ANIMUCCIA

animuccia, giovanni, italian musical composer, was born at florence in the last years of the 15th century. at the request of st. filippo neri he composed a number of _laudi_, or hymns of praise, to be sung after sermon time, which have given him an accidental prominence in musical history, since their performance in st. filippo's oratory eventually gave rise (on the disruption of 16th century schools of composition) to those early forms of "oratorio" that are not traceable to the gregorian-polyphonic "passions." st. filippo admired animuccia so warmly that he declared he had seen the soul of his friend fly upwards towards heaven. in 1555 animuccia was appointed _maestro di capella_ at st. peter's, an office which he held until his death in 1571. he was succeeded by palestrina, who had been his friend and probably his pupil. the manuscript of many of animuccia's compositions is still preserved in the vatican library. his chief published works were _madrigali e motetti a quattro e cinque voci_ (ven. 1548) and _il primo libra di messe_ (rom. 1567). from the latter padre martini has taken two specimens for his _saggio di contrapunto_. a mass from the _primo libra di messe_ on the _canto fermo_ of the hymn _conditor alme siderum_ is published in modern notation in the _anthologie des maitres religieux primitifs_ of the _chanteurs de saint gervais_. it is solemn and noble in conception, and would be a great work but for a roughness which is more careless than archaic.