Gagliano, Marco da (EN)

Gagliano Marco da, pseudonym L’Affannato, *1 May 1582 Florence, †25 February 1643 Florence, Italian composer, singer, instrumentalist, priest. The attribution of the name Marco Zenobi da Gagliano to him in the literature is incorrect. In the second half of 1589, he was sent to study at the Compagnia dell’Arcangelo Raffaello, a confraternity that educated boys in both general subjects and music (in its own chapel). The Compagnia dell’Arcangelo Raffaello played a leading role in the musical life of Florence, as virtually all of Florence’s outstanding musicians were educated there, and upon reaching adulthood, they customarily continued to take part in the company’s musical productions. Gagliano thus had the opportunity to meet there both members of the Florentine Camerata (Bardi, Caccini, Galilei, Rinuccini) and all the city’s most prominent musicians. In 1607, he was elected maestro di cappella of the company, replacing B. Malaspini, who had held the post since 1591; however, due to intrigues within the circle, he did not take up the post until 1609, following Malaspini’s final resignation. As director of the chapel, in 1612 Gagliano introduced musical performances of scenes related to the theme of Christmas into the repertoire of the Compagnia dell’Arcangelo Raffaello. In 1622, he stepped down from his post in favour of his younger brother, Giovanni Battista, who was also a member of the confraternity. It is likely that, whilst still a young man, Gagliano received musical instruction from L. Bati, maestro di cappella at the Church of San Lorenzo in Florence. Between 1602 and 1608, he served as Bati’s assistant, helping him to train clerics in singing; from 1605, he was responsible for the musical arrangements for the Holy Week services at the Church of San Lorenzo, and following Bati’s death in November 1608, he took over his post, which he held until his death. He was ordained a priest at a young age; in 1610 he became a canon at S. Lorenzo, and in 1615 he was appointed protonotario apostolico. Furthermore, Gagliano served as maestro di cappella at the Medici court in Florence; he was appointed to this post between 1608 and 1609 and held it until the end of his life. The first decade of this work coincided with a period particularly rich in court spectacles (especially staged ballets and tournaments); Gagliano’s compositional contribution to these was significant. From around 1607, Gagliano was also in contact with Francesco Gonzaga; in the first half of 1608, he stayed at his court in Mantua. These contacts also resulted in a series of dramatic musical works; it was there that he staged his dramma per musica La Dafne, which was a great success. In 1607, Gagliano founded the Accademia degli Elevati, whose members included composers, singers, instrumentalists and writers. Gagliano himself adopted the pseudonym L’Affannato there. It was the only institutionally organised music academy in Florence, whilst many other ‘academies’ of music existing in the city at that time operated solely on the basis of private gatherings. The Elevati had their own rules; members’ duties were strictly defined, and admission was determined by an assessment of the candidate’s body of work. The academy’s activities did not last long; as early as 1609, due to the intrigues of certain members, it began to decline and soon ceased operations. The literature suggests that Gagliano was in Innsbruck in 1621 and in Warsaw (!) between 1624 and 1632, where he was a member of the royal chapel. However, this is not confirmed by any documents. Gagliano’s 35 years of activity in Florence in the city’s most prominent musical positions left their mark on the musical style of that centre, both in terms of sacred and secular repertoire.

