Arcangelo Corelli

Classical Music / Baroque Composers

 Arcangelo Corelli (b. 17 February 1653 – d. 8 January 1713), was an Italian composer and violinist of the Baroque era. Baptismal records indicate that he was born on 17 February in the smal Romagna town of Fusignano, (family were land-owners), then in the diocese of Ferrara, Papal States. His father, from whom he took the name Arcangelo, died five weeks before the composer's birth. Consