Fescennini [fescennina, fescennini versus, fiscennia carmina]

Fesch, Willem de.

Feses

F. See Pitch nomenclature.

Festa, Costanzo

The earliest notice of Festa as a composer is the attribution to him of a motet, Quis dabit oculis, written (as was a motet on the same text by Mouton) to commemorate the death (9 January 1514) of Anne of Brittany, Queen of France. Speculation that Festa may have spent some time studying in France (Lowinsky, 1968) remains unproved. The discovery that he visited Ferrara early in March, 1514, bringing with him several motets, tells us both that he could not have lingered in France and that he was by this time a recognized composer; the presence of Quis dabit in I-Bc Q19, a manuscript compiled in northern Italy c1516–19, suggests that this motet could have been among those brought by the composer to Ferrara.

At some point between 1510 and 1517 (probably the last few years in this period) Festa lived on the island of Ischia, in the bay of Naples; he was employed as a music teacher for Rodrigo and Alfonso d'Avalos, members of a powerful Neapolitan princely family. A document recording this engagement refers to Festa as ‘musico celebrato’. In 1517 he joined the papal chapel in Rome; from this period come a group of motets in the Medici codex (I-Fl 666), including Super flumina Babylonis with its tenor on a requiem chant, a lament for an unspecified person (there is no proof that it was written for the death of Louis XII in 1515).

During his long tenure in the Cappella Sistina Festa wrote a good deal of liturgical music (masses and mass movements, a cycle of Magnificat settings, a set of Lamentations, a celebrated set of hymns), a number of motets, and a quantity of madrigals. Individual motets and madrigals appeared in print, and Festa apparently contemplated, in the late 1530s, publication of all or most of his music; in 1536 he asked Filippo Strozzi for information about a Venetian printer who could publish his music, and two years later he received a Venetian privilege to print his ‘Messe motettj madrigali, basse, contraponti, lamentation, et qualunque’. The single volume to appear was a book of madrigals (1538; two partbooks extant) probably issued in Rome. Otherwise the only music printed under his name was a set of three-voice madrigals (1537; 1543, a popular edition often reprinted). A device, perhaps a personal one of the composer, which appears in the madrigal book is also found in I-Rvat C.S.20, a manuscript devoted entirely to Festa's sacred music and perhaps prepared (1539–40) with a view to publication (Brauner, 1982).

Some of Festa's music, in addition to the motets mentioned above, may be dated with some precision. Two motets in I-Rvat C.S.46, the eight-voice Inviolata, integra et casta Maria and a Regina caeli, were copied into that manuscript between about 1515 and 1519 (Dean, 1984). From the same period come five motets (and possibly a Fors seulement mentioned by Aaron in 1519) copied into I-Bc Q19. The motet Gaude virgo, perhaps partially extant in manuscripts in Casale Monferrato and Rome (Crawford, 1975; Silbiger, 1977), is mentioned by Aaron in 1525. In 1528 Festa sent several canti (madrigals) to Filippo Strozzi, to whom he owed money and who was godfather to the composer’s infant son. Strozzi, a Florentine often in Rome on political and financial business, had more texts, written by him or by his brother Lorenzo, set to music by Festa in 1531; and in 1536 still more madrigals, including a ‘cancione del cald'arost’, were sent by the composer to Strozzi (Agee, 1985). The manuscript I-Rv Sⁱ35–40, copied c1530–32, contains five Festa motets. There is mention in 1533 of a madrigal to a text by Michelangelo (now lost); and in 1536, following a visit of Charles V to Rome, Festa wrote a motet (lost) on the emperor's device Plus ultra (Jeppesen, 1962).

Festa's dealings with Filippo Strozzi, his motets in the Vallicelliana manuscript, his setting of a madrigal, Sacra pianta da quell'arbor, in honour of a Florentine notable (?Alessandro de' Medici, see Einstein, 1949), and his contribution to the Medici wedding music of 1539 all suggest connections with Florence; but there is nothing to support the claim that he was Tuscan or ever lived in Florence. His service to two Medici popes, Leo X and Clement VII, is sufficient to explain the connection. Cosimo Bartoli, Florentine patriot and close observer of music, mentions Festa with approval but places him only in Rome in his Ragionamenti accademici (published in 1567 but written some 15 years earlier).

