The musical establishment in the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Bergamo was one of the most prestigious in northern Italy from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries, after those of San Marco in Venice and San Petronio in Bologna. Its distinguished maestri di cappella included Maurizio Cazzati and Giovanni Legrenzi in the seventeenth century, Giovanni Battista Bassani in the eighteenth and Giovanni Simone Mayr in the nineteenth. The two authors of this fascinating archival study collaborated on this monumental volume garnered from their respective theses (tesi di laurea) from the University of Pavia. Blessed with rich archival materials from most of the period under consideration, the authors have reconstructed the organization of the cappella musicale from 1657 to 1810. The study concludes in 1810 because the documentary materials from then on are too fragmentary to be useful. (For information on the earlier history of the cappella musicale see the excellent studies by Alberto Colzani (‘Musica sacra in Santa Maria Maggiore a Bergamo dal 1361 al 1440’, Rivista internazionale di musica sacra 6/2 (1985), 224–237), Maurizio Cazzati (La musica in S. Maria Maggiore a Bergamo nel periodo di Giovanni Cavaccio (1598–1626) (Como: Antiquae Musicae Italicae Studiosi, 1983)) and Jerome Roche (‘Music at S. Maria Maggiore, Bergamo, 1614–1643’, Music & Letters 47/4 (1966), 296–314).)
After an initial discussion of the sources, now mostly conserved in the Civica Biblioteca Angelo Mai in Bergamo, the volume is organized into two sections (1657 to 1759 is covered by Palermo, 1760 to 1810 by Pecis Cavagna), each concluded by a complete listing of the musicians in the regular cappella (musici condotti) and their respective voices or instruments, organized by the tenures of the twelve maestri. There follows a lengthy dictionary (approximately half of the volume) of all the musicians active in Santa Maria Maggiore from 1657 to 1810, giving biographical details when available and noting their respective roles and the archival sources in which they appear. The volume concludes with a valuable CD providing diplomatic transcriptions of the documents.
The archival sources of the Opera Pia Misericordia Maggiore, the institution that governed the basilica from 1449 (abbreviated MIA and also referred to as the Pio Luogo), and the institution that succeeded it in the Napoleonic era, the Congregazione di Carità, include the various publications outlining the duties and obligations of the maestro di cappella and the musicians, and records of the activities of the various maestri and the comings and goings of musicians in the cappella. There are also contracts, petitions from musicians to the governing council, lists of expenses for the basilica in general and the cappella musicale in particular, documents relating to restorations and repairs of the organs, and inventories (of music, furniture and so on), as well as many other smaller categories – in effect, a treasure-trove of documentary materials from which the authors have synthesized a fascinating picture of musical activity in Bergamo.
Like the Basilica di San Petronio in Bologna, whose musical organization was founded in 1432, Santa Maria Maggiore was administered by a council of citizens with specific prerogatives and powers assigned to its various officers. In addition to overseeing the music of the basilica, one of its most laudable concerns was the education of the young, which early on prompted the foundation of the Accademia della Misericordia di Bergamo, later supplanted by the Collegio Mariano and separated from the basilica. Through the years, the maestri and some performers were obliged to teach children from poor families the fundamentals of chant and counterpoint in addition to their education in humanistic studies. This charitable function continued well into the nineteenth century.
Owing to the many political upheavals affecting Bergamo through the years, the financial situation of the basilica and hence the musical organization seemed always to be in flux, often forcing moderations in salaries and other, similar expenditures. For many decades Bergamo was ruled by the Venetian Republic, but the city was economically affected by the War of the Spanish Succession (between the Bourbons and Habsburgs) and the resulting Austrian influence. In addition, plague and famine ravaged the area, reducing both the population and its economic prosperity. Venetian rule was ended in 1796, and the commune formed the brief Repubblica Bergamasca, which was quickly engulfed by the Repubblica Cisalpina in which Bergamo became the Dipartimento del Serio in 1797. In 1802, under Bonaparte's presidency, Bergamo became a province of the Repubblica Italiana. The resulting economic uncertainties are constantly reflected in the documents, for example in the petitions of the musicians to perform elsewhere to earn extra money because salaries were insufficient (73, 89), or in references to reductions in the value of the monetary system (137). The authors provide a fascinating background from geographical, sociological, political and economic perspectives.
