Dixit Dominus - Orazio Benevolo

Orazio Benevoli (April 19, 1605 – June 17, 1672), was a significant composer of large scaled polychoral sacred choral works, one work featured 48 vocal and instrumental lines.

He was born in Rome of French ancestry. He served as the choirmaster in various Roman churches from 1624 to 1643. Benevoli served in the Austrian court from 1643 to 1645, and it is there he was supposed to have composed the magnificent Missa Salisburgensis à 53 voci, a work now known to have been composed by Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber or Andreas Hofer later in the 17th century. In 1646, Benevoli returned to Rome, where he served as the choirmaster at the Vatican. He died in Rome.

Benevoli's sacred compositions frequently make use of four or more choirs. Many of Benevoli's works are massive and could be described as being in the Colossal Baroque style.

Little of the music of Benevoli has been performed or recorded in modern times. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.