Nicolaus à Kempis
Encyclopedia
Nicolaus à Kempis was a composer active in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

 in the middle of the 17th century.

Not much is known about this oddly-named man. He was born around 1600, but it is unknown where. Some musicologists think that he came from northern Italy, perhaps from Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

. He died in 1676.

The earliest extant piece of biographical information about him is his nomination as organist of the cathedral of Saints Michael and Gudule in Brussels around 1626. His son, Joannes Florentius, succeeded him there in 1670.

Between 1644 and 1649, he published in Antwerp several volumes of Symphoniae amounting to 98 short instrumental pieces and eight motets. He wrote sonatas ranging from pieces for solo instrument and continuo to pieces in six parts.

Nicolaus à Kempis was the first musician to import the Italian viol style and techniques of Girolamo Frescobaldi
Girolamo Frescobaldi
Girolamo Frescobaldi was a musician from Ferrara, one of the most important composers of keyboard music in the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. A child prodigy, Frescobaldi studied under Luzzasco Luzzaschi in Ferrara, but was influenced by a large number of composers, including Ascanio...

, Marco Uccellini
Marco Uccellini
Marco Uccellini was an Italian Baroque violinist and composer.-Life:Uccellini's life is poorly known. Born at Forlimpopoli, Forlì, he studied in the Assisi seminary...

, Giovanni Battista Fontana
Giovanni Battista Fontana (composer)
Giovanni Battista Fontana was an Italian Baroque composer and violinist.He was born in Brescia, and worked there and in Rome and Padua. He died in Padua during a plague....

 and Dario Castello
Dario Castello
Dario Castello was an Italian composer and instrumentalist from the early Baroque period who worked and published in Venice. As regards his instrument, it is not clear whether he played the cornetto or the bassoon...

in the southern Low Countries.
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