Angelo Notari

Before Notari left Italy for England he had contributed to Legname's book of canzonets in 1608. When he came to England he found a station with the household of Prince Henry and by 1618 was in service to Prince Charles who became King Charles II in 1625. Notari remained in the King's service, at least tangentially, as a member of the "Lutes and Voices" until Notari's death. It is interesting that he is deemed by some to have been a spy to the Spanish court singing at the Spanish Ambassador's Christmas service in 1622. Notari's most important work was his "Prime musiche nuove" which was published in 1613. It contains monodies, canzonettas, and variations on one of Rore's madrigals. The book is important because through it Notari introduced advanced Italian methods to England. He was also a compiler of Italian monodies. ~ Keith Johnson