Un portal on escoltar i gaudir de l'art musical dels segles XVI, XVII, XVIII i XIX. Compartir la bellesa de la música és l'objectiu d'aquest espai i fer-ho donant a conèixer obres de compositors molt o poc coneguts és el mètode.
Bohemian organist and composer. Nothing is known about his youth and
musical education. He was a member of the Premonstratensian order. His
life was passed in a succession of ecclesiastical musical appointments,
the most notable of which was at St Benedikta, Prague, between 1663 and
1669. There he was organist and choirmaster and was apparently
responsible for modernizing the repertory and building up an archive. In
his last years, he retired to the Strahov monastery in Prague. As a
composer, he mainly wrote sacred music, among them, several masses, a
Requiem, a Te Deum and Vespers. His music style was close to Adam Michna
and Pavel Vejvanovský, the foremost bohemian composers during 17th
Century.
Dutch pianist, organist, teacher and composer of German birth. He
received his early music training from his father and elder brother. In
1791 he settled in Amsterdam as a pianist, flutist and teacher, and
later was organist of the United Baptist Church (1823-46). He fastly
became one the foremost composers active in Amsterdam, being on several
committees, including the music faculty of the Koninklijk Nederlandsch
Instituut voor Wetenschappen, Letteren en Schoone Kunsten (1808-47), and
the Maatschappij tot Bevordering der Toonkunst (1829-41). As a
composer, he was mainly known by his 'Wien Neerlands bloed door d'aderen
vloeit' (1815), the semi-official Dutch hymn of the 19th century. He
also wrote three symphonies, several symphonies concertantes and
concertos, overtures, chamber music, violin and flute sonatas, and
keyboard pieces as well as secular songs and the sacred cantata
'Zahlreiche weitere Gelegenheits' (1814). His style was mostly inherited
by the 18th Century composers with some early Romantic traits.
Bohemian composer. Nothing is known about his youth. The first mention
was in 1721 as a choirmaster at the St. Mary Magdalene church in Prague.
Also there he was documented as musician under the patronage of Count
Wenzel Morzin. According to some sources, he also worked for Count Franz
Joseph of the House of Czernin. In his last years he was appointed
organist at the parish church Jindřichův Hradec, a post he briefly held
before his death in 1730. As a composer, he wrote both concertos and
sacred music following the trends of italian style. His music was highly
praised and can be found in several Bohemian archives.
German composer. He was the second of five children of the organist
Peter Hasse (c.1668-1737) and Christina Klessing, daughter of a mayor of
Bergedorf. He studied in Hamburg before joining the opera company
there. He quickly established himself as a tenor of reputation, but his
career changed when his opera Antioco opened at Brunswick on 1 August
1721. Soon, he left Germany for a long tour of Venice, Bologna,
Florence, and Rome, finally settling in the major opera center of Naples
for six years, until 1730. There he studied with Alessandro Scarlatti
and possibly Nicolo Porpora, worked with the superstar castrato Carlo
Broschi (Farinelli), and his rise in Neapolitan opera was spectacular.
Hasse appeared in Venice for the 1730 Carnival season, a milestone of
his career. In his opera Artaserse, he set a libretto of Metastasio,
later to become his most important collaborator, for the first time. He
also met in Venice another famous singer, the mezzo-soprano Faustina
Bordoni, whom he married in June 1730 and who created many of the female
protagonists in his later operas. Sometime after Carnival but before
Ascension in 1730, he was granted the title of Kapellmeister to the
court of the Elector August I of Saxony at Dresden, but he and Faustina
Bordoni did not arrive there until 6 or 7 July 1731. Although this
appointment lasted until 1763, the couple took frequent and substantial
leaves of absence to various cities of Italy and Vienna to produce
operas that had been commissioned by the nobility of Europe. In 1745,
King Frederick the Great of Prussia visited and heard Hasse’s Te Deum
and opera seria Arminio.
