use. [See the list in the Quellen-Lexikon.] The first five books of madrigals a 5 were printed 'in uno corpo ridotto,' in 1593, and a similar edition of those a 6 in 1594. These books, containing 78 and 76 pieces respectively, are both in the British Museum. Marenzio's works were introduced into England in 1588, in the collection entitled 'Musica Transalpina' (1588); and two years afterwards a similar book was printed, to which he contributed 23 out of 28 numbers.5 His reputation here was soon established, for in 1595 John Dowland, the lutenist, 'not being able to dissemble the great content he had found in the profered amity of the most famous Luca Marenzio,' thought the mere advertisement of their correspondence would add to the chance of his own works being well received. Burney does not hesitate to say that the madrigal style was brought to the highest degree of perfection by Marenzio's superior genius, and that the publication of the 'Musica Transalpina' gave birth to that passion for madrigals which became so prevalent among us when our own composers so happily contributed to gratify it.6
7Thus it came to pass that Luca Marenzio became bound up in our own musical history, and few foreign musicians of the 16th century have been kept so constantly before the English public. The Madrigal Society became a home for his works more than 150 years ago, and they are continually sung by much younger societies. 'To guard faithfully and lovingly the beautiful things, and to reverence the great masters, of olden times, is quite a part of the English character, and one of its most beautiful traits.'7
9J. R. S.-B.
11MARESCHALL, SAMUEL, born at Tournay, in May 1554, was town and university organist at Basle from 1577 to his death some time after 1640. In 1606 he published at Basle a choralbuch for four voices, containing Lobwasser's German versified translation of the Psalter with the original French tunes as in Goudimel, the melody, however, in the soprano, also some additional German hymns and tunes. Some of his settings are given in Winterfeld and Schöberlein. In MS. there exist a large number of his organ arrangements of some of these French psalm tunes, and other French and German songs. See Quellen-Lexikon. J. R. M.
13MARGHERITA. [See EPINE, vol. i. p. 784.]
15MARIA ANTONIA WALPURGA (or WALPURGIS), electress of Saxony, daughter of the elector of Bavaria, afterwards the Emperor Charles VII. born July 18, 1724, at Munich, learnt music from Giovanni Ferrandini, Porpora, and finally Hasse. She was a member of the Arcadian Academy in Rome, and the initials of her academical name, 'Ernelinda Talia Pastorella Arcada' were used by her to sign her compositions. The most important of these were two operas, 'Il trionfo della fedeltà,' performed at Potsdam in 1753 before Frederick the Great, and furnished with additional numbers by him, Hasse, Graun, and Benda; and 'Talestri Regina dell' Amazone,' performed in 1763. Both were published by Breitkopf & Härtel, the former in 1756 being one of the first printed with their newly invented types, and the latter appearing in 1765. The electress died at Dresden, April 23, 1780. (Quellen-Lexikon.) See also the Monatshefte für Musikgesch. vol. xi. p. 167.
17M.
19MARIA DI ROHAN. Opera in three acts; music by Donizetti. Produced at Vienna, June 5, 1843; at the Théâtre Italien, Paris, Nov. 20, 1843, and in London, Covent Garden, May 8, 1847.
21G.
23MARIANI, ANGELO, born at Ravenna, Oct. 11, 1822, began to study the violin when quite young, under Pietro Casolini; later on he had instruction in harmony and composition from a monk named Levrini, of Rimini, who was a celebrated contrapuntist. He was still in his teens when he left home to see the world, and for a certain time he continued to appear, as a soloist in concerts and as a first violin player in orchestras. He was at the Liceo Filarmonico at Bologna, where he had instruction from Rossini. It was in 1844, at Messina, that he assumed the baton,—which after all was only the bow of his violin, for at that time the conductor of an Italian orchestra was named Primo Violino direttore dell' orchestra.
257 Ambros, Geschichte der Musik, iii. 460.
271 '1st booke of Songs or Ayres of 4 parts by John Dowland.' (Short, Bred St. Hill, 1597.)
282 'Di L. M. il 7mo lib. di Madr. a 5.' (Venetia, Gardano, 1595.)
293 We cannot find any old authority for the date of appointment, and Eitner (Quellen-Lexikon) doubts it.
304 'Musica Divina,' etc. Carl Proske, vol. ii. (Ratisbon, 1853.)
315 '1st part of Italian Madrigals Englished,' etc. Published by Thomas Watson (1590).
326 Gen. Hist. of Music, vol. iii. pp. 201, 119.
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.