Donemus Webwinkel — Antegnati, Costanzo

Costanzo Antegnati was an Italian organist, organ builder and composer of the late Renaissance. He was born in Brescia in 1549 to a family of prolific organ builders. As a composer he is not very well known, and neither were his tutors Giovanni Contino and Girolamo Cavazzoni.
When Costanzo Antegnati was 21 of age he was sent by his father to Duke Guglielmo Gonzaga in the court of Mantua, to fix the organ in the basilica of Santa Barbara in Mantua. He was also together with his father in 1581 the constructor of the famous Antegnati organ in the friars church of St. Joseph in Brescia. This was in those days the largest and most famous organ in the world.
Although few of his many organs have survived the ages, the remarkable organ in the St. Nicholas church in Bergamo has been restored in 1996, and is in a fair state now. Antegnati wrote a book L’ arte organica (1608) with many technical details of 144 organs built by his family, rules about tuning of organs and harpsichords, and advices for organ registration.
The composer Costanzo Antegnati wrote several Masses and madrigals between 1571 and 1592. He published a book of organ pieces, including some of his own hand, in 1608 The underlying Book of Psalms was published in 1592 by Angelo Gardano in Venice. Antegnati wrote also a number of Canzonas for organ, that have been arranged for lute and guitar (tablature) by Anton Höger.
Antegnati suffered a stroke that caused a crippled hand. Therefore he was relieved of his duties. Nevertheless he received his salary and title until his death in 1624, because of his ‘worth for the city of Brescia’.
His music in the psalms is not very intricate and complex, but always pleasant and harmonic. Therefore invoking a state of meditation while listening to them.
The psalms are more or less written in the Venetian style: one choir relays its final chord to the other choir, like the chori spezzati did in St. Marks.
The Psalm book was dedicated to Abbess Hortensia Marchi of the monastery of S. Vittore in Meda (It.)