The king, a fine musician, thereafter often invited the composer and his
wife to Potsdam. The Prussian bombardment of Hasse’s Dresden house in
1760, causing the loss of many manuscripts, may have soured this
relationship. Porpora, possibly Hasse’s teacher in Naples, was brought
to Dresden in 1748 to teach the Princess Maria Antonia of Saxony and was
given the title Kapellmeister, but Hasse was promoted to
Oberkapellmeister in 1750. In 1763, Hasse joined the imperial court in
Vienna where he worked closely with Metastasio. In 1775, he and Faustina
Bordoni retired to Venice. Although most of his work was quickly
forgotten after he died, while active, he was the most renowned composer
of Italian opera seria in Italy and German-speaking lands. He composed
at least 58 operas, mostly seria, but also a few comedies, which were
produced in many European opera centers. He was the favorite composer of
the age’s most eminent opera librettist, Metastasio. Hasse composed
fluently, with a particular gift for vocal melody, which he generally
displayed to full advantage without distraction from contrapuntal
textures. Besides the operas, he composed about 11 intermezzi, 11
Italian oratorios, 60 Italian chamber cantatas, and 33 more cantatas for
voice and orchestra. His instrumental music includes 54 concertos,
mostly for transverse flute and strings, and 24 trio sonatas. He also
composed sacred music, most of it for four-voiced choir and orchestra:
15 masses, 2 requiems, 36 single mass ordinary settings, 10 mass
offertories, 21 psalms, 18 antiphons, six hymns, and 38 motets for solo
voice and orchestra.
Spanish composer and organist. He was christened on 24 March 1699 at the
Church of St. James the Great in Sangüesa. He was a choirboy at the
Colegio de Cantorcicos, Madrid, under José de Torres, who in 1717
recommended him for the post of organist at the cathedral of Salamanca,
where he remained for 16 years until 1733. In 1733 he came second in the
competition for maestro de capilla at the cathedral of Málaga, and was
awarded the position when the winner, Manuel Martinez Delgado, died
suddenly. In 1741, Iribarren's salary was raised to prevent him taking
the post of maestro di cappella of the cathedral of Valladolid,
thereafter he remained in Málaga until his retirement, a year before his
death. He was buried in the cathedral. As a composer, he wrote more
than 800 works, mostly sacred and currently preserved in the Málaga
cathedral archive. The style of his music is characterized by an
infrequent use of the polychoral technique. He probably was the most
prolific Spanish villancico composer of the 18th century; since his
entire collection is dated (1722-1766).
German composer and contrabass player. Following studies under Franz
Becker, he became a student of Johann Georg Albrechtsberger in Vienna.
He is said to have made his début as a composer there at the age of 18,
and a symphony and a double bass concerto of his were performed by the
Tonkünstler-Societät in 1778. In 1777 he was employed by Cardinal von
Batthyani in Pozsony (Pressburg, now Bratislava, Slovakia), and in 1783
he became a member of the Kapelle of Count Erdődy in Fidisch. After the
dissolution of the ensemble he made his living as a copyist, as well as
touring both Germany and Italy as a bass soloist. In 1789 he was
appointed to the Kapelle of the Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, where he
remained for the rest of his life. A supposed period in the service of
Prince Esterhazy under Haydn is not documented. As a composer, he was
well versed in the styles of music of his time, becoming a significant
composer of symphonies in particular. His music consists of 45
symphonies, 22 concertos (18 for double bass), three sinfonia
concertantes, two nonets, an octet and a septet, two sextets, 12
quartets, two keyboard sonatas, 14 other sonatas (duos), five cantatas,
three sacred songs, three hymns, three antiphons, and two offertories,
as well as 50 partitas and several organ fugues. Sperger's reputation as
a leading double bass player is generously acknowledged by critical
writing of the time; his achievements as an executant were generally
accorded more significance than his prolific output as a composer.
