(b Perugia, late 16th century; d Rome, 25 Dec 1630). Italian composer. He was a soprano castrato in the papal choir, Rome, and wrote sacred and secular vocal pieces. In his Salmi passaggiati (1615) the solo voice's ornamentation is (unusually) written out in full, giving insight into the current style of improvisation.

The Concise Grove Dictionary of Music. Copyright © 1994 by Oxford University Press, Inc.. All rights reserved.