Giovanni Maria Sabino

Giovanni Maria Sabino (Turi, near Bari, 1588 – Naples, April 1649) was one of the leading figures of Neapolitan music in the first third of the seventeenth century. The son of Francesco, he received his musical training from Prospero Testa in Naples, the city in which he settled permanently and where he was ordained a priest.

His career unfolded almost entirely in the principal churches and teaching institutions of the capital. In 1622 he provided music for San Domenico Maggiore and, in the same year, was appointed the first official maestro di cappella of the Conservatorio di Santa Maria della Pietà dei Turchini, a post he held until the end of 1626. The following year he took charge of the chapel of the royal church of Santa Barbara in the Castel Nuovo. Between 1630 and 1634 he was organist of the Oratory of St Philip Neri, known as the Girolamini, and from the latter date until his death he served as maestro di cappella of the Casa dell'Annunziata, where he also taught and played the organ. In 1640 he taught figured singing at the Convent School of Santa Maria di Costantinopoli. The last documented payment for a work of his dates from 26 January 1645.

It is known that he was granted the title of knight before 1620, possibly thanks to his connections with the musical circle of Prince Carlo Gesualdo or with the royal chapel of the Spanish Palace, where he overlapped with Trabaci and Andrea Falconieri. There is no evidence that Gregorio Strozzi, Giovanni Salvatore or Francesco Provenzale were his pupils, although they did adopt his style.

Sabino is remembered for having been the first Neapolitan to use violins in the motet and for his systematic use of a virtuoso solo voice over an elaborate basso continuo, contributions that anticipated features of later sacred music in the city.