Giovanni Ferretti

Composer who was the master of the chapel in Ancona Cathedral, Santa Casa, and Gemona. He also lived in Rome where his connections appear to have been solid from 1560. Ferretti dedicated one of his books of canzoni to Boncampagni (Boncampagni received Palestrina's first dedication of madrigals as well.) Ferretti's "napolitane" (shortened forms of villanellas) were his most influential and important works. They employed few texts from traditional sources and the polyphonic settings for up to six voices were also flexible in composition via contrasting elements. ~ Keith Johnson