Of Gagliano’s many works of dramatic music, only two that were printed, have survived to this day. Both then and now, they are all held in very high regard. We have no documentation as to how Gagliano came to adopt the ideology of the Florentine Camerata regarding the treatment of recitative; it probably came about through direct contact with Peri, Caccini and Rinuccini. It is a fact that Gagliano understood and treated recitative precisely as the musicians of the Camerata had advocated: that is, singing that mirrors the intonation of speech, both in terms of melodic and rhythmic progression, and is closely linked to the poetry both emotionally and formally. Gagliano, however, made his recitative more song-like through greater variation in the melodic lines and the much more frequent – compared to the early composers of dramma per musica – introduction of closed musical forms in solo and ensemble passages. These are primarily strophic arias based on a fixed bass line, introduced in various forms: from those in which the melody of the individual verses in the score was identical, so that only the singer could introduce minor melodic variations, to those featuring distinct variations and rich ornamentation (e.g. Apollo’s lament in La Dafne, Zephyr’s aria Giovinetta che si dolce in La Flora). These arias were sung either by a single character, or the individual verses were performed by different singers (e.g. Lascia Amore il sonno from La Flora). Non-strophic arias, in which the basso-continuo line moves in quicker intervals, are less common in Gagliano’s works. The ensemble passages are written for two to six voices. Compared to earlier dramas by other composers, Gagliano introduced more of these; technically, however – as before – they are madrigal-style compositions, often featuring odd metres and dance rhythms, based on polyphonic and even imitative techniques. In the duets, the voices often move in parallel thirds, as do the two higher voices in the trios. The score of La Dafne is preceded by an extensive preface. In it, Gagliano included both general guidelines on the staging of early dramma per musica, as well as detailed instructions regarding the performance of the work. The latter, however, also reflect the generally accepted practice of the time. Gagliano emphasises the interplay of various elements to achieve the proper aesthetic effect in dramma per musica, without which “even the most perfect music would be of little worth”. He also places particular emphasis on the singer’s acting duties: the necessity of perfect diction and expressive gesture, the individualisation of the role (maintaining a distinct vocal line in relation to the chorus in ensemble scenes); he requires the singer to set aside any showy virtuoso ambitions, and thus to refrain from improvised ornamentation. He also strictly subordinates the instrumental parts to the course of the action, in which they are intended solely to serve as a vivid backdrop to the vocal parts. The only minor stage work by Gagliano that has survived to the present day is Ballo di donne turche. This composition, written for solo voices and two–five-part ensembles, and also featuring a purely instrumental dance passage, represents a typical example of a panegyric court ballet, requiring set design against which the action unfolded, expressed through both pantomimic dance and vocal parts; the whole concluded with a general dance involving the entire court. The printed edition containing the Ballo di donne turche also includes six monodies by Gagliano to Italian secular and sacred texts (five monodies to sacred Latin texts have survived in the collection Sacrarum cantionum… liber secundus 1622/23) and 12 pieces for two and three voices (seven pieces to Latin texts have survived in the aforementioned collection). Gagliano’s monodies rank among the finest Italian monodies of the first three decades of the 17th century; we have evidence (in Gagliano’s letters) that they were most likely composed before 1610. They are characterised by an exceptionally close connection between the intonation of speech and the melodic line of the singing, which is, however, not a simple reflection of the intonational line, but rather its artistic transformation and development. The result is a piece with a highly evocative emotional expression. One of the finest monodies to emerge in Italy during this period is Gagliano’s Valli profonde. Another genre of secular music composed by Gagliano is the madrigal, of which a near-complete collection (around 100 works) has survived to the present day. These are relatively little-known works; only Einstein and Strainchamps have written about them. Gagliano’s madrigals represent a late stage in the development of this form. The composer did not draw here on the experiences and innovations of other composers of the genre, such as Monteverdi, and thus did not introduce new types of madrigals. He sought to encapsulate the entire expressive novelty of the works within the traditional five-part texture, treated essentially as a cappella. The new stylistic approach is manifested primarily in the texture: homorhythm clearly predominates, whilst polyphony, especially imitative polyphony, occurs much less frequently and usually in a simplified form: either the imitation involves an incomplete five-part texture, or the imitative technique is interwoven with the concertante technique, resulting in short thematic phrases passed from voice to voice. In longer phrases, usually only the beginning is imitated, followed by contrapunctus floridus; finally, imitation is sometimes combined with progressive voice leading, which creates the impression that the same phrase is being carried through the voices several times. In his madrigals, Gagliano applies similar theoretical principles to those in dramatic music; consequently, the primary concern here is the intelligibility of the text. This is achieved not only through homorhythm and a simplified polyphonic texture, but also through a generally syllabic treatment of the text and the introduction of parlando passages for the entire ensemble; ornamentation and coloratura are reserved – as in dramatic music – only for those places where the content of the text requires it. We find a slightly greater use of coloratura and ornamentation in the later books, which Strainchamps (NGroveD, vol. 7) attributes to the presence in Florence of outstanding virtuoso singers, for whom Gagliano composed these madrigals. In terms of tonality, chromaticism and the use of dissonance, Gagliano also did not stray beyond the norms of his time, yet his work provoked opposition from more conservative composers; their views were articulated by the Florentine court musician M. Effrem, who, in his printed work Censure… sopra il sesto Libro de Madrigali di M. da Gagliano… (Venice 1623), accused Gagliano of unacceptable deviations from the norms of counterpoint. Gagliano composed sacred music in both prima and seconda pratica, though the vast majority of surviving compositions belong to the former. These are a cappella works for 4, 6, and, less frequently, 8 voices. Only the second book of Sacrarum cantionum (1622/23) introduces basso continuo accompaniment, and alongside works for four and six voices – monodies and small-voice works.

Literature: E. Vogel M. da Gagliano. Zur Geschichte des Florentiner Musiklebens von 1570–1650, “Vierteljahrsschrift für Musikwissenschaft” V, 1889; F. Ghisi An Early Seventeenth Century Manuscript with Unpublished Italian Monodie Music by Peri, Giulio Romano and M. da Gagliano, “Acta Musicologica” XX, 1948; F. Ghisi Ballet Entertainments in Pitti Palace, Florence 1608–1625, “The Musical Quarterly” XXXV, 1949; F. Ghisi La musique religieuse de M. da Gagliano a S. Maria del Fiore, Florence, in: congress proceedings of International Musicological Society, Basel 1949; N. Fortune Italian Secular Monody from 1600 to 1635. An Introductory Survey, “The Musical Quarterly” XXXIX, 1953; F. Ghisi Le musiche per “Il ballo di donne turche” di M. da Gagliano, “Rivista Italiana di Musicologia” I, 1966; A. T. Cortellazzo Il melodramma di M. da Gagliano, in: C. Monteverdi e il suo tempo, Venice 1968; E. Strainchamps A Brief Report on the Madrigal Style of M. da Gagliano, in: congress proceedings of International Musicological Society, Copenhagen 1972; E. Strainchamps New Light on the Accademia degli Elevati of Florence, “The Musical Quarterly” LXII, 1976; E. Strainchamps M. da Gagliano and the Compagnia dell’ Arcangelo Raffaello in Florence, an Unknown Episode in the Composer’s Life, in: Festschrift for P. Gilmore, Florence 1977.