Life
As the date of death is unknown, it is not possible to define his period of maturity; however, his training was situated fully within the Mannerist period.
Orazio Caccini, son of Michelangelo Caccini and older brother of the famous Giulio Caccini, was baptized in Rome in 1548. His family, originally from Montopoli in Val d'Arno, had moved to Tivoli before Orazio embarked on his musical career.
In February 1577, he reached a prestigious milestone, obtaining the position of Maestro di Cappella at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. He succeeded major figures in the musical world of the time, such as Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. He remained in this position for just over a year, leaving it in August 1578 to Nicolò Pervé.
Later, he spent a long period in Northern Italy, probably around 1580, where he dedicated himself to the composition of his works. The date of his death remains unknown. Unlike his brother Giulio, who was a pioneer of the new recitative style, Orazio remained a representative of polyphonic music.
Aneddoto
His only work
Although he held a prestigious role in Rome, Orazio Caccini published only one collection of compositions: Madrigali et canzonette a cinque voci, printed in Venice in 1585.Works
The only known work by Orazio Caccini is the collection Madrigali et canzonette a cinque voci, published on July 15, 1585. This work, dedicated to Don Ferrando (Ferrante) Gonzaga, Prince of Molfetta, was probably composed around 1580 in Northern Italy, as suggested by the dedication signed in Venice and its printing by the Venetian associates Ricciardo Amadino and Giacomo Vincenti. A single copy of the collection is preserved at the Biblioteca Estense in Modena.
Orazio Caccini's compositions are distinguished by being shorter than those of his contemporaries and for their strong emphasis on the link between sound and word. For his madrigals, Orazio sought literary texts not bound to a precise form, selecting entire poems, stanzas, or fragments from authors such as Petrarch, Tasso, Guarini, Ariosto, and Marino.
Briciole di storia
Promotions
After over thirty years of government, Cosimo I de' Medici was no longer a simple Duke of Florence, but the lord of almost all of Tuscany. He therefore aspired to a higher title that would place him on par with other European sovereigns. The opportunity came when Pope Pius V, to reward him for his zeal in the fight against heresy, decided to grant him the title of Grand Duke of Tuscany. The coronation ceremony, held in Rome, was extremely lavish, but the Pope's act was a true affront to Emperor Maximilian II, the only one who, according to the law of the time, could confer a title of such importance. Despite protests from other courts, Cosimo obtained his crown, definitively elevating the Medici family to the rank of a European royal dynasty.
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