Ingegneri, Tenebrae factae sunt

We have now entered the season of Lent, a perfect time to feature sacred works of a more introspective nature. The text of this responsory by Marc’Antoine Ingegneri (c. 1535 or 1536-1592) takes us deeper into Lent, in fact all the way to Holy Week. Still, I am featuring this work now because his main claim to fame is that, while serving as maestro di cappella in Cremona, he taught Monteverdi. And Monteverdi is our Composer of the Month for March.

Ingegneri has another claim to fame in having some of his pieces mistakenly attributed to Palestrina. Unlike Ingegneri, Palestrina enjoyed considerable fame and his works circulated widely, including 27 Responsories for Holy Week that we now know were actually written by Ingegneri. The misattribution was not discovered until 1898, both because it takes a great deal of research to uncover most misattributions and because Ingegneri’s style so obviously conforms to the refined polyphony of Palestrina.

And, as you might expect, Monteverdi’s earliest works similarly conform to the style of his teacher, although Monteverdi journeyed into new styles, including one that would define the transition from the Renaissance to the Baroque era.

Not much is known about Ingegneri’s life. He was born in Verona and was a choirboy in the cathedral there. Based on the dedication of his first book of madrigals, it appears he had moved to Cremona by 1570. It was there that he taught Monteverdi (born in 1567). These days, composers like Ingegneri are far more likely to catch the eye of performers and audiences who seek new-old repertoire that is fresh and unexpected.

Tenebrae factae sunt is a responsory for Matins on Good Friday.