View source for Luzzasco Luzzaschi

{{short description|Italian composer (1545–1607)}}
[[File:O Dolcezze2 cleanup.jpg|thumb|The second page of Luzzaschi's "O dolcezz'amarissime" from the 1601 publication ''Madrigali a uno, e'doi, e'tre soprani'']]

'''Luzzasco Luzzaschi''' (c. 1545 – 10 September 1607) was an Italian [[composer]], [[organist]], and teacher of the late [[Renaissance music|Renaissance]].  He was born and died in [[Ferrara]], and despite evidence of travels to Rome<ref>Claude V. Palisca and Emilio de’ Cavalieri. “Musical Asides in the Diplomatic Correspondence of Emilio de’ Cavalieri,” The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 49, No. 3 (1963) 353.</ref>  it is assumed that Luzzaschi spent the majority of his life in his native city. He was a skilled representative of the late Italian [[madrigal (music)|madrigal]] style, along with [[Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina|Palestrina]], [[Giaches de Wert|Wert]], [[Philippe de Monte|Monte]], [[Lassus]], [[Marenzio]], [[Carlo Gesualdo|Gesualdo]] and others.

==Biography==
As a pupil of [[Cipriano de Rore]], Luzzaschi developed his craft and eventually came to be an influential pedagogue himself. Anthony Newcomb writes:

{{blockquote|The members of the Roman school, beginning with [[Ercole Pasquini]] and succeeded by [[Girolamo Frescobaldi|Frescobaldi]] himself, were entirely trained by Luzzaschi.  The neapolitians around [[Carlo Gesualdo|Gesualdo]] and [[Macque]] admired and closely followed Luzzaschi’s work; some came north to study with Luzzaschi personally.”<ref>Anthony Newcomb.  “Il Modo di far la Fantasia: An Appreciation of Luzzaschi’s Instrumental Style,” Early Music, Vol 7, No. 1 (1979) 34.</ref>}}

In 1564, Luzzaschi was appointed as principal organist to the [[d'Este]] court.  His facility as a keyboard player must have been paramount, for his competence on [[Nicola Vicentino|Nicola Vicentino's]] microtonal [[archicembalo]] was actively documented throughout his career. Luzzaschi was highly respected by his peers, both as a keyboard player and as a composer. Vincenzo Galilei called him one of the best musicians in Italy, and Banchieri named him one of the top two organists (along with Merulo). <ref>{{Cite web |last=Strainchamps |first=Edmond |date=20 January 2001 |title=Luzzaschi, Luzzasco |url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/display/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000017234?rskey=aXmm2V&result=1}}</ref>

Luzzaschi is widely remembered due to his association with the famous ''[[Concerto delle donne]]'', a private female vocal ensemble founded by [[Alfonso II d'Este|Alfonso II]], Duke of Ferrara.  In addition to his duties as court organist, as director for the ensemble he composed expert madrigals that required virtuosic vocal skill and advanced musicianship.  Expressing a highly ornamented soprano line, his famous publication, ''Madrigali...per cantare, et sonare, a uno, e doi, e tre soprani'' of 1601 contained repertory performed by this expert troupe.<ref>Edmond Strainchamps. [http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/17234 "Luzzaschi, Luzzasco."], Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online - Accessed October 13, 2009</ref>

==Works==
Luzzaschi's surviving canon is limited to: seven books (1571 through 1604) of madrigals for five voices; the 1601 ''Madrigali per cantare et sonare a 1-3 soprani''; a collection of five-part motets; and four keyboard works.  While reference to three books of four-voice [[ricercar]]s by Luzzaschi indicates that he was actively composing instrumental work, the books themselves appear to be lost.<ref>Anthony Newcomb.  “Il Modo di far la Fantasia: An Appreciation of Luzzaschi’s Instrumental Style,” Early Music, Vol 7, No. 1 (1979) 34.</ref> A number of madrigal prints were dedicated to [[Lucrezia d'Este (1535–1598)|Lucrezia d'Este]] around 1570, including Luzzaschi's ''First Book.'' In his two madrigal books from the 1570s, Luzzaschi often set texts in the form [[Don Harrán]] has describer as the "ballata madrigal". In Luzzaschi's earliest madrigals, melodies are either awkward in character or narrower in range with frequent use of repeated notes, and in both types the text is usually set syllabically. In the later madrigals, the first type has evolved into a longer more graceful, lyrical melody with an increased use of melisma, while the other type has developed into a more confined and repetitive declaratory line that is sometimes recitative-like.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Strainchamps |first=Edmond |date=20 January 2001 |title=Luzzaschi, Luzzasco |url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/display/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000017234#omo-9781561592630-e-0000017234}}</ref> 

* ''Il primo libro de madrigali a cinque voci'' (Ferrara, 1571)
* ''Secondo libro de madrigali a cinque voci (Venice, 1576)'' 

=== Luzzaschi's influence on other composers ===
Luzzasco Luzzaschi had a profound impact on several composers of his time and beyond, particularly through his expressive madrigal style and innovative keyboard techiniques. Three Italians, [[Giovanni Gabrieli]], [[Luca Marenzio|Marenzio]], and [[Claudio Monteverdi|Monteverdi]], may be seen as strongly affecting his style.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Strainchamps |first=Edmond |title=Luzzaschi, Luzzasco |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.17234}}</ref> [[Carlo Gesualdo]]'s madrigals reflect Luzzaschi's hallmark features: expressive chromaticism, intricate dissonance, and emotionally charged vocal writing. [[Claudio Monteverdi|Claudo Monteverdi]] was also influenced by Luzzaschi, particularly in his early madrigals. 

==Sources==
*[[Gustave Reese]], ''Music in the Renaissance''.  New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1954.  {{ISBN|0-393-09530-4}}
*''The Concise Edition of Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'', 8th ed.  Revised by Nicolas Slonimsky.  New York, Schirmer Books, 1993.  {{ISBN|0-02-872416-X}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMSLP|id=Luzzaschi, Luzzasco}}
*{{ChoralWiki}}

{{concerto delle donne}}
{{Renaissance music}}
{{Baroque music}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luzzaschi, Luzzasco}}
[[Category:Italian classical organists]]
[[Category:Italian male classical organists]]
[[Category:Italian Renaissance composers]]
[[Category:1540s births]]
[[Category:1607 deaths]]
[[Category:16th-century Italian composers]]
[[Category:Madrigal composers]]
[[Category:Italian male classical composers]]
[[Category:Musicians from Ferrara]]
[[Category:16th-century classical composers]]