ANTONELLA NIGRO Domenico Massenzio A New Biography With Unpublished Documents PDF

Estratto dal I volume / Extracts from the Volume I
DOMENICO MASSENZIO. A NEW BIOGRAPHY WITH UNPUBLISHED DOCUMENTS

ANTONELLA NIGRO
Ronciglione, 25th February 1574. A priest, Bartolomeo Fiorentino by name, compiles the book of baptisms performed in that town1.
The regular writing up of such registers – at one time quite rare – was a reaction to the dictates of the Council of Trent, which had come
to an end a little over a decade earlier. Leafing through the pages of the book, one finds on the verso of folio 237:
Dominicus2 Die p’ma Aprilis · 86·
Bap. fuit p me dictũ Barth filius natus 28 martj pxi
mi ptriti ex Maxentio alias il sordo, et ex
Sabetta de Ambrosio caldarario õmibq. de Rõcillio
ni, qui vocatus fuit Dnicus. Matrina vero
fuit Genia [?]3 de broglio de dicto loco 4.
This is the certificate of baptism of Domenico Massenzio,
unknown to this day and here5 presented for the very first time.
The associated discovery of the corresponding documents
concerning his brothers Pietro Paolo6 and Romolo7 has made it
possible to reconstruct certain hitherto unknown aspects of the
composer’s life. The earliest biographical information on Baptismal certificate of Domenico Massenzio
Massenzio was recorded by Girolamo Nappi in the Annali del from the register pages for the year 1586 (orig.)
Seminario Romano8, and then reproduced in 1938 by Raffaele
Casimiri9:
ANNO MDCVI […]
[marg.] Dom.co Massentio
Domenico Massentio da Roncilio- | ne ottenne un luogo ad istanza del P. Romolo Massentio della Comp.a di Gie | su
suo fratello. Questo sapendo di Musica si portò auanti con esser stato Acto | p Mastro di Cappella del Sem.o. Stampò sei
muti di libri di musica di ua- | rie sorti. Hora uiue, et è Beneficiato di S. Maria in Vialata.
1 «IN HOC eodem [liber - canc.] Libro sequentj| describentur õnia nomina bapti |zandorum p me Bartholom e ũ flo |r ẽtin ũ| de Basno: Terracin ẽsis Dio |cesis […]
Anno | ·1·5·74· mense [octobrij - canc.] februarij die vero ·25·| februarij eiusd ẽ Tempore Rmi: D. Donatj Ep i˜| digsmi. dictae terrae et diocesis Sutrinae. | Ego Barths:
flor ẽtinus ut sa: | manu propia» (In this same following book are written down all the names of those baptised by me, Bartolomeo Fiorentino di Bassiano of the
Diocese of Terracina […] in the year 1574, in the month of February, on the 25th day of the same month, in the time of the Most Reverend D. Donato, Most Worthy
Bishop of the said territory and the diocese of Sutri. I, Bartolomeo Fiorentino as above, with my own hand [wrote this]); with these words, Don Bartolomeo states
that he is continuing the drawing-up of the register of baptisms, begun earlier in the same book. Nepi, Archivio Storico della Diocesi di Civita Castellana; Fondo
Archivio Parrocchiale di Ronciglione; Libro dei Battesimi, years 1573-1592, f. 8v.
2 The names of those baptised are written with another pen (and perhaps by another hand as well), hence on a later occasion. To begin with, only the date – placed
centrally at the top – divided one baptism from the next. The later addition makes it easier to find names quickly.
3 The first letter of the name is difficult to decipher. The reading chosen is Genia, a shortening, no longer in use today, of Eugenia.
4 (Domenico. On the first day of April 1586 there was baptised by me, the above-mentioned Bartolomeo, a son born on 28th March just passed to Massenzio, known
as ‘the Deaf one’, and to Elisabetta [daughter] of the boilermaker Ambrogio, all of Ronciglione, who was given the name Domenico. The godmother was Genia [?] de
Broglio of the said place), Libro dei Battesimi, f. 237v.
5
I am very grateful to Saverio Franchi, a great authority on music publishing in Rome and an expert in the history of Roman music, for his generous advice. My
thanks go also to Dinko Fabris, for his friendly and professional support, and to Agostino Ziino, who made a critical contribution to the final revisions of the present
text.
6 «Petrus Paulus | Eodẽ die et año | Bapus fuit p me predictũ filius natus i6 predict ex Maxẽntio de Trivisano | de Rõcillione et ex Elisabet filia |Ambrosij caldararij qui
vocatus fuit | Petrus Paulus. Matrina vero fuit Genevra del Friolo [?] et de Rõcillione» (Pietro Paolo. On the same day of the same year [16th February 1579] there was
baptised by me the above-mentioned a son born on the aforementioned 16th to Massenzio de Trevisano of Ronciglione and to Elisabetta daughter of the boilermaker
Ambrogio, who was given the name Pietro Paolo. The godmother was Genia del Friolo [?] and of Ronciglione), Libro dei Battesimi, cit., f. 119r.
7 «Romulus | Die ultimo Februarj 1583 | Bapus fuit p me dict ũ Barth filius natus dicto die ex Max ẽ- | tio de trivisano, et ex Elisabeta filia q. Ambrosij caldara |rij qui
vocatus fuit Romulus. Matrina vero fuit Genia | de broglio de Rõcillione» (Romolo. On the last day of February 1583 there was baptised, by me the said Bartolomeo,
a son born on the said day to Maxentio de Trevisano and to Elisabetta [daughter] of the late Ambrogio, boilermaker, who was given the name Romolo. The
godmother was Genia de Broglio of Ronciglione), Libro dei Battesimi, cit., f. 190r. For further references to Romolo, cf. below, p. XXXVIII, with notes 44-46.
8 GIROLAMO NAPPI, Annali del Seminario Romano, APUG, Cod. 2801, p. 543 (In the year MDCVI […] | [marg.] Dom.co Massentio | Domenico Massenzio of Roncilione
obtained a place upon the initiative of Fr. Romolo Massenzio of the Company of Jesus, his brother. He, having knowledge of music, made such progress as to become
maestro di cappella of the Seminary. He printed six sets of music of various kinds. He now lives and holds a benefice at S. Maria in Vialata). The Annali were written
during the period from 1640 to 1647 by Father Girolamo Nappi, a boarder at the seminary from 4th May 1601 to 3rd November 1602. The work is divided into three
books. In the first is a list in chronological order of the seminarists and boarders; in the second the history of the seminary between 1563 and 1647 is narrated; the
third and last «traccia la vita di alcuni chierici e convittori che si sono particolarmente distinti» (traces the life of a number of seminarists and boarders who particularly
distinguished themselves); in addition, there exists in the Archivio Storico of the Collegio Germanico a first version of the work, in a single volume and with the designation
Hist 145; cfr. LUCA TESTA, Fondazione e primo sviluppo del Seminario Romano (1565-1608), Editrice PUG, Rome, 2002, p. 8 and note 6.
9 RAFFAELE CASIMIRI, ‘Disciplina Musicae’, e ‘Maestri di Cappella’ dopo il Concilio di Trento nei maggiori istituti ecclesiastici di Roma: Seminario romano – Collegio germanico – Collegio
inglese (sec. XVI– XVII), in «Note d’archivio per la storia musicale», year XV, 1938, pp. 10-11.
XXXIV
The entering of the baptismal records of the three brothers in the same register by Don Bartolomeo bears out the particulars of the
parents. Domenico is further referred to as «Massentij filius» in the death certificate in S. Maria in Via Lata10, of which Saverio Franchi
gave the first account in 200611, while the certificate of confirmation, dated 24th June 160812, gives the same patronymic: «Seminario
Rom[ano]: Domenico de Massentio de Massentij e de Faustina. C.[compare] il M. Ill.re e Rev.mo Mg.r Vipareschi» (Seminario Rom[ano]:
Domenico de Massentio son of Massentij and Faustina. M. the eminent and very reverend Mg.r Vipareschi appears). The discordance
regarding the mother’s name does not necessarily entail that the two documents are not both correct; it could be that these were two
different women (a second wife?), but it is also not unlikely that one and the same person could have been called in the family by a name
that differed from her official one. The use of a double name, fairly widespread in the past, still persists in Italy today, particularly among
working people.
The mother, Elisabetta (or Sabetta, in the form shortened by aphaeresis) was the daughter of Ambrogio, in 1583 already deceased 13
and a boilermaker by occupation14. The father, «Maxentio alias il Sordo», was perhaps involved in the flourishing manufacturing
activities15 of the area, a trace of which survives to this day in the civic crest depicting a ronciglio16, a hooked metal implement. The
epithet ‘the deaf one’ probably described an actual condition of loss of hearing, complete or partial, to which reference is made only
after the birth of Romolo. None of the three brothers’ baptismal records contains any indication of Maxentio’s work (whereas this is
recorded for his father-in-law Ambrogio, whose name is always followed by the word caldarario, ‘boilermaker’); the question as to what
work he was employed in thus remains, for the moment, open. The baptismal records of Pietro Paolo and Romolo contain a further
detail regarding his origins: «Maxe[n]tio de Trivisano de Ro[n]cillione»17. Histories of the time speak of a flow of migrants coming from
the north of the Italian peninsula18, so that it could be that the forebears of Maxentio, not he himself, were by origin from Treviso19, but
the place-name could equally well refer to urban centres called Trevi, or indeed localities, possessions or estates in the vicinity of
Ronciglione of which there is no longer any record. The ‘Massentios’ were «o[m]nib[us]q[ue] de Ro[n]cillioni» (all from Ronciglione),
perhaps belonging to the category of artisans, but not wealthy. The godmother Genia de Broglio appears in the register of those years in
connection with many other baptisms besides those of Domenico and Romolo; it is thus a possibility that she was the nursemaid or
domestic of Don Bartolomeo, the shared godmother of many children born to people of humble stock.
With these modest origins, there was no way in which Domenico Massenzio’s eventual destiny could have been guessed; he was in
fact to become autore eccellentissimo20 (the most excellent author) of numerous compositions and to occupy musical positions of some
prominence, including that of maestro di cappella. Nonetheless, despite the undeniable value of his artistic output, he was never to achieve
the widest renown, being well known and appreciated in Roman circles but not beyond. Paolo Agostini, maestro di cappella at S. Pietro,
wrote in the dedication of his 1627 Libro quarto delle messe «& Ronciglione, poco da noi lontano, si vanta de’ natali di Massentio»21 (and
Ronciglione, little distant from us, has the boast of being the home town of Massentio). Casimiri quotes an observation by Girolamo
Nappi22:
10 Archivio Storico del Vicariato di Roma, Parrocchia di S. Maria in Via Lata, Liber Tripartitus Baptizatorum, Matrimoniorum, & Mortuorum, years 1623-1660, f. 44r. The
record states: «aetatis suae annorum 75» (in the 75th year of his age); but it is clear that, as in other similar reports, the date is an approximate one. Another death
certificate kept in the same archive is from the parish of Sts. Vincenzo and Anastasio in Trevi, (Libro dei morti II 1652-1700, f. 17r); it is briefer than the first one,
making no mention of Domenico Massenzio’s age. It was in S. Maria in Via Lata, where he held the benefice, that Massenzio was buried, but he had actually resided
near Sts. Vincenzo and Anastasio; each church filed the record on its own account.
11 SAVERIO FRANCHI, Annali della stampa musicale romana dei secoli XVI- XVIII, IBIMUS, Rome, 2006; vol. I, pp. 851-852.
12 Archivio Storico del Vicariato di Roma, Liber Confirmatorum S. Joannis Lateranens, for the year 1608, f. 153. The certificate was first reproduced by R. CASIMIRI, op. cit.,
p. 12.
13 The letter ‘q’, an abbreviation of quondam, appears in the baptismal record of Romolo and is subsequently repeated at the baptism of a cousin of Domenico
Massenzio, Cynthia, daughter of «Lidia de q.[uondam] Ambrosio caldarario» (Lidia [daughter] of the late Ambrogio, boilermaker), dated 13th May 1585; Libro dei
Battesimi, cit., p. 223r.
14 «calderaio: facitor di caldaie e d’altri vasi simili di rame» (‘calderaio’: maker of boilers and other similar vessels in copper), OTTORINO PIANIGIANI, Vocabolario
Etimologico della lingua italiana, with a preface by F. L. Pullé; vol. I, Soc. ed. Dante Alighieri di Albrighi & Segati, Rome-Milan, 1907.
15 Saverio Franchi, in the entry under ‘Domenico Massenzio’ in the Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani reports that «gli eredi di un M. clavarius sono citati in un atto del
1594» (the heirs of a ‘clavarius’ named Massenzio are mentioned in an official record from 1594), SAVERIO FRANCHI, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, vol. 71, p. 776,
Rome, 2008, shortly to be published.
16 The disputed question of the etymology of the name Ronciglione is as yet unresolved.
17 The double specification of paternal origins, «de Trivisano de Ro[n]cillione», is in the record for Pietro Paolo, while that in Romolo’s is briefer: «Maxe[n]tio de
Trivisano»; cf. notes 6 and 7.