Three of Festa's four extant masses are preserved in Roman manuscripts, close to the papal chapel and presumably written for that institution. None of the four have titles (these are supplied by Main, CMM, xxv, 1962–78). The Missa carminum or diversorum tenorum uses five 15th-century chansons (L'homme armé, J'ay pris amours, Petite camusette, Adieu mes amours, and De tous biens pleine); this suggests a bow to tradition or perhaps evidence of a student work. A Marian mass survives, written in the Roman tradition made famous by Josquin's Missa de beata virgine; a mass parodying an Isaac Gloria, and one based on Se congie pris, an Odhecaton chanson. Festa wrote a good deal of liturgical polyphony for the papal chapel, including a complete Magnificat cycle (each one set for all verses, in the Roman tradition), a set of Lamentations, a litany, and four Benedicamus Domino settings; all are in serviceable but far from perfunctory style, and must have seen much use. None were published in his lifetime (the Magnificat settings were printed in 1554, the litany in 1583). The most celebrated of his sacred compositions was a set of vesper hymns, copied in a Cappella Sistina manuscript in 1539 and widely disseminated; they may have replaced Du Fay's hymns in daily use at the papal chapel. Some 60 motets survive, for three to eight voices, and ranging in style from simple to quite elaborate, making use of canons and separately texted tenors. Festa's contrapuntal technique has been praised (see Main, Grove6; Jeppesen, 1962); the motets certainly show competence although a certain dryness and stiffness is evident in some of the more ambitious settings.

Festa appears not to have written any chansons – a surprising lacunae if he really did live for a time in France. He was active as a madrigalist, and from an early period in its history; only Verdelot and two composers in Leo X's service, Bernardo Pisano and Sebastiano Festa, composed madrigals before him, and this dating may be deceptive since the dates of composition are largely unknown for Festa's madrigals; a reasonably safe assumption is that they were all written between c1525 and 1540. The print Delli madrigali a tre voci (RISM 1537⁷), of which only the bass partbook survives, contains 13 pieces attributed to ‘Constantius festa’ along with a number of anonymous ones ascribed to him in later prints. Given the fact that Festa was looking for a Venetian printer in 1536, this book, printed by Ottaviano Scotto from woodcuts by Antico, may represent the first (and only) volume of a projected series. After an odd publication of 1541 which although called the Primo libro a tre of Festa actually contains only one piece by the composer, Gardane issued a Vero primo libro in 1543, printing many of the pieces from the 1537 book while adding a number of new ones, not all reliably the work of Festa; this volume enjoyed lasting success, with five subsequent printings. Meanwhile Festa had printed a Libro primo … di Constantio Festa (1538) of four-, five- and six-voice madrigals, presumably starting a new series; of this only two partbooks survive. That more volumes were contemplated is strongly suggested by the existence of a manuscript partbook (I-PEc 3314) containing 19 madrigals of which the first 17 are ascribed to ‘Constantius Festa’; many of these are known from manuscript and print concordances to be Festa’s work. The contents and especially the presence of ascriptions, unusual in manuscripts of the period, support the idea that this partbook was copied from a (lost) print or represents a volume whose publication was planned but never carried out (Fenlon and Haar, 1988).

Festa wrote about 100 madrigals; as with Arcadelt there are problems with conflicting attributions. His three-voice works, graceful and unassuming, were clearly popular; the four-voice madrigals share the idiom established by Verdelot and contribute substantially to the genre, though perhaps without the skill and variety displayed by Arcadelt. The multi-voice madrigals, like some of Verdelot's, show a certain hesitancy of technique in the face of what Willaert and Rore were soon to produce.

Festa's ‘contraponti’ and ‘basse’ long remained a mystery and were assumed to be lost; but Jeppesen signalled the existence of a manuscript (I-Bc C36) containing ‘Cento cinquantasette contrapunti sopra del canto fermo intitolato la Base di Cons. Festa’ ascribed to G.M. Nanino and dated 1602. It has now been shown (Agee, 1985) that only the last portion of this work is by Nanino; the rest is Festa's long-lost ‘contraponti’.

