Stefano Venturi del Nibbio

Stefano Venturi del Nibbio (fl. 1592–1600) was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance, active in Venice and Florence. In addition to composing madrigals in a relatively conservative style, works which were published as far away as England, he collaborated with Giulio Caccini on one of the earliest operas, Il rapimento di Cefalo (1600).

Very little is known about Venturi del Nibbio's life. In 1592 he was in Venice, presumably to supervise the printing of his first two books of madrigals (Il primo libro de madrigali, and Il primo libro de madrigali pastorali, both for five voices), and in 1593 or 1594 he moved to Florence. After 1594 his known musical connections are all Florentine, and no unambiguous mentions of his name after 1600 have yet been found.^[1]

He had a reputation as a skilful composer of vocal music, both secular and sacred, in the conservative

Venturi published a total of five books of madrigals. The earliest book, Il primo libro de madrigali of 1592, included two madrigals which were published in London with English words, one by Thomas Morley in his 1598 Madrigals to Five Voyces. In the introduction to the book Morley praised the work, and Venturi himself, as an exemplary composer of madrigals.^[1]

Notes

References

• Carter, Tim. "Rediscovering Il rapimento di Cefalo". Journal of Seventeenth-Century Music, Vol. 9 No. 1, 2003 (?)
• Strainchamps, Edmond. "Venturi del Nibbio, Stefano." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/29174 (accessed October 11, 2009).

Further reading

• ISBN 0-691-09112-9
• ISBN 0-393-09530-4

• Free scores by Stephano Venturi at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
• Complete editions of Venturi's Primo libro de' madrigali a 5 and Primo libro de' madrigali pastorali a 5 (both 1592) at: https://italianmadrigal.com, page "Master List of Composers"