A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Pitoni, Giuseppe
PITONI, Giuseppe Ottavio, eminent musician of the Roman school, born March 18, 1657, at Rieti; from the age of five attended the music-school of Pompeo Natale, and was successively chorister at San Giovanni de' Fiorentini, and the SS. Apostoli in Rome. Here he attracted the attention of Foggia, who gave him instruction in counterpoint during several years. In 1673 he became Maestro di Capella at Terra di Rotondo, and afterwards at Assisi, where he began to score Palestrina's works, a practice he afterwards enjoined on his pupils, as the best way of studying style. In 1676 he removed to Rieti, and in 1677 became Maestro di Capella of the Collegio di San Marco in Rome, where his pieces for two and three choirs were first performed. He was also engaged by various other churches, San Apollinare and S. Lorenzo in Damaso in 1686, the Lateran in 1708, and St. Peter's in 1719, but he retained his post at San Marco till his death, Feb. 1, 1743, and was buried there.
Pitoni's 'Dixit' in 16 parts is still one of the finest pieces of music sung at St. Peter's during Holy Week, and his masses 'Li Pastori a Maremme,' 'Li Pastori a montagna,' and 'Mosca,' founded openly on popular melodies, still sound fresh and new. His fertility was enormous; for St. Peter's alone he composed complete services for the entire year. He also wrote many pieces for six and nine choirs. He compiled a history of the Maestri di Capella of Rome from 1500 to 1700, the MS. of which is in the Vatican library, and was used by Baini for his life of Palestrina. Gaspari drew the attention of Fétis to a work of 108 pages, 'Guida Armonica di Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni,' presumably printed in 1689. The MS. is lost. Among Pitoni's numerous pupils were Durante, Leo, and Feo. The library of the Corsini Palace in Rome contains a biography of him by his friend Geronimo Chiti of Siena. Proske's 'Musica Divina' contains a mass and a requiem, 6 motets, a psalm, a hymn, and a 'Christus factus est,' by Pitoni.