Giovanni Giacomo de Antiquis
Italian composer
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Giovanni Giacomo de Antiquis (fl. 1565 – c. 1608) was an Italian composer, choral conductor, voice teacher, and anthologist.[1]
Life and career
The year of Giovanni Giacomo de Antiquis's birth in the city of Corato, Italy is not known. The earliest record of the composer is as a cleric at the Basilica of Saint Nicholas, Bari in 1565. He eventually was made a canon and choirmaster at that cathedral. He joined the staff of the Conservatorio dei Poveri di Gesù Cristo, a music conservatory in Naples, where he was a voice teacher and a chaplain from 1606 through 1608. After this nothing is known about his whereabouts or death.[1]
As a composer, Giovanni Giacomo de Antiquis mainly wrote choral music. Most of his surviving music is contained within two anthologies of music which he gathered and which were published in 1574: Il primo libro delle villanelle alla napolitana and Il secondo libro delle villanelle alla napolitana. Collectively, these two anthologies include thirteen villanelles by Antiquis which are written in 3-part vocal harmony. They also include music by 31 other composers. His published collections of canzonette (mainly duets) and madrigals (in four part vocal harmony) from 1584 are both lost.[1] Some of his compositions are contained in Il primo libro a due voci de diversi autori di Bari (Venice 1585).[citation needed] He also published some instrumental bicinia and works for solo lute.[1]