18 «I Farnese, decisi a fare di Ronciglione anche la capitale industriale del Ducato, facilitarono l’afflusso di maestranze e di imprenditori provenienti dall’Italia
settentrionale e centrale» (The Farnese family, having decided to make Ronciglione also the industrial capital of the Duchy, encouraged an influx of workmen and
employers from northern and central Italy), FRANCESCO M. D’ORAZI, Ronciglione capoluogo della Pier Contea Farnesiana, p. 77, in «Tullio Cima, Domenico Massenzio e la
musica del loro tempo, Atti del convegno internazionale (Ronciglione 30 ottobre – 1° novembre 1997)», edited by Fabio Carboni, Valeria De Lucca and Agostino
Ziino, IBIMUS, Rome, 2003. In this connection mention may also be made of the noteworthy presence, in the same book of baptisms, of names accompanied by
toponyms referring to localities in central and northern Italy: «de Pistoia», «lombardo», «longobardj», «piacentino», etc. «L’arrivo di manodopera lombarda ed emiliana»
(The arrival of manufacturing labour from Lombardy and Emilia) is confirmed by SAVERIO FRANCHI, in Le impressioni sceniche, Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura, Rome,
1994, p. 227.
19 The name Treviso or Trevigi, with multiple variants, is recorded by Vasari, for example, in the Vite (Lives), where he writes of the painters Girolamo da Trevigi, also
known as «il Treuisi», or Paris Bordon, «nato in Treviso da padre trivisano» (born in Treviso of a Trevisan father).
20 Massenzio was also represented in many anthologies that contained music by various composers, from 1616 (Selectae cantiones excellentissimorum auctorum…, edited by
Fabio Costantini) to 1646 (Motetti d’autori eccellentissimi…, edited by Benedetto Pace).

21 PAOLO AGOSTINI, Libro quarto delle messe in spartitura, Giovanni Battista Robletti, Rome, 1627; the mention of Massenzio occurs in the lengthy dedication «alli molto
Illustri Signori, e Patroni Osseruandissimi Li Signori priori, e popolo della Commvnita di Vallerano» (to the most illustrious lords, and reverend patrons the lords
prior, and the people of the community of Vallerano).
22 (He entered as a seminarist in the year 1606. He studied for four years and was a perfect musician. With the study and the music he progressed so much that he
came to be maestro di cappella of the Seminario, composing very well. He also lived very virtuously and was an example to the seminarists of a holy life. After having
served the Seminario as maestro, he was provided with a benefice in S. Maria in Via Lata with which he withdrew to lead a spiritual life while being a priest of good
example to all of that choir. He printed in music six sets of books which are much esteemed by persons of that art. He now lives dedicated to the service of the said
church and to giving himself to the spirit, living as a priest extremely correctly. In the year 1643 he printed a book of psalms which he dedicated to General Fr.
XXXV
Venne chierico l’anno 1606. Studiò quattro anni et era Musico perfetto. Con lo studio e musica si portò tanto auanti che
uenne ad essere Maestro di Cappella di Seminario componendo molto bene. Visse anco molto virtuosamente e fu
d’essempio a chierici di santa vita. Doppo aver servito il Seminario per Maestro, è stato provisto d’un Beneficio in
S. Maria in Via Lata 23 con che si è ritirato a far vita spirituale con esser sacerdote di buon essempio a tutto quel Choro.
Ha stampato in musica sei mute di libri che sono molto stimati da Persone dell’arte. Hora vive attendendo a servire la
chiesa detta ed a darsi allo spirito vivendo da sacerdote molto dabene. Nell’anno 1643 stampò un libro di Salmi
dedicandolo al P. Vitelleschi Generale.
His concern for the «vita spirituale» (spiritual life) perhaps contributed to the undeserved obscurity of Massenzio in the
overcrowded cultural panorama of Rome in the early seventeenth century. His origins too, neither noble nor leisured, presumably
confined his career within bounds that accorded not with artistic value but with social status.
His path was eased on several occasions, however, by Odoardo Farnese, if not directly then at any rate through policies undertaken
by him. At that time Ronciglione, «capoluogo della Pier Contea Farnesiana»24 (principal town of the Pier Contea Farnesina), was at the
peak of its splendour; following Pope Paul III’s grant to his own son Pier Luigi Farnese25, it benefited from economic and cultural
development that profoundly transformed it, almost doubling the population. Throughout the territory that was subject to the Farnese
family extraordinary artistic developments came about, as a result of the investment of huge financial resources.
In Rome, where Domenico moved when very young for the sake of his studies, the luxury of a dense throng of men of culture and
art disguised the so-called ‘crisis of the 1600s’26. The ambitious town plan laid out by Sixtus V towards the end of the sixteenth century
and added to by the pontiffs who followed him extended Rome to the size that it retained up until 1870, developing the historic
architectural appearance which still marks it out today. The Council of Trent had inaugurated a series of major reforms: despite the
many dramatic events that took place, such as the condemnation of Giordano Bruno to the stake, the trials of Tommaso Campanella
and Galileo Galilei, the frequent epidemics, and the plagues of 1629-30 and 1656, the Roman church, in order to revive its image, had
undertaken a course of action designed for purposes of propaganda and the prestige of the papacy on the international stage. The
carrying out of this programme had conspicuous effects on all aspects of the art and culture of the period: Caravaggio, the Carracci,
Bernini, Borromini, Maderno, Pietro da Cortona were only some of the protagonists of the baroque revival of Rome. The presence in
the city of music schools as good as any in Europe and a solid demand for music, particularly liturgical music, meant there was a
significant number of highly qualified musicians. The papal court and the dense network of influential religious entities (churches,
convents, confraternities, but also the seminaries, another outcome of the Council of Trent) that were spread across the territory in
notable quantities, together with a wealthy and powerful aristocracy, often with family ties to the papacy, provided the finance for a
variety of artistic undertakings.
In these florid and variegated surroundings, Domenico27 was admitted as a boy singer to one of the most important music schools
in Rome: S. Luigi dei Francesi. This was around 159828 and the maestro was Giovanni Bernardino Nanino. Massenzio was probably
placed among the pueri choriales in the way described by Alberto Cametti in the biographies of the ‘chief pupils’ of S. Luigi dei Francesi:
«questi piccoli cantori, il cui numero variò da due a quattro, dovevano avere un’età tra gli otto e gli undici anni, ed erano ceduti dai
genitori, mediante contratto stipulato dal notaio segretario della congregazione di S. Luigi, alla congregazione stessa, e per essa ai rettori,
fino al momento, cioè, in cui avessero conservato “vocem puerilem bonam et aptam ad cantandum”»29 (these young singers, whose
number varied from two to four, had to be aged between eight and eleven, and were given over by their parents, under the terms of a
contract fixed by the notary secretary of the Congregation of S. Luigi, to the Congregation itself, and through it to the rectors, for as
long, that is, as they should still have “vocem puerilem bonam et aptam ad cantandum”, ‘a child’s voice good and suitable for singing’).
However, there was a tendency in quite a few cases to prolong the boys’ stay 30; it was a fact that the training of each new apprentice was
Vitelleschi), R. CASIMIRI op. cit., p. 11. The chapter is the «Parte Terza delli Annali del Seminario Romano Nella quale contiene una Scelta degl’Huomini Illustri,
ch’hanno fatto grandi Riuscite doppo esser stati educati nel medesimo Seminario» (third part of the Annali del Seminario Romano, containing a selection of illustrious
men, who have had great successes after being educated in this same Seminary). The previous manuscript of Nappi, conserved in the RCGU Archive under the mark
Hist. 145, mentions Massenzio in the list of seminarists «illustri in scienze» (illustrious in sciences).
23 R. CASIMIRI, op. cit., p. 11, note 2, writes «il CAMETTI, (Girolamo Frescobaldi ecc. cit. in Riv. Music. Ital. 1908, p. 745, nota 5) ci fa sapere che il Massenzio “nel 1634
dimorava in uno stabile della Madonna di Loreto al Foro Trajano ed era beneficiato di S. Maria in Montibus (Stato d’anime di S. Lorenzo in Montibus)”. Credo si tratti
di una svista del Cametti; S. Maria in Montibus deve leggersi S. Maria in Via Lata» (Cametti – in Girolamo Frescobaldi ecc. cit. in Riv. Music. Ital. 1908, p. 745, note 5 –
informs us that Massenzio ‘in 1634 resided on the premises of the Madonna of Loreto in the Foro Traiano and had the benefice of S. Maria in Montibus (Stato d’anime
of S. Lorenzo in Montibus)’. I believe there is a slip here on Cametti’s part; S. Maria in Montibus should read S Maria in Via Lata). Casimiri’s observation is confirmed
by an examination of the document in question; cf. the table of ‘Stati delle Anime’ at the end of the present text, ‘S. Lorenzo ai Monti, anno 1634’.
24 cf. the account of the historical setting in F. D’ORAZI, Ronciglione capoluogo…, op. cit., p. 75ff.; cf. another work by the same author: F RANCESCO D’ORAZI, Aspetti
culturali, benessere economico e pubbliche allegrezze nella Ronciglione farnesiana e barocca: nota storica introduttiva, in «Stamperie carte e cartiere nella Ronciglione del 17. e 18. secolo:
atti della giornata di studio presso la sala riunioni della Cassa rurale e artigiana, 26 ottobre 1991», edited by Francesco M. D’Orazi, Centro Ricerche e Studi,
Ronciglione, 1996.
25 The Duchy of Castro and Ronciglione was granted by Paul III to Pier Luigi Farnese and his legitimate descendants in 1537.
26 cf. the historical background provided by Dinko Fabris in his essay The case of Massenzio in the present volume.
27 Among the ‘justifications’ attached to expenses for the «putti della Cappella» on 11th October 1595, there appears the name ‘Domenicucio’. The diminutive form
probably refers to Domenico Allegri, who entered the Cappella in October, ALBERTO CAMETTI, La scuola dei pueri cantus di S. Luigi dei Francesi in Roma, in «Rivista
Musicale Italiana», 22, 1915, p. 609. «Gli duoi Dominici» (The two Domenicos), Allegri and Massenzio, are listed together in several ‘justifications’ from 1598 onwards;
in some of these they are distinguished as 'big Domenico' («Domenico grande» or 'Domenico maggiore') and 'little Domenico' («Domenico piccolo» or 'Domenico
minore').
28 R. CASIMIRI writes: «il piccolo Massenzio fu, circa gli anni 1595-1601, putto cantore della Cappella di S. Luigi de’ Francesi, in compagnia degli altri putti» (little
Massenzio was, around the years 1595-1601, putto cantore in the Cappella of S. Luigi dei Francesi, in company with the other putti); cf. CASIMIRI, op. cit., p. 10.
29 A. CAMETTI, La scuola dei pueri cantus…, op. cit., p. 594.
30 In comparatively recent times it could still happen in the Schola puerorum of the Cappella Sistina that the pupils who were best in vocal and / or musical terms were
advised in the last year of middle school to take the school year again, not because of deficiencies in their studies, but to extend their stay in the musical chapel. The
boys managed to sing even after their voices had broken, by the use of falsetto, thus sharing the fruits of experience. It should be pointed out, all the same, that this
happened with the consent of the families.
XXXVI
an investment, both in economic and in pedagogical terms. It may be assumed that the churches sought to put off the loss of singers
initiated in compositional techniques and long practised in singing, in possession of a repertoire that had been built up and thus fitted to
answer to liturgical requirements. For their part, the families likewise looked favourably upon their sons’ going on residing in the
ecclesiastical institutions, where they were looked after in both educational and personal terms and where they learned a profession of
some dignity, which could turn out to remunerate well. The pueri cantus, who in study and during the services sang the soprano part,
lived together with the maestro and his family for around six years31.
In the archive of S. Luigi dei Francesi is to be found the first professional testimony regarding Domenico Massenzio; this is a
receipt for payment, dated Sunday 13th May 1601. The last two lines, in an ink that today has a discoloured appearance, were written by
the hand of Massenzio, in a flowing script. This is the only autograph of his that has thus far come to light 32:
Mag.ro S. Gasparo Gaillart thesoriere della

chiesa di San Luigi vi | piacera pagare à
Domenico Massentio Cantorino di da chiesa
| scudi doi di moneta concessili dalla
Congregane questo di | 13. di maggio 1601 |
Pietro di Montorgio Lauretano | segnato a di
detti | P. di Montorgio.
Io domenico sopradetto o recivuti dal detto

gasparo li detti scudi 2 | questo di sedici di
magio Io domenico affermo quanto di sopra.
Receipt made out to Domenico Massenzio.The last two lines,