Festa has long been regarded as the first native Italian to join the ranks of distinguished northern polyphonists active in Italy in the early 16th century. Now that the work of Marchetto Cara, an older contemporary of Gasparo de Albertis, perhaps an exact one, and of Francesco Layolle and Bernardo Pisano, slightly younger ones, has become better known, this no longer seems appropriate; but in his position at the papal chapel Festa did achieve an eminence unusual for Italian musicians before the mid-16th century.

WORKS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

JAMES HAAR

WORKS

masses, mass movements

Missa carminum (also known as the Missa diversorum tenorum), 4vv, M i (on secular tunes; attrib. De Silva in 15211)

Missa de domina nostra, 4vv, M i (on plainchant from Cr IV, Masses IX, XVII)

Missa ‘Et in terra pax’, 4vv, M i (on Gl which is attrib. Isaac in MS; lacks Cr)

Missa ‘Se congie pris’, 5vv, M i (c.f. popular song)

Credo ‘Solemnitas’, 5vv, M i (c.f. ant now known as Nativitas gloriosae virginis Mariae)

4 Benedicamus Domino, 4vv, M i (2 on Mass IV, 2 on Mass IX)

magnificat, lamentations

8 Magnificat (tones I–VIII), 4vv, M ii (all verses polyphonic)

4 Magnificat (tones, I, III, VI, VIII), 4vv, M ii (all verses polyphonic)

2 Sicut locutus est (tones III, VI), 2vv, M ii (presumably frags. of otherwise unknown settings)

8 Lamentations for Holy Week, 4–7vv, M vi

motets

Alma Redemptoris mater, 4vv, M iii

Alma Redemptoris mater, 6vv, M iv

Angelus ad pastores, 4vv, M v

Ave nobilissima creatura, 5vv, M iii

Ave regina (i), ?3vv, M v (?lacks 1v)

Ave regina (ii), ?3vv, M v (?lacks 1v)

Ave regina, 6vv, M iv

Ave virgo gratiosa, ?3vv, M v (?lacks 1v)

Ave virgo immaculata, 4vv, M iii

Congratulamini mihi omnes, 4vv, M v

Da pacem, 4vv, M v

Deduc me Domine, 4vv, M iii

Deus qui beatum, 4vv, M iii

Deus venerunt gentes, 5vv, M iii (probably intended as protest against the sack of Rome, 1527)

Dominator caelorum, 5vv, M v (c.f. Da pacem; also attrib. Conseil)

Domine non secundum, 6vv, M iv

Ecce advenit dominator, 6vv, M iv (c.f. Christus vincit)

Ecce Deus salvator meus, 4vv, M iii

Ecce iste venit, 6vv, M iv (c.f. Magnificat, tone I)

Elisabeth beatissima, 4vv, M v

Exaltabo te, 6vv, M iv (c.f. Canticle of Zachary and part of Cum iucunditate)

Factus est repente, 4vv, M iii

Felix Anna, 4vv, M v

Florentia, 5vv, M v (c.f. part of Lamentation formula)

Gaude felix ecclesia, 6vv, M v (c.f. Virgo Dei genetrix; anon. in source, attrib. Festa by Llorens)

Inclytae sanctae virginis Catharinae, 5vv, M iii (c.f. Veni sponsa Christi)

In illo tempore, 5vv, M v (c.f. part of Ave maris stella)

Inviolata, integra et casta Maria, 8vv, M iv

Jesu Nazarene, 5vv, M v (c.f. v.1 of Vexilla Regis)

Laetemur omnes, 6vv, M iv

Libera me Domine, 4vv, M iv

Litaniae, 8vv (2 choirs) (Munich, 1583), M vi (text corresponds in part to Litany of Loreto)

Lumen ad revelationem gentium, 4–5vv, M iv (alternatim setting with Nunc dimittis)

Maria virgo praescripta, 5vv (c.f. Angeli, archangeli; only 3vv survive)

Miserere, 4–5vv, M v (alternatim setting; attrib. doubtful: given in G. Baini, Memorie storico-critiche della vita e delle opere di … Palestrina, Rome, 1828/R, but none appears now in this 17th-century MS, presumably because of careless trimming)

Nunc dimittis, 4vv, M v

O altitudo divitiarum, 6vv, M v (c.f. Da pacem; anon. in source, attrib. Festa by Llorens)

