Life
His entire creative arc, from formation to full maturity, consistently and exclusively took place within the Baroque period, of which he is a monumental exponent with his polychoral style.
Born in Rome in 1605, Orazio Benevoli established himself as one of the greatest masters of Italian polyphony. After his studies, he obtained important positions as maestro di cappella in several Roman basilicas.
Aneddoto
A mass for twelve choirs
During a celebration at St. Peter's, his polychoral mass with twelve choirs filled the basilica with grandiose sounds, leaving the faithful ecstatic.Works
Benevoli wrote numerous masses and motets, including celebrated polychoral masses that represent one of the pinnacles of seventeenth-century sacred music. Among these is the Missa salisburgensis, performed on the occasion of solemn festivities.
Briciole di storia
The plague that inspired Manzoni
While the Thirty Years' War raged in Europe, Northern Italy experienced the horror not so much of battles, but of their most lethal side effect. The descent of the Landsknecht mercenary soldiers, engaged in the Siege of Mantua in 1630, brought with them the plague bacillus. The epidemic spread with terrifying speed and violence, especially in Lombardy. In Milan, the population was more than halved, amidst scenes of despair and madness. It was an apocalyptic catastrophe, which two centuries later Alessandro Manzoni would forever carve into the collective memory of Italians with the unforgettable pages of The Betrothed.
Pubblico dominio (Commons)
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