MARCELLO, Benedetto (1686-1739) - Concerto á 5 (c.1716)

Benedetto Marcello (1686-1739) - Concerto (Re maggiore). | co V.|n|o conc: VV.|n|i Viola e Basso. | 5 St.[immen] (c.1716)

Performers: Carrol Glenn (1918-1983, violin); Austrian Tonkuenstler Orchestra; Lee Schaenen (1925-1993, conductor)

Painting: Maximilian Blommaert (18th Century) - A Musical Company

Further info: Benedetto Marcello (1686-1739) - Requiem "cantato secondo l'usanza Venetiana"

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Benedetto (Giacomo) Marcello [Marcelli, Mercello, Driante Sacro]

(Venice, 31 July 1686 - Brescia, 24 July 1739)

Italian composer and writer. Scion of one of the lesser aristocratic families of Venice, he was admitted to the Maggior Consiglio (Great Council) of the Most Serene Republic on 4 December 1706 and, thereafter, fulfilled the political duties expected of a Venetian noble, serving in various magistracies, as governor of Pola in Istria (1730-1733), and ending his life as financial chamberlain (from 1738) in Brescia (then part of the Republic of Venice). At the same time, he carried out a remarkable career as a composer, music teacher, and critic. In 1728 he married the commoner Rosanna Scalfi, his singing pupil. As a composer, his most influential efforts were, unusual for the time, in sacred music. His 50 Psalms of David, in eight volumes beginning in 1724, were an attempt to cleanse sacred music of operatic impurities. They have been translated into many languages and continued to be sung in liturgies well into the 19th century. He also composed four oratorios and nine masses, one of which secured his admission to the Accademia Filarmonica of Bologna in 1711. His main achievements in secular music were: 380 solo cantatas, 81 duets, and 7 trios, many composed on his own texts. His instrumental output include: 12 concerti grossi, 5 other concertos, 7 sinfonie, 12 harpsichord sonatas, some 3 dozen other movements for keyboard, and 28 solo sonatas, a number of them for cello still often performed. His most popular creation during his own lifetime was his satire of the business of Italian opera 'Il Teatro alla Moda', published anonymously in 1720.

ROMANO, Antonio Piacentino (18th Century) - Concerto à Flauto Traverso

Antonio Piacentino Romano (18th Century) - Concerto (Sol maggiore) | à | Flauto Traverso | Violino 1|m|o | Violino 2|d|o | Viola | è | Basso.

Performers: James Galway (flute); I Solisti Veneti; Claudio Scimone (1934-2018, conductor)

Painting: Bernhard Keil (1624-1687) - Concerto Campestre

Further info: Italian Flute Concertos

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Antonio Piacentino Romano

(Italy, 18th Century)

Italian composer. Nothing is known about his life and career. The name of Romano Antonio Piacentino (even the order of his three names is unknown) is only preserved on the unpublished scores of his works: 'Trio per il Traverso', 'Concerto à Flauto Traverso, Violino 1mo, Violino 2do, Viola è Basso', '4 Solfeggios' and 'Ciacona, ò [9] Variationi. Andantino e amabile'. Through his music style we can guess he surely was active during the 18th Century.

DANKOWSKI, Wojciech (c.1760-c.1836) - Missa E Minor a Voce 9

Wojciech Dankowski (c.1760-c.1836) - Missa E Minor a Voce 9. | Canto Alto Tenore Basso | Violino Primo et Secundo | Cornu Primo et Secundo | et Organo

Performers: Anna Zаwisza (soprano); Zygmunt Mаgiеra (tenor); Jan Mędrаla (countertenor); Volodymyr Andrushchаk (bass); Polish Orchestra of the 18th Century; Tomasz Ślusаrczyk (conductor)

Painting: Napoleon Orda (1807-1883) - Katedra i zabudowania pojezuickie przy Wysokim Rynku

Further info: Wojciech Dankowski (c.1760-c.1836) - Vesperae in D

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Wojciech Adalbert (Adalbertus) Dankowski (Danek)

(Wielkopolska?, c.1760 - c.1836)

Polish composer and violinist. He was associated with the Cistercian monastery in Obra Wielkopolska, where he probably received his musical training and where he was active, from 1779, as a musician. From 1787 to 1790 he took over the posts of conductor and kapellmeister at Gnieźno Cathedral. Josef Elsner stated, unconfirmed by other sources, that by 1792 he was a viola player at the German theatre in Lemberg (Lviv). He also worked in Poznań, probably in the early nineteenth century, where a considerable amount of his works have been preserved in the church of Mary Magdalene. Some early Dankowski manuscripts from Obra Wielkopolska, copied by M. Bocheński from Grodzisk Wielkopolski are signed by his abbreviated name 'Danek'. He was a very prolific composer and his extant output include two symphonies, 39 masses, three requiems, 27 vespers and many motets and other sacred pieces. His works are in the early Classical style; his vocal works show a marked influence of the Neapolitan school. His music, mostly homophonic, is characterized by Polish dance elements, and he sometimes made use of traditional instruments. Dankowski’s compositions were known not only in the Wielkopolska region, but also in Vilnius, Kremenets, Krakow et al.

