Giovanni Valentini

Biography

Giovanni Valentini (ca. 1582 – 29/30 April 1649) was an Italian Baroque composer, poet and keyboard virtuoso. Overshadowed by his contemporaries, Claudio Monteverdi and Heinrich Schütz, Valentini is practically forgotten today, although he occupied one of the most prestigious musical posts of his time. He is best remembered for his innovative usage of asymmetric meters and the fact that he was Johann Kaspar Kerll's first teacher.

Life

Little is known about Valentini's life. He was born around 1582/3, probably in Venice, and almost certainly studied music under Giovanni Gabrieli there. Although the typical graduation Opus 1 of madrigals to be expected from a Gabrieli pupil – such as Opus 1 of Mogens Pedersøn (1608), Johann Grabbe (1609) and Heinrich Schütz (1611) – is not extant, Antimo Liberati (1617–1692) who worked in Venice in the 1640s records him in a letter of the 1680s as "Giovanni Valentini Veneziano, della famosa Schola de' Gabrielli."
In approximately 1604/5 Valentini was appointed as organist of the Polish court chapel under Sigismund III Vasa; his first published works are dated 1609 and 1611, when he was still in Poland. In 1614 Valentini was employed by Ferdinand II (who was then the Archduke of Styria) and moved to Graz. The Graz court's music chapel used enharmonic instruments extensively, which was of considerable importance for the development of Valentini's style; a contemporary account of 1617 praises him as a virtuoso performer on the enharmonic clavicymbalum universale, seu perfectum, which had a keyboard of 77 keys spanning four octaves.
In 1619 Ferdinand was elected the Holy Roman Emperor and moved to Vienna with the court and the musicians of the Graz chapel. Valentini served as imperial court organist in Vienna for several years, then became court Kapellmeister in 1626, succeeding Giovanni Priuli, and accepted the post of choral director at the Michaelerkirche in Vienna in 1627/8. Valentini seems to have had an exceptional reputation and was favoured by both Ferdinand II and Ferdinand III (whom he tutored in music), as evidenced by several large monetary gifts from the former and financial support for Valentini's widow from the latter. In this respect, Valentini is similar to Johann Jakob Froberger, who also was a close personal friend of Ferdinand III. Valentini also seems to have been effective as Kapellmeister, managing to significantly increase the salaries for the court chapel musicians.
For unknown reasons, Valentini effectively stopped publishing his music after 1626 (all of his poetry, however, was published after that year). He was involved in the production of the earliest Viennese operas and famously taught the young Johann Kaspar Kerll music, probably in the 1640s. Valentini held the position at the Michaelerkirche until at least 1631, but remained court Kapellmeister until his death in 1649. He was succeeded by Antonio Bertali. In his will, he bequeathed his works to Ferdinand.

List of published works

Canzoni, libro primo, Venice, 1609
Motecta, Venice, 1611
Secondo libro de madrigali, Venice, 1616
Missae concertatae, Venice, 1617
Salmi, hinni, Magnificat, antifone, falsibordone et motetti, Venice, 1618
Musiche concertate – con voci, & istromenti a 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, con basso continuo., Venice, 1619
Musica di camera, libro quarto, Venice, 1621
Missae quatuor, Venice, 1621
Messa, Magnificat et Jubilate Deo, Vienna, 1621
Musiche a doi voci, Venice, 1621
Il quinto libro de madrigali, Venice, 1625
Sacri concerti, Venice, 1625
Additionally, 3 masses, 3 litanies, several sonatas, numerous sacred works and pieces for keyboard survive in manuscript. Evidence of a considerable amount of lost works exists.

Recordings

O Dulcis Amor Jesu (1999). La Capella Ducale, Musica Fiata, conducted by Roland Wilson; Sony Classical SMK 87855 (vocal music by Valentini and Giovanni Priuli)
Giovanni Valentini – Motetti e Madrigali a due Soprani (2001). Ilaria Geroldi, Marina Morelli (sopranos), Ensemble La Moderna Prattica conducted by Stefano Molardi; Christophorus 77238 (motets and madrigals for two sopranos)
Johann Capsar Kerll – Scaramuza (2004). Leon Berben (organ); AEOLUS AE-10441 (organ works by Kerll and 6 canzonas by Valentini)
Oddities and Trifles: The Very Peculiar Instrumental Music of Giovanni Valentini (2015). ACRONYM; Olde Focus Recordings FCR904 (17 canzonas and sonatas)
Giovanni Valentini: Secondo libro de madrigali (2016) ACRONYM & Les Canards Chantants; Olde Focus Recordings FCR908 (18 concerted madrigals)