somewhat faded, are in the composer’s own hand (orig.)
Such receipts of money were a kind of ‘liquidation’ paid out to the young choristers when they left the Cappella; Jean Lionnet, in his
study La musique à Saint-Louis des Français de Rome au XVII° siècle33, without mentioning the autograph offers the hypothesis that 13th May
1601 might be the date of Massenzio’s dismissal on account of the breaking of his voice. In reality, in that period the voice would
probably already be broken at that age, but, as has been said, boys tended to stay on in the Cappella, and particularly those boys who
were most endowed with musical talent; the fifteen-year-old Domenico carried out the function of ‘cantorino’ even though of a
comparatively advanced age, given that this description could be applied either in virtue of past activity or to signify the generic
condition of ‘young singer’, or one not yet expert34.
In the same church’s records for the years 1604-1605 Domenico is mentioned as newly employed in the choir, this time as a tenor.
Regarding the particular character of his voice, the fact of his contract’s calling him a tenor is merely indicative 35, since one and the same
singer would often occupy even widely differing vocal roles36.
31 F. D’ORAZI, Ronciglione capoluogo…, op. cit., pp. 93-94, presents by way of example a notary deed of 21st January 1591, in which the pupil Alessandro Costantini is
entrusted to Bernardino Nanino. Cametti’s biographies register, where possible, the dates of each pupil’s stay: Gregorio Allegri remained for five years, his brother for
about seven, etc.
32 (Mag.ro S. Gasparo Gaillart treasurer of the church of San Luigi, it will please you to pay Domenico Massentio cantorino of said church two scudi of money granted
to him by the Congregation this day 13th May 1601 | Pietro di Montorgio Lauretano | made out on the said day | P. di Montorgio | I Domenico the above mentioned have
received from the said Gasparo the said 2 scudi this sixteenth day of May I Domenico affirm the above), Archives des Pieux Établissements de la France à Rome et à Lorette, Fonds ancien,
liasse 42-IV, Mandata, quietantiae et alia, 1601.
33 «il faut souligner le passage à Saint-Louis de Domenico Massenzio et de Fabio Costantini. Le premier est un ancien puer de Saint-Louis qu’il a quitté le 13 mai 1601,
parceque sa voix a mué. Quand il revient comme Ténor il a donc entre 18 et 20 ans» (one must emphasise that Domenico Massenzio and Fabio Costantini passed into
Saint-Louis. The former was a sometime puer of Saint-Louis who left there on 13th May 1601, because his voice had broken. When he came back as a tenor he was
thus between 18 and 20 years old), JEAN LIONNET, La musique à Saint-Louis des Français de Rome au XVII° siècle, in «Note d’archivio per la storia musicale», n. s., year III,
1985, suppl., p. 23.
34 Even though it is from a different geographical area, one cannot fail to mention the famous little manual by Banchieri, whose title is precisely ‘cantorino’, and which
contains practical instructions for the liturgy, with a subtitle that characterises those for whom the work was intended; cf. ADRIANO BANCHIERI, Cantorino | vtile a
novizzi, e Chierici Secolari, e Regolari, principianti del Canto Fermo alla Romana, Heirs of Bartol.[omeo] Cochi, ad instanza di Bartolomeo Magni, Bologna, 1622, facs. Forni,
Bologna: «a chi legge. Havendo composto o raccolto il presente cantorino […] hò giudicato farne alcune copie per uso universale di qualsivoglia giovinetto Religioso
principiante di Canto Fermo» (to the reader. Having written or compiled this present cantorino […] I have thought to make several copies of it for the general use of
any young religious starting out in cantus firmus), p. 3.
35 At this period, the tenor sang in a central tessitura, lower than the one which later became usual, from the period of ‘bel canto’ onwards. For further discussion of the
practice of transposition in classical polyphony, reference may be made to the well-known article by PATRIZIO BARBIERI, ‘Chiavette’ and modal transposition in Italian
practice (c.1500 - 1837), in «Recercare», vol. III, 1991, pp. 5-79.
36 In the Renaissance, as is explained in a well-known sixteenth-century letter of Camillo Maffei, singers were not identified with vocal roles; rather, there was an
appreciation for singers who were readily able to manage any sort of tessitura: «e per il contrario, poi se ne trovano alcuni, ch’il basso, il tenore, & ogni altra voce, con
molta facilità cantano; e fiorendo; e diminoendo con la gorga, fanno passaggi, hora nel basso, hora nel mezzo, & hora nell’alto, ad intendere bellissimi» (and by
contrast there are also some who sing the bass part, and the tenor, and every other voice with great facility; and fiorendo and diminuendo with the gorga, they execute
passaggi, now low down, now in the middle, & now high up, most beautiful to hear); cf. GIOVANNI CAMILLO MAFFEI, Delle lettere del Signor G. C. M. da Solofra libri due:
dove tra gli altri bellissimi pensieri di Filosofia e di Medicina v’è un discorso della voce e del modo d’apparar di garganta senza maestro, Raymundo Amato, Naples, 1562, p. 29. The
practical effect of this sort of outlook persists in the seventeenth century; singers are not yet bound to a single specific vocal role, and can «fingere» (adopt) every type
of voice. Lionnet recounts, in relation to Giovanfrancesco Brissio, that «on le trouve comme jeune garçon soprane à la Cappella Giulia […] en avril et mai 1577; de
julliet 1580 à janvier 1581, il y tient une place de contralto. Le 16 octobre 1587, commence sa collaboration avec Saint-Louis […] mais cette fois comme ténor. En mai
1596, le trésorier de Saint-Louis précise qu’il est contralto et aussi luthiste.» (he is met with as a boy soprano in the Cappella Giulia […] in April and May 1577; from
July 1580 to January 1581, he has a place as a contralto. On 16 th October 1587, his involvement at S. Luigi begins […] but this time as a tenor. In May 1596, the
XXXVII
Massenzio embraced the double career of priest and musician, obtaining a reputation at the same time as «sacerdote molto dabene»
(an extremely correct priest) and as autore eccellentissimo. On 1st September 1606, he entered as a seminarist the Seminario Romano,
governed by the Company of Jesus37. The catalogue kept in the Jesuit archive gives a small glimpse of the curriculum of studies within
the seminary; Massenzio is listed among those who were allowed to advance in 1609 into the rhetoric class38. More interesting is the
next document, dated to 1609-1610. This is the Catalogus eorum qui iuxta ordinem facultatum operam hoc anno litteris dabunt in seminario…
Inspecting the list of students «qui ad rhetoricae classem promoventur»39, for each of which a short assessment is given, one reads:
«Dominicus Maxentius, cuius apollinaris virtus si quanta in cantibus apparet, tanta in poetica eluxeris facultati: sublimi feries sidera
vertice,| Nancisceris enim pretium nomenq. poetae»40.
The assessment made of Domenico Massenzio during his studies at the Seminario Romano, facsimile
Domenico’s ‘report card’ for musical subjects was superlative; his artistic training was perhaps further enriched by work with the
maestri then in office in the seminary itself, probably Agostino Agazzari and Giovanni Francesco Anerio41. In the seminary some genuine
musical activities took place. A fragment inserted between the pages of the early version of the Annali of Girolamo Nappi contains the
following: «1607. Nel Carnevale di quest’Anno dalli Chierici fù fatta una Pastorale Italiana messa in musica da Stefano Landi»42 (1607. At
Carnival this year there was performed by the seminarists an Italian Pastoral put to music by Stefano Landi). Stefano Landi43 was a
seminarist at the Seminario Romano, and took his leave of the institution on 20th July of that year; almost certainly, Massenzio took part
in that and other internal musical events, and in doing so displayed the qualities subsequently attributed to him in the Catalogus. Some
years later, Romolo Massenzio belonged to the same seminary. He was to make his vows on 1st January 161544 as a ‘coadiutore
temporale’45 (lay assistant) to the Jesuits, but from as early as 1616 his name no longer features on the Roman registers, and in fact he
would die in Naples on 16th November 1622, while still in his thirties46.
treasurer of S. Luigi specifies that the contralto is also a lutenist), J. LIONNET, op. cit., p. 12. In a comparable way, Vincenzo Ugolini, who was maestro di cappella after
Brissio, «est engagé comme contralto à Saint-Louis, à partir du mois de juillet, et le trésorier indique dans la marge ‘olim puer chori’. Il réapparait à Saint Louis, cette fois-
ci comme basse, du 1er mai 1600 jusqu’à la fin de 1601» (is employed as a contralto, beginning in the month of July, and the treasurer indicates in the margin ‘olim puer
chori’. He reappears at S. Luigi, this time as a bass, from 1st May 1600 up to the end of 1601), J. L IONNET , op. cit., pp. 13-14.
37 «Anno i606 […] Domenico Massentio Da Roncilioni p.° sett. 25 sett. 610 Benef.to in S.M. in V. l. [Lata]» (Year 1606 […] Domenico Massentio from Roncilioni 1st
Sept. 25th Sept. 610 Beneficed in S. M. in V. l. [Lata]), G. NAPPI, op. cit., vol. I, p . 29 (APUG, Cod. 2800).
38 Rom. 238, (Archivum Romanum Societatis Jesu, ARSI), folio 106.
39 (Who are promoted to the rhetoric class).
40 Rom. 238, (ARSI), f. 110; a double paraphrase of Horace: «sublimi feriam sidera vertice», Q. HORATIUS FLACCUS, Odes, I-36, and «nanciscetur enim pretium nomenque
poetae», Q. HORATIUS FLACCUS, De arte poetica, v. 299 (Domenico Massenzio, of Apollonian virtue, if you go on to shine with poetic ability as great as the ability that is
manifest in your songs [your musical composition], you will reach as high as the stars. Thus will you acquire the prestige and the name of a poet); for the second verse,
cf. also the 17th-century translation by Metastasio: «che il pregio e il nome di vati acquisteran», Opere di Pietro Metastasio, volume XII, p. 133, Dal Gabinetto di Pallade,
Florence, 1819.
41 R. CASIMIRI, op. cit., p. 11, gives the following: «[…] il nostro Massenzio ebbe occasione di poter approfittare della scuola sì dell’Agazzari, sì dell’Orgas, sì forse anche
dell’Anerio» ([…] our Massenzio had the opportunity to profit from the school of Agazzari, as well as from that of Orgas, and perhaps from that of Anerio too). The
claim regarding Orgas was rebutted by Francesco D’Orazi, who noted that Orgas (c.1590-1629) was a contemporary of Massenzio (F. D’ORAZI, Ronciglione capoluogo…,
op. cit., p. 94); G. NAPPI, op. cit., vol. II (APUG, Cod. 2801), p. 555, recounts: «anno MDCVII - Nell’anno 1607 XXXXIII della fondatione del Seminario Romano 2° di
Paolo V […] entrorono per chierici nove sogetti. Uno fu Annibale Orgas Romano, era soprano al Germanico, il cui rettore lo presenta, mastro di capella, poi di nuovo
al Germanico come mastro di cappella» (the year MDCVII – In the year 1607, XXXXIII since the foundation of the 2nd Seminario Romano of Paul V […] nine
individuals entered as seminarists. One was Annibale Orgas Romano, he was a soprano at the [Collegio] Germanico, whose rector presents him, maestro di cappella, later at
the Germanico again as maestro di cappella); cf. also vol. I (APUG, Cod. 2800), p. 29, where the dates of entry to and departure from the seminary are reproduced; Annibale
Orgas Romano’s sojourn as seminarist was only three years long, from 12th May 1607 to 26th April 1610.
42 G. NAPPI, Hist. 145.
43 Born in Rome and baptised on 26th February 1587, Stefano Landi had entered the Seminario Romano in 1602.
44 Archivum Romanum Societatis Iesu, Ad gradum admissi 1541-1773, Iuxta formulas votorum in arsi asservatas, vol. 5, Romae Ital. 43, 4, Rome, 1994.
45 The typewritten Glossario Gesuitico of 1992 gives this clarification of the term, which is no longer used today «COADIUTORES (Coad.): religiosi della Compagnia di
Gesù, istituiti dal Fondatore per aiutare i professi. Ai professi incombevano le cariche principali, sia di ministero sacerdotale, sia di governo. […] I Coadiutores temporales
sono religiosi laici chiamati Fratres, fratelli coadiutori. Possono ricoprire, ad eccezione del governo, tutte le cariche che non esigono il sacerdozio, per esempio uffici di
procuratori, amministratori. Per lo più assicurano gli uffici domestici. Ma se hanno il talento possono esercitare le belle arti, e anche insegnare nella scuola elementare»
(COADIUTORES (Coad.): religious of the Company of Jesus, constituted by the Founder as assistants to those who have taken vows. The latter bore the main duties,
whether of the priestly ministry or of management. […] The Coadiutores temporales are lay religious called Fratres, coadiutor brothers. They can perform, apart from
management, all the duties that do not require the priesthood, for instance duties of procurators, administrators. For the most part they take care of domestic duties.
But if they have the talent they can practise the fine arts, and also teach in the elementary school). A famous instance of this was the painter Andrea del Pozzo.
46 «Massentius, Romulus, (Neap.) 16-XI-1622 – Hist. Soc. 42, 80v», JOSEPHUS FEJÉR S.J., Defuncti primi saeculi societatis Jesu, 1540-1640, pars I, Romae, 1982; Hist. Soc., 42,
Defunti 1557-1623. Saverio Franchi has noted that a certain Romolo who was first soprano at S. Giovanni in Laterano from December 1612 until the end of October
1615 could be the brother or another relative of Domenico Massenzio (cf. WOLFGANG W ITZENMANN, L’apprendistato di Tullio Cima a San Giovanni in Laterano, in
«Tullio Cima, Domenico Massenzio… Atti del Convegno», op. cit., pp. 404, 405, 408 and note 27). This soprano Romolo had lodgings in the house of the maestro
Abundio Antonelli together with the other boy singers, respectively the younger brother of Antonelli, Angelo Antonelli, and Tullio Cima from Ronciglione. Antonelli
gave service until 20th July 1613. From July 1613 Giacomo Benincasa became maestro, and from 25th July 1613 «Romulo sop. to ricominciò à servire per soprano, et stà
da se» (the soprano Romolo resumed service as soprano, and lived independently). In his study, Witzenmann puts forward the hypothesis that Romolo was in fact a
young castrato and not a boy soprano, given that he was replaced by the famous castrato Virgilio Puccitelli. The departure of the soprano Romolo from S. Giovanni
substantially coincides with the time for which Romolo Massenzio is no longer recorded as being at the Roman base of the seminary. In connection with members of
XXXVIII
On 24th June 1608 Domenico Massenzio received his confirmation47, and, after a failed attempt to gain admission as a tenor to the
Cappella Sistina on 19th December of the same year48, sang as a tenor in the Cappella Giulia from 12th September 1610 to 30th April
161149. The employment at S. Pietro coincides with his departure from the Jesuit seminary, on 25th September 1610.
For a young priest leaving the seminary, the search for economic resources to secure survival was a problem not always solved
straight away; the then numerous clergy was obliged to support itself while avoiding ‘secular’ occupations not in keeping with the moral
rectitude which the Counter-Reformation church intended to ensure in its ministers. Those who had a personal income, as the nobility
did, could dedicate themselves freely to the ecclesiastical career. By contrast, for those who, like Massenzio, had no family inheritance
available to them, obtaining a benefice 50 was among their first concerns; music was a dignified way of giving service to the church.
Massenzio set out with conviction on this path, dividing his activities between the tasks of performing and composing. In 1612 he made
his entrance into the world of music publishing with the publication in Rome of the first book of the Sacrae cantiones; in the frontispiece,
he put the words «D. IO. BERNARDINI NANINI Discipulo», presenting himself to the notice of readers as a pupil of one of the most
authoritative musicians in the Roman area at the time51. These first compositions already display unquestionable technical command,
and are written for varying forces; in particular the dialogue Quanti mercenarii is a rendering of the parable of the prodigal son, showing
the composer’s close attention to the modern tendencies of Roman music in the early baroque. At the time Massenzio was canon of the
Collegiata of Ronciglione, as may be read on the frontispiece both of that first book and of his second, published in 1614: Collegiatae
Ecclesiae Roncilionensis Canonico. But this canonry, though it was an office which combined prestige with income, was highly limiting, in
that it entailed an obligation to reside in Ronciglione. Massenzio was instead attracted to Rome, where he had pursued studies both as a
priest and as a musician and where he already had musical contacts and responsibilities both actual and emerging. Other members of his
family transferred to Rome as well, Romolo moving to the Seminario Romano and Paolo Massenzio being recorded as present in Rome
from as early as 160552.
Ordained a priest on 17th September 1612, Domenico celebrated his first sung mass in the Chiesa del Gesù, a mass to which had
been invited «li Principali Musici di Cappella del Papa e fu solennissima»53 (the principal musicians of the papal chapels, and it was most
solemn). From 1612 until September 161654 he was again in the Seminario Romano, this time as maestro di cappella55. Between 1614 and
1618 Massenzio published two further books of motets and the first book of Psalms, in which he described himself as maestro of the
Casa Professa of the Gesù56.
The decision to entrust this position to Massenzio originated within the ‘Congregazione dei Nobili’, a Roman institution connected
to the Jesuits57:
Adi 21 Marzo [1615] sabbato mattina […] discorendosi del | bisogno che tiene la Cong.ne di un Mastro di Cappella per
la | musica delli mercordì della Quaresima, delli venerdì dell | Avvento et per il tempo dell’oratione delle Quarant’hore,
Domenico Massenzio’s family, Casimiri makes another contribution: «come curiosità che ci fa conoscere un altro Massenzio e ricorda un famoso musicista, riproduco
qui dal Liber Confirmatorum S. Joannis Lateranens. (An. 1605) le seguenti notizie: “Parrocchia di S. Nicolò a Nauona: Nicolò d’Oratio Crescentio et Agata Urbani ro:
[romana]: C. [compare] S.r Paolo Massentio da Ronciglione. – Apollonia di Oratio Crescentij da Frosinone et d’Agata. C. Paolo Quagliati. L’Oratio Crescentij da Frosinone
non può essere il famoso cantore pontificio Orazietto: l’amicizia tuttavia del musicista Paolo Quagliati non potrebbe insinuare trattarsi d’un parente?», R. CASIMIRI, op.
cit., p. 12 (as a curiosity acquainting us with another Massenzio and calling to mind a famous musician, I reproduce here from the Liber Confirmatorum S. Joannis
Lateranens (Year 1605) the following information: “Parish of S. Nicolò at Navona: Nicolò d’Oratio Crescentio and Agata Urbani, Roman: godfather S.r Paolo Massenzio
of Ronciglione. – Apollonia di Oratio Crescentij from Frosinone and d’Agata. Godfather: Paolo Quagliati. This Oratio Crescentij from Frosinone cannot be the famous
pontifical singer Orazietto: still, could not the fact of friendship with the musician Paolo Quagliati suggest that we have here a relative?). In the same Liber
Confirmatorum of 1605 are also recorded the confirmations of «Filippo d’Oratio Crescentio, et di Agata ro:» (Filippo d’Oratio Crescentio, and Agata, Roman) and
«Andrea di Battista Mazzapini», for which the ‘godfather’ is again ‘S.r’ Paolo Massenzio of Ronciglione. One could thus judge with some plausibility that this latter was
the elder brother of Domenico, Pietro Paolo, resident at Rome and perhaps closely connected with a number of important Roman musicians. The Stati delle Anime
reproduced below reveal that in the thirties Domenico Massenzio himself had Gregorio Allegri as a neighbour.
47 Archivio Storico del Vicariato di Roma, Parrocchia Lateranense, Confirmati ab anno 1608 usque ad annum 1609, f. 153. For completeness’ sake, Casimiri specifies that
on 6th March 1610 Massenzio: «fu promosso ad primam tonsuram; il 15 agosto 1611 all’ordine minore del lectoratus (non ho rintracciata la data di promozione
all’ostiariatus); il 21 agosto 1611 all’exorcitatus, il 28 agosto 1611 all’accolytatus, e innalzato al sacerdozio, come s’è visto, nel Settembre 1612» (was promoted to the prima
tonsura; on 15th August 1611 to the minor order of lectoratus (I have not found trace of the date of promotion to the ostiariatus); on 21st August 1611 to the exorcitatus; on
28th August 1611 to the accolytatus, and was raised to the priesthood, as has been seen, in September 1612), R. CASIMIRI, op. cit., pp. 12-13.
48 Several authors record this information: J. L IONNET , op. cit. p. 23, and various biographies, such as JEROME ROCHE/GRAHAM DIXON in New Grove, under
‘Massenzio, Domenico’; S. FRANCHI in Dizionario Biografico, op. cit., etc.

