Francisco Leontaritis
Francesco Londariti (Greek Frangiskos Leondaritis Φραγκίσκος Λεονταρίτης, further variants Francesco Londarit, Franciscus Londariti, Leondaryti, Londaretus, Londaratus and Londaritus, called Il Greco; * 1518 in Chandakas, now Heraklion, † probably in 1572 in Crete ) was a Greek- Venetian singer and composer of the Renaissance. He is considered the earliest Greek composer of Western art music.
Life
Londaritis father Nikolaos came from a wealthy Greek family Peloponnesian origin, and was a priest, treasurer and ducal Vicar of the Catholic Agios Titos Church in Chandakas. Francesco was the second illegitimate son with the Orthodox Greek Maria Similinopoula. The conditions during the Cretan Renaissance, in which flourished under Venetian rule art and science in Crete, enabled the young Londariti not only a youth with both parents but also an education formed, he chose as his father clerics career and worked at the church already in early years (1537-1544) as an organist. The support of his father, the good relations of his family and his extraordinary talent as a musician allowed that he was not confronted, the illegitimate son of a priest with the currently common obstacles and ordained not only a priest, but also with the title of Apostolic protonotary and various has provided high ecclesiastical offices, which were associated with remunerative land and thus some prosperity. Nevertheless Londariti led a conflictual life and was deeply in debt.
About his musical education almost nothing is known. It is thought that he was extensively, perhaps, trained in Catholic church music in Rome, furthermore, there are reports that he had studied Byzantine music with Hilarion Sotirchos.
As already famous musicians left Londariti - possibly because of the destruction of the church by fire Titus - 1549 Crete, leaving the management of his affairs to lawyers. He moved to Venice, where he was nicknamed Il Greco ( " the Greek" ) was presented, which should adhere to him all his life. He found employment as Cantore ( singer) in the choir of St. Mark's Basilica under the conductor Adrian Willaert in Venice, where at this time the Venetian School developed and one of the centers of European music was. From this position, he had access to Venetian aristocratic circles, where art, music and literature were heavily promoted and where he was one of the most respected musicians.
1552, he was punished for an unknown, serious offense with the temporary loss of his ecclesiastical title, apparently threatened the excommunication. In 1555 he succeeded that these sanctions were lifted by the Vatican, but he could not hold his position in Venice, and left the city in 1556 He first worked at the cathedral in Padua, had in 1561 but -. Possibly because of sympathy for the Reformation - also leave the Veneto. Obviously, he was in contact with representatives of the merchant families Fugger and de Stoop, it is conjectured that the latter manufactured the contact to the Bavarian court.
1562-1566 Londariti worked as a highly respected musicians in the choir at the ducal court of Albrecht V in Munich under Orlando di Lasso, then an important center of musical Renaissance in Germany, in which Cipriano de Rore and Andrea Gabrieli had. This time seems to have been his compositionally fruitful, as the compositions show from this period, including two motets for the wedding of Johann Jakob Fugger and compositions, which he sent to the Emperor Maximilian II. Apparently Londariti also had good contacts with important personalities in Augsburg and Salzburg.
Londariti was involved according to the sources from 1567 in espionage activities for the Spanish crown, which at that time held Milan and opponents of the Republic of Venice was. This kept him from working as a musician and brought him in a precarious situation.
1568 Londariti returned back to Crete, where he was, ( as the chapter of Titus Church ) called compensated with the legacy of his father 's debts again in church offices and also his compositional activity resumed. 1572 end the reports about him, which led to the adoption of this year as the date of death. And his work fell into oblivion until researches of the historian and philologist Nikolaos M. Panagiotakis his work brought to light again in the 1980s.
The work received Londaritis comprises three parody masses ( Missa super Aller not faut, Missa super Depending prens s grez, Missa super Letatus sum), two books of sacred and secular motets that originated in Munich, as well as some madrigals and Napolitane. Although some works have been recorded on CD, the musicological analysis of his compositions is still pending.