MARTINI, GIAMBATTISTA. - Of the Friars Minor Conventual, musician and musicologist, b. in Bologna on 24 Apr. 1706, d. there on 3 Aug. 1784.
In 1725 he was appointed director of the musical chapel of S. Francesco in Bologna, and in 1729 he was ordained priest. He composed much sacred music: Marian litanies and antiphons for 4 voices with organ and other instruments ad libitum, printed in 1734; 15 complete Masses and other detached compositions relating to the Mass; music for Holy Week, for the Office of the Dead, and several motets. In these religious compositions he showed himself to be a rather conservative spirit. He adhered to the models of classical polyphony, shunning the style then in vogue: exaggerated in pictorial effects, in the use of instruments, and in sentimental outpourings. He also wrote oratorios: *L'Assunzione di Salomone al trono d'Israele*, *Il sacrificio di Abramo*, and 2 on the subject of St. Peter. He also composed 12 sonatas for organ and harpsichord (printed in 1724), chamber duets (1763), secular arias and cantatas on texts including those of Metastasio, symphonies, concertos, and a concertino for obbligato harpsichord and cello with violin accompaniment.
A distinguished historian and bibliophile, he was a member of the Accademia Filarmonica of Bologna and of the Arcadia in Rome under the name of Aristosseno Anfoneo. A skilled connoisseur of musical theory and the secrets of composition, he was able to write dozens of canons in succession on various texts. His correspondence is noteworthy for the bulk and importance of the subjects treated. With passion and patience he amassed a notable collection of musical manuscripts, incunabula, and fine prints, which after his death passed partly to the Imperial Library in Vienna and partly (the most considerable part) to the Library of the Bologna Music Lyceum, which still bears his name. A most praiseworthy work is the 3 volumes of *Storia della musica* (Bologna 1757-81) with important illustrations and exemplifications. He also wrote: *L'esemplare, ossia saggio fondamentale pratico di contrappunto sopra il canto fermo* (1774); *Saggio fondamentale di contrappunto fugato* (1775) with a copious musical anthology.