49 A. CAMETTI, Girolamo Frescobaldi in Roma, in «Rivista Musicale Italiana», XV, 1908, p. 745, note 5. At that period the maestro di cappella was Francesco Soriano; cf.
R. CASIMIRI, op. cit., p. 11, note 4.

50 L. TESTA, op. cit., p. 5, «incolto, ignorante e dai costumi talora immorali esso [il clero secolare prima del Concilio di Trento] non poteva trasmettere né la sana
dottrina, né presentarsi come modello del gregge. E forse nemmeno questa era l’idea del prete pretridentino, poiché egli era legato quasi esclusivamente all’usufrutto
del proprio beneficio, totalmente disinteressato alla salus animarum. Di fronte a queste gravi e deplorevoli condizioni del clero si presentavano un po’ dappertutto delle
alternative: non solo Lutero e i cosiddetti riformati, ma anche molti movimenti e associazioni legate alla Chiesa romana. I chierici regolari ne sono un eloquente
esempio, tra cui i Gesuiti […]» (uncultivated, ignorant and often immoral in its habits, it [the secular clergy prior to the Council of Trent] was incapable either of
transmitting sound doctrine or of being taken as a model for the flock. And perhaps this was not even the idea of the pre-Tridentine priest, since he was tied almost
exclusively to the usufruct of his benefice, and quite uninterested in the salus animarum. In the face of the grave and deplorable condition the clergy was thus in,
alternatives were on offer from all over: not only Luther and the so-called Reformed, but also many movements and associations tied to the Roman Church. The
regular clergy are an eloquent example of this, among them the Jesuits […]); p. 267: «una volta lasciato il Seminario, il giovane chierico ordinato doveva svolgere il suo
servizio presso una precisa chiesa. Gli introiti, ossia il beneficio, sarebbero stati il mezzo di sostentamento per il giovane sacerdote» (once he had left the Seminary, the
young ordained seminarist had to provide service in a specific church. The incomings from this, that is, the benefice, would have been the young priest’s means of
support).
51 In that very same year, Nanino published in Rome, once again at Zannetti’s press, the Madrigali a cinque… libro terzo. A further nineteen years later, in the dedication
of the Psalmodia Vespertina of 1631, Massenzio would write again of having been a disciple of that «maestro tanto segnalato» (maestro so much spoken of).
52 cf. note 46.
53 R. CASIMIRI, op. cit., p. 11; cf. also G. NAPPI, Annali, op. cit. vol. II, (APUG, Cod. 2801), p. 612.
54 R. CASIMIRI, op. cit., p. 12; G. MORCHE, Massenzio, Domenico, in MGG.
55 cf. R. CASIMIRI, op. cit., p. 12.
56 «Illustrissimorum Sodalium B. V. Assvmptae In Aedibus Professorum Societatis Iesv Romae Musicae Præfecto».
57 cf. GIUSEPPE CASTELLANI, La congregazione dei Nobili presso la chiesa del Gesù in Roma, Tip. M. Danesi, Rome, 1954.
XXXIX
che | si mettono in Chiesa dalla Cong.ne per la domenica di Carnevale | et altri tempi fra l’anno fu resoluto da frelli
sopdetti Con | gregati che si obligasse in questo offitio il P. Domenico Masẽ | tio, ch’al presente serve il Seminario
Romano, et ch’ha sup | plito nelli bisogni della Cong:ne sino a questo tempo con mol | ta amorevolezza et p obligarlo
tanto maggiormte havendo | risoluto il d. Domenico Massentio tratenersi continuamente in Roma | et p cio essergli
neccessario di rinuntiare un Cano | nicato, che tiene in Ronciglione sua patria quale l’obliga | alla residentia et p cio non
potendo conseguire l’intento | suo di tirarsi avanti nel suo esercitio, se non gli se prove | deva da vivere d’altra parte, li
frelli congregati come sopra || determinorno, et stabelierno di constituirgli un entrata di scudi | venti da pagarsegli ogn
anno sino a questo tempo, che egli sa | rà provisto altrove di equivalente entrata, il che si spera che sia | per succedere
presto per le sue bone qualità, et Virtù et p la bona | intentione datagli dal M.mo Sig. Card.le Mellini Vicario p la bona |
informatione et concetto che tiene della qualità della sua psona | et per ciò fu risoliuto farne Instrumento publico et
Autentico | per il sabbato seguente58.
Thus it was that the following week, on Saturday 28th March, the ‘Authentic Instrument’, or contract, was fixed:
The financial disposition of the Congregazione dei Nobili