Flemish composer and organist. He studied as a choirboy under Petrus
Hercules Brehy at the collegiate church of St Michel et Ste Gudule in
Brussels where, at the age of 18, he succeeded Josse Boutmy as titular
organist. In 1737 he was appointed choirmaster at the Kapellekerk of
Brussels. The premature death of Joseph-Hector Fiocco in 1741 enabled
him to return to Ste Gudule, this time as music director, a position he
had aspired to since the onset of Brehy's terminal illness in October
1736, but which had gone to Fiocco. For the next 36 years, Van Helmont
lived with his growing family in the choraelhuys (maîtise) where he
supervised the musical and general education of the choristers, composed
frequently for the service, and undertook the task of conserving Ste
Gudule's extensive music collection. In 1768 he founded a musical
association which gave weekly public concerts; this was one of the first
societies of its kind in Brussels. In 1777 he resigned from Ste Gudule
passing his duties to his son, the composer and teacher Adriaan Joseph
van Helmont (1747-1830). As a composer, he wrote much sacred music,
including masses, motets, Magnificats, and litanies. Among his secular
works were an opera, 2 symphonies, an overtura, a divertissement, Pieces
de clavecin (Brussels, 1737), and 6 organ fugues.
German composer active in Sweden. He was born in Dresden and it's
uncertain if he was related with the Gresner family of wind instrument
makers and musicians established there. Almost nothing is known about
his youth until he was appointed as a member (first oboist and later
flautist) of the Royal Court Orchestra in Stockholm, a post he held the
rest of his short life. As a composer, his output came to light in the
1780’s and 1790’s and were intended for various performers, among those
his colleagues in the court orchestra. He was very appreciated and some
of his works were published by Hummel printers in Amsterdam. Among his
compositions, most of them lost, he wrote 4 ballets (Mölnarebalett,
Pantomime för herr Marcadet, Slädpartiet, incidental ballet music in
Vogler’s Gustaf Adolf och Ebba Brahe), orchestral works (4 sinfonias, 1
overture, 2 solo concertos, 2 arias with orchestra (Ah se t’adoro, Med
din sång du redan funnit seger i min ömma själ), chamber music (trios,
duets), works for wind ensemble (14 partitas, 2 arrangements) and piano
pieces.
Bohemian composer, teacher, bandmaster and Regenschori. He was born into
a family of musicians who moved from Bohemia to Banat. The foremost of
them were Vinzenz Maschek (1755-1831) and Pavel Maschek (1761-1826) who
achieved great success in Vienna with ballets and Singspiele. Vinzenz
Maschek was active in Bela Crkva (Romania) but almost nothing is known
about his career. Only a post is documented as singing teacher and
organist at the Israelite synagogue in Temesvàr. As a composer, he
mainly wrote sacred music which includes masses, offertories, graduals,
hymns and the waltz "Carnevall's Memories" composed for "entire
orchestra" and "dedicated to Kapellmeister Johann Strauss with respect".
German pianist, teacher and composer. Son of a clergyman, he initially
studied theology at Leipzig. Then his trace was lost until 1800, when he
was appointed music teacher in Reval (now Tallin). Also there he was
active as a pianist receiving notable fame as instrumentist. He remained
there until 1836, a year he settled in Saint Petersburg for the rest of
his life. As a composer, he wrote, among others, keyboard sonatas
(Opp.19, 22, 26, 46), dozens of waltzes, variations and polonaises as
well as several Lieds, partsongs and masonic music.
French flautist, teacher and composer. The son of Jean-Baptiste Blavet, a
turner, and Oudette Lyard, he was self-taught as a musician, mastering
both bassoon and flute. In 1718, he married Anne-Marguerite Ligier with
whom he had two daughters and two sons, both of whom became priests and
one of whom, Jean-Louis Blavet, was the author of five books and a
number of translations. In 1723, he settled in Paris under the
protection of Duke Charles-Eugene Levis. In 1726 he made his debut at
the Concert Spirituel, remaining as its most celebrated artist for some
25 years. On 1 October 1728 Louis XV granted to Blavet, ‘musicien
ordinaire de notre très cher cousin le prince de Carignan’, a privilège
général for six years to publish ‘plusieurs sonates pour la flûte
traversière’, and op.1 was issued immediately, dedicated to Carignan. By
1731 Blavet had transferred his allegiance to the Count of Clermont,
with whom he maintained ties for the rest of his life. He was
acknowledged throughout Europe as the foremost flute virtuoso of his
time and he was praised by composers such as Telemann, Marpurg or
Quantz. It is likely that many of Leclair’s nine flute sonatas and his
flute concerto were written for Blavet, for the two often performed
together. As a teacher, his most brilliant flute pupils were the
composer and publisher Pierre-Evard Taillart and the teacher and
composer Félix Rault, who succeeded Blavet at court, the Opéra and the
Concert Spirituel.
Italian singer and composer. Son of Carl Antonio Schiassi and Catterina
Minghetti, he was a member of the Accademia Filarmonica as a suonatore,
and a violinist among the virtuosos at the ducal court of Alderano Cybo
Malaspina, to whom he dedicated his Trattenimenti per camera in 1724.
About three years later he was employed by the Landgrave of Darmstadt.
From at least the end of 1734 he lived in Lisbon, where he served in the
royal chapel and founded the Academia da Trindade. His letters from
Lisbon to Padre Martini from 1735 to 1753 reveal his activities there as
composer, teacher and singer. He was asked to compose oratorios based
on texts by Metastasio, for which he enlisted Martini’s help in
supplying fugues for the choruses. The letters also reveal several
insights into performing practice and taste in 18th-century Lisbon,
where the king refused to allow women to take roles in operas and
prohibited all kinds of entertainment during his illness except for
oratorios and church festivals. Schiassi's works include sonatas,
concertos, sinfonias and dances. His vocal music, other than the operas
and oratorios, were most often set as pastorales.
Italian composer. In his youth he entered the Franciscan order of minor
observers in Venice and in 1724 became a secular priest. In 1735 he was
appointed chapel master of the Cattedrale di Santa Maria Annunziata in
Udine, a post he held the rest of his life. Between the years 1728 and
1731 he premiered some operas in Venice and for a time he was musical
master of the Ospedale dei Derelitti, where he replaced Giovanni Antonio
Pollarolo. As a composer, he composed a large amount of religious music
in the Baroque style, half a dozen operas and a few instrumental works.
He became a member of the Accademia Filarmonica in Bologna, for which
he wrote some concertante works on a grand scale. He died in Udine in
May 1757.
Bohemian singer and composer, daughter of Jan Dussek (1738-1818) and
brother of Franz Benedikt Dussek (1766-c.1816) and Jan Ladislav Dussek
(1760-1812). A pupil of her father, organist and composer, she went to
London about 1795 to perform at the invitation of her brother Jan
Ladislav Dussek. There, she married Francesco Cianchettini, a music
dealer and publisher who in association with Sperati had the English
rights for J.L. Dussek’s works from 1807 to 1811. As a composer, she
wrote two concertos and published some solo piano works, including three
sonatas using ‘favorite airs as adagios and rondos’ (Op.2, Op.6, Op.8),
sets of variations and short pieces based on well-known tunes. Her son
Pio Cianchettini (1799-1851) was a pianist and composer.
Spanish composer. Son of Marc Antoni Milans i Macià (1625-1708) and
Maria Anna Godayol, he was sent, together with his brother Carles Milans
Godayol (1669-1724), to Barcelona, where he studied at the Santa Maria
del Pi with the organist Jeroni Oller. The brothers sang as choirboys in
the chapel of the Palau Reial Menor where Oller was organist. In 1701
he was appointed as the substitute of Felip Olivelles, the chapel master
there. A considerable part of Milans' career was influenced by the War
of the Spanish Succession (1702-1714) which ended with the Peace of
Utrecht. The resident of the Palau, the marquis of Los Vélez, was a
supporter of the Bourbons and because of that the family's possessions
were confiscated by the royal authorities. The chapel was transferred to
a royal committee and after the war reprisals were taken against many
of the musicians. Whether Milans was one of the victims is apparently
not known, but in 1714 he worked as mestro de capella of Girona
cathedral, a post he held the rest of his life. He was a prolific
composer of church music, being a link between the musicians of the
Spanish and Austrian courts, such as Johann Joseph Fux and Antonio
Caldara. That is not to say that Milans was a mere imitator, but rather
that he was aware of, and incorporated into his own music, the various
emerging stylistic trends of that age of transition.
