Giovanni Battista Cirri (1724-1808) - Concerto for the Violoncello obligato, No.4 Op.14 (1780)
Performers: Balázs Máté (cello); Aura Musicale; László Paulik (conductor)
Further info: Cirri - Cello Concertos
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Italian cellist and composer. He studied with his brother Ignazio
(1711-1787), organist at Forlì Cathedral from 1759, and composer of 12
organ sonatas, op.1 (London, 1770) and six sonatas for harpsichord with
violin accompaniment, op.2 (London, c1772), and Giovanni Balzani,
organist at the church of the Madonna del Fuoco. He was admitted to holy
orders in 1739 but pursued a varied musical career. He was at first
attached to the basilica of S Petronio, Bologna, as a composer and
cellist, and may have studied with Padre Martini. From 1759 he was a
member of the Accademia Filarmonica; in that year he met the Duke of
York in Forlì. Subsequently he began to travel. He was in Paris during
the early 1760s, where his first works were published and a ‘symphony’
performed at the Concert Spirituel on 5 April 1763. In 1764 he settled
in London, where he was employed as a chamber musician to the Duke of
York and director of music for the Duke of Gloucester. His first public
appearance in London, on 16 May, was as accompanist to the violinist
Marcella. He played solos at the eight-year-old Mozart’s first public
concert in London (Spring Gardens, St James’s, 5 June 1764) as well as
at his final appearance (13 May 1765). In addition to his duties for the
nobility, Cirri was a popular soloist and accompanist. He participated
in the Bach-Abel concerts, performed concertos during the intervals of
operas and oratorios, and assisted in numerous benefit concerts. Most of
his publications date from this phase of his career, the dedications
testifying to his patronage by the English nobility and aristocracy. His
address in about 1770, as given on his Deux quattuors, was in Greek
Street, Soho. In 1780 he returned to Forlì to help his ailing brother at
the cathedral, though he often played away from Forlì, and in 1782 was
principal cello at the Teatro dei Fiorentini, Naples. In 1787 he
succeeded his brother as maestro di cappella at Forlì Cathedral. Cirri's
compositions demonstrate skilful harmonic and structural organization
within intimate chamber forms, his obbligato cello parts of the 1760s
and 70s reflecting the increasing attractiveness and acceptance of the
instrument in a melodic role. While emphasizing tunefulness over
technical display, his solo writing employs comfortable use of the upper
registers, with scale, arpeggio and string-crossing figurations based
on stationary, block hand positions.