in relation to Domenico Massenzio, facsimile
Adi 28 marzo 1615 […] Doppo nella Cong.ne segreta radunati li frattelli della Cong.ne della Vene- | ratione del S.mo
Sacramento si stipulò l’Instrumento Autentico | per gl’Atti del Seraveno Not.o Cap.o dove d.a Cong.ne si obligo di | dare
scudi venti di m.ta l’Anno al P. Domenico Masenti M.° | di Cappella del Seminario Romano a effetto di sorvire la |
Cong.ne nelle Musiche che si sogliano fare frà l’Anno per servitio | della Cong.ne et questo sinché il detto Domenico sia
prouisto di | Benefitio Equivalente59.
Despite the polemics engaged in regarding the appropriateness of musical performances within the liturgy, in 1616 the music of
Domenico Massenzio secured the approval of listeners: «la composizione della musica fu fatta di nuovo da Domenico Massenzio
chierico e Maestro di cappella del Seminario che la pose in stampa… li musici furono li migliori di Roma a tre chori come si vedono in
sala con molt’Istrumenti»60 (the music was newly composed by the seminarist Domenico Massenzio, maestro di cappella of the Seminary,
who had it put into print… the musicians were the best in Rome in three choirs as seen in the hall with many instruments). On 26th
November of the same year, for the second and last time, he sat unsuccessfully the examination for admission to the Cappella Sistina.
By that time he was, however, a successful musician, and already had behind him at least three varied publications made up entirely of
music he himself had composed 61 as well as figuring in the Selectae cantiones excellentissimorum auctorum collected by Fabio Costantini.
58 (On 21st March [1615], Saturday morning […] there being a discussion of the Congregation’s need for a Maestro di Cappella for the music of the Wednesdays of
Lent, the Fridays of Advent, the period of prayer of the Forty hours, the Sunday of Carnival, and other moments of the year with which the Congregation have to do
in church, it was decided by the above-mentioned brothers in Congregation to employ in this position Father Domenico Massenzio, who at this date is in service at
the Seminario Romano, and who has hitherto responded to the needs of the Congregation with fond devotion; to oblige him all the more, since the said Domenico
Massenzio had decided to remain continuously in Rome and for this reason had been compelled to give up a canonicate belonging to him in his home town of
Ronciglione, which carries the obligation of residing there, and thus not being able to attain his purpose of continuing in his [professional] activity unless some other
way were provided of making a living, the brothers congregated as above settled and resolved to establish for him an income of twenty scudi to be paid to him
annually for as long as he was not supplied with an equivalent income from another source, the which it is hoped will soon happen to him for his good qualities and
virtue and the good intention shown him by M.mo [the most munificent?] Sig. Cardinal Mellini Vicario, on account of the good information and conception he has
regarding the quality of his person, and therefore it was decided to make the public and official contract for the following Saturday), Archivio della Congregazione dei
Nobili (ACN), Tomo XXI, ff. 160v, 161r.
59 (On 28th March 1615 […] afterwards in secret congregation, the assembled brothers of the Congregazione della Venerazione del Santissimo Sacramento resolved
upon the Authentic Instrument through the acts of the chief notary Seraveno, where the said Congregation engaged itself to give twenty scudi of money per year to
Father Domenico Massenzio Maestro di Cappella of the Seminario Romano, for the purpose of his giving service to the Congregation in the music customarily made
during the course of the year by order of the Congregation itself, and this until the said Domenico be provided with an equivalent benefice), ACN, Tomo XXI, ff. 161r,
161v.
60 The occasion was the Messa novella sung by the seminarist Sebastiano de Paoli, mentioned by Nappi and reproduced as such by Casimiri (R. CASIMIRI, op. cit., p. 12
and note 2). As Nappi noted, Sebastiano de Paulis, of Nepi, entered the Seminario Romano on 27th October 1603 and left it on 3rd February 1617. He then became
bishop of Sutri and Nepi; G. NAPPI, op. cit., vol I (APUG, Cod. 2800), p. 28.
61 Besides the first, second and third books of motets, which came out in 1612, 1614 and 1616, there remains a doubt concerning a composition which Girolamo
Nappi refers to as being in print, again in 1616; unfortunately, no trace has yet been found of this composition; cf. also CASIMIRI, op. cit., p. 12 and note 1 thereto.
XL
The third book of motets, Sacrorum cantuum… of 1616, was the only work of his whose publication was not in Rome; it was
published in Ronciglione at the press of Domenico de Dominicis62 and was dedicated to Massenzio’s fellow-citizens. On Saturday 16th
November 1619, the Congregazione dei Nobili discussed the question of whether to go on maintaining Massenzio’s position (and
stipend), given that he had been nominated to a benefice at S. Maria in Via Lata. Departing from what had previously been settled, and
in consequence of inquiries regarding the intentions of the composer, who ‘showed himself very ready to continue to give service’ («si
mostrò prontissimo in seguitare il servitio»), the brothers in congregation gave their ordinance:
Sabbato 16. [novembre 1619]

[…] si trattò se la Congreg.ne si dovesse più servire di D. Domenico Massentio p Mastro di Capella, stando che già era
fornito [sic] l’obli- | go di darli i venti scudi l’anno p esser egli stato provisto d’un Bene- | fitiato di S.ta Maria in via Lata
e fù rissoluto, che mentre egli volesse | servire, gli si dasse la med:a provisione p essersi sempre portato bene, | e fù
ordinato al Seg.rio che penetrasse il pensiero del d.o D. Dom:co quale | ricercato di ciò dal d.o Seg.rio si mostrò
prontissimo in seguitar il servi- | tio della Congreg.ne. Si ordinò al Depositario Novo, che si facesse dare le | scritture, e
pigliasse le Informationi che bisognavano dal Seg.r Gio: Batta | Nazarij, poi si disse l’Ave Maris Stella ed la solita
Oratione.63
From 13th November 1612, the holder of the diaconate64 of S. Maria in Via Lata was Cardinal Odoardo Farnese, who evidently
consented to Domenico Massenzio’s having this double privilege. Dedicatee of the composer’s first book of motets in 1612, Prince
Odoardo, alias Cardinal Farnese, had supplied the Gesù church, which had previously been financed by his uncle Alessandro Farnese,
with 100,000 scudi as funding for the building of accommodation, known as the Casa Professa of the Jesuits and constructed, after a
design by Girolamo Rainaldi, next to the church itself. It was almost certainly because of this order’s close dependence on the Farnese
family that it was with them that Massenzio carried out a part of his activities. On 1st February 1620, official note was made of the
position of the Congregazione dei Nobili in regard to an initiative undertaken by Don Domenico that was at odds with the
arrangements made by his superiors:
Sabbato p.o di feb: [1620]

[…] et essendo stato riferito che il Massentio Mastro di Capella | haveva chiamato li Musici p il Carnevale, e p la
Quaresima senza | darne parere alli ss.ri Deputati sopra la Musica, fù determinato che | il d. Massentio nella Musica di
Carnevale si governassi conforme | all’ord.e che gli darà Mons. Franc.o Cecchini, e che egli non debba | intrigarsi nella
Musica della Quaresima, volendo la Congre- | gatione valersi di quei Musici, che parerà alli ss.ri Deputati so- | pra ciò,
poi si disse l’Ave Maris Stella65.
Massenzio, «ch’ha supplito nelli bisogni della Congregatione sino a questo tempo con molta amorevolezza» (who has hitherto
responded to the needs of the Congregation with fond devotion), was much appreciated by Cardinal Mellini and the other Nobili «per la
bona informatione et concetto che tiene della qualità della sua persona […] per essersi sempre portato bene» (on account of the good
information and conception he has regarding the quality of his person […] for having always conducted himself well). Besides his moral
attributes there were «le sue bone qualità» (his good qualities) on the musical side. Despite this, the document reproduced above shows
that the relationship was not always a happy one; the position of subordinate dependent was clearly circumscribed. But who were the
‘Nobles’? The Congregation «fu detta fin dal principio dei Nobili, tali essendo per nascita e pietà le persone che la fondarono e dipoi vi
entrarono in più di tre secoli e mezzo della sua vita» (was called of the Nobles from the very outset, the persons who founded it being such
both by birth and in piety, and likewise those who entered it subsequently, over the more than three and a half centuries of its life); it
was thus made up of aristocrats but not exclusively of Romans. In fact «ebbe sempre carattere di associazione religiosa di gentiluomini
d’ogni paese, viventi però nell’eterna città»66 (it always had the character of a religious association of gentlemen from every country, who
lived in the eternal city); its members included nobles, popes, cardinals, men of culture or moved by fervent devotion, «aristocrazia di
mente e di cuore»67 (an aristocracy of mind and heart). The society was also engaged in an enlightened practice of artistic patronage, in
return for which it demanded the greatest degree of obedience. Notwithstanding this incident, Domenico Massenzio was still employed
for the musical functions organised at this location 68; the last of the many payments made to him by the Congregation bears the date
28th June 162569.
62 Saverio Franchi has taken up this topic more than once; besides the essay Notes on the Editions of the Music of Domenico Massenzio in the present volume, cf. also the
same author’s Le Impresssioni Sceniche, op. cit., particularly the chapter concerned with the Dominicans, at pp. 225-234, in which one finds among other things some
information regarding the history of Ronciglione.
63 (Saturday 16th [November 1619] | […] deliberations were held as to whether the Congregation should continue to employ the services of Don Domenico
Massenzio as Maestro di Cappella, given that the obligation to give him twenty scudi per year had already lapsed as a result of his having been provided with a benefice
at S. Maria in Via Lata, and it was decided that, if he wished to go on giving service, the same provision would be rendered to him for having always conducted himself
well, and the Secretary was ordered to inquire about the intentions of the said Don Domenico, who, asked about this by the Secretary, showed himself very ready to
continue his service to the Congregation. An order was given to the new agent to obtain the writings, and to get the needful information from Secretary Giovanni
Battista Nazario, and then the Ave Maris Stella was said, and the usual prayer), ACN, tomo XXII, f. 14r.
64 S. Maria in Via Lata was one of the four Palatine deaconries, whose cardinals were assistants to the pope in celebrations of the liturgy.
65 (Saturday 1st February [1620] | […] and it having been reported that Maestro di Cappella Massenzio had summoned the musicians for Carnival and for Lent without
giving notice to the deputies in respect of the music, it was resolved that the said Massenzio in the music for Carnival would abide by the order to be given to him by
Monsignor Francesco Cecchini, and would not involve himself in the matter of the music for Lent, since the Congregation wished to avail itself of those musicians
whom the deputies would judge appropriate; then the Ave Maris Stella was said), ACN, Tomo XXII, f. 18r.
66 G. CASTELLANI, op. cit., p. 39.
67 ibid., p. 75.
68 Morche writes: «für Meßstipendien, die er erst 1626 an den päpstlichen Sänger Martino Lamotta abgab, erhielt Massenzio außerdem jährlich 40 scudi» (as stipend for
the mass, which only in 1626 he handed on to the papal singer Martino Lamotta, Massenzio received 40 scudi yearly), GUNTHER MORCHE, «Un impedimento della
divozione»? Domenico Massenzio in der Congregazione de’ Nobili zu Rom, in «Tullio Cima, Domenico Massenzio… Atti del Convegno», op. cit., p. 238 and p. 235.
69 ACN, tomo XXIX, Registro delli mandati dal 1617 al 1691; this register contains 29 orders for payment to Domenico Massenzio.
XLI
Concurrently with the activities performed for the ‘Nobili’, Massenzio had again been at the Seminario Romano as maestro di
cappella between April and December 1623; he had moreover taken part in the processions of the Arciconfraternita della Morte in
162270 and of the Arciconfraternita del Gonfalone in the Jubilee year of 162571; Gunter Morche also mentions his contacts with the
Collegio Inglese (until 1626) and the Oratorio degli Spagnoli, while Smither reports the presence of Massenzio at the Oratorio del
Crocefisso72.
On 21st February 1626 Cardinal Odoardo died, and so the bond that united his subject Massenzio to the Jesuit order was loosened.
For Massenzio, that bond never entirely lapsed, and he addressed the nuncupatoria of his printed works to a variety of Jesuits: to Cardinal
Benedetto Giustiniani (1614), Ferdinando Ximenez (1632), Nuno Mascarenho (1636) and to the octogenarian Father Muzio Vitelleschi,
who had been a supporter of the music in his own person73, and to whom the composer would dedicate the publication of 1643, the last
one that was in its entirety his own.
The church of Jesus, Rome. On the right, the Casa Professa of Jesus,
where meets the Nobles’ Sodality; engraving by Giovan Battista Falda
The loss of his engagements with the Jesuits resulted in a turn in Massenzio’s musical career; impelled by practical needs and in
search of new professional engagements, he succeeded in reinventing himself artistically. Paolo Agostini, himself a pupil of Bernardino
Nanino, had on 17th February 1626 become maestro of the Cappella Giulia, a post he retained until his death in the plague of 1629. He
had a sincere esteem for Massenzio, to the point of including him in the list of the musicians who lent lustre to the country around
Vallerano, his own home town, as in the quotation given above. After Agostini’s appointment, in the Cappella Giulia «nel 1626 […] per
la festività di S. Pietro batteva al secondo coro Domenico Massenzio, il quale, anche nel 1627 disimpegnava il medesimo ufficio» 74 (in
1626 […] for the feast of St. Peter Domenico Massenzio gave the beat for the second choir, as he did in 1627 as well) and again in the
years 1634 and 163775. But the most obvious change in the composer’s activities was the resumption of musical publication, after eleven
70 G. MORCHE, op. cit., pp. 227-228.

