Francesco Maria Vallara

Francesco Maria Vallara was born in Parma on 30 August 1687, and his death is traditionally dated to Mantua in 1740, although that date is recorded with a question mark. He belongs to early eighteenth-century Italy, a period in which religious music and the teaching of plainchant held considerable weight in the life of churches and convents. His figure is known today above all for his work as a theorist and populariser of the Gregorian repertoire.

Very little is known about his life. The most revealing detail comes from his baptism, at which the Countess Barbara Ardizzi-Anguissola stood as godmother on behalf of the Duchess Anna Isabella of Mantua, which suggests a family of some social standing. He later entered the Carmelite order in Mantua, and he is still recorded as being associated with it in 1740.

His treatises on Gregorian chant were highly valued in his own time for their practical approach, aimed at singers and teachers. His music, by contrast, has little artistic value and holds little interest for musicians today. His legacy survives chiefly through his didactic writings.