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Antonio Vivaldi (Il Prete Rosso) was an Italian priest and music composer, who was born in Venice, Italy, (March 41678) and died in Vienna, Austria, July 28, 1741. His father, a barber and a talented violinist himself (some have said he was a virtuoso), had helped him in trying a career in music and made him enter the Cappella di San Marco orchestra, where he was an appreciated violinist. In 1703 Vivaldi became a priest, soon nicknamed Il Prete Rosso, "The Red Priest", probably because of his red hair. In 1704 he was dispensed from celebrating the Holy Mass because of his unhealthy conditions (he suffered of asthma), and became violin teacher at an orphanage for girls called Ospedale della Pietà in Venice. The orphans little after started to gain appreciation and esteem, abroad too; Vivaldi wrote for them most of his concertos, cantate and sacred music. In 1705 the first collcetion (raccolta) of his works was published. Many others will follow. Inside the orphanage he covered several charges, with the only interruption for his many travels, and in 1713 became the responsible for the musical activity of the institute. He was indeed a prolific composer and is most well-known for composing: [This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License and uses material adapted in whole or in part from the Wikipedia article on Antonio Vivaldi.]Sheet music: Antonio Vivaldi
The German composer and organist Georg Philipp Telemann, b. Mar. 14, 1681, d. June 25, 1767, was regarded during his lifetime as one of Germany's greatest musicians. He was so prolific that he was never able to count the number of his compositions. Self-taught in music, he studied languages and science at the University of Leipzig. He held a series of important musical positions, culminating in that of music director of the five largest churches in Hamburg, from 1720 until his death. Telemann traveled widely, absorbing various musical styles and incorporating them into his own compositions. He was a friend of Johann Sebastian Bach and godfather to Bach's son Carl Philipp Emanuel. Handel, also his friend, was quoted as saying that Telemann could write an eight-part motet as easily as anybody else could write a letter. Telemann's contrapuntal skill, melodic facility in the Italian style, French elegance, and fertile imagination resulted in music that was fluent but often lacking in depth. His influence on German musicians has been minimal, but since the mid-20th century his music has been increasingly performed and recorded. Telemann's amazing productivity resulted in 12 cycles of cantatas for the entire church year. He also composed huge quantities of chamber music; many concertos, and solo harpsichord and organ works; about 600 orchestral suites; and 40 operas. - Malaspina BiographySheet music: Georg Philipp Telemann
Violinist, composer, and theorist, b. at Pirano, Italy, 12 April, 1692; d. at Padua, 16 Feb., 1770. He resisted the earnest desire of his parents that he enter the Franciscan Order, and matriculated at the University of Padua in 1710 as a student in jurisprudence. It was not long before he abandoned this for the study of music, especially the violin, and the art of fencing, in which latter he soon became a master. Having secretly married a relative of Cardinal Cornaro, and being accused of abduction, he fled to Assisi, where he found an asylum and a guide of the first order for his musical studies in the person of Padre Boemo. After two years he emerged from his seclusion - the charge against him having in the meantime been dropped - and returned to Padua, settling later in Ancona for several years. There he developed into one of the greatest violin players of all time, and also continued his theoretical studies. In 1721 he was appointed solo violinist and orchestra conductor at the Cathedral of Padua, a position which he held, with the exception of two years spent in the service of Count Kinsky at Prague, until the end of his life. He refused many flattering invitations to visit other countries. In 1728 Tartini established at Padua a school for violin-playing which has given to the world some of its greatest masters, among them Nardini, Pasqualino, Bini, and many others. The manner of bowing originated by Tartini is still standard. He published an enormous number of compositions for the violin and for several combinations of instruments. Of the former many are the repertoires of present-day violin virtuosi. His single composition for the Church was a Miserere for four, five, and eight voices, which was performed by the Sistine choir in 1768. Although not the first to discover the so-called combination tone, or third tone, which results when two tones forming a perfect consonance are sounded, his name has always been associated with this discovery because he made it the basis of a new system of harmony. This system he laid down in his Trattato di musica in 1754. - Malaspina BiographySheet music: Giuseppe Tartini