71 NOEL O’REGAN, Domenico Massenzio, Tullio Cima, and Roman Confraternity Celebrations in the Early Seventeenth Century, in «Tullio Cima, Domenico Massenzio… Atti del
Convegno», op. cit.., p. 266.
72 HOWARD E. S MITHER , The Latin Dramatic Dialogue and the Nascent Oratorio, in ‘Journal of the American Musicological Society’, vol. 20, no. 3, p. 408.
73 «[…] et il P. Mutio Vitelleschi G[ene]rale stimò per maggior decoro della Chiesa aggiungere altri quattro Musici di buone voci: e questi si mantenevano, uno dal p:
G[ene]rale, e gli altri da’ P[ad]ri Assist.i, et il Semin.rio oltre i Chierici cantori, quattro musici, e M[aest]ro di Cappella per alcuni anni contribuì al P. Prefetto della Chiesa
sc.di sessanta quattro l’anno per un Organista, e una Voce nobile […]» (and the General, Fr. Mutio Vitelleschi, decided, for the greater ornament of the church, to add
four further musicians with good voices: and these received maintenance, one from the Father General and the others from the Assistant fathers, and the seminary,
besides the seminarist singers, four musicians, and the maestro di cappella, for a number of years contributed to the Father Prefect of the church sixty-four scudi annually
for an organist, and a noble voice), ROM., 143, II, f. 504. Vitelleschi is well known also for having kindly sent to Louis Berger some lute-strings, as requested by the
brother in 1622 in a letter to the Father General. Berger, a Frenchman, had entered the Company of Jesus in 1614; after departing to Latin America, he was the first
person to teach music in the Missions; cf. Diccionario Histórico de la Compañia de Jesús biográfico-temático, III, Rome, Madrid, 2001, p. 2778.
74 A. CAMETTI, Girolamo Frescobaldi…, op. cit., p. 745.
75 A. CAMETTI, Girolamo Frescobaldi…, op. cit., p. 746.
XLII
years in which essentially it had been suspended; in fact, in 1618 he had brought out one Regina caeli76 in the collection of works by
various authors put together by Fabio Costantini77, and in 1627 he had had reprinted the Psalmi qui in Vesperis… of 161878. In 162979 he
at last came forward in public again with a new publication, the Scelta di madrigali, canzonette, villanelle, romanesche, ruggieri, his only one on a
text not in Latin. It was not an extravagant rentrée: the compositions keep faith with a ‘well-mannered’ treatment of text and music, and
many of them are spiritual arias in the true sense. Adopting forms borrowed from secular genres, the Scelta shows a preference for
textual subjects of a kind dear to musicians of philippine background, and engages also, though in a modest way, with the artifice of
‘travestimento spirituale’, which in those years was coming to have steadily greater popularity. The poetical texts80 are, in the order in
which they appear in Massenzio’s collection, by Francesco Beccuti, Battista Guarini, Torquato Tasso, Bernardo Tasso, Ottavio
Rinuccini, and Giambattista Marino; the other compositions are without named authors, while Vostro fui, vostro son by Bernardo Tasso
and Alma mia dove te n’ vai? by Ottavio Rinuccini are, precisely, contrafacta.
Between 1630 and 1632 Domenico Massenzio published fully four new books of music: Completorium Integrum, Psalmodia Vespertina,
Sacri Mottetti and Salmi Vespertini, the last of these in two variants and with two different dedicatees, the Florentine noble Ferdinando
Ximenez and Giovanni Pietro Casanova. In the dedication to Casanova, Massenzio, who was usually quite calm when expressing his
states of mind, takes up a stance in relation to the music of the time; this is the only occasion on which he openly reveals his way of
thinking. From his words there emerges a conscious pride, but also a certain dissatisfaction:
Gli fò sapere81, che la presente Opera è aspettata, e desiderata da molti Huomini Intelligenti, alli quali ricordando, che
essendo essa opera à quattro voci non vi può essere quella armonia, che si ritroua nelle Compositioni à due, & a più
Chori, massimamente che è composta con qualche studio, e con diuersi soggetti, il propio de’ quali è impouerire le
Compositioni di consonanze. Dicendo di più, che io potrei mandare alla Stampa opere di stile graue Antico, ma
douendo l’huomo conformarsi col vso, e col gusto moderno le tengo appresso di me, per saper benissimo che alli
Cantori di hoggidi sono più accette le vaghezze, & i fioretti musicali, che li studij & i maturi frutti di essa musica […]82
The output of composers of the seventeenth century is marked by an extreme degree of variety, and there takes shape a tendency
which attempts at the outset to reconcile tradition and transformation, acquiring distinctive characteristics which are to be exhibited in
an increasingly emphatic way with the new generations. The contrapuntal training which Massenzio had received was exceedingly solid,
and had enabled him to assimilate in toto the distinctively ‘Roman’ features of the school of Nanino. His critical stance, which anyway
was not unique, did not express a merely nostalgic attitude of opposition to novelty; rather, he was aware of certain implications of the
new directions of stylistic and musical change present in the suggestive alterations that could be detected in the music of the century
which had just begun. This changed style was characterised by the ever fuller and more definite use of the concertato form and the basso
continuo, features which had been at home in Massenzio’s output right from the beginning.
One of the polemics among musicians of the period was precisely about the basso continuo. From the end of the sixteenth century
and through the seventeenth it came to replace, under a variety of labels, spartiture and cumbersome tablatures. Its figuring offered
undoubted advantages in respect of notational concision, but could prove at times rather imprecise and did not always quite correspond
to the concurrent vocal or instrumental parts83. The increasing importance of ‘vertical’ harmonic relations made for some loss in the
‘horizontal’ purity of melodic lines. Another factor that was prejudicial to the previous musical language was the insistent rise of
monody, an effective means of expressing the ‘affetti’ which offered to open up new frontiers of emphatically declamatory style.
Polyphonic writing was weakened by this, and the application of contrapuntal techniques was gradually but inexorably lessened.
One may see a possible confirmation of Massenzio’s predilections, almost a homage to the style of the past, in the Magnificat sine
organo84 in the first book of Psalms of 1618, his only composition without basso continuo. Even if certain hints of modernity do betray
the later date of the composition, various elements of the sixteenth-century Schola Romana style of writing are plainly recalled 85.
The practice of setting the music for instruments, whether to replace missing vocal parts or to double those that were sung, was
already quite widespread by the end of the 1500s and constitutes one of the features characteristic of seventeenth-century writing-styles,
76 DOMENICO MASSENZIO, Opera omnia, vol. VI, p. 169, Composizioni sparse, [3.] Regina caeli.
77 «Scelta de Salmi […] à 8, Magnificat, Antifone, cioè, Regina caeli, Ave Regina caelorum, Alma Redemptoris. Et Litaniae della Madonna. De diversi eccellentissimi
autori. Post’ in luce da Fabio Costantini romano maestro di Cappella dell’illustrissima città d’Orvieto con il basso continuo per l’organo. Libro quinto. Opera seconda»,
Bartolomeo Zannetti, Orvieto, 1620.
78 D. MASSENZIO, Opera omnia, vol. III, Psalmi qui in Vesperis… liber primus [Libro primo dei salmi].
79 NINO PIRROTTA, Musiche profane di Domenico Massenzio, in «Tullio Cima, Domenico Massenzio… Atti del Convegno», op. cit., 1997, p. 321 gave 1639 as the date of this
publication of Massenzio’s, whereas JOACHIM STEINHEUER, La “Scelta di Madrigali, Canzonette, Villanelle…” di Domenico Massenzio. Classicismo spirituale nella Roma
controriformata dei Barberini, in «Tullio Cima, Domenico Massenzio… Atti del Convegno», op. cit., p. 349ff. and S. FRANCHI, Annali…, op. cit., pp. 625-626, are inclined to
reject the double manuscript correction in the frontispiece and dedication (in the frontispiece, the Roman numeral ‘I’ of the year of printing ‘ M.D.C.XXIX’ is deleted and
an ‘X’ is added at the end, so that one reads: ‘M.D.C.XX XX’; whereas in the dedication a mark added below the figure ‘2’ in the date «15 dicembre 1629» at the foot of
the page turns it into 1639).
80 cf. D. MASSENZIO, Opera omnia, vol. VI, Composizioni sparse, pp. XLIV-XLIX, Variant readings identified in the Italian texts, where the verses set by Massenzio are
reproduced in original printings, drawn from first editions or from editions of the period in which the composer lived.
81 The author addresses himself directly to the dedicatee of the Salmi, the «molto Illustre e Gentilissimo Signore […] Gio. Pietro Casanova».
82 (I inform you that the present work is awaited and desired by many men of intelligence, and I recall to them that since this is a work for four voices it cannot display
that harmony which is found in compositions for two or more choirs, especially given that it is composed with some care, and with several subjects, whose
characteristic is to render the composition scanty in dissonances. Furthermore, I could have works published in the solemn ancient style, but since one is bound to
conform to modern taste and practice, I keep them to myself, knowing perfectly well that the singers of today are more taken with vaghezze and fioretti musicali than with
the study and the ripe fruit of that other music […]); cf. the complete text of the dedication in DOMENICO MASSENZIO, Opera omnia, vol. IV, Salmi vespertini… libro terzo,
op. XI [Libro terzo dei salmi], p. XXXI.
83 With regard to the inconsistency between the figuring of the bass and the vocal parts, cf. Editorial Remarks, 2. CONTINUO FIGURING, particularly notes 13 and 14.
84 cf. D. MASSENZIO, Opera Omnia, vol. III, p. 57, Psalmi qui in Vesperis… liber primus [Libro primo dei salmi], [8] Magnificat sine organo.
85 In regard to the Magnificat sine organo and certain elements in it that recall the linguistic and formal arrangements of the past (such as the usual ligatura cum opposita
proprietate, corresponding to two semibreves, but present here in varied rhythmic combinations too, for instance with the second figure with a punctum additionis, or in
‘mezza coloratura’ followed by a minim denigrata, in the figuration typical of color minor); cf. in particular notes 53-58 of the Editorial Remarks in the present work.
XLIII
at that time still taking shape; the earliest printed basso continuo
part in fact goes back to 159486. In his publications prior to the
first book of Psalms, Massenzio had inserted at the head of a
number of compositions the words «con Organo, e senza» 87
(with organ, and without), or «si possono cantare con Organo, e
senza» (can be sung with organ, and without), leaving it to
performers to choose ad libitum.
Performance with voices and instruments was an approach
that was ‘fashionable’ in early seventeenth-century Rome. The
illustration on the dust jacket of the present edition reproduces a
piece of evidence regarding the performing forces usual at the
time: it is a painting by Lionello Spada (1576-1622), an artist
from Bologna who was probably also active in Rome around
1608, and then again in around 1610-1611. The canvas88 is today
among the holdings of the Galleria Borghese, even though it
does not appear in the relevant inventories from the seventeenth
century. Spada follows the new trend among painters of being
interested in musical subject-matter, and in this work he depicts
in realistic manner some aspects of musical performance. As was
customary, the singers are all male, with a puer in the centre of
the composition surrounded by a theorbo-player, a violinist, a
trombonist and a flautist who seems to be giving instructions to
the youngster. The elegant and richly-dressed male figure in the
foreground is giving out part-sheets to those present. The care
which the painter has given to the details permits one to make
out something of the music: one can identify the soprano part,
already given to the violin, the alto, for the trombone, and the
tenor, which is still in the hands of the senior member of the
group; the notational signs and characteristic figures are
scrupulously represented: longae, breves, ligaturae, etc. The ensemble
reproduces to a degree of approximation those that were
widespread in the Roman churches89, as indeed it does the
instrumentation of the motets of Massenzio documented in the
Collectio maior 90 of Palazzo Altemps (violin, lute, harpsichord,
organ, theorbo and violone).
A survivor from the extremely rich library of that Roman
family, the Collectio was written out by different copyists, all of
them operating in the first quarter of the seventeenth century;
some of them, such as Luca Orfei da Fano, Domenico Page from the Stati delle Anime of S. Stefano del Cacco for 1635.
The names of Gregorio Allegri and Domenico Massenzio
Brancadoro, the composer Felice Anerio, author of 111 titles are to be found on folio 46v, at the bottom left (orig.)
contained in the manuscript collection 91, and possibly Martino
Lamotta, have been identified by Couchman92, but contributions were made also by Alessandro Costantini. The latter’s involvement is
indicated by the wording on the organ’s part-book «questa è mano dell. sigr Cavalier Costantini, Voce mea»93. The collection was almost
certainly put together upon a commission from the owners of the same Palazzo, where it was probably used for performances of music
86 GIOVANNI CROCE, Mottetti a otto voci, Giacomo Vincenti, Venice, 1594; cf. also SALVATORE CARCHIOLO, Una perfezione d’armonia meravigliosa, LIM, 2007, p. 29. As
regards the basso continuo, cf. also Penna and the other treatises cited in Editorial Remarks, under heading 2. CONTINUO FIGURING, in the present volume.
87 As is well known, the term ‘organo’ did not necessarily refer to the instrument of that name. The markings cited are in the Stabat Mater and the Litaniae Beatae Mariae
Virginis, in Motecta… liber secundus, 1614; cf. D. MASSENZIO, Opera Omnia, vol. I, p. 207, no. [25] Stabat Mater and no. [31] Litaniae Beatae Mariae Virginis, Motecta… liber
secundus [Libro secondo dei mottetti].
88 The canvas might have been executed during the short period of his Roman stay, but the view most widely accepted among art historians is still that of Maurizio
Calvesi, who assigns it to the period 1615-1620.

