Mazzone: Il Primo libro delle canzoni a quattro voci

Featuring

Maria Antonietta Cancellaro
Natalia Bonello
Vincenzo Failla
Ensemble Le Vaghe Ninfe
Marc 'Antonio Mazzone

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Mazzone intended his work to make spiritual matters enjoyable, starting with secular songs to attract singers before transitioning to spiritual ones with a similar style.

Interpretation

The interpretation of these Canzoni is inspired by 16th and early 17th-century performance practices, emphasizing variety and alternation in sounds and instruments.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Mazzone believed that in music, words are the soul and notes are the body, and the notes should follow and imitate the words to express their subject.

Composition History

Mazzone's 'Il Primo libro delle canzoni a Quattro voci' was published in Venice in 1591 by Angelo Gardano and is dedicated to Vincenzo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua.

Compositional Technique

The collection 'Il Primo libro delle canzoni a Quattro voci' contains 21 songs, with the first 11 being profane and the last 10 being sacred 'Songs in praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary'.

Composer Biography

Marc'Antonio Mazzone, the composer, was born in Miglionico (Matera) around the mid-16th century and was a musician, clergyman, and man of letters.

Composer Biography

Mazzone studied in Naples, as evidenced by numerous references to Neapolitan noblemen and musicians in his publications, but he lived almost certainly in Venice until his death.