Lorenzani, Paolo (EN)

Lorenzani [~ cani] Paolo, *5 January 1640 Rome, †28 October 1713 Rome, Italian composer. In 1651–54, he sang in the Cappella Giulia at St. Peter’s in Rome, where he studied with O. Benevoli. From 1669, he was a member of the Congregazione dei musici di Roma, and in 1671 and 1675, as maestro di cappella, he conducted performances of oratorios at the Archconfraternity of SS. Crocifisso at the church of S. Marcello in Rome. In 1672, he became kapellmeister at Il Gesù and at the Collegio Romano. In 1675–78, he was maestro di cappella at the cathedral in Messina, where he met the Duke de Vivonne, Viceroy of Sicily, with whom he traveled to Paris in July 1678. In May 1679, thanks to the support of Louis XIV, he received the title of surintendant de la musique de la Reyne after J.B. Boesset. In September 1681, despite Lully’s resistance, Nicandro e Fileno, an Italian pastorale with music by Lorenzani, was staged in Fontainebleau on the initiative of the Duke de Vivonne; in 1682, his Sérénade en forme d’opéra was performed there in honor of the king. In 1683, due to the intrigues of influential court figures, Lorenzani lost the competition for the prestigious position of one of the four sous-maîtres Chapelle Royale. In July 1683, after the death of Queen Maria Theresa, Lorenzani was forced to leave the court, but remained in Paris. In 1685–87, he held the position of maître de chapelle in the Parisian Theatine congregation. In July 1688, Lorenzani’s opera Oronthée was staged several times at the Académie Royale de Musique. According to La Bruyère, it aroused the admiration of the court; however, the success of the work was too small to regain the king’s favor; Lorenzani’s poor situation was not improved by the publication in 1693 of motets dedicated to Louis XIV. Lorenzani then returned to Italy and from 19 July 1694 until the end of his life he was the conductor of the Cappella Giulia. In 1695, he also held the position of guardiano dei maestri at the Congregazione di S. Cecilia, and during the Holy Year of 1700, he directed the music for the solemn procession on Holy Thursday. Lorenzani’s brother was the librettist Giovanni Andrea (1637–1712).

Lorenzani was a representative of the Roman school; the influence of Benevole and the colossal style are evident in the elaborate instrumentation of the Mass and Magnificat and in the way the sound material is handled in them. Among the 31 surviving motets are ensemble and solo works showing the influence of Carissimi, Benevoli, and Bernabé, as well as polyphonic works with a rich, varied texture, belonging to the grand motet type, composed during his stay in France. The pastorale Nicandro e Fileno derives from the tradition of Carissimi and Cesti, but Lorenzani uses richer instrumentation, more typical of the second half of the 17th century. The arias and cantatas already foreshadow the style of G.B. Bononcini. The opera Oronthée, with a French libretto by Leclerc, which is an adaptation of Cicognini’s text, has survived only in fragments. The composer’s sixteen years of activity in Paris and the fact that he broke the ten-year boycott of Italian music allow Lorenzani to be considered one of the most important composers of the Louis XIV era. His performances of the so-called saluts en musique, modeled on Roman oratorios, were so popular that they prompted Lully to write Petits motets, in which he drew on the Italian idiom. According to Brossard, it was thanks to Lorenzani that interest in Italian music was rekindled in France. Lorenzani not only popularized the Italian style, but also sought to combine it with the French style, as evidenced by his collaboration with Delalande on Sérénade en forme d’opéra, his composition of Oronthée to a French text, and his introduction of the air de ballet into it. Lorenzani’s activities in Paris influenced the work of Delalande, Campra, and Bernier.

Literature: J. de la Bruyère Les Caractères, Paris 1688, Polish trans. A. Tatarkiewicz, Warsaw 1965; S. Brossard Catalogue des livres de musique 1724, MS. Bibliotheque Nationale; H. Prunières Paolo Lorenzani à la cour de France (1678–1694„La Revue Musicale” III, 1922; A. Tessier L’Orontée de Lorenzani et l’Orontea du Padre Cesti, “La Revue Musicale” IX, 1929; F. Liuzzi I musicisti in Francia, Rome 1946; A. Liess Materialien zur römischen Musikgeschichte des Seicento “Acta Musicologica” XXIX, 1957; W. Gürtelschmied Paolo Lorenzani (1640–1713). Seine Tätigkeiten in Paris und Rom, proceedings book, Berlin 1974; W. Gürtelschmied Paolo Lorenzani (1640–1713). Leben, Werk, thematischer Katalog, thesis, University in Vienna 1975; E. Picard Liturgie et musique à Sainte-Anne-la-Royale au XVIIe siècle, “Recherches” XX, 1981; M. Caraci Musicisti italiani e musica sacra a Versailles negli anni del Re Sole, “Rivista Internazionale di Musica Sacra” I, 1982; A. La France The Sacred Music of Paolo Lorenzani (1640–1713), thesis, University in Victoria (Canada) 1986; B. Nestola La musica italiana nel „Mercure galant“ (1677–1683), “Recercare” XIV, 2002.