Francesco Venturini (c.1675-1745)
- Concerto (Es-Dur) des
'Concerti di camera a 4. 5. 6. 7. 8 e 9 instromenti ... divisi in due parti, opera prima' (c.1715)
Performers: La Cetra; David Plantier (violin & conductor)
Further info: Concerti Da Camera
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Flemish composer and violinist of uncertain extraction. The origins of
Francesco Venturini remain obscure. He probably owed his Italian family
name to the Italianate fashions of the period, but his native region is
thought to be Flanders, given that the baptismal registers for his
children describe him as ‘Bruxellensis’. In the court records at
Hanover, where most of his career took place, his name always appears
next to those of the French musicians, of whom there were many in the
orchestra. A pupil of Jean-Baptiste Farinel, who was also active in
Hanover although a native of Grenoble, he replaced the latter in the
post of Konzertmeister in 1713. Despite his fidelity to the court, he
seems to have aroused the wrath of the Elector Georg Ludwig by composing
on the occasion of the latter’s departure to ascend the throne of
England a cantata to the text 'Herr, gedenke mein, wenn du in dein Reich
kommst' (‘Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom’).
However this act of 'lése-majesté' must have been forgiven, appointed
Kapellmeister soon afterwards. Despite his important position, he left
little music; apart from the published 'Concerto di camera a 4, 5, 6, 7,
8, e 9 instromenti... opera prima' (c.1715), only some cantatas and
instrumental works have survived in manuscript. Several other musicians
by the name of Venturini are known to have been active in Hanover and
other German cities at the same time. Some were relatives (including a
son, August, and a presumed son, Georg), but others, including two who
shared his first name, to the further confusion of biographers, were
apparently not. A Franciscus Venturini served in the Württemberg court
orchestra at Stuttgart from 1700 to 1745 as a violinist, while Francesco
Maria Venturini, a Venetian singer, was engaged by the Bavarian court
in 1715.
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