89 cf. by way of illustration the cappella of S. Luigi dei Francesi on the occasion of the patron saint’s feast day in the Jubilee year 1600: «Lista de cantori che hanno
servito il giorno di S. Luigi 1600 […] Terzo choro […] Un altro tenore et il cornetto del’aquila - Leuto - Un altro violino - Organo et organista - Accordatura
dell’organetto - Una tiorba - Doi altri tromboni» (List of singers who gave service on S. Luigi’s day 1600 […] Third choir […] Another tenor and a cornet of Aquila -
Lute - Another violin - Organ and organist - Tuning of the little organ - A theorbo - Two other trombones); Archives des Pieux Établissements…, cit., liasse 42-III,
Giustificazioni, 1600, no. 120.
90 The Collectio maior is so called to distinguish it from the Collectio minor of the same library, which contains a smaller number of compositions; cf. LUCIANO LUCIANI,
Le composizioni di Ruggero Giovannelli contenute nei due codici manoscritti ex biblioteca altaempsiana, detti «Collectio major» e «Collectio minor», in «Ruggero Giovannelli “Musico
eccellentissimo e forse il primo del suo tempo”. Atti del Convegno Internazionale di Studi (Palestrina e Velletri, 12-14 giugno 1992)», edited by C. Bongiovanni and
G. Rostirolla, Fondazione Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Palestrina, 1998, p. 281 and note 3.
91 cf. in this connection L. LUCIANI, op. cit.
92 JONATHAN PAUL COUCHMAN, Musica nella cappella di Palazzo Altemps a Roma, in «Lunario romano», vol. XV, Palombi, Rome, 1985, pp. 167-183.
93 cf. facs.:
cfr. facs.:
Brother of the older Fabio Costantini, likewise a musician of merit, «Alessandro Cavalier Constantino Romano» was maestro di cappella of the Seminario Romano just as
Domenico Massenzio had been; cf. G. NAPPI, Annali, op. cit., vol. I (APUG, Cod. 2800), p. 45.
XLIV
in the private chapel. In the codex, which is constituted of several books, corresponding to the various voices, there appear the names
of a number of musicians in vogue in the early seventeenth century in Rome 94. The compositions of Massenzio’s are the motets
Emendemus, Homo quidam, Salvum me fac, Sitientes95, The last three of this group are the only works of the composer currently known of
that are scored for specified instruments, but it is uncertain whether this was the composer’s doing or was rather something introduced
at the copying stage. The Sitientes contains some uncommon pieces of notation, the interpretation of which is addressed in the essay A
mensural muddle in the Altemps ‘Sitientes’, by Claudio Dall’Albero, in the present volume. There are two opera dubia: Laudate pueri, referred to
in some books as anonymous but as Massenzio’s in others, and Lamentabatur Iacob, by Benincasa, where however Massenzio’s name
appears lightly crossed out and in abbreviated form, «D.co M.tio», in the index of the part-book of the Altus of choir I.
The Altemps Laudate pueri is a motet for eight voices and basso continuo in the composer’s limpid style: solo passages set against
tutti in homorhythmic blocks articulated in tripla, episodes of dialogue between the two choirs and between solo voices, count in favour
of its attribution to Massenzio. By contrast, the Lamentabatur Iacob is a typical double-choir polyphonic motet in the style of the Schola
romana, still very close to sixteenth-century compositional procedure; although it is thus stylistically alien to the features characteristic of
Massenzio’s output, its being the work of the priest from Ronciglione cannot be ruled out with certainty.
Apart from the Collectio of Palazzo Altemps, there remain several other manuscript compositions, specified further on, in the
Chronology of the Works. Investigation of the sources of the music for the completion of the Opera omnia has in addition led in the case of
one work that was hitherto thought incomplete to the tracing of all its parts. This motet is to the same text as the Altemps Sitientes, but
apart from a vague similarity at the incipit, due probably to the identical prosody, it turns out to be a musical creation entirely different
from its namesake. It appeared in print in the collection: Motetti d’autori eccellentissimi… Seconda raccolta di D. Benedetto Pace monaco silvestrino,
produced at the press of Paolo and Giovanni Battista Serafini in Loreto in 1646, practically isolated from the other works of the by now
aged composer.
Between 1629 and 1636 Massenzio published eight books in eight years, apparently seeking out alternative channels for the
diffusion of his works. In 1631 he wrote the Sacri Mottetti, «da potersi cantare si da voci ordinarie come ancora da monache» (to be sung
by ordinary voices or again by nuns), by way of a musical choice that was unusual in Rome at that period. He also tried to export his
music into the new lands of Brazil, as he made explicit in the dedication of the Psalmi Davidici96 of 1636.
His composing activities went on beyond the mid-1640s, taking the form mostly of settings of psalms, prayers that lent themselves
to continual musical updating in view of their presence in large numbers in the daily offices of the liturgy.
After 1646, the name of Domenico Massenzio did not appear in any further new publications. He led the life of a good priest until
his death, which happened in the house where he had lived, near to the church of Sts. Vincenzo and Anastasio, in the zone of the Trevi
fountain of today, on Tuesday 23rd October 1657. This may have been in the presence of Domizia and Francesco Mattioli97, apparently
cohabitants of his that year (in 1656 the Mattiolis, mother and son, had been registered in the Stati delle Anime as next-door
neighbours98). The following day Massenzio was buried at S. Maria in Via Lata in the common tomb of the benefice-holders, in
accordance with the instructions he had left in his will.
EPILOGUE
Rome, 10th October 2008, 2.30 pm. An exploration among the tombstones of S. Maria in Via Lata has made it possible to locate the
place into which was laid, the day after his death, the body of the beneficed dean Domenico Massenzio. Identification of the likely
burial-place is assisted by an inscription in the marble:
BENEFICIATORUM
ET
CLERIC.RUM BENEFIC.RUM
Once the heavy block of stone, tightly attached to the floor as a result of the long period of closure, has been raised, another slab is
found to be barring access to the small chamber below99. This time the removal is simpler, but one realises straight away that little or
nothing is left. The flooring of the crypt is entirely covered in dusty remains, with pieces of wood, now reduced to the consistency of
soft sponge, fragments of bones, among which is discernible part of a cranium, and few other traces: the remains of a piece of fabric, a
thin cord. The walls are bare and rough, the air warm, humid and heavy; no sign of wealth, and the clear evidence of the subordinate
rank of holders of benefices in comparison with canons, whose more impressive funerary slab is conspicuously visible on the other side
of the church.
94 There are present in the Collectio maior: Felice Anerio, Giovanni Francesco Anerio, Giacomo Benincasa, Ottavio Catalano, Giovanni Andrea Dragoni, Ruggero
Giovannelli, Rubino Mallapert, Domenico Massenzio (with 4 compositions, plus 2 of uncertain attribution), Giovanni Bernardino Nanino, Giovanni Maria Nanino,
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Giovanni Battista Riva, Francesco Soriano, and 59 compositions by unnamed composers; cf. L. LUCIANI, op cit., p. 285.
95 D. MASSENZIO, Opera omnia, vol. VI, Composizioni sparse, nos. [14], [15], [16] and [17].
96 As on previous occasions, Massenzio produced a double edition of this work, one in Italian, the Libro sesto de’ Salmi Davidici…, and one in Latin whose title was
simply Psalmi Davidici. There were likewise two dedicatees, respectively Giovanni Angelo Bertazzoli and Nuno Mascarenho. The original dedication of the latter edition
is reproduced in D. MASSENZIO, Opera omnia, vol. V, Libro sesto de’ Salmi Davidici… op. XVI [Libro sesto dei salmi], p. XXVI.
97 cf. the table of the Stati delle Anime.
98 The possibility is not to be excluded that there may be errors in the records of the periodic Anime censuses. Likewise it is impossible to know whether Francesco
Mattioli is the same ‘student Francesco’ of Ronciglione of the 1630s, who was perhaps a music student, and in that case would probably have been a pupil of
Domenico’s. The surname Mattioli is still found in Ronciglione today.
99 The internal measurements of the crypt, as established during this exploration, are: height 165 cm., breadth 168-162 cm., length 256 cm.
XLV
The story of Massenzio’s life illustrates, better perhaps than that of many famous personages, whose special talents were combined
with a substantial dose of good fortune, the daily situation of artists whose efforts were scarcely ever recompensed with success that was
commensurate with their worth. His career is not made up of exceptional events; he was not noble or rich; he did not live in the courts
of princes, popes, or other persons eminent in power; if he enjoyed affective relations, short or long-lived, these were not public; he
never gave rise to any scandal. He was a wise man, of great talent, cultivation and initiative, a shrewd and independent-minded manager
of his music, which he has delivered down the years to us.
Sublimi feries sidera vertice.
Two stages of the opening of the tomb in S. Maria in Via Lata, where Domenico Massenzio was buried
STATI DELLE ANIME
S. STEFANO DEL CACCO, years 1626-1630 and 1631-1633
1630-1631; f. 85r [Via Camigliana] In casa della Sig.ra Flamini[a] / f. 84v [Via Camigliana] In casa della Sig.ra Flamini[a] /
[Via Camigliana] 100 In house of Sig.ra Flamini[a] [Via Camigliana] In house of Sig.ra Flamini[a]
Domenico Massentio S.r Gregorio Allegri Cãtre di N. S.

Anna sua serva Beatrice sua sorella
Francesco di Ronciglione studente / Giovãna serva /
Domenico Massentio S.r Gregorio Allegri singer of N. S.
Anna his servant Beatrice his sister
Francesco of Ronciglione student Giovanna servant
1631; f. 10v Via Camigliana – Casa di m.a Flaminia / Via Camigliana – Casa di m Pietro /
Via Camigliana – House of m.a Flaminia Via Camigliana – House of m Pietro
S.r Domenico Massentio p. sacerdote S.r Gregorio Allegri Cantore di N. S. p. sacerdote

Anna sua serva S.ra Beatrice sua sorella
Francesco studente / Giovanna serva /
S.r Domenico Massentio priest S.r Gregorio Allegri singer of N. S. priest
Anna his servant S.ra Beatrice his sister
Francesco student Giovanna servant
100 Via Camigliana, or Camilliana, corresponds to the present Via del Piè di Marmo.
XLVI
1632; f. 27v Via Camigliana – Casa di m.a Flaminia Orlandi / Casa di Pietro Marciaro /
Via Camigliana – House of m.a Flaminia Orlandi House of Pietro Marciaro
S.r Domenico Massentio prete sacerdote S.r Gregorio Allegri Cantore di N. S. p. sacerdote
Anna sua serva / S.ra Beatrice sua sorella
S.r Domenico Massentio priest Giovanna serva /
Anna his servant S.r Gregorio Allegri singer of N. S. priest
S.ra Beatrice his sister
Giovanna servant
S. LORENZO AI M ONTI, year 1634
1634; f. 4v Isola di Loreto (casa n. 15) /

Block of Loreto (house no. 15)
Sig. Domco Massentio benef.to di S. M. in via Lata /

Sig. Domco Massentio holder of benefice at S. M. in via Lata
S. STEFANO DEL CACCO, years 1626-1630 and 1631-1635
1635; f. 46v [Via Camigliana] In da Casa [di Pietro Marciaro] / [Via Camigliana] In detta Casa [di Pietro Marciaro] /
[Via Camigliana] In said House [of Pietro Marciaro] [Via Camigliana] In said House [of Pietro Marciaro]
Sig.r Domenico Massentio Sig.r Gregorio Allegri Cantor di N. S.

