Serafino Razzi
O Vergin Santa, non m'abbandonare
Libro Primo delle laudi spirituali, Venezia
Year: 1563
O Vergin Santa
Eva Zaïcik · Deborah Cachet · Le Poème Harmonique & Vincent Dumestre
Nisi Dominus
Introduction:
Laude (Lauda in Italian) is a poetic composition of religious inspiration. Initially written in Latin, using a dimetric or trimetric iambic pattern, it celebrated the glory of God, the Virgin Mary and the Saints. Complementary to the divine office, she is increasingly encouraged by clerics to give the laity a more active participation in the rites of the Church. Musicologists see in this the origin of the « Laude spirituali », the main non-liturgical religious musical form of Italy at the end of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Sung in the open air on the occasion of penitential processions, but also part of the liturgy of the Hours, these lauds are closely linked to Marian piety, reactivated by the Church each time it engages in the fight against heresies. From the first decades of the 13th century, laudesi brotherhoods were formed and had the task, after religious services, of singing the praises of the Virgin Mary. From the beginning, the Venetian Laude aimed for stylistic autonomy, finding expression not so much in the poetic and textual profile as in purely musical aspects. In Venice, the practice of borrowing tunes from secular chants to sing laude (cantasi come) was abandoned in favor of composing new melodies, specially designed for the religious texts to be performed. The Laude becomes as much a pretext for the composition of new tunes and new chants. At every stage of its evolution, the Laude whether monophonic, dramatic or polyphonic has always remained the most popular form of non-liturgical religious expression. The most typical are the tight development of the different parts and the transparent architecture of the melodic lines. More than 200 laudarii (compilations of Laude) have been preserved, leaving us with a surprisingly evocative repertoire of great dramatic intensity, the sound of a passionate religion which neither required nor even accommodated any intermediary and found its deepest expression in singing. Among the pieces sung, there are the numerous lauds composed in particular by Serafino Razzi, occasionally borrowing the religious poems of Leonardo Giustiniani. This Dominican monk is also representative of the new spirituality which irrigated the devotional brotherhoods at the turn of the 17th century. In parallel, the oratory was founded in Rome in 1563 by the florentine Filippo Neri and its first composer Giovanni Animuccia. Their performance gave rise to religious concerts in which the sacred story and the oratorio were born.
Giovanni Razzi (1531-1613)
Giovanni Razzi alias Serafino is born in Marradi and later residing in Florence, was a notable Italian Dominican friar famous for his contributions to music and literature. In 1549, he entered the Dominican monastery of St Marco in Florence as a novice and adopted the religious name Serafino. His early career was mainly devoted to preaching, and in 1558 he was ordained a priest. Serafino published during the year 1563 an important collection of lauds in Latin entitled « Libro primo delle laudi spirituale ». This collection presents itself as a vibrant mosaic, featuring pieces of diverse ages and characters drawn from Florence's rich musical landscape. According to the German musicologist Willi Apel, Fra Serafino Razzi also created a vast literature in the popular styles of villanella and canzonetta, in which secular ballads and then ditties appeared. His entire life was occupied either with teaching theology and composing various works in Latin or Italian. Composer of several dozen « Laude spirituali », whose simple writing in 1, 2 or 3 voices offered repertoire to non-professional singers of these brotherhoods until the 18th century. This Dominican monk is also the author of around a hundred devotional works, often centered on the figure of the Virgin Mary and mainly intended for the nuns of the convents for which he was responsible. His numerous appointments and solid reputation have led him to travel to many places in Italy and abroad. His travels in France are described in Fra Serafino Razzi: « la prima parte de suoi viaggi fatti dal 1572-1578 ». Serafino Razzi reflects his many travels meticulously recorded in his journals.
Lucien