Annibale Padovano

Annibale Padovano
(b Padua, 1527; d Graz, 15 March 1575). Italian composer and organist. He was an organist at S Marco, Venice, from 30 November 1552 until 2 August 1565.

He must have been well known to his employers even before his appointment, for the competition was advertised with little notice and Annibale seems to have been the only candidate. On 1 August 1545 he became organist at the court of Archduke Karl II of Austria in Graz, where he was promoted a year later to ‘chief musician’. Shortly before 1570 he assumed the title of director of music.

While in Venice, Padovano was undoubtedly able to become part of Willaert’s prestigious group of pupils. He must also have known Merulo, Andrea Gabrieli, Zarlino and Rore. His secular production coincided with the period of greatest expressive development of the madrigal. Nevertheless, his reputation rests on his organ playing and organ works. Together with Willaert, Merulo, Bertodi, A. Gabrieli and Buus he contributed significantly to the early development of the ricercare for keyboard. His book of ricercares, published in 1556, brings together for the first time most of the stylistic elements of the mature Venetian ricercare: a dignified and homogeneous level of rhythmic activity; diatonic, largely conjunct thematic material; the linking of thematic material by means of subtle motivic interconnection and variation; the variation of thematic material by constant rhythmic permutation and by learned devices (augmentation, diminution, inversion and stretto). Padovano was also a master of the toccata: he may have been the first composer to expand the form and make it more important. His insertion of an imitative section between two sections of passage work also characterizes the toccatas of his colleagues, and continued into the high Baroque.

Padovano was highly regarded both in Italy and abroad. In 1568 – together with Lassus – he composed much of the music for the wedding of Duke Wilhelm V of Bavaria to Renata of Lorraine. His eight-part instrumental battaglia was performed on this occasion; also probably performed were a 12-part instrumental work (lost) and a 24-voice mass (in A-Wn). He probably also composed music for the wedding between Archduke Karl and Mary of Bavaria, in Vienna on 26 August 1571; a letter from the duke of Mantua to Hippolito Nuvolono of Graz, dated 19 September 1571, speaks of a Dialogo a 7 composed by Padovano in honour of the couple.

WORKS