Anna sua serva / Sig.ra Beatricha sua sorella
Sig.r Domenico Massentio Giovanna serva /
Anna his servant Sig.r Gregorio Allegri singer of N. S.
Sig.ra Beatricha his sister
Giovanna servant
SS. VINCENZO E ANASTASIO IN TREVI, vol. III years 1653-1666
1656; f. 55 Isola in faccia il Con.to mano manca /

Block opposite Convent, left-hand side
– Domitia Matteoli
Francesco figlio /
– Domitia Matteoli
Francesco son
Domenico Massentio /
Domenico Massentio
1657; f. 67 Isola in faccia il Con.to mano manca /

Block opposite Convent, left-hand side
D. Dom[eni]:co Massentio
Fran[ce]sco Mattioli
– Domitia m[ad]re /
Domenico Massentio
Francesco Mattioli
– Domitia mother
XLVII
CHRONOLOGY
28th March 1586 born in Ronciglione, third son of Massenzio and Elisabetta after Pietro Paolo (born in 1579) and
Romolo (born in 1583)
1598 ca. enters the school of S. Luigi dei Francesi as a ‘putto cantore’, under Bernardino Nanino
13th May 1601 completes his apprenticeship as a ‘cantorino’ in the school of S. Luigi
1604-1605 sings as a tenor in the musical cappella of the same church
1st September 1606 enters the Seminario Romano as seminarist
24th June 1608 receives confirmation
19th December 1608 competes for admission to the Cappella Sistina
September 1609 is admitted to the Rhetoric class at the Seminario Romano
6th March 1610 receives his first tonsure
12th September 1610 - sings as a tenor in the Cappella Giulia

30th April 1611
25th September 1610 leaves the Seminario Romano
15th August 1611 is ordained lettore
21st August 1611 is ordained exorcist
28th August 1611 is ordained acolyte
1612 is nominated canon of the Collegiata of Ronciglione
1612 enters the world of music publishing with the first book of motets: Sacrae Cantiones… liber primus
17th September 1612 is ordained priest, officiates at his first sung mass at the Chiesa del Gesù
1612-September 1616 is maestro di cappella at the Seminario Romano
1614 publishes Motecta… liber secundus
28th March 1615 gives up the canonicate in Ronciglione in favour of an appointment as maestro di cappella of the
Congregazione de’ Nobili
1616 composes the music for the mass of the seminarist Sebastiano de’ Paoli, for triple choir and
instruments101, now lost
1616 Fabio Costantini publishes M.’s Vidi speciosam in: «Selectae cantiones excellentissimorum
auctorum…»
1616 publishes Dominici Massentii… Sacrorum Cantuum… liber tertius
1618 publishes Sacrarum Modulationum… liber quartus
1618 publishes Psalmi qui in Vesperis… liber primus
101 cf. CASIMIRI, op. cit., p. 12 and note 1 thereto.

XLVIII
1618 Fabio Costantini publishes M.’s Laudent te Domine in: «Scelta di mottetti di diversi eccellentissimi
autori…»
before 16th November 1619 acquires the benefice of S. Maria in Via Lata
1620 Fabio Costantini publishes M.’s Regina caeli in: «Scelta de Salmi à 8…»
1622 participates in the organisation of the music for the processions of the Arciconfraternita della
Morte
16th November 1622 Romolo Massenzio dies in Naples
1625 participates in the organisation of the music for the Jubilee prepared by the Arciconfraternita del
Gonfalone
21st February 1626 Cardinal Odoardo Farnese dies
1627 publishes Psalmi qui in vesperis… liber primus, (reprint in 1618)
1629 publishes Scelta di Madrigali…
1630 publishes Completorium Integrum… opus octavum
1631 publishes Psalmodia Vespertina… opus nonum
1631 publishes Sacri Mottetti… libro quinto, opera decima
1632 publishes Salmi Vespertini… libro terzo, opera undecima
1634 publishes Libro quarto de’ Salmi per il Vespero… opera duodecima, in two variants, with two different
dedicatees
1635 publishes Quinto libro de’ Salmi Vespertini… opera quintadecima
1636 publishes Libro sesto de’ Salmi Davidici… opera decimasesta and Psalmi Davidici… opus decimum sextum,
a Latin edition of the foregoing
1640 Vincenzo Bianchi publishes M.’s Amasti amato amante in: «Raccolta d’arie spirituali…»
1642 Domenico Bianchi publishes M.’s Laetabitur deserta, Exsurgat Deus, Beatus vir and Veni hodie in:
«Sacrarum modulationum…»
1st November 1643 publishes Davidica Psalmodia Vespertina… liber septimus, opus XVII
1643 Florido de Silvestris publishes M.’s Congratulamini and Salvum me fac in: «Floridus Concentus …»
1646 Benedetto Pace publishes M.’s Sitientes in: «Motetti d’autori eccellentissimi…»
23rd October 1657 dies in Rome in the house near Ss. Vincenzo e Anastasio a Trevi
24th October 1657 is buried at S. Maria in Via Lata
XLIX
CHRONOLOGY OF THE WORKS

YEAR TITLE DEDICATEE102
Printed Compositions
1612 Sacrae Cantiones… liber primus, Bartolomeo Zannetti, Rome Odoardo Farnese
1614 Motecta… liber secundus, Bartolomeo Zannetti, Rome Benedetto Giustiniani
1616 perhaps a composition (a mass?) for triple choir and instruments, lost103
1616 Sacrorum Cantuum… liber tertius, Domenico Dominici, Ronciglione The citizens of Ronciglione
1618 Sacrarum Modulationum… liber quartus, Bartolomeo Zannetti, Rome Nicolò Doni
1618 Psalmi qui in Vesperis… liber primus, Bartolomeo Zannetti, Rome Ottavio Doni
1627 Psalmi qui in Vesperis… liber primus, Paolo Masotti, Rome (reprint of 1618) Marcello Mansi
1629 Scelta di Madrigali…, Paolo Masotti, Rome Egidio Marazzini
1630 Completorium Integrum… opus octavum, Paolo Masotti, Rome Aurelio Policanti
1631 Psalmodia Vespertina… opus nonum, Paolo Masotti, Rome Francesco Peretti
1631 Sacri Mottetti… libro quinto, opera decima, Paolo Masotti, Rome Flavio Cherubino
1632 Salmi Vespertini… libro terzo, opera undecima, Paolo Masotti, Rome (edition in two variants) Gio. Pietro Casanova;
Ferdinando Ximenez
1634 Libro quarto de’ Salmi per il Vespero… opera duodecima, Paolo Masotti, Rome (edition in two The citizens of Ronciglione;
variants)
Felice Contelori
1635 Quinto libro de’ Salmi Vespertini… opera quintadecima, Paolo Masotti, Rome Francesco Rapaccioli
Libro sesto de’ Salmi Davidici… opera decimasesta, Paolo Masotti, Rome; Gio. Angelo Bertazzoli
1636
Psalmi Davidici… opus decimum sextum (Latin edition of the foregoing) Nuno Mascarenho
1643 Davidica Psalmodia Vespertina… liber septimus, opus XVII, Ludovico Grignani, Rome Muzio Vitelleschi
102 Information on the dedicatees of the works of Domenico Massenzio and on these persons’ relations with the composer is given by S. F RANCHI, Annali, op. cit., in
the pages concerning Massenzio’s publications.
103 cf. R. CASIMIRI, op. cit., p. 12 and note 1 thereto. Some sources also report among the
printed works of Massenzio other titles not corresponding to those in the surviving
publications of the composer so far known to us; in this connection cf.: LEONE
ALLACCI, Apes Urbanae, Christian Liebezeit, Hamburg, 1711, p. 110 (cf. adjacent
facsimile), a reprint of the original edition published in Rome in 1633, in which they are
listed at pp. 82-83 under no. 1, Li mottetti à una voce sola, Paolo Masotti, Rome; cf.
further: OSCAR MISCHIATI, Indice de libri di musica della libreria di Federico Franzini, Roma
1676, in «Indici, cataloghi e avvisi degli editori e librai musicali italiani dal 1591 al 1798»,
Florence, 1984, p. 255.
L
Scattered Compositions
1616 Vidi speciosam in: «Selectae Cantiones…», Bartolomeo Zannetti, Rome, 16161
1618 Laudent te Domine in: «Scelta di Mottetti….», Bartolomeo Zannetti, Rome, 16183
1620 Regina caeli in: «Scelta de Salmi…», Bartolomeo Zannetti, Orvieto, 16201
1640 Amasti amato amante in: «Raccolta d’Arie Spirituali…», Vincenzo Bianchi, Rome, 16402
1642 Laetabitur deserta; Exsurgat Deus; Beatus vir; Veni hodie in: «Sacrarum Modulationum…» Ludovico Grignani, Rome, 16421
1643 Congratulamini; Salvum me fac in: «Floridus Concentus…», Andrea Fei, Rome, 16431
1646 Sitientes in: «Motetti d’autori eccellentissimi…», Paolo and Giovanni Battista Serafini, Loreto, 16462
Compositions in manuscript
Dixit Dominus
ms. Rsc
Laudate pueri
ms. Rc
Emendemus; Homo quidam; Salvum me fac; Sitientes

ms. Altemps
Laudate pueri; Lamentabatur Jacob [opera dubia]

ms. Altemps
Foto del ‘Piè di marmo’, adiacente alla via omonima (ex via Camigliana), dove Massenzio visse fino al 1632
Photograph of the ‘Piè di marmo’ (marble foot), located close to the street of the same name (formerly Via Camigliana), where Massenzio lived until 1632
LI

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DOMENICO MASSENZIO. A NEW BIOGRAPHY WITH UNPUBLISHED DOCUMENTS

Trivisano»; cf. notes 6 and 7.

Fabio Costantini) to 1646 (Motetti d’autori eccellentissimi…, edited by Benedetto Pace).

Mag.ro S. Gasparo Gaillart thesoriere della

Io domenico sopradetto o recivuti dal detto

Receipt made out to Domenico Massenzio.The last two lines,

‘Massenzio, Domenico’; S. FRANCHI in Dizionario Biografico, op. cit., etc.

R. CASIMIRI, op. cit., p. 11, note 4.

The financial disposition of the Congregazione dei Nobili

Sabbato 16. [novembre 1619]

Sabbato p.o di feb: [1620]

70 G. MORCHE, op. cit., pp. 227-228.

Calvesi, who assigns it to the period 1615-1620.

STATI DELLE ANIME

S. STEFANO DEL CACCO, years 1626-1630 and 1631-1633

Domenico Massentio S.r Gregorio Allegri Cãtre di N. S.

S.r Domenico Massentio p. sacerdote S.r Gregorio Allegri Cantore di N. S. p. sacerdote

S. LORENZO AI M ONTI, year 1634

1634; f. 4v Isola di Loreto (casa n. 15) /

Sig. Domco Massentio benef.to di S. M. in via Lata /

S. STEFANO DEL CACCO, years 1626-1630 and 1631-1635

Sig.r Domenico Massentio Sig.r Gregorio Allegri Cantor di N. S.

SS. VINCENZO E ANASTASIO IN TREVI, vol. III years 1653-1666

1656; f. 55 Isola in faccia il Con.to mano manca /

1657; f. 67 Isola in faccia il Con.to mano manca /

1604-1605 sings as a tenor in the musical cappella of the same church

1st September 1606 enters the Seminario Romano as seminarist

24th June 1608 receives confirmation

19th December 1608 competes for admission to the Cappella Sistina

September 1609 is admitted to the Rhetoric class at the Seminario Romano

6th March 1610 receives his first tonsure

12th September 1610 - sings as a tenor in the Cappella Giulia

25th September 1610 leaves the Seminario Romano

15th August 1611 is ordained lettore

21st August 1611 is ordained exorcist

28th August 1611 is ordained acolyte

1612 is nominated canon of the Collegiata of Ronciglione

1612-September 1616 is maestro di cappella at the Seminario Romano

1614 publishes Motecta… liber secundus

1616 publishes Dominici Massentii… Sacrorum Cantuum… liber tertius

1618 publishes Sacrarum Modulationum… liber quartus

1618 publishes Psalmi qui in Vesperis… liber primus

101 cf. CASIMIRI, op. cit., p. 12 and note 1 thereto.

16th November 1622 Romolo Massenzio dies in Naples

21st February 1626 Cardinal Odoardo Farnese dies

1627 publishes Psalmi qui in vesperis… liber primus, (reprint in 1618)

1629 publishes Scelta di Madrigali…

1630 publishes Completorium Integrum… opus octavum

1631 publishes Psalmodia Vespertina… opus nonum

1631 publishes Sacri Mottetti… libro quinto, opera decima

1632 publishes Salmi Vespertini… libro terzo, opera undecima

1635 publishes Quinto libro de’ Salmi Vespertini… opera quintadecima

24th October 1657 is buried at S. Maria in Via Lata

CHRONOLOGY OF THE WORKS

1614 Motecta… liber secundus, Bartolomeo Zannetti, Rome Benedetto Giustiniani

1629 Scelta di Madrigali…, Paolo Masotti, Rome Egidio Marazzini

Emendemus; Homo quidam; Salvum me fac; Sitientes

Laudate pueri; Lamentabatur Jacob [opera dubia]

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