Various disciplinary reforms were enacted by the administrations through the years, published in several editions of rules and obligations (capitoli ed oblighi). These were enforced by the puntatore, a ‘person of good faith’ charged with administering penalities, in the form of deductions from salaries, for unexcused absences and other broken rules (72–73). Always aware of the need to maintain the excellence of the basilica's music, the council established strict rules governing musicians' performances in other churches and/or cities, especially on major feast days. Even the hair length of the clerics who sang the chant was regulated – no longer than the ear and none on the forehead (99).
Extra musicians (musici non condotti) were frequently hired for the major feasts, usually Holy Week, Easter, Assumption and the feast of San Bartolomeo, the patron saint of Bergamo. These performers were divided into two groups, the ‘Istrumenti sopra la Cantoria, e Musici’ and the ‘Musici Ripieni’. The first group was called the ‘Sacra Orchestra’, a term that appeared first in 1702; the second probably consisted of the less talented musicians who played the ripieni or reinforcing passages. These ‘foreign’ musicians came from other churches in Bergamo, from other northern provinces, even Rome, Naples, Gubbio and Bologna. The expense books offer fascinating details of payments made for laundry, lodging, renting horses for travel to and from Bergamo, food (including menus) and snow to keep the fruit cold. The authors provide a very useful list of monetary values from the Venetian Republic in relation to the Italian lira (79–80).
Yearly salaries of the regular musicians offer interesting insights into the perceived values of the various performers. The authors cite records from 1708 in which the maestro received 130 scudi, the sopranos 160, the contraltos and basses 100, the tenors 60 and the baritone 20 (81). The organist received 75 scudi per year, the first violin and cellist 70, the contrabassist 90, the theorbist 35 and the second violin 40. Supplementary loads of grain or corn and wine casks of one hundred litres were often part of the salaries.
Hints of performance practice also occasionally surface in the documents. For example, the ‘contrabasso’ was placed near the organ in the cantoria, probably for ease in performing the basso continuo with the soloists. Ripieno groups were sometimes conducted by certain singers in the group; on another occasion a temporary platform was erected in the middle of the church for the virtuoso singers to be seen and heard (90–92).
The repertory performed over the years varied with the compositions of the different maestri, who were required to create a number of works carefully specified, and sometimes disputed, in their contracts. In addition to that contemporary repertory, the music collection contained works by composers such as Palestrina, Victoria, Lassus and many seventeenth-century composers, especially Cazzati. (In fact, several works by Cazzati were purchased after his departure in 1657 for San Petronio in Bologna, evidence that his music was still in vogue.) Evidently many earlier works were still being performed in the eighteenth century because expenses for repairs to music books are revealed in the documents (139, 142–143, 235). Continual attention was also given to Gregorian chant throughout the period.
The reputation of the cappella musicale declined in the early eighteenth century, owing to political upheavals and the resulting economic difficulties. It was somewhat revived by the Bolognese maestro Giacomo Gozzini (1717–1745), who was able to hire additional members of the regular body of singers and add an oboe, three violins and two ‘contrabassi’ to the ensemble (139). Various instruments were added in the eighteenth century: corni da caccia, tromba da caccia, corno inglese and even arpa in 1804. But it was left to the Bavarian composer Giovanni Simone Mayr (1802–1845) to effect a radical structural and functional reform encompassing among other things the number of musicians employed, finances, rules and repertory. Mayr introduced new timbres and sounds, stressing the proper balance of voices and instruments, facilitated the hiring of renowned performers with appropriate salaries, clarified rules for the regular musicians and nominated an archivist to preserve the musical collection (217–221, 237).
All in all, this book is a wonderful display of the authors' diligence in transcribing and digesting the myriad archival sources available. However, the organization of the book results in repetitions of material which could have been eliminated by more careful editing. For example, the discussion of Mayr's qualities on page 208 is repeated on page 218. The performance required for the birthday of Napoleon is discussed both on pages 228–229 and page 235. (A bibliographical error: the author named on page 571 is Alberto Colzani, not Andrea.) But these are minor flaws in an otherwise fascinating study of a very important musical organization in northern Italy, and interested scholars will be grateful for its appearance in this handsomely produced volume.
