Although he was one of the most prolific and well-known musicians of the 17th-century Italian school, Maurizio Cazzati is practically ignored today, both in concert programs and musicological research. Born in Luzzara in 1616, little is known of his musical training other than that he studied in Mantua, where he also took his priestly vows. In 1614, he published his first work (the Vespers heard on this recording), in which he refers to himself as organist and maestro di cappella at the basilica of Sant’Andrea in Mantua. This first publication already demonstrates, above all in the compositional formulas employed and in the references to Monteverdi, the intimate ties which bound Cazzati’s music to the vivacious musical circles of Mantua where his music benefited from the support and protection of the generous patrons, the Gonzagas.