Antelami

ANTEGNATI. - A Brescia family of organ builders which, from the 15th to the 16th century, enriched Italy with numerous instruments, authentic masterpieces of organ-building technique. The illustrious workshop begins with BARTOLOMEO, son of a Giovanni «iurisperitus» (a citizen of Brescia but of Cremonese origin) and, after Bartolomeo, who was also organist at Brescia Cathedral, continues with his sons GIOVAN FRANCESCO, GIAN GIACOMO, and GIOVAN BATTISTA, from whose son Gazzidio descends COSTANZO (1549-1624), a pupil of the composer Girolamo Cavazzoni. As a builder, he introduced for the first time (in the organ of S. Marco in Milan) divided stops «per far dialoghi, perché questi registri sono divisi a mezza la tastatura»; as a performer, he held (approximately from 1584 to 1619) the post of organist at Brescia Cathedral; as a composer, he left 2 books of masses for 6-8 voices (Venice 1578 and 1589),

one book of psalms for 8 voices (Venice 1592), Sacrae cantiones for 4–5 voices (Venice 1575 and 1581) and, his principal work, L'Antegnata in Intavolatura de ricercari d'organo..., op. 16 (Brescia 1608); finally, as a theorist, he is the author of the dialogue L'Arte organica (introduction to L'Antegnata, Brescia 1608), important for the technical, expressive, and aesthetic advice that he gives the organist (and which constitutes one of the fundamental texts for the history of registration) and for a list, included therein, of organs built by his family.