When we think of sacred music, we think of the clergy’s role in it. Indeed, the clergy has certainly played an important role, but no less important was that played in the past by some lay groups, such as the confraternities.
I thought about this while reading a beautiful book by Antonella Nigro, Domenico Massenzio da Ronciglione. Il sublime discreto (Domenico Massenzio da Ronciglione the sublime discrete), a tome that tries to put the spotlight on this musician born in Viterbo (Papal States) in 1585 and died in Rome, where he was active all his life, in 1657. I recommend this book to anyone who wants a broad view of the Roman musical scene of the time and to support to a truly significant project by the publisher, Rugginenti, whose portfolio also includes Massenzio’s Complete Works.
An author who grew up in the shadow of Rome’s musical chapels, such as that of San Luigi dei Francesi, where he was a puero cantore, he studied under Giovanni Bernardino Nanino. Nurtured by that school and tradition, he conquered the doctrine of his great predecessors through the daily practice of making music, becoming a seasoned musician and master of a practice of music that we have completely lost in our time.
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