Buonamente, Giovanni Battista

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Buonamente, Giovanni Battista (b Mantua, late 16th cent.; d Assisi, 1642). It. composer, choirmaster, violinist, and singer. Member of Franciscan order. Active at Gonzaga court in Mantua, possibly working under Monteverdi. Court. mus. in Vienna 1626–9. Singer and violinist in Bergamo 1631, Parma 1632. Choirmaster of Basilica of S. Francesco, Assisi, from 1633 (incapacitated by illness after 1635). One of first composers for vn., but several of his books of sonatas are lost. Also wrote over 160 sacred vocal works.