AGAZZARI, AGOSTINO

born Dec. 2, 1578, Siena died April 10, 1640, Siena Italian composer famous for his treatise, Del sonare sopra 'l basso con tutti li stromenti e dell'uso loro nel conserto (1607; On Playing Upon the Thoroughbass with All the Instruments and Their Use in an Ensemble), one of the earliest instruction books for performing from the thoroughbass. Agazzari was chapelmaster of the German College in Rome in 160203 and the Roman Seminary in 1606. He returned to his native Siena in 1607, where he was organist for a time at the Siena cathedral and served as chapelmaster there until his death. He composed in both the stile antico (old style) of the late Renaissance and the stile moderno of the early Baroque. He composed a pastoral opera, Eumelio, and numerous motets, as well as masses, psalms, and other sacred music. In his thoroughbass treatise he distinguishes between foundation instruments (organ, lute, harpsichord, theorbo, and harp) and ornament, or melody, instruments (lute, theorbo, harp, cittern, bass lira, violin, guitar, spinet, and pandora). The significance of that distinction lies in its recognition that, whereas usually in Renaissance music all voices of a composition had been equally important, in the developing Baroque music a new and significant concept was being developedthe contrasted roles of the upper (melody) and lower (bass) parts. Agazzari gave practical instructions for the use of counterpoint in the improvising of melody parts upon the thoroughbass.