Cifra, Antonio (EN)

Cifra Antonio, *1584 Terracina (Lacjum), †2 October 1629 Loreto, Italian composer. From 1594, he was a pupil of G.B. Nanino was a discantist in the choir of the Church of S. Luigi dei Francesi in Rome. In 1608 he was appointed maestro del coro at the Collegio Germanico there, and the following year he took up the post of Kapellmeister at the Church of Santa Casa in Loreto, where he remained until his death; only between 1622 and 1626 did he serve as Kapellmeister at the Basilica of S. Giovanni in Laterano in Rome.

Cifra composed in both the prima and seconda pratica styles. His works in the prima pratica style are regarded as the ideal continuation of the tradition of the Roman school of Palestrina (masses, litanies, certain motets), even though they usually feature basso continuo accompaniment. In his masses, Cifra employs the cantus firmus technique and introduces numerous canonical passages. Within the seconda pratica, he is one of the most typical representatives of the concertato style, both in sacred music and madrigals, although in the titles of his publications only the last two collections of madrigals bear the designation “concertati”. In his small-voice works, Cifra frequently employs the technique of dialogue between two voices or constructs pieces in the manner of early cantatas. His one-voice works with basso continuo derive from the polyphonic tradition and represent a continuation of the pseudo-monody of the Viadana and G.F. Anerio type. The melodic line of the basso continuo is characterised by a close contrapuntal – rather than harmonic – relationship with the vocal line. Monody in the Florentine sense, however, appears only rarely in his work. Cifra also employs ostinato variations, using the most popular models of the time, such as Ruggiero and similar forms.

Literature: A. Einstein Die Aria di Ruggiero, “Sammelbände der Internationalen Musikgesellschaft” XIII, 1911–12; A. Adrio Die Anfänge des geistlichen Konzerts, Berlin 1935; N. Fortune Italian Secular Song from 1600 to 1635, the Origin and Development of Accompanied Monody, University of Cambridge 1954 (thesis); J. Raček Stilprobleme der italienischen Monodie, Prague 1965; T.D. Culley Jesuits and Music, vol. 1, Rome 1970; H. Federhofer A. Cifra (1584–1629) und die Hofkapelle von Erzherzog Karl Joseph (1590–1624) in Neisse/Schlesien, “Die Musikforschung” XLIII, 1990; D. Fabris Influenze stilistiche e circolazione manoscritta della musica per liuto in Italia e in Francia nella prima metà del Seicento, “Revue de Musicologie” LXXVII, 1991; Ch. Meyer and F.P. Goy Sources manuscrites en tablature. Luth et théorbe (c. 1500–c. 1800). Catalogue descriptif, «Collection d’Etudes Musicologiques» LXXXII, LXXXVII, XC, Baden Baden 1991, 1994, 1997; V.A. Coelho The Manuscript Sources of Seventeenth-Century Italian Lute Musie, New York 1995.