Stefano Venturi del Nibbio (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1592–1600) was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance, active in Venice and Florence. In addition to composing madrigals in a relatively conservative style, works which were published as far away as England, he collaborated with

Giulio Caccini Giulio Romolo Caccini (also Giulio Romano) (8 October 1551 – buried 10 December 1618) was an Italian composer, teacher, singer, instrumentalist and writer of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He was one of the founders of the genre o ...

on one of the earliest operas, '' Il rapimento di Cefalo'' (1600). Very little is known about Venturi del Nibbio's life. In 1592 he was in Venice, presumably to supervise the printing of his first two books of madrigals (''Il primo libro de madrigali'', and ''Il primo libro de madrigali pastorali'', both for five voices), and in 1593 or 1594 he moved to Florence. After 1594 his known musical connections are all Florentine, and no unambiguous mentions of his name after 1600 have yet been found.Strainchamps, Grove online He had a reputation as a skilful composer of vocal music, both secular and sacred, in the conservative

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 ...

style in a time and place in which a new musical style was quickly developing:

monody In music, monody refers to a solo vocal style distinguished by having a single melody, melodic line and instrumental accompaniment. Although such music is found in various cultures throughout history, the term is specifically applied to Italy, ...

, and the '' stile rappresentativo'', developments which in retrospect demarcated the beginning of the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

era in music. In 1600 he collaborated with one of the chief practitioners of this new style, Caccini, in the music for the opera ''Il rapimento di Cefalo'', by composing two choruses; since they are lost along with most of the music for the opera, it is not known to what degree they may have borrowed from the new musical language. Also in 1600, Venturi wrote some sacred music, for two choirs, for the nuptial banquet celebrated in the

Duomo ''Duomo'' (, ) is an Italian term for a church with the features of, or having been built to serve as a cathedral, whether or not it currently plays this role. The Duomo of Monza, for example, has never been a diocesan seat and is by definitio ...

on 5 October for the marriage of

Henri IV of France Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...

and Maria de' Medici.Carter, n.68 Venturi published a total of five books of madrigals. The earliest book, ''Il primo libro de madrigali'' of 1592, included two madrigals which were published in London with English words, one by

Thomas Morley Thomas Morley (1557 – early October 1602) was an English composer, music theory, theorist, singer and organist of late Renaissance music. He was one of the foremost members of the English Madrigal School. Referring to the strong Italian inf ...

in his 1598 ''Madrigals to Five Voyces''. In the introduction to the book Morley praised the work, and Venturi himself, as an exemplary composer of madrigals.

Notes

References

*Carter, Tim. "Rediscovering ''Il rapimento di Cefalo''". Journal of Seventeenth-Century Music, Vol. 9 No. 1, 2003 (?) *Strainchamps, Edmond. "Venturi del Nibbio, Stefano." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/29174 (accessed October 11, 2009).

External links

* * Complete editions of Venturi's ''Primo libro de' madrigali a 5'' and ''Primo libro de' madrigali pastorali a 5'' (both 1592) at: https://italianmadrigal.com, page "Master List of Composers" {{DEFAULTSORT:Venturi Del Nibbio, Stefano Italian male classical composers Italian Renaissance composers Madrigal composers 16th-century births 17th-century deaths

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