O lux et decus, 5vv, M iii (c.f. O beate Jacobe)

O pulcherrima virgo, 4vv, M v

Pater noster, 6vv, M iv (on plainsong, with c.f. Ave Maria … benedicta tu)

Petrus apostolus, 4vv, M v

Quam pulchra es, 4vv, M v (also later, defective version without A)

Quasi stella matutina, 4vv, M iii

Quis dabit oculis, 4vv, M v (lament for Anne of Brittany, d 1514; pubd by Ott, Nuremberg, 1538, with text changed for death of Maximilian I and attrib. Senfl)

Regem archangelorum, 4vv, M v

Regem regum Dominum, 4vv, M v

3 Regina caeli, 4vv, M iii

Regina caeli (i), 5vv, M iv

Regina caeli (ii), 5vv, M v

Regina caeli, 6vv, M iv

Regina caeli, 7vv, M iv

Sancta Maria succurre, ?3vv, M v (?lacks 1v)

Sancto disponente spiritu, 5vv, M iii (c.f. Quia vidisti me)

Sub tuum praesidium, 4vv, M iii

Super flumina Babylonis, 5vv, M v (c.f. part of Dies irae; lament)

Surge amica mea, ?3vv, M v (?lacks 1v)

Te Deum, 4vv, M iv (also in 2 later versions of doubtful authenticity)

Tribus miraculis, 6vv, M v

Video in hac crucis ara, 4vv, M iii

Vidi speciosam, 6vv, M iii (c.f. Assumpta est Maria)

Virgo Maria, 4vv, M iii

vesper hymns

Ad caenam agni providi; Audi benigne conditor; Aurea luce et decore roseo; Aures ad nostras Deitatis preces; Ave maris stella; 2 Christe redemptor omnium; Conditor alme siderum; 2 Deus tuorum militum; Exsultet caelum laudibus; Hostis Herodes impie; Huius obtentu; Iste confessor

2 Jesu corona virginum; Jesu nostra redemptio; Lucis Creator optime; Nardi Maria pistici; O lux beata Trinitas; Pange lingua gloriosi; Petrus beatus catenarum laqueos; Rex gloriose martyrum; Sanctorum meritis; Tibi Christe splendor Patri; Tristes erant apostoli; Urbs beata Jerusalem; Ut queant laxis resonare fibris; Veni creator Spiritus; Vexilla Regis prodeunt

madrigals

Afflitti spirti miei, 3vv, M vii; Aggiacci et arde, 4vv; Ahi, lasso che spero, 3vv, M vii; Alte gratie et divine, 4vv; Altro non è'l mio amor, 3vv, M vii (also attrib. Arcadelt); Amanti il servir vostro, 4vv, M viii; Amanti io el vo pur dir, 4vv; Amanti io lo dico a voi, 4vv; Amanti o lieti amanti, 4vv, M viii; Amor ben puoi tu hormai, 5vv, M vii; Amor che mi consigli, 2vv, M vii; Amor s'al primo sguardo, 4vv, M viii; Aura gentil che in ver, 4vv; Bramo morir per non patir, 4vv, M viii (also attrib. Arcadelt); Cad' amor la tua gloria, 4vv; Caron Caron un amante fedel, 4vv; Che giova saggitar, 3vv, M vii; Che parlo o dove sono, 3vv, M vii; Che si può più vedere, 3vv, M vii; Chiar'Arno'l dolor mio, 4vv, M viii; Chi de cognoscer, 4vv; Chi vuol veder, 4vv, M viii; Come che'l desir segue, 3vv, M vii; Come lieto si mostra, 4vv, M viii; Come potria giamai, 4vv; Constantia ’l vo pur dire, 5vv, M vii; Coppia d'amici a cui, 4vv, M viii; Coppia felice a cui, 4vv, M viii; Così estrema è la doglia, 6vv; Così soav' il foco, 4vv, M viii

