Falconieri, Andrea (EN)

Falconieri, Falconiero, Andrea, *1585 or 1586 Naples, †29 July 1656, Italian lutenist and composer. A pupil of Jean de Macque and Santino Garsi, he was a lutenist at the court in Parma from 1610 to 1614; he then stayed in Modena, Florence (1615 and 1619), and Rome (1616). From 1620 he served as a court lutenist in Modena, while also traveling to France and Spain. In 1629 he returned to the Parma court, where he remained until 1635. That year he moved again to Modena, and in 1636–37 he taught music at the convent of St. Bridget in Genoa. He eventually settled in Naples, where he became a member of the royal chapel and, from 1648, its maestro di cappella.

Falconieri’s chamber music is of particular importance for music history, and has even been seen as anticipating the concerto grosso. The works published by Torchi do not display the defining features of this form; nevertheless, the construction of melodic lines is saturated with instrumental characteristics, connected with the development of violin technique in the first half of the 17th century. With the recurring scoring for two soprano instruments and one bass (with basso continuo), the instruments in the canzonas are treated on an equal footing, whereas in the dances the two upper parts are accompanied by a line clearly functioning as a bass foundation. The canzonas, often bearing programmatic titles, consist of a small number of sections (about four), arranged without strong contrast, except for the final one in triple meter. They do not employ variation technique or other forms of thematic linkage between sections. Among Falconieri’s works there is also a battaglia, very typical of this genre widespread in the 16th and early 17th centuries. Highly illustrative, it is built from numerous sections based on triadic motifs and distinctive rhythmic groupings.

Falconieri’s output is also significant for the development of monody. He composed both strophic arias and solo madrigals in the style of G. Caccini.