music in venice: a historiographical overview 869
chapel, its governance, the policies of hiring and firing musicians, and
the role of the doge and procurators as patrons. in a 1988 article, ongaro,
through a careful examination of the documents, undermines two long-
standing myths, that Doge Andrea gritti played an unusually prominent
role in hiring willaert in 1527, and that this was part of an effort, parallel
to that underway in other sectors of Venetian activities, to raise the level
and status of the chapel. ongaro demonstrates that the involvement of
the doge was not at all unusual and that willaert, after his arrival, made
no significant changes to the chapel, which apparently was already well
staffed with excellent singers, perfectly able to perform the works of the
new maestro.
the ceremonial and liturgical practices of san Marco have attracted a
considerable amount of attention. earlier writers had asserted in general
terms that the practices at the ducal basilica were unique and that they
were employed to reaffirm the position and status of the doge and repub-
lic of Venice. not until the work of David Bryant, with his 1981 dissertation
and several articles, was this topic explored in depth. Bryant demonstrated
how particular aspects of the rich ceremonial and specific liturgies were
employed in service of the “myth of Venice,” and he explored the possible
relationships between extant compositions and annual or special cere-
monies. the uniqueness of the liturgy itself was demonstrated in giulio
cattin’s magisterial 1990–92 work Musica e liturgia a San Marco. using
recently rediscovered and fragmentary materials, cattin reconstructed
nearly the entire liturgy of san Marco, the so-called “patriarchino,” which,
he demonstrated, although related, was not simply a derivation of that
of Aquileia but fully fledged and independent. cattin and his collabora-
tors also reconstructed the system for procuring and creating liturgical
manuscripts for san Marco and traced the continuing battle between the
urge to preserve the ancient traditions and the pressure to romanize and
modernize both texts and music.
one aspect of musical practice at san Marco has long attracted atten-
tion by scholars, performers, and audiences: polychorality, most specifi-
cally, the idea that san Marco, with its unusual architecture that seemed
to favor wide separation of performing forces, was the source for a tech-
nique that spread widely in europe. Adrian willaert had published in
1550 a collection of psalms for two choirs, in a technique labelled as cori
spezzati, or divided choirs, and much of the music, both vocal and instru-
mental, by Andrea and giovanni gabrieli and other members of the late
16th-century Venetian school is for two or more ensembles. combining
this repertory with the greek cross plan of san Marco, with its galleries