Baldassare Donato
Baldassare Donato (also Donati) (1525-1530 – June 1603) was an Italian composer and singer of the
Life
Details of his early life are unavailable; it is not even known where he was born. The first record of Donato is as a singer at St. Mark's in Venice in 1550, and he was given charge of the musical training of the boys there in 1562. When Gioseffo Zarlino took over the post of maestro di cappella from Cipriano de Rore in 1565, Donato was demoted back to being a singer; conflict between the two men seems to have been a feature of life at St. Mark's, culminating in a climactic fight in 1569, publicly and scandalously, during the Feast of St. Mark. In 1577 Donato took a position at the Scuola Grande di S Rocco, another Venetian church with an impressive musical tradition and substantial performing ensemble; however he failed to get along with his employers there as well, resigning by 1580. In 1588 he became assistant maestro di cappella at St. Mark's, while Zarlino was still alive (whether because of reconcilement or politics is not clear), and in 1590 he took over the post of his former antagonist, holding it until his death in 1603.
Music and influence
Donato represented a progressive trend in the Venetian school, which was already a progressive tradition compared to the other major contemporary Italian musical styles (especially as compared to the
Donato's sacred music is the most conservative portion of his output, usually using
Probably his greatest significance to music history is in the development of a light secular form known as the
Donato also wrote madrigals in a more serious style, as well as
References and further reading
- Article "Baldassare Donato", in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980. ISBN 1-56159-174-2
- ISBN 0-393-09530-4
- ISBN 0-486-28151-5(Note: while this book contains nothing on Donato, it has detailed and readable background on the Venetian school and associated activity at St. Mark's.)
External links
- Account of early history of St. Mark's Archived 2004-12-07 at the Wayback Machine
- Free scores by Baldassare Donato in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)