Abbatini, Antonio Maria

Abbatini, Antonio Maria, distinguished Italian composer and teacher; b. Tiferno, 1609 or 1610; d. there, c. 1677. He received his musical training from the Nanino brothers in Rome, where he spent the greater portion of his life. From 1626 to 1628 he was maestro di cappella at St. John Lateran. After serving in that capacity at Orvieto Cathedral (1633), he returned to Rome to hold that position at S. Maria Maggiore (e. 1640–46), S. Lorenzo a Dámaso (1646–49), S. Maria Maggiore (1649–57), S. Luigi dei Francesi (1657–67), Santa Casa in Loreto (1667), and once more at S. Maria Maggiore (1672–77). With M. Marazzoli, he composed the opera Dal male il bene(Rome, Feb. 12, 1653), historically significant as one of the earliest examples of the inclusion of the ensemble finale. He also wrote the operas lone (Vienna, 1664 or Rome, 1665) and La comica del ciclo, overo La Baltasar a (Rome, 1668), and the dramatic cantata Il pianto di Rodomonte (publ. in Orvieto, 1633). Among his sacred works are a Missa for 16 Voices (Rome, 1634), Il terzo libro di sacre canzoni for 2 to 6 Voices (Orvieto, 1634), Il quinto libro di sacre canzoni for 2 to 5 Voices (Rome, 1638), Il sesto libro di sacre canzoni for 2 to 5 Voices (Rome, 1653), and various motets.

Bibliography

F. Coradini, A. M. A. e Lorenzo Abbaüno: Notizie biografiche (Arezzo, 1922); K. Andrae, Ein rômischer Kapellmeister im 17. Jahrhundert: AM. A. (ca. 1600–79). Studien zu Leben und Werk (diss., Univ. of Hamburg, 1985).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire