LANDI, STEFANO. - Musician, b. in Rome c. 1590, d. there c. 1655. In 1619 he became choirmaster to Marco Cornaro, bishop of Padua, then at the Madonna dei Monti in Rome; on 29 Nov. 1629 he was appointed singer in the Cappella Giulia and from 1632 a beneficed cleric at S. Pietro. A pupil of the two Nanini, he was one of the most celebrated contrapuntists of his time and, while preserving in his compositions the profound severity of the polyphonic style, he embraced the innovations of the representational style and indeed brought about notable advances in compositional technique, especially in sacred drama.
He composed: Madrigali a 4 e 5 voci (Venice 1619; Rome 1625); La morte d'Orfeo, pastoral tragicomedy by Alessandro Matthei (Venice 1619; Rome 1639); Arie da 1 a 2 voci (there 1620–38); Salmi a 4 voci (there 1624); Poesie diverse in musica (there 1628); Missa in benedictione nuptiarum sex vocum (there 1628); the sacred drama S. Alessio, to a libretto by Card. G. Rospigliosi, later Pope Clemente IX (there 1632); Messe a cappella a 4 e 5 voci (there 1639); and various music in collections of the period. The S. Alessio, with which the theatre of Palazzo Barberini was inaugurated on 12 Feb. 1632, may be regarded as a genuine sacred drama anticipating the famous Roman opera.
L. also collaborated, at the commission of Urbano VIII, on the new edition (Antwerp, 1644) of Palestrina’s hymns.