Adriano Banchieri (1568-1634)

### Best Known For

his madrigal comedies, a genre of choral pieces that suggest plots and action to be imagined by the performers and listeners

## About

Adriano Banchieri (1568-1634) was an Italian composer, music theorist, organist, and poet of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He was born and died in Bologna, Italy. In 1587, he became a monk of the Benedictine order, taking his vows in 1590 and changing his name to Adriano (from Tommaso). One of his teachers at the monastery was Gioseffo Guami, who had a strong influence on his style. Banchieri was an important composer of canzonettas, a popular alternative to madrigals, in the late 16th century. He also wrote masses, series of madrigals, and organ works. In several editions beginning in 1605, Banchieri published a series of organ works entitled l'Organo suonarino. Banchieri's last publication was the Trattenimenti da villa of 1630. He wrote five madrigal comedies between 1598 and 1628 with “plot and character development,” starting with La pazzia senile of 1598, the last of them La saviezza giovenile. Banchieri founded the Accademia dei Floridi in Bologna. He was an Italian Benedictine monk, organist, and composer who was active in the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras.

## Early Life and Education

Adriano Banchieri was born on September 3, 1568, in Bologna, Italy. His parents were Antonio de Banchieri from Lucca and Caterina. Banchieri joined the Benedictine order of Olivetans in Bologna in 1587 and took his vows in 1590, changing his name to Adriano. One of his teachers at the monastery was Gioseffo Guami, who had a strong influence on his style. Banchieri was an Italian composer, music theorist, organist, and poet of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He was an important composer of canzonettas, a popular alternative to madrigals, in the late 16th century. Banchieri wrote several organ works and madrigal comedies, including La pazzia senile and La saviezza giovenile. He founded the Accademia dei Floridi in Bologna. Banchieri disapproved of the monodists with all their revolutionary harmonic tendencies, about which he expressed himself vigorously in his Moderna Practica Musicale (1613), while systematizing the legitimate use of the monodic art of figured bass. Banchieri died in Bologna in 1634.

## Career

Adriano Banchieri (1568-1634) had a successful career as an Italian composer, music theorist, organist, and poet of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He founded the Accademia dei Floridi in Bologna. Banchieri wrote several organ works and madrigal comedies, including La pazzia senile and La saviezza giovenile. He published a series of organ works entitled l'Organo suonarino in several editions beginning in 1605, which was reprinted at least six times before 1638. Banchieri's last publication was the Trattenimenti da villa of 1630. According to Martha Farahat, he wrote five madrigal comedies between 1598 and 1628 with “plot and character development”, starting with La pazzia senile of 1598, the last of them La saviezza giovenile. Banchieri was a monk of the Benedictine order, taking his vows in 1590, and changing his name to Adriano (from Tommaso). One of his teachers at the monastery was Gioseffo Guami, who had a strong influence on his style.

## Personal Life

Adriano Banchieri (1568-1634) was born and died in Bologna, Italy. In 1587, he became a monk of the Benedictine order, taking his vows in 1590 and changing his name to Adriano. One of his teachers at the monastery was Gioseffo Guami, who had a strong influence on his style. Banchieri was an important composer of canzonettas, a popular alternative to madrigals, in the late 16th century. He also wrote several organ works and madrigal comedies, including La pazzia senile and La saviezza giovenile. Banchieri founded the Accademia dei Floridi in Bologna. There is not much information available about Banchieri's personal life. However, it is known that he was a monk of the Benedictine order and lived in various monasteries throughout his life, including in Lucca and Siena. He was an accomplished musician, composer, and poet, and his works were well-regarded during his lifetime and beyond.