Music in

Santa Barbara

Graziadio ANTEGNATI, was born in Brescia in 1525. Son of Giovanni Battista, he was held to be the most talented organ builder of his time and is, along with his son Costanzo, the most illustrious member of his family. We do not know a lot concerning his early years, but the number and the importance of the organs he built in his adulthood are enough to justify the title of “cavaliere dell’organo”. The most ancient Antegnati organ in our possession is the one in the cathedral of Chiari (Brescia) [...]. Between 1564 and 1566 he built the organs for the basilica of S. Maria Maggiore in Bergamo. On 27 May 1566 he signed a contract for an organ for the church of S. Spirito in Bergamo. This latter instrument displays the attention paid by Graziadio to the phonic part, to the tuning and to the aesthetic of the pipes. In 1565, Graziadio was tasked by Duke Guglielmo with the crafting of an organ for the ducal basilica of S. Barbara in Mantua. Graziadio worked on the organ assisted by his friend, Girolamo d’Urbino (Cavazzoni), who was also the organist of the cathedral of Mantua and who placed the value of the organ at 600 scudi.
(da: http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/graziadio-antegnati_(Dizionario-Biografico)/ )