Vocal Pieces I, Spiritual, Five- and Six-Voice Motets

Croatian composer Julije Skjavetić (16th Century) came from a Šibenik family, appearing in local registers under the Croatian names of Schiavetich, Schavetich or Scavetich between the years 1520 and 1697. He may have been in the service of Girolamo Savorgnano, Bishop of Šibenik (1523–91), to whom he dedicated some of his works. Though he seems not to have contributed to the more extended contemporary forms such as the mass, some of his motets are conceived on an expansive scale, and both his sacred and secular works are of the highest craftsmanship. The quality of his creative output makes him one of the most important Croatian musicians of his time and ranks him among the finest composers of the prima pratica. Skjavetić e wrote a collection of madrigals for 4-5 voices and a collection of motets for 5-6 voices (both published in Venice in 1563 and 1564 respectively). An important collection of his motets that was held in Dresden, disappeared after the destruction of the city in 1945. Luckily, it was discovered in Krakow in 1993.