Italian violinist and composer. He was born the eldest of nine children
of Giovanni Battista Vivaldi (1655-1736), a violinist at Basilica San
Marco in Venice. He took the tonsure on 18 September 1693, trained for
the Roman Catholic priesthood, and was ordained on 23 March 1703.
However, a condition that Vivaldi himself described as strettezza di
petto (“tightness of the chest”), probably bronchial asthma, had the
curious effect of preventing his celebrating the mass from 1706 onward
yet allowing his extensive teaching, publishing, and traveling about
Italy to oversee his operatic productions. While training for the
priesthood, he probably learned the fundamentals of violin from his
father and occasionally substituted for him at San Marco. Son Antonio’s
performance as an extra violinist at the basilica for Christmas 1696 is
his first documented public appearance. Thereafter, he developed into a
violinist of international reputation, with technical capacities that
founded much of the innovation of his solo violin concertos. Vivaldi’s
income as a musician came from three different kinds of activity, which
constantly intertwine chronologically: as a salaried violin teacher at
the famous Pio Ospedale at the Pietà, as an independent opera composer
and impresario, and as a composer of instrumental publications for sale.
He was appointed master of violin teaching della Pieta in 1703 by
Francesco Gasparini, and his intermittent and at times tumultuous
relationship with the governors of the Pietà would last until nearly the
end of his life. His duties included teaching the young girls on
various string instruments, maintaining the instruments, directing
ensembles, and composing music for them.
In April 1718, he did not apply for reappointment at the Pietà, perhaps
because he had been invited to Mantua to compose operas. From 1723 to
1729, Vivaldi composed about 140 concertos for the Pietà on commission
and rehearsed them with the girls when he was in Venice. The governors
hired him again, this time as maestro di cappella in 1735 but, tiring of
his many travels, dismissed him in March 1738. The last transaction
between Vivaldi and the Pietà was the sale of 20 concertos in May 1740.
His earliest known opera, Ottone in Villa, opened in the city of Vicenza
in May 1713. Thereafter, he was associated with the public theater at
Sant’ Angelo in Venice. The Hapsburg governor of Mantua, Prince Phillip
of Hesse-Darmstadt, appointed him maestro di cappella di camera. From
1733 to 1735, he composed operas for the Teatro Sant’ Angelo and for
another Venetian venue, Teatro San Samuele, working with the brilliant
young Venetian poet Carlo Goldoni (1707–1793). He was offered a chance
to compose operas for the Carnivals of 1737, 1738, and 1739 in Ferrara,
but the Archbishop Tommaso Cardinal Ruffo forbad Vivaldi to enter the
city, possibly on account of Anna Girò. A chance to perform at Vienna’s
Kärntnertortheater seems to have inspired Vivaldi’s last journey in
1740, but the death of Emperor Charles VI in October shut down all the
theaters throughout the Carnival period of 1741. Vivaldi stayed on,
perhaps too sick or poor to return to Venice. His last documented
professional act was the sale of some concertos to one Count Antonio
Vinciguerra of Collalto. On 27 or 28 July, he died and was buried as a
pauper in the Spittaler Gottsacker, a hospital burial ground in Vienna.
French composer. Related with a wealthy Perpignan family of goldsmiths,
the Valettes, he was born in Béziers, where he studied as a choirboy of
the Béziers cathedral. He later was appointed 'maîtrise en musique' of
the cathedral there in a post he held from 1689 to 1692. Within those
years he also was appointed at the same post in the Narbonne cathedral
which he held until 1694. His trace was lost after 1694 until 1718, year
he settled in Senlis. In 1729 he was appointed 'maîtrise en musique' of
the Saint-Seurin de Bordeaux, in a post he held the rest of his life.
As a composer, he was mainly active as a church musician, consequently
he wrote at least 47 sacred works, among them, Grands motets, Motets à
Voix seule mêlés de Symphonies (1711), Petits motets, Noëls à grand
choeur and Cantiques spirituels.
![Austrian School (18th Century) - Portrait of a singer with her accompanist [probably Faustina Bordoni (1693-1783) and Johann Adolf Hasse (1699-1783)]](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53607455758_ec21d68b51_c.jpg)
