Agostini, Paolo

It is almost reliably known that Paolo Agostini was born in Vallerano (Province of Viterbo in the north of Lazio) around 1583. At the age of eight, he began music studies at the Cantor Boys School (Pueri cantores at the Roman Church of San Luigi dei Francesi). The school leaders and teachers of Agostini were the brothers Giovanni Maria Nanino and Giovanni Bernardino Nanino ; in the last house, he, like other students, lived, and subsequently married his daughter Vittoria.

After graduating in 1607, he began his musical career as bandmaster and organist at the Madonna del Rushello church in Vallerano, according to a large number of biographers. Manfredo Manfredi questioned this message, noting that the church was still unfinished.

As the composer himself notes in his dedication to the fourth book of Mass, despite the respect for him from mentors and contemporaries, his career began hard.

Returning to Rome, Agostini first served briefly as an organist in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere, then as bandmaster in the church of Trinita dei Pellegrini and also in Santa Maria in Trastevere . In 1619, he occupied the same position in the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Damazo, and from February 16, 1626, in the Cathedral of St. Peter, where he remained until his death. According to Pitoni and Baini, it seems that he took this place as a result of a musical challenge that he threw to the then bandmaster and his old fellow practitioner Vincenzo Ugolini, who refused the competition, probably fearing not to be able to make comparisons, and was fired.

After three years after reaching the Vatican, he died of the plague in Rome on October 3, 1629, and was buried in the church of San Michele in Borgo, in the wall of the right nave, where a plaque was installed.

Paolo Agostini is considered one of the typical representatives of the majestic Baroque polyphony of the Roman school. In his work, the ingenuity and pretentiousness of Baroque counterpoint is balanced by the purity and clarity of the design. Padre Martini drew attention to the "clarity and naturalness" of the melodies of each part in the works of Agostini, which in combination gave excellent results.

During his lifetime, he gained fame as one of the most experienced and most fruitful counterpointists of his time; Padre Martini uses his works as examples in his Practical Essay on Counterpoint (Saggio fondamentale pratico di contrappunto) (1774).

Pitoni reports that in the Cathedral of St. Petra performed his “modulations for four, six, eight real choirs to the general surprise of all Rome” and to the satisfaction of Pope Urban VIII himself.

Giuseppe Baini quotes the following excerpt from a letter from Anti Liberati to Ovid Persapeji: “Bernardino Nanino's favorite student was Paolo Agostino, one of the most witty and lively talents that music has in our time in any kind of harmonious arrangement, counterpoint and canons, and among others amazing works that could be heard in the basilica of St. Peter, while he was the bandmaster there, various modulations of four, six and eight valid choirs, and some that could be sung by four or eight choirs without diminishing or violating harmony to the surprise of all of Rome. And if he did not die in the prime of his life, he would have greatly affected the whole world, I would allow myself to say with confidence about him: Consummatus in brevi explevit tempora multa. "

Agostini’s sacred work includes masses, motets and other works of sacred music, partly written in the style of prima pratica, a conservative polyphonic style of the late 16th century, based on Palestrina’s achievements and the codification of Joseffo Zarlino, but in some motets he also uses the new concertato style. The composer often uses the strict canon technique, and also resorts to coloring the music with acoustic effects, changing the meter of sections and introducing chromatisms, which betrays his knowledge in modern musical practice and, in particular, familiarity with the works of the Venetian school.

The best aspects of Agostini’s mastery are revealed by his masses of four and twelve voices; sacred compositions such as Agnus Dei for eight voices for two choirs, Adoramus Te Christe for four voices, O bone Iesu for four voices and others can also be added to them. These works are highly regarded as documents and examples of counterpoint art.

Numerous works by Agostini are published only partially:

• Salmi della Madonna (Psalms of the Virgin), (Rome, 1619)
• Liber secundus missarum, (np, 1626)
• Spartitura delle messe del primo libro (Score of the first book of the Mass), (Rome, 1627)
• Spartitura del secondo libro delle messe e motetti (Score of the second book of mass and motets), (Rome, 1627)
• Partitura del terzo libro della messa "Sine nomine", con 2 'Resurrexit (Score of the third Mass book "Sine nomine", with 2' Resurrexit, (Rome, 1627)
• Libro quarto delle messe in spartitura (Fourth Book of the Month in the Score), (Rome, 1627)
• Spartitura della messa et motetto "Benedicam Dominum" ad canones (Score of mass and motet "Benedicam Dominum" ad canones) (Rome, 1627)
• Partitura delle messe et motetti con 40 esempi di contrapunti, (Roma, 1627)
• Missarum liber posthumus (Rome, 1630)
• other masses, motets and so on.

• Agostini // Musical Dictionary : in 3 volumes / comp. H. Riemann ; additional Russian department with staff. P. Weimarn and others; per. and all ext. by ed. Yu. D. Engel . - Per. from the 5th of it. ed. - Moscow — Leipzig: ed. B.P. Jurgenson , 1904 .