English organist and composer whose cantatas and keyboard works are especially important. Stanley was a friend and associate of Georg Friedrich Handel. Stanley was born on 17 January 1712, London (England) and died on the 19 May 1786, London (England). He was one of six children born to his father, also John Stanley (an Officer at Swithin's Lane Post Office) and his wife Elizabeth (nee Davy) who had married on 17th June, 1707. When two years old the future composer had a domestic accident which left him almost blind - he could apparently still distinguish colours and possibly some shapes. At the age of seven he began studying music with the organist John Reading but the teacher/student partnership was not fruitful. However, under the guidance of Maurice Greene - composer and organist at St. Paul's Cathedral - he studied "with great diligence, and a success that was astonishing" (Burney). In fact, so outstandingly well did the young Stanley advance that at the age of nine he played the organ (probably as an occasional deputy) at All Hallows, Bread Street. The organist at All Hallows at that time was the composer and harpsichordist William Babell, a former pupil of Handel. Babell died on 23rd September 1723 and exactly one month later the Flying-Post of October 24-6 reported that "by a considerable Majority" of the 66 electors present the eleven year old Stanley was appointed organist to the church at a salary of £20 per annum. The St. James's Evening Post reporting the event stated that Stanley "is become the Surprize of the Town for his ingenious Performance on the Harpsichord and Organ; and, in the opinion of good Judges, bids fair to equal, if not exceed the Merit of his celebrated Predecessor." At the age of fourteen "in preference to a great number of candidates" (Burney) he was chosen as organist at St. Andrew's, Holborn and at the age of seventeen became the youngest person ever to obtain the BMus degree at Oxford University. - Malaspina BiographySheet music: John Stanley
In 1590 Schutz moved with his family to Weissenfels. In 1598 Landgrave Moritz, impressed by his musical accomplishments, took him to Kassel, where he served as a choirboy and studied music with the court Kapellmeister, Georg Otto. In 1609 Schutz proceeded to the University of Marburg to study law, but Landgrave Moritz advised him to abandon his university studies and to go to Venice as a pupil of G. Gabrieli; moreover, the landgrave provided the financial means to do this. Schutz remained in Venice for over three years, returning to Moritz's court at Kassel in 1613. The following year he was seconded to serve for two months at the electoral court in Dresden, and in 1615 the Elector Johann Georg I requested his services for a further two years. Moritz reluctantly agreed, and was obliged, for political reasons, to comply when the elector insisted on retaining Schutz in his permanent employ. As Kapellmeister at Dresden, Schutz was responsible for providing music for major court ceremonies, whether religious or political. He also had to keep the Kapelle adequately staffed and supervise the musical education of the choirboys. In 1619 Schutz published his first collection of sacred music, the Psalmen Davids, dedicated to the elector, and later that year he married Magdalena Wildeck. She died in 1625, leaving Schutz with two daughters whom he placed in the care of their maternal grandmother: he never remarried. Schutz was often absent from Dresden on his own or the elector's business, and in 1627 he was at Torgau, where his Dafne (the first German opera) was performed for the wedding of the elector's daughter Sophia Eleonora. Visits to Muhlhausen and possibly Gera were undertaken later in the year. Towards the end of the 1620s economic pressures of the Thirty Years War began to affect the electoral court. Musicians' wages fell into arrears, and in 1628 Schutz decided on a second visit to Venice, where he was able to study developments in dramatic music under Monteverdi's guidance. He returned to Dresden in 1629, but two years later Saxony entered the war and musical activities at court soon came to a virtual halt. Schutz then accepted an invitation to direct the music at the wedding of Crown Prince Christian of Denmark. He arrived in Copenhagen in December 1633 and was paid a salary as Kapellmeister by King Christian IV until his return to Dresden in May 1635. From Michaelmas 1639 Schutz was again absent from Dresden, this time for about 15 months in the service of Georg of Calenberg. On his retum he found the Kapelle further depleted and its members living in penury, and for most of 1642-44 he was again employed at the Danish court. After a year in and around Brunswick he went into semi-retirement, spending much of his time in Weissenfels, though he retained the title and responsibilities of Kapellmeister at Dresden. The end of the Thirty Years War had little immediate effect on musical conditions and in 1651 Schutz renewed an earlier plea for release from his duties and the granting of a pension. This and later petitions were ignored and Schutz obtained his release only on the elector's death in 1656. He was far from inactive during his remaining 15 years. - Malaspina BiographySheet music: Heinrich Schutz
