maestro di cappella

During the centuries from about 1500 to 1800, the title "maestro di capella", literally "chapel-master," designated a musician in charge of a musical establishment, either in a church or (less often, in Italy), the household of a monarch or nobleman. The position was mostly the same as what in Germany and Austria was called a Kapellmeister; for further details of the role of such musicians, with examples, see Kapellmeister.