D'amor le generose, 4vv, M viii; Datemi pace o duri miei pensieri, 4vv, M viii; Deh piaccia al cielo, 3vv, M vii; Divelt' è'l mio bel vivo, 4vv, M viii; Dolce inimica mia, 4vv; Dolor sta sempre meco, 3vv, M vii; Donna che lungi, 4vv; Donna non fu, 5vv, M vii; Donna s'io vi dicessi, 4vv, M viii; Donna si vi spaventa, 4vv, M viii; Due cose fan contrasto, 5vv, M vii; Duro è il partito, 4vv, M viii; E morta la speranza, 4vv, M viii; Et se per gelosia, 3vv, M vii; Già mi godea felice, 4vv; Hor vegio ben, 4vv; Ingiustissimo amor, 3vv, M vii; Io dovea ben pensarmi, 4vv; Io non so ben, 4vv; Io son tal volta, 4vv, M vii (also attrib. Arcadelt); Ite caldi sospiri, 4vv; Lasso che amor mi mena, 4vv; Lasso che ben mi acorgo, 4vv; La semplice farfalla, 4vv; Leggiadri amanti in cui, 4vv; Lieti fior verde frondi, 4vv, M viii; Lieto non hebbi mai, 3vv, M vii

Madonna al volto mio pallido, 3vv, M vii; Madonna al volto mio pallido, 4vv, M viii; Madonna il vostro orgoglio, 3vv, M vii; Madonna io mi consumo (i), 3vv, M vii; Madonna io mi consumo (ii), 3vv, M vii; Madonna io prend' ardire, 3vv, M vii; Madonna io sol vorrei, 3vv, M vii; Madonna io v'amo et taccio, 3vv, M vii; Madonna i preghi miei, 5vv, M vii; Madonna oimè per qual cagion, 4vv, M viii (also attrib. Arcadelt); Mentre nel dubbio petto, 5vv, M vii; Nasce fra l'herbe, 4vv, M viii; Non mi duol il morir, 3vv, M vii; Non mi par che sia ver, 3vv, M vii; Non s'incolpa la voglia, 5vv, M vii; Occhi non ma del ciel, 4vv; O dio che la brunetta mia, 3vv, M vii; O felici color che nott'e giorno, 4vv, M viii; Ogni beltà madonna, 3vv, M vii; Ogni loco m'attrista, 3vv, M vii; O solitario ed a me grato, 5vv, M vii; Per alti monti, 4vv, M viii; Perché madonna io vivo, 4vv, M viii; Per inhospiti boschi, 4vv, M viii; Più che mai vaga, 4vv, M viii; Porta negli occhi, 4vv, M viii

Qual anima ignorante, 5vv, M vii; Qual paura ho, 4vv, M viii; Qual sarà mai, 3vv, M vii; Quando i bell'occhi, 4vv; Quando ritrovo la mia pastorella, 4vv, M viii; Quanto più m'ard’, 4vv, M viii; Quanto più solco d'Adria, 4vv; Real natura, 4vv, M viii; Ridendo la mia donna (i), 4vv, M viii; Ridendo la mia donna (ii), 4vv; Sacra pianta da quel arbor, 5vv, M vii; Se grato o ingrato, 4vv, M viii; Se i sguardi di costei, 4vv, M viii (also attrib. Arcadelt); Sel'humana natura, 4vv, M viii; Se mai vedete amanti, 3vv, M vii; Se mort' in me potesse, 4vv, M viii; Se non fosse il sperar (i), 3vv, M vii; Se non fosse il sperar (ii); Se per forza di doglia, 5vv, M vii; Se saper donna curi, 4vv; Se voi mirasti dentro, 4vv; Se voi mirasti dentro, 4vv; Si come sete bella (i), 3vv, M vii; Si come sete bella (ii), 3vv, M vii; Si come seti bella, 4vv; Si liet' alcun giamai, 4vv, M viii (also attrib. Arcadelt); Si travaliato il stato, 4vv; So che nissun mi crede, 4vv, M viii; Sopra una verde e dilettosa riva, 3vv, M vii; Suave e dolce loco, 4vv; Tra quante furno et sonno, 4vv; Una donna l'altrier, 3vv, M vii; Un baciar furioso, 4vv, M viii; Vaghi luci sol, 3vv, M vii; Valli desert' e sole, 4vv, M viii; Vegghi hor con gli occh’, 4vv, M viii; Venite amanti insieme, 3vv, M vii; Venuta era madonna, 3vv, M vii; Venuta era madonna, 4vv; Veramente in amore, 4vv

BIBLIOGRAPHY