Baroque music in the early 18th century began to feature wind instruments in chamber music, particularly the new "German" or transverse flute. Johann Joachim Quantz was its leading exponent; he was known across Europe as the greatest flute virtuoso, composer and theorist. In addition to his copious musical output, which included hundreds of sonatas, quartets and concerti, Quantz published the most important treatise on flute performance practice, Essay on Playing the Flute, in 1752. The essay was valued not only for its specific technical instruction, but also for its general guidance on musical style, taste and ornamentation. Quantz served for over 30 years as the royal court musician, composer and teacher to Frederick the Great of Prussia. The Trio Sonata, a composition for two or more solo instruments and continuo accompaniment, was the central form of Baroque chamber music, the most important ancestor of the classical string quartet. - from
Music at Kohl Mansion
Born at Naples, 3 Jan., 1710; d. 16 March, 1736, at Pozzuoli, near Naples. This young man of delicate and poetic musical gifts might have done great things for music of the Church had he not lived when composers were trying to serve two masters. Of frail constitution, he shortened his career by irregular conduct. At an early age he entered the Conservatory in his native city, studied the violin under Domenico Matteis and afterwards enjoyed the guidance in composition of Gaetano Greco, Francesco Durante, and Francesco Feo. As a student he attracted attention by his sacred drama San Guglielmo d'Aquitania but, following the trend of his time, he devoted the next few years to the theatre, producing with more or less success La Sallustia, Amor fa l'uomo cieco, and Recimero. He was not satisfied with these latter achievements, and when Naples was visited by an earthquake, Pergolesi was commissioned to write a mass for the solemn services of thanksgiving in the church of Santa Maria della Stella. Through this work for two five-part choirs and two orchestras, he became known as one of the most resourceful composers of the Neapolitan school. Shortly after he produced another mass for two choirs and later a third and fourth. Then the young master once more yielded to the allurements of the theatre. The intermezzo, Serva padrona, survived his more pretentious works of this period. Although requiring for performance but two singers and a quartette of stringed instruments, it had instantaneous and lasting success. The last two years of his live Pergolesi devoted almost entirely to the interpretation of liturgical texts (masses, a Salve Regina, etc.), almost all of them for chorus and orchestra. The work, by which he is most remembered, is the Stabat mater for two-part choir and stringed orchestra and organ, which he wrote shortly before his death for the Minorite monastery of San Luigi in Naples. Requiring great flexibility of execution on the part of the vocalists, it especially displays the author's chief characteristic, namely, delicacy and tenderness of feeling and exquisite workmanship. Though of lasting artistic value, Pergolesi's compositions are not available for liturgical purposes because for the most part they partake of the nature and form of contemporaneous operatic productions. They are better suited for performance as sacred concerts. - Malaspina BiographySheet music: Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
German organist and composer Johann Pachelbel, b. August 1653, d. Mar. 3, 1706, is noted by music historians for his influence on Johann Sebastian Bach. Pachelbel was himself a composer of importance, and his works are still played. His best works are his chorale variations and chorale preludes. His son Carl Theodorus Pachelbel, (born November 24, 1690, death Charleston, September 14, 1750) immigrated to the American colonies in about 1730 and became a prominent musician in Newport, New York, and Charleston. - Malaspina BiographySheet music: Johann Pachelbel
During the period when the French viol school led all of Europe in viol virtuosi (1675-1770), Marin Marais (b. Paris, 31 May 1656, d Paris, 15 August 1728) was the premier French composer and bass viola da gamba player. Marais spent all his life in Paris and the majority of it in musical service to King Louis XIV; as a boy, he sang in the choir at St. Germaine-l'Auxerrois; sometime after his voice broke, he studied viol with Monsieur Sainte Columbe. M. Sainte Columbe is a mysterious figure: in life, he was a recluse and so little is known of him today that the only first name he is known by is "Monsieur." Sainte Columbe was a much sought after gambist and wrote some of the best and most challenging viol compositions to date; it was he who added the seventh string to the bass viol. Marais studied with the Master for only six months; in that short time, it is rumored, that Marais had surpassed Sainte Columbe. Marais returned to Versailles to play for the King in 1676; within three years he was appointed Ordinaire de la chambre du Roi pour la viole. He studied composition with Lully and wrote four operas during this period; Marais remained at Versailles until his retirement in 1725. His position was beqeathed his son Vincent; Marais had 19 children, and many were well known musicians.
