Beatriz Ramirez
MUH 4351
Dr. Warfield
October 25, 2011
Padre Giovanni Battista Martini
Giovanni Martini was born on April 24,1706 in Bologna Italy. He was the son
of violinist and cellist Antonio Maria Martini who also became his first teacher of
musical elements and violin. As a young man he had many teachers for harpsichord,
singing, counterpoint, and composition. A few of his teachers were Padre Pradieri,
Antonio Riccieri, and Giocomo Antonio Petri. In 1721 at the age of 15 Giovanni
announced that he wanted to become a monk and was sent to the Franciscan
Conventual Monastery in Lugo di Romagna. In 1722 he returned to Bologna and
became the organist at the Franciscan church in Bologna and a few years later at the
age of 19 Succeeded Padre Ferdinando Girdi as chapel-master at the Franciscan of
Bologna, a position he held for the rest of his life. Giovanni lived in the covenant
attached to the church and in 1729 he was ordained a priest. Padre Martini is seen
as one of the moat famous musical figures of the Eighteenth Century for his
contributions to music history, his massive music library, his large collection of
portraits, and his influence and teachings on other musicians in the era.
Padre Martini is mainly remembered today as a teacher. He taught many
students including; Andre Gretry, Josef Myslivecek, W. Amadeus Mozart, J.C Bach,
Jommelli, and Giovanni Rutini. Padre Martini mainly taught counterpoint but he also
taught singing and prepared students for the Academia Filarmonica. Padre Martini
had a vast knowledge in the music of the era and past eras and could provide his
students with more than enough information but what set him apart as a teacher
was his generosity and loveable personality. There was a letter from Mozart which
read,” I never cease to grieve that I am far away from that one person in the world
that I love, esteem, and revere most of all”. Because of his influence on other
musicians and his loveable nature there is a collection of over 6000 letters between
him and other musicians including Quantz, Locatelli, Metastasio, and Rameau. This
collection is one of the most important sources today for the study of the life and
thoughts of musicians in the eighteenth century.
Padre Martini lived a comfortable life at the church and used the extra money
he received from students to add to his collections. His most important collection
was his music library. By the year 1770, 14 years before his death, Martini’s music
library consisted of 17,000 volumes. Padre Martini also had a large collection of
portraits of the most celebrated musicians from the past and of the modern era. At
the time of his death he had around 300 portraits. The collection kept growing
through the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries and can be viewed at the
International Museum and Library of music in Bologna.
In 1776 he was elected a member of the Arcadian Academy in Rome and he
dedicated himself to composing, writing, and teaching. During his lifetime he did
not have many works published, about four of his collections were published and
almost all were secular. He was seen as a conservative in his compositions, He wrote
contrapuntal pieces in the style of J.S Bach but more often wrote in the homophonic
style with the treble voice having more importance. Aside from composing Padre
Martini wrote a few books. One of Martini’s most important works is his Storia della
Musica which was written in volumes between 1757 and 1781. Only three of the
projected five volumes were ever completed and a fourth was in sketches. The
series was to provide a musical history dating back to the Ancient Greeks but was
never finished and much of the information used cannot be seen today as truly
historical. Another important book he wrote was titled Esemplare ,o sia Saggio
Fondamentale practico di contrappunto. This book written in two volumes between
1774 and 1776 was intended for his most advanced students. It was a collection of
important musical examples from all over with educated commentary on each.
Padre Giovanni Battista Martini died in Bologna on August 3, 1784. He spent
his whole life living in Bologna, turning down a job offer from the Vatican to live his
life in the place he was born. Padre Martini had a large influence on the musicians of
his time through his teaching and his correspondence and because of his collections
he has given researchers many important sources to study. In Bologna they have a
conservatory dedicated to him as well as his collection in their museum and library
of music.
Bibliography
Howard Brofsky and Sergio Durante. "Martini, Giovanni Battista." In Grove Music
Online. Oxford Music Online,
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/17921
(accessed October 25, 2011).
Extra Websites
http://www.museomusicabologna.it/info.htm