93. The Roman School.—It was natural that at Rome an effort should be put forth to maintain the traditions of the Palestrina style, with its strictly a cappella effects, its restraint and purity of structure, and its quality of unworldliness, and that some new writers should seek to add to its repertory. Their success was relatively small, so that it is commonly said that the Palestrina style ceased by 1650. This is not strictly true, since worthy names in the succession can be cited beyond the 17th century, but the style was no longer a positive historic force.
Certain changes in style crept in more and more, though often resisted. Chief of these was the use of the organ for accompaniment, which became a matter of course in most cases (though not in the Papal Chapel, where there was no organ). Another was the Venetian device of several groups of voices, producing what are called 'polychoric' effects. Another was the introduction of solo passages and the handling of voices in ways not strictly choral. This involved the use of song-forms and often florid vocal ornaments, neither of which were germane to the older style. As far as possible the Roman school sought to avoid the powerful drift toward the concertistic or theatrical style, thus recognizing a distinction that has been a subject of debate ever since.
None of the pontificates during the century were of musical importance,
though Urban VIII. (1623-44) took pains to complete certain
service-books, and Alexander VII. (1665-7) was a noted patron of
literature and the fine arts.
Without attempting an exhaustive catalogue, certain composers should be enumerated:—
Agostino Agazzari (d. 1640), born at Siena in 1578, was from about 1609 choirmaster at various Roman churches and later perhaps at Siena. A prolific composer of motets, masses and madrigals (from 1596), he is notable as one of the first to use organ-accompaniments with a figured bass and to indicate rules for the latter (1607). He also published a tract aiming to elucidate the edicts on church music of the Council of Trent.
Antonio Cifra (d. c. 1638), born in 1575, a pupil of Palestrina and G.M. Nanino, was choirmaster at Loreto in 1613-21 and again from about 1628, in the interval being two years at the Lateran and five in Austria. His very numerous and excellent works (from 1600) included masses, motets, psalms, madrigals, part-songs and ricercari.
Romano Micheli (d. c. 1655), a pupil of Soriano and Nanino, was choirmaster at S. Luigi dei Francesi from about 1625. In his writings (from 1610) he emphasized complicated canons in a style that he claimed to be his own.
