Constanzo Porta (1528 or 1529 – May 19, 1601) was an Italian composer of the Renaissance, and a representative of what is known today as the Venetian School. He was born in Cremona and died in Padua. He was highly praised throughout his life both as a composer and a teacher. Events June 19 - Battle of Landriano - A French army in Italy under Marshal St. ... Events April 22 - Treaty of Saragossa divides the eastern hemisphere between Spain and Portugal, stipulating that the dividing line should lie 297. ... May 19 is the 139th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (140th in leap years). ... Events February 8 - Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, rebels against Elizabeth I of England - revolt is quickly crushed February 25 - Robert Devereux beheaded Jesuit Matteo Ricci arrives in China Bad harvest in Russia due to rainy summer Dutch troops drive Portuguese from Málaga Battle of Kinsale, Ireland Births... A composer is a person who writes music. ... Renaissance music is classical music written during the Renaissance, approximately 1400 to 1600. ... In music history, the Venetian School is a term used to describe the composers working in Venice from about 1550 to around 1610; it also describes the music they produced. ... This article is about the city of Cremona. ... Location within Italy Tronco Maestro Riviera: a pedestrian walk along a section of the inland waterway or naviglio interno of Padua The city of Padua (Lat. ...

Biography

Details of his early life are slim, but he probably was educated at the Convent Porta San Luca in Cremona. Most likely around 1550 he studied with Adrian Willaert, who was maestro di cappella at St. Mark's in Venice; while he was there he met Claudio Merulo, who was also a student; they remained close friends throughout their lives. In 1552 Porta became maestro di cappella at Osimo Cathedral; in 1565 he took a position in Padua briefly, but took a more important position in Ravenna the next year, where he was hired to build an entirely new music practice at the cathedral. By 1580 his services were much in demand, and there was competition for him; he declined an offer from Milan, moving instead between positions in several cities. In addition he had become a renowned teacher by this time, and numerous composers of the next generation learned their contrapuntal skills from Porta. His last years were spent in Padua, and they were clearly difficult. Musical standards there began to decline, and he faced in addition the burden of ill health and the jealousy of the man who was eventually to replace him. This article is about the city of Cremona. ... Events February 7 - Julius III becomes Pope. ... Adrian Willaert (c. ... San Marco di Venezia, as seen from the Piazza San Marco St Marks Basilica (Italian: Basilica di San Marco) is the most famous of the churches of Venice and one of the best known examples of Byzantine architecture. ... Claudio Merulo (Merlotti, Merulus, also Claudio da Correggio) (April 8, 1533 – May 4, 1604) was an Italian composer, publisher and organist of the late Renaissance, famous for his innovative keyboard music and his ensemble music in the Venetian polychoral style. ... Events April - War between Henry II of France and Emperor Charles V. Henry invades Lorraine and captures Toul, Metz, and Verdun. ... Osimo (anc. ... Events March 1 - the city of Rio de Janeiro is founded April 27 - Cebu City is established becoming the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines. ... Location within Italy Tronco Maestro Riviera: a pedestrian walk along a section of the inland waterway or naviglio interno of Padua The city of Padua (Lat. ... Ravenna is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. ... Events March 1 - Michel de Montaigne signs the preface to his most significant work, Essays. ... MILAN Type anti-tank Nationality joint France/German Era Cold War, modern Launch platform Individual, Vehicle Target Vehicle, Fortification History Builder MBDA, Bharat Dynamics (under license) Date of design 70s Production period since 1972 Service duration since 1972 Operators 41 countries Variants MILAN 1, MILAN 2, MILAN 2T, MILAN 3... Counterpoint is a musical technique involving the simultaneous sounding of separate musical lines. ... Location within Italy Tronco Maestro Riviera: a pedestrian walk along a section of the inland waterway or naviglio interno of Padua The city of Padua (Lat. ...

Style

Most of Porta's output is sacred music, especially motets. He published at least eight books of motets, one of which is lost, as well as books of masses, introits, and a huge cycle of hymns for Vespers. In Western music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions. ... This article discusses the Mass as a standard form of classical music composition. ... The introit (Latin: introitus, entrance) is part of the opening of the celebration of the Mass. ... A hymn is a song specifically written as a song of praise, adoration or prayer, typically addressed to a god. ... Vespers is the evening prayer service in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox liturgies of the canonical hours. ...

Porta's music is even more polyphonic than that of Gombert, and he showed a liking for academic, even severe contrapuntal devices, although they are used so skillfully that the text can always be clearly understood. Often his music uses strict canons; one motet from his book of 52 motets from 1580, in seven voices, has no less than four of the voices entirely derived canonically. Another motet from this same book is a mensuration canon, that most difficult of all contrapuntal forms to carry off. While many composers were reacting to the strictures of the Council of Trent against excessive polyphonic practice, Porta evidently felt unobliged to follow them; perhaps he had sufficient confidence in his skill in conveying the text. His music is as carefully controlled as that of Palestrina, with cautious use of dissonance and chromaticism, while displaying polyphonic virtuosity to a degree uncommon in other composers of sacred music at the end of the 16th century. Polyphony is a musical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice (monophony) or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords (homophony). ... Nicolas Gombert (c. ... Counterpoint is a musical technique involving the simultaneous sounding of separate musical lines. ... This article is about the musical use of the word canon. For other uses, see canon (disambiguation). ... Events March 1 - Michel de Montaigne signs the preface to his most significant work, Essays. ... A prolation canon is a type of musical canon. ... The Council of Trent is an ecumenical council recognized by the Roman Catholic Church held from December 13, 1545, to December 4, 1563. ... Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (born in Palestrina (Praeneste) near Rome, 1525, latest February 1, 1526 – February 2, 1594 in Rome) was an Italian composer of Renaissance music. ... In music, a consonance (Latin consonare, sounding together) is a harmony, chord, or interval considered stable, as opposed to a dissonance, which is considered unstable. ... In music, chromatic indicates the inclusion of notes not in the prevailing scale and is also used for those notes themselves (Shir-Cliff et al 1965, p. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ...

Some of the later motets use polychoral writing extensively. Although Porta was not in Venice in the late part of the century, where this style had become famous (see Venetian polychoral style), he had spent years there as a student studying with Willaert, and the influence clearly lasted throughout his life. Most likely he was familiar with the current practice in Venice, and adopted some of the innovations which worked best with his highly learned style. This article is about the musical term. ... The Venetian polychoral style was a type of music of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras which involved spatially separate choirs singing in alternation. ...

Porta also wrote madrigals. Many of these were clearly intended for specific occasions, such as weddings and large social events in the families of his employers; they are in a much simpler style than his sacred works, much in keeping with contemporary practice. A madrigal is a setting for 4–6 voices of a secular text, often in Italian. ...

Sources and Further Reading

• Gustave Reese, Music in the Renaissance. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1954. (ISBN 0393095304)
• Article Costanzo Porta, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980. (ISBN 1561591742)