Colonna, Giovanni Paolo (EN)

Colonna Giovanni Paolo, *16 June 1637 Bologna, †29 November 1695 Bologna, Italian composer, teacher, organist, and organ builder. His father was Antonio Colonna, known as Antonio dal Corno or Colonna, an organist and organ builder active in the mid-17th century in Brescia and, from 1633, in Bologna. Giovanni Paolo studied under Agostino Filipucci (organ), and later in Rome under A. Abbatini, O. Benevole, and G. Carissimi (composition). During his stay in Rome, he served for a time as organist at the Church of S. Apollinare. After returning to Bologna in 1659, he became the second organist, and from 1661 the first organist, at the Church of S. Petronio. From 1666 to 1688, he also served as the church’s organ conservator. He was a member of the Accademia dei Filaschisi, and later one of the founders of the Accademia dei Filarmonici (1666). From 1 November 1674, he held the position of maestro di cappella at the Church of San Petronio (until the end of his life), succeeding M. Cazzati. At the same time, from 1673 to 1688, he was maestro di cappella at the Church of Madonna di Galliera, and from 1689 to 1690 at the Church of S. Giovanni in Monte. In 1685, Colonna, together with G.B. Vitali and other musicians, recognizing the superiority of the Bolognese school over the Roman one, publicly opposed Corelli’s use of parallel fifths (Sonata No. 3, Op. 2). Around 1694, Pope Innocent XII appointed him maestro di cappella at S. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, but due to poor health, Colonna was unable to accept the position.

Colonna was above all a master of sacred music, which was highly regarded not only in his own time but also in the following century. His works for large vocal-instrumental ensembles, as well as those for smaller vocal forces, are characterized by great technical proficiency and contrapuntal precision. In the compositions from Op. 1 and Opp. 4–8, Colonna employs polyphonic techniques on a grand scale with a very dense polyphonic texture; in the small-scale works from Op. 2 and 3, the composer develops broad phrases with particularly melodious melodies, without, however, abandoning the extensive use of contrapuntal techniques. Due to their architectural structure, these are already typical cantatas. The compositions from these collections are regarded as precursors to Handel’s chamber cantatas. The works in Op. 10, on the other hand, are considered a synthesis of Colonna’s style; these are pieces written for 3–5 voices with an instrumental ensemble (primarily string instruments). This collection is characterized by the alternation of short solo or small-voice passages with a full tutti ensemble treated polyphonically, often in imitation. It is also notable that the instrumental voices become independent, moving away from strict doubling of the vocal ensemble. Sometimes – which is characteristic of the school of S. Petronio – the composer introduces trumpets in sacred works. Compared to his contemporaries, Colonna employed a more crystallized major-minor system and frequently used harmonic effects (dissonances, seventh chords, etc.), yet he never violated the rules of counterpoint. Tonality plays a relatively significant role in shaping the structure of Colonna’s works.

Colonna is also a significant composer of oratorios. He composed in the oratorio volgare style, that is, based on Italian text and intended for a wider audience. Thirteen oratorios composed by Colonna are known, of which only six have survived to the present day. In some of Colonna’s oratorios, there is a strict separation of recitative and aria, with minimal use of arioso. In others, in the manner of Carissimi, these three melodic forms intertwine. The recitatives are characterized by short phrases (which usually correspond to the length of the verse in the text), often separated by rests; here the composer makes extensive use of sound painting. Arias are usually short – though occasionally there are more extensively developed ones with a highly varied structure, which can nevertheless be reduced to a two- or three-part form. The da capo aria form essentially does not yet exist; instead, the composer introduces the motto-type aria. Choruses are used rarely, most often conceived as an ensemble of soloists performing in an oratorio. The instrumental ensemble, used ad libitum, is limited to strings. Colonna also composed dramatic or quasi-dramatic works (referred to as drammetti), as well as secular cantatas with a distinctly dramatic structure (the texts are known).

Literature: L. Frati Per la storia della musica in Bologna nel secolo XVII, “Rivista Musicale Italiana” XXXII, 1925; F. Vatielli Arte e vita musicale a Bologna, Bolonia 1927; F. Vatielli L’oratorio a Bologna negli ultimi decenni del Seicento, “Note d’archivio per la storia musicale” XV, 1938; H.E. Smither A History of the Oratorio, Chapel Hill 1977; C. Vitali G.P. Colonna, maestro di cappella dell’Oratorio filippino in Bologna, “Rivista Musicale Italiana” XIV, 1979; C. Vitali G.P. Colonna maestro di cappella dell’Oratorio filippino in Bologna, “Rivista Musicale Italiana” XIV, 1979; M. Vanscheeuwijck La cappella musicale di San Petronio ai tempi di G.P. Colonna (1674–1695). Organizzazione esemplare di una istituzione musicale, Florence 1993; J. Riepe Überlegungen zur Funktion des italienischen Oratoriums im letzten Drittel des 17. Jahrhunderts am Beispiel von G. Legrenzis „Sedecia” und „La caduta di Gerusalemme” von G.P. Colonna, in: G. Legrenzi e la cappella ducale di San Marco, eds. F. Passadore and F. Rossi, «Quaderni della Rivista Italiana di Musicologia» XXIX, Florence 1994; Z.M. Szweykowski Technika polichóralna, jej typy i przemiany, «Historia Muzyki XVII wieku. Muzyka we Włoszech», ed. Z.M. Szweykowski, vol. 2, Krakow 2000.