Francesco Turini

Francesco Turini (born Prague, c. 1589; died Brescia, 1656) was a composer and organist of Bohemian origin who was trained in Italy, and whose work stands at the turning point between the Renaissance madrigal and early Baroque music. The son and pupil of Gregorio Turini, he began working as court organist at the age of twelve, and the Emperor Rudolph later sent him to Venice and Rome to complete his training in composition, singing and organ.

After returning to Prague, he kept his post until Rudolph's death in 1612. He then went back to Italy and spent some time in the service of G. F. Morosini in Venice. By around 1620 he was already organist of Brescia Cathedral, a post he held until his death, and he became so admired there that some contemporaries praised him in almost extravagant terms. According to some accounts, many musicians studied with him.

In his books of madrigals he added two violin parts to the voices, which makes him one of the first composers to develop the concertato style in secular vocal chamber music. In his second book he used the term 'cantata' as a formal designation, although it denoted an extended recitative rather than the more advanced songs to which other authors applied the name. His sonatas for two violins and basso continuo, published in 1621, are among the earliest trio sonatas, and in his third book he recommended combining the chitarrone with a keyboard instrument to accompany the sound of the violin.

He also published motets for one or more voices and more conservative masses of 1643, one of them a canon. Handel took a theme from that Mass for a keyboard fugue, and Burney regarded him as a profound and learned contrapuntist. His legacy today is that of a transitional figure, relevant above all for his early trio sonatas and for his role in introducing the concertato.