Life
A hinge figure between two eras, his training took place in the midst of late-sixteenth-century Mannerism, while his artistic maturity expressed itself fully in the first phase of the Baroque.
Serafino Cantone was born around 1565. A Benedictine monk, he developed his musical activity mainly in Milan, where he held the position of organist of the Cathedral. His presence in the Lombard city is documented starting from 1592, although some documents suggest a stay in Venice during the same period.
His fame spread well beyond Italian borders. His compositions were appreciated and published in various regions of Europe, including Bavaria, Prussia, Pomerania, and Silesia, a sign of the vitality of his musical language and his ability to adapt to the new liturgical and concertato trends of the early seventeenth century.
Cantone composed sacred music and distinguished himself in particular for the production of motets, a genre he helped renew through the skillful use of voices and elegant counterpoint. In 1605 he published the Second Book of Motets for 5 voices, followed by the Motetti concertati alla moderna (1625), in which he experimented with a language updated to the innovations of concertato practice. In 1627 he printed the Academia festevole concertata a sei voci in Milan, testimony to his creative vitality until the last year of his life.
He was also an author of madrigals, which reveal his attention to the poetic text and the expressive rendering of the sung word. He died in 1627, leaving a repertoire that testifies to the transition between Renaissance polyphony and the new forms of the seventeenth century.
Aneddoto
A European Fame
Cantone's works were printed and distributed not only in Italy but also in distant regions such as Prussia and Pomerania, a rare sign for a Milanese organist of his time.Works
Cantone's catalog includes both sacred and secular works. Among the best known are the Second Book of Motets for 5 voices (1605), the Motetti concertati alla moderna (1625), the Academia festevole concertata a sei voci (1627, Milan), and various books of madrigals. These publications testify to his versatility and ability to renew traditional genres with modern sensitivity, contributing to the spread of Italian taste in vocal music of the early seventeenth century.
Briciole di storia
The Iron Pope
When he was elected Pope in 1585 taking the name Sixtus V, the Papal States were in chaos, with bands of brigands ruling up to the gates of Rome. The elderly Pope, of humble origins and iron character, decided to solve the problem with ruthless speed, declaring a war without quarter against banditry, offering bounties, using spies, and punishing not only the criminals but also the nobles and villages that protected them. In a short time, the bridges of Rome, particularly Ponte Sant'Angelo, were filled with the severed heads of brigands, displayed as a terrifying warning. His campaign was so brutal and effective that in less than two years banditry was drastically reduced, handing down to history the image—inconceivable today—of an implacable Pope who restored order with an iron fist.
Pubblico dominio (Commons)
