The madrigals of Agostino Facchi (?-1662)

Abstract

This is a critical edition of all the known secular works composed by Italian born Agostino Facchi ( ? - 1662). They are grouped in two collection of madrigals which are both available as 'unique' printed sources. The first book, written in 1625 is held at the Cathedral Archives in Mdina, while the second is to be found at the Library of Christ Church in Oxford. This thesis is divided into three volumes, the last two of which are a modern critical edition of the above mentioned books of madrigals. The first volume sets out to give as much information as possible on the criteria of editing. It first sheds light on the life of the composer, and then both books are analyzed with a special emphasis given to the music/text relationship. The edition, which contains the original poetical texts of the madrigals with their relative translations and a compiled list of changes made to the original music part-books, is preceded by a detailed discussion on the criteria used in the changes performed in the original prints.