Vecchi, Orazio

Orazio Vecchi was born in Modena. There he studied at the Benedictine monastery, then he was ordained (no later than 1577 ). His teacher of music was the monk Servit Salvatore Esseng.

In the late 1570s, Vecca was associated with the composers of the Venetian school, Claudio Merulo and Giovanni Gabrieli .

In 1580 he published the first collection of canzonetts with four voices - works in this genre brought him fame. From 1581 to 1584 , Vekki taught music and directed the choir of the Cathedral of Salo .

Then he received the same position in Modena, but he served there for only two years (1584–1586). He lost his place, because without permission he got a post also in Reggio Nel Emilia (1586). In 1586, Vecchi moved to Correggio and served for several years as a canon and then archdeacon in the local cathedral.

At that time, he wrote a lot, although he was away from the main centers of the musical life of Italy , such as Rome , Venice , Florence and Ferrara . In the end, he returned to Modena, where he achieved the position of priest who was also in charge of the choir. Apparently, at this time he was experiencing serious financial difficulties, he hinted at them in letters, and sometimes in his works.

In 1597, Vecchi visited Venice, where he published a collection of three-part canzonett . In the same year, many of his other works were published (including the most famous - the madrigal comedy “Amfiparnas”), probably everything that had been written by him for the last 16 years in Correggio and other cities.

In 1598, Duke Cesare d'Este invited Vecca to Modena for the post of “maestro di corte”, that is, the court conductor . In the years 1599-1604 Vekki led numerous masquerade festivals. In 1600, Vecca accompanied the duke to Rome and Florence, where the composer could hear the opera Eurydice by Jacopo Peri . Upon his return to Modena, Vecca continued to serve in the cathedral until his death in 1605.

The inscription on the grave of Vecchi says that "he was such a significant creator in music and poetry that he easily surpassed all geniuses of all times ... he first joined harmony with a comic gift and made the whole world admire himself."

Vecchi was considered one of the most prominent composers of his time. His polyphonic canzonetts and madrigals , which often became models for counterfeiting and intabulation (especially the canonettas Mentre io campai contento and Chi mira gli occhi tuoi), were widely known. A sample of the song style of Vecca is the canzonet “Fa una canzona senza note nere” (“Compose a song without black notes”, that is, a simple, unsophisticated one).

Vecchi is the author of many church writings - the Mass , spiritual motets , lamentations , magnificata. Especially appreciated is his eight-voice Resurrection Mass ("In resurrectione Domini").

Printed:

• four collections of four-part Canzonett (1580, 1585, 1590),
• collection of six-part Canzonett (1587);
• collections of five-part and six-seven-part madrigals (1589 and 1583);
• collection of various works by 3-10 votes “Selva di varia ricreatione” (1590); among others, it includes the vocal play Battaglia d'amor e dispetto (Battle of Love and Annoyance) and 2 instrumental plays;
• two collections of three-part Canzonett (1597, 1599);
• a collection of four voice lamination (1597);
• two collections of motets for 4–8 votes (1590; Sacrarum cantionum liber secundus , 1597);
• collection (plays of various genres) “Musical feast” ( Italian: Convito musicale ) by 3–8 votes (1597);
• madrigal comedy "Amphiparnas" (1597);
• a collection of four-part hymns for the whole church year ( Hymni qui per totum annum in Ecclesia Romana concinuntur , 1604);
• madrigal comedy “Siena parties” ( Italian: Le veglie di Siena ) ^[1] , with musical images of different characters: “umor grave, allegro, dolente, lusinghiero” (Venice, 1604).

Madrigal comedy "Amphiparnas"

“Harmonic Comedy” (that is, comedy with singing) “Amfiparnas” (“Parnassus Foothills”, “At the Foot of Parnassus”) is the most famous work of Vecca on his own text, in the tradition of the comedy del arte . Written in a madrigal style, this comedy is one of the immediate predecessors of the opera genre , a prototype of a three-act comic opera.

The comedy consists of three acts, is divided into 13 scenes and includes madrigal dialogues and episodes with simple entertainment music. Each character is characterized by a five-voice madrigal. Many dialects are mixed in the text (Castilian, Lombard, Bologna, Tuscan, Jewish), the national language and high style are intertwined, echoes and animal cries are heard.

The first performance took place in Modena in 1594, published by Amphiparnas in 1597. This work of Vecca inspired the creation of madrigal comedies by the composer Adriano Bankieri .

• The four-voice canzonettas. With original texts and contrafacta by Valentin Hausmann and others, ed. by Ruth I. DeFort. Part I: Historical introduction, critical apparatus, texts, contrafacta. Madison: AR Editions, 1993 (critical edition of 4-voice canzonet with scientific introduction and extensive commentary).

• Martin WR Orazio Vecchi / / The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians . London; New York, 2001.
• Lebedev S.N. Vecchi, Orazio // Great Russian Encyclopedia (electronic version, 2016).

• Ensemble clément janequin. Orazio Vecchi: L'Amfiparnaso (1597), Il Convito musicale (1597; selection).

• Madrigal comedy "Siena parties" (2008, excerpts)
• Canzonetta "Fa una canzone senza note nere"