Florentio Maschera , also: Mascara Fiorenzo (* around 1540 in Brescia ; † around 1584 ibid.) Was an Italian composer and organist of the late Renaissance . Florentio Maschera probably learned from his father Bartolomeo Maschera, who was employed as a Latin teacher and curator of music at the Cathedral of Brescia. According to the testimony of Costanzo Antegnati , he is said to have received lessons from Claudio Merulo , since Merula worked in Brescia when Maschera was in Venice. Rather, they were competitors for the office of organist at St. Mark's Basilica in Venice . Maschera got his first job as an organist in the monastery "Santo Spirito in Isola" in front of Venice. On August 22, 1557 he was given a starting salary of 180 lireOrganist at Brescia Cathedral, which was replaced by a new baroque building in the early 17th century. On April 6, 1573, Maschera received a minor ecclesiastical ordination from the Bishop of Cremona, which was supposed to help him earn income from clerical benefices . As his successor, Costanzo Antegnati (1549-1624) was installed in July 1584. Maschera is often mentioned in connection with the violin maker Gasparo da Salò, who worked in Brescia, as an excellent gambist . Ottavio Rossi (1570–1630) wrote in his Elogi historici di Bresciani illustri (1620), p. 497, about Maschera Nel tasteggiar le viole fù giudicato inimmitabile . Maschera was best known for his 21 four-part instrumental canzons , which appeared in 1582 under the title Libro primo de canzoni: da sonare a quattro voci . They are among the oldest surviving Italian works that were published specifically for an instrumental ensemble and do not, as is usually the case, come from vocal canons. Reprints of the book appeared in 1584 and 1588. However, two of the canzons were already found in the Tabolatura citthara by Paolo Virchi, published in 1574(1551-1610). Other works by Maschera were printed in various anthologies in Italy and Germany between 1574 and 1617. The four-part nature of the works allows them to be performed on a keyboard instrument, but it stands to reason that the works were intended for an instrumental ensemble, especially given Maschera's reputation as a gambist and violinist. Text source : Wikipedia (Hide extended text) ... (Read all)
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