Leone Leoni (composer)

Leone Leoni (c. 1560 – 1627^[1]) was a North Italian polyphonic composer who served as maestro di cappella at Vicenza cathedral from 1588. He composed motets for antiphonal choirs,^[2] some in many parts, with instrumental accompaniment. As would be expected of a cathedral maestro di cappella, he also produced masses, psalms, magnificats and other liturgical music, some published in his Cantici sacri (1608) as well as sacred and secular madrigals.^[3]

Leoni succeeded Giammateo Asola, his master, as maestro di capella when Asola returned to Venice; he contributed to the anthology Psalmodia vespertina dedicated to Palestrina by Asola and published at Venice.^[4] Several books of his motets were printed under the title Sacri fiori ("Sacred flowers") at Venice, and reprinted.^[5] He was received as a member by the Accademia Olimpica, Vicenza, some time between 1609 and 1612.^[6] He died at Vicenza. A pupil is likely to have been Ludovico Balbi.^[7]

Notes

1. His fellow pupil of Asola's, D. Amedeo Freddi, succeeded him as maestro di cappella in 1627. (Donald M. Fouse, Giammateo Asola: Sixteen Liturgical Works [1964] p. viii).
2. Henry Joseph Wing, The Polychoral Motets of Balbi and Leone Leoni
3. Eric Blom, ed. Everyman's Dictionary of Music, rev. ed. 1954, s.v. "Leoni, Leone"; Oxford Dictionary of Music, s'v. "Leoni, Leone".
4. Fouse 1964:viii.
5. Primo Libro 1606; Secondo Libro 1612, dedicated to Cardinal Madrucci, principe di Trento; Quarto Libro, 1622, dedicated to his pupil, Sister Alba Tressina in the convent of Araceli, Vicenza (G. Gaspari, ed. Catalogo della biblioteca del Liceo musicale di Bologna, vol. II (1892) s.v. "Leoni, Leone")
6. According to the title pages of his Sacri fiori, 1609, and his Sacri fiori, Secondo libro, 1612, when the ascription ''Accademico Olimpico first appears (Catalogo della biblioteca del Liceo musicale di Bologna).
7. New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, s.v. "Balbi, Ludovico".