Composers and Their Teachers I: Monteverdi and Ingegneri

During his youth in Cremona, Monteverdi studied with Marc’Antonio Ingegneri. Likely with Ingegneri he studied counterpoint and text-setting (what would today be called "studying composition") in addition to viol and voice. As Monteverdi would later go on to play viol and compose for the court at Mantua, I imagine Ingegneri’s curriculum was excellent. Monteverdi dedicated his first five publications to his teacher.

Ingegneri was a humble, pious man, which during the late Renaissance meant strict, in his personal and professional life, and likely expected the same from others. He was friends with the future Pope Gregory XIV, himself a strict and pious leader, and was a musician in the church after the Council of Trent demanded new strictures on polyphonic music. In short, he was likely well-educated, talented, disciplined, and politically savvy. (One should never underestimate the political climate surrounding composers of the past; it’s yet another reason why music history is the study of music, as it existed within the culture at large. The two are irrevocably linked)

Ingegneri could be very gently revolutionary as well. And yes, I know the limitations of calling someone ‘gently revolutionary.’ Even after the Council of Trent, Ingegneri continued writing complex polyphonic masses, even to the point of unintelligible text setting. His madrigals and motets contain more homophonic settings, but feature a greater use of dissonance to “make the composition more lachrymose.” 

Ingegneri died in 1592. It is possible that Ingegneri was also teacher to Benedetto Pallavicino, a famous madrigalist and sometime rival of Monteverdi. Monteverdi and Pallavicino (sounds like a good name for a coffee flavor) worked together in Mantua at the Gonzaga court and had what seems now to be a professional rivalry. This likely contributed to Pallavicino’s slide into obscurity. 

Some weeks ago a question popped into my head: which Christian denomination has had the best compositions/composers/musicians? If the question was merely sheer volume the Catholics win no contest, but I wanted to know where the real talent lies. I ended up deciding upon the Lutherans (just my opinion; not trying to start a debate), who can claim Michael Praetorius, Heinrich Schütz, and of course J.S. Bach as their best. The Catholics, on the other hand, finish a close second, with Giovanni da Palestrina doubtless the most esteemed representative of Catholic music. However, it can be disheartening to hear contemporary Catholic music in some churches, especially after bearing witness to the incredible vocal tradition which forms the backbone of the liturgy (or at least it used to). Perhaps there is still a place in the church for two loyal sons like Monteverdi and his teacher, Marc’Antonio Ingegneri. 

You can begin to sample Ingegneri's compositions here and here, and look to Arkivmusic.com for some recordings.

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