Savioni, Mario (EN)

Savioni Mario, *ca. 1606 Rome, †22 April 1685 Rome, Italian composer and singer active in Rome. He was a pupil of Vincenzo Ugolini, under whose guidance he sang in the boys’ choir of the church of San Luigi dei Francesi from 1617. From 1621, he served as a boy soprano, and from 1626, an alto in the Capella Giulia, then an alto in San Luigi dei Francesi from 1631 to 1644 and in the Capella Sistina from 1642 to 1667. He made his debut as an opera singer in 1620 in Filippo Vitali’s Aretusa and performed in operas at the Barberini court and at the court of Queen Christina of Sweden. He composed mainly sacred music.

From his youth, Savioni was a highly regarded Roman singer. His best works include cantatas and sacred concertos, which are characterised by a richness of style, formal approaches and vocal cantilena. His solo motets are highly virtuosic, and madrigals were probably used as the conclusion to cantatas. In opera, Savioni shuns recitatives in favour of a succession of arias, choruses and instrumental ritornellos.

Literature: S. Franchi Il melodrama agiografico del Seicento e la S. Agnese di Mario Savioni in: La musica e il sacro, ed. B. Brumana, G. Ciliberti, Florence 1997.