Marenzio, Luca (c. 1553–1599)

Italian singer and composer. He is the most important of the Italian madrigalists, having written over 400. His madrigals were introduced into England through music editor Nicholas Yonge's (died 1619) Musica transalpina in 1588 and he was in correspondence with Dowland in 1595.

Born at Coccaglio, near Brescia, Marenzio studied with Giovanni Contino (1513–1574), organist at Brescia Cathedral, and published his first work in 1581. Soon afterwards he went to Rome, where he served cardinal Cristoforo Madruzzo from around 1574 until 1578, when he became maestro di cappella to cardinal d'Este until 1586. During this time he published many madrigals, and began to gain an international reputation as a composer. In 1588 he entered the service of Ferdinando de' Medici and in 1589 contributed two intermeddi for wedding festivities in Florence. Later that year he returned to Rome, where he was employed by Virginio Orsini, Duke of Bracciano, until 1593. His next patron, Cardinal Cinzio Aldobrandini, recommended Marenzio as music director to the king of Poland. He was in Warsaw during 1596–98, at the court of Sigismondo (Zygmunt) III of Poland. About 1599, however, he returned to Rome and became organist at the papal chapel.

Marenzio published 18 books of madrigals for 4–10 voices (1580–99), as well as five books of villanelles and two books of motets. Many of the madrigals he wrote before 1587 are settings of pastoral texts whose authors include the poet Petrarch; these were widely imitated in Europe, and in England by Thomas Morley. As he grew older, Marenzio's madrigals became increasingly serious in tone, with melancholy texts and more dissonance and chromaticism in the music.

Works Mass, motets, Sacri concenti; over 400 madrigals, Villanelle ed arie alla napolitana (five volumes).