Marais is the most prolific composer of viol music: his most important compositional works were published in five collections, or books, between 1686 and 1725. These books (livres) contain more than 550 compositions for one, two, or three viols and figured bass. The vastness of this accomplishment is furthered by the range of originality, variety, and artistic expression of the pieces therein. They are still considered the pre-eminent literature for bass viol; the Pieces de violes contained in the Livres are of two distinct styles: the melodic and the harmonic. The melodic style uses sublimely simple melodic expression combined only with ornamentation and simple cadential chords. The harmonic style often resembles true counterpoint; through extremely clever combination of melody and chords, the music expresses richly complex interwoven textures. The Livres were designed to satisfy the needs for gambists of varied playing abilities. Marais also composed a variety of instrumental music.Sheet music: Marin Marais
Composer, b. near Florence in 1633; d. at Paris, 22 March, 1687. He was brought to France when quite a child by Mlle de Montpensier. Having great natural gifts as a violinist, he was soon promoted to be one of the king's band of twenty-four violins, and leader of the private band. He composed a number of popular songs, including Au clair de la lune, as well as much dance music and violin solos, and he revolutionized the orchestra by his methods. After a study of theory and composition under celebrated masters he set music for the court ballets, and was appointed composer to the king, and music master to the royal family. After his marriage in 1662, he became on very intimate terms with Moliere, with whom he collaborated in ballets until 1671. A clever diplomatist and thorough courtier, he completely won the royal favour, and in March, 1672, he succeeded in ousting Abbe Perrin from the directorship of the Academy of Music. Thenceforward his success as founder of modern French opera was unquestioned, although Cambert, in 1671, paved the way. From 1672 to 1686 Lully produced twenty operas, showing himself a master of various styles. His Isis, Thesee, Armide, and Atys are good specimens of operatic work, and he not only improved recitative but invented the French overture. Nor did he concentrate his abilities wholly on the stage; he wrote much church music. As an artist he was in the first rank, though as a man his ethical code was not of the strictest. His death was caused while conducting a Te Deum to celebrate the king's recovery, as, when beating time, he struck his foot inadvertently, causing an abscess which proved fatal. At his decease he left four houses, and property valued at £14,000, and he occupied the coveted post of Secretaire du Roi, as well as Surintendant to Louis XIV. - Malaspina BiographySheet music: Jean Baptiste Lully
English musician, perhaps the earliest English writer for the stage, was born at Exeter, where he became a chorister in the cathedral. His music, written with Christopher Gibbons (son of Orlando Gibbons), for Shirley's masque Cupid and Death, was performed in London in 1653. He wrote some music for Davenant's Siege of Rhodes in 1656; and in 1661 was appointed composer in ordinary to Charles II. During the following years he wrote a number of anthems for the Chapel Royal, and excited some criticism on the score of novelty, to which he replied with considerable heat (Modern Church Music; pre-accused, censured and obstructed in its Performance before His Majesty, April ist, 1666, etc.; copies in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, and the Royal College of Music). A good deal of music for the theatre followed, the most important being for Davenant's productions of The Tempest (1667) and of Macbeth (1672), but some doubt as to this latter has arisen, Purcell, Eccles or Leveridge, being also credited with it. He also composed various songs and instrumental pieces, and published some curious works on musical theory. He died in August 1677, an elegy being written by Purcell. - Malaspina BiographySheet music: Matthew Locke
Pietro Antonio Locatelli was born in Bergamo and probably studied with Corelli, in Rome. He was a well known violinist and performed extensively in Italy, and also in other European countries. In 1729 he settled in Amsterdam, where he taught and appeared in regular concerts and where he was able to pursue his wider cultural interests. Locatelli wrote a number of Concerti grossi, following the example of Corelli. The first set, published in Amsterdam in 1720, include twelve fugues. L'arte del violino (The Art of the Violin), published in 1733, contains twelve violin concertos and 24 Caprices, precursors of Paganini's famous set for unaccompanied violin. A further set of six concertos was published two years later and a set of six, published in 1744, is scored for four violins, two violas and basso continuo. In his solo concertos Locatelli combines Corelli's Roman style with the virtuosity of Vivaldi in Venice. In his Concerti grossi, works for string orchestra with a smaller group of soloists, Locatelli at first follows the pattern of Corelli, with one or two violas added to Corelli's solo group of two violins, cello and harpsichord. There is also a Concerto grosso that includes a group of solo wind instruments, in addition to solo violin concertos. His L'arte del violino (The Art of the Violin) includes 24 Caprices for unaccompanied violin, challenging works that have been regarded by some as foreshadowing the Caprices of Paganini in the following century. Locatelli also published sets of trio sonatas and solo sonatas, including a set of the latter for flute and basso continuo. - Malaspina BiographySheet music: Pietro Antonio Locatelli
