Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Giovanni Animuccia

ANIMUCCIA, Giovanni, musical composer, was born at Florence in the last years of the 15th century. At the request of St Filippo Neri he composed a number of Laudi, or hymns of praise, to be sung after sermon, which are noteworthy as furnishing the rudimentary form out of which the Oratorio was developed. In 1555 he was appointed “maestro di capello” at St Peter's, an office which he held until his death in 1571. He was succeeded by the more celebrated Palestrina, who had been his friend and probably his pupil. It is impossible to say to what stage Animuccia brought the oratorio form, as no specimens of his laudi are now extant. The manuscript of many of his other compositions is still preserved in the Vatican Library. His chief published works were Madrigali e Motetti a quattro e cinque voci (Ven. 1548) and Il primo Libra di Messe (Rom. 1567). From the latter Padre Martini has taken two specimens for his Saggio di Contrapunto. Paolo Animuccia, a brother of Giovanni, was also celebrated as a composer.