ONSLOW, George (1784-1853) - Ouverture 'Le Colporteur' (1827)

George Onslow (1784-1853) - Ouverture 'Le Colporteur, ou L’enfant du bûcheron' (1827)

Performers: Le Cercle de l'Harmonie; Jérémie Rhorer (conductor)

Painting: Unknown (19th Century) - The Magnificent Coronation of Emperor Alexander II

and Empress Maria Aleksandrovna (1856)

Further info: George Onslow (1784-1853) - Symphony No.3 (1834)

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(André) George (Louis) Onslow

(Clermont-Ferrand, 27 July 1784 - Clermont-Ferrand, 3 October 1853)

French composer of English descent. He was the grandson of the first Lord Onslow. He studied in London with Nicolas-Joseph Hüllmandel, Jan Ladislav Dussek, and Johann Baptist Cramer and in Paris with Anton Reicha. A gifted amateur, he wrote his first works before 1807. He married Delphine de Fontanges in July 1808. He based himself near Clermont-Ferrand, initially at his father's Château de Chalendrat at Mirefleurs, later at Château de Bellerives at Perignat, La Roche-Noire. He typically visited Paris during the concert season, when his works were often performed by musicians including the violinists Pierre Baillot and Théophile Tilmant, and the brothers Dancla, who gave quartet concerts. From 1824 to 1837 he wrote his three comic operas, L'Alcalde de la Vega (1824), Le colporteur, ou L'enfant du bucheron (1827), and Guise, ou Les etats de Blois (1837) but they never achieved the success he was expecting for. However, he was highly praised by his chamber music in which he demonstrated an uncommon mastery of counterpoint. During the summer of 1829 he had a near-fatal accident when out hunting. While convalescing, he composed the last three movements of a quintet he had begun before the accident. This quintet, op.38, known as ‘De la balle’, remained the composer's mascot. In 1830 he became the second honorary member of the London Philharmonic Society. In 1834 he was elected president of the Athénée Musical. He succeeded Cherubini at the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1842, and his career became established in these years. In 1852 he was affected by rheumatic pains and failing sight in the left eye, and gave up composing for ever. Despite he was mainly active in France, his work was particularly successful in Germany and Austria throughout the first half of the 19th century, as the many editions of his works show. Kistner and Breitkopf & Härtel, in particular, competed for the privilege of publishing Onslow in the German-speaking countries.

ADAM, Adolphe-Charles (1803-1856) - Le farfadet (1852)

Adolphe-Charles Adam (1803-1856) - Le farfadet (1852)

Performers: Janine Capderou (1932-1993, mezzosoprano); Lina Dachary (1922-1999, soprano);

Joseph Peyron (1912-1976, tenor); Bernard Plantey (1925-1998, baritone); Bernard Demigny (baritone);

Orcheste Lyrique de L'ORTF; Robert Benedetti (conductor)

Drawing: Christiaan Andriessen (1775-1846) - Exuditio Musica, Air chanté par madame Colin

Further info: Adam: Le Chalet / Le Farfadet

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Adolphe (Adolf, Adolph) Charles Adam [Adan]

(Paris, 24 July 1803 - Paris, 3 May 1856)

French composer. His father Jean Louis Adam (1758-1848) was a pianist, composer and teacher. Adolphe Adam was not encouraged by his father to become a musician but, influenced by his friendship with Ferdinand Hérold, he decided at an early age that he wished to compose, and specifically, theatre music. He first studied the piano with Henry Lemoine, and at 17 entered the Conservatoire, where he studied the organ with François Benoist, counterpoint with Anton Reicha and composition with François-Adrien Boieldieu, the chief architect of his musical development. In 1825 he won a 2nd prize in the Prix de Rome with his cantata 'Ariane a Naxos'. His first successful stage score was the opera-comique 'Pierre et Catherine' (1829). He achieved his first great success with his opera-comique 'Le chalet' (1834). It was followed by the even more successful opera-comique 'Le postillon de Lonjumeau' (1836). His most celebrated score, the ballet 'Giselle, ou Les Wilis' (1841), has remained a repertory staple for over 150 years. In 1844 he was made a member of the Institut de France. He founded the Opera-National in Paris in 1847, which was forced to close as a result of the revolutionary events of 1848. He was left bankrupt and was forced to take up music journalism to eke out a living. In 1849 he obtained the post of professor of composition at the Paris Conservatoire which he held until his death. The opera comique 'Si j'etais roi' (1852) proved one of his finest late works. His operetta 'Les pantins de Violette' was premiered at the Paris Bouffes-Parisiens on 29 April 1856, just 4 days before his death. As a composer, he was mainly praised by his over than 80 stage works but he also left several cantates and masses, more than 65 songs, and over 200 light works such as potpourris and fantasias on operatic airs or melodies.