Bonini, Severo (EN)

Bonini Severo, *1582 Florence, †5 December 1663 Florence, Italian composer, music theorist and organist, OSB. He was a pupil of G. Caccini. He stayed in various monasteries: in Vallombrosa near Florence, in Faenza, Ripoli (1607), and in S. Trinità in Florence (1608). In 1613–15, he was an organist at the church of S. Mercuriale in Forlì, and then returned to his hometown.

Bonini was a follower and admirer of Giulio Caccini’s art. His main contribution was the introduction of the recitative into sacred music, ranging from the simple and austere style, ornamented in the old manner with gorgias, in Madrigali e canzonette…, to a more lyrical and varied approach, featuring amplification, chromaticism, and a relatively significant use of dissonance in Affetti…, where he also distinguished between two styles: di Firenze recitativo – more dramatic – and di Firenze misto – more ornamental. In some of his works, one can observe a tendency toward a three-part ABA’ structure. When introducing the echo effect, Bonini uses strict dynamic markings: f, p, pp. In his Lamento d’Arianna, Bonini adopted the dramatic stylistic devices of Monteverdi, boldly using unprepared dissonances. Bonini’s theoretical treatise, written after 1646 (not, as was mistakenly believed, in the first 30 years), contains, in addition to stereotypical speculative considerations, valuable data on the understanding of the monodic style, the characteristics of the madrigal, especially the madrigal concertato, and information about virtuoso singers from the early 17th century.

Literature: L. Galleni Luisi Il “Lamento d’Arianna” di Severo Bonini (1613), in: Claudio Monteverdi e il suo tempo, ed. R. Monterosso, Venice 1968; H. Smither The Latin Dramatic Dialogue and the Nascent Oratorio, “Journal of the American Musicological Society” XX, 1967; K.G. Fellerer Ausdruck und Klang in der Kirchenmusik um 1600, “Kirchenmusikalisches Jahrbuch” LXV, 1982; E. Jaros Stile di Firenze w “Affetti spirituali” Severo Boniniego (1615), “Muzyka” 1983 No. 4.