Leone Leoni (c. 1560 – 1627) was a North Italian

polyphonic Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice ( monophony) or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ...

composer who served as ''

maestro di cappella ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in i ...

'' at Vicenza Cathedral from 1588. He composed

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the preeminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to the Eng ...

s for antiphonal choirs, some in many parts, with instrumental accompaniment. As would be expected of a cathedral ''maestro di cappella'', he also produced

mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

es,

psalm The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of H ...

magnificat The Magnificat (Latin for "y soulmagnifies he Lord) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary or Canticle of Mary, and in the Byzantine Rite as the Ode of the Theotokos (). Its Western name derives from the incipit of its Latin text. This ...

s and other

liturgical music Liturgical music originated as a part of religious ceremony, and includes a number of traditions, both ancient and modern. Liturgical music is well known as a part of Catholic Mass, the Anglican Holy Communion service (or Eucharist) and Evensong, ...

, some published in his ''Cantici sacri'' (1608) as well as sacred and secular

madrigal A madrigal is a form of secular vocal music most typical of the Renaissance (15th–16th centuries) and early Baroque (1580–1650) periods, although revisited by some later European composers. The polyphonic madrigal is unaccompanied, and the ...

s. Leoni succeeded Giammateo Asola, his master, as ''maestro di capella'' when Asola returned to

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

; he contributed to the anthology ''Psalmodia vespertina'' dedicated to

Palestrina Palestrina (ancient ''Praeneste''; , ''Prainestos'') is a modern Italian city and ''comune'' (municipality) with a population of about 22,000, in Lazio, about east of Rome. It is connected to the latter by the Via Prenestina. It is built upon ...

by Asola and published at Venice. Several books of his motets were printed under the title ''Sacri fiori'' ("Sacred flowers") at Venice, and reprinted. He was received as a member by the Accademia Olimpica, Vicenza, some time between 1609 and 1612. He died at Vicenza. A pupil is likely to have been Ludovico Balbi.''New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', ''s.v.'' "Balbi, Ludovico".

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leoni, Leone 1560 births 1627 deaths 16th-century Italian composers 17th-century Italian composers Italian male composers 17th-century Italian male musicians