LANDI, STEFANO. — Musician, b. in Rome c. 1590, d. there c. 1655. In 1619 he became maestro di cappella 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 was a beneficiary cleric at St Peter’s. 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 polyphonic style, he welcomed the innovations of the representational style and indeed made notable progress in compositional technique, especially in the sacred drama.
His works include: Madrigals for 4 and 5 voices (Venice 1619; Rome 1625); La morte d’Orfeo, a pastoral tragicomedy by Alessandro Matthei (Venice 1619; Rome 1639); Arias for 1 to 2 voices (ibid. 1620–38); Psalms for 4 voices (ibid. 1624); Various poems set to music (ibid. 1628); Missa in benedictione nuptiarum for six voices (ibid. 1628); The sacred drama S. Alessio, on a libretto by Cardinal G. Rospigliosi, later Pope Clement IX (ibid. 1632); A cappella Masses for 4 and 5 voices (ibid. 1639); and various music in contemporary collections. S. Alessio, with which the theatre of Palazzo Barberini was inaugurated on 12 Feb. 1632, may be considered a true forerunner of the famous Roman opera.
Landi also collaborated on the new edition (Antwerp 1644) of Palestrina’s hymns, at the request of Urban VIII.