| Virgilio Mazzocchi, (born: Civita Castellana, bap. 22 July 1597; died: there, 3 Oct 1646). Italian composer, brother of Domenico Mazzocchi. A pupil of his brother in Rome, he later held a series of posts there as a maestro di cappella, first at the Chiesa del Gesù and later at St. John Lateran (1628-9) and the Cappella Giulia of St Peter's (from 1629). He wrote various sacred works, some secular vocal pieces and a sacred opera, and collaborated with Marco Marazzoli in the comic opera Chi soffre speri (1639, Rome). Stilistically, Mazzocchi’s sacred music, even keeping a palestrinian counterpoint clearness, is mainly keen to a more sumptuous language, closer to Orazio Benevoli’s stile grosso, in a perfect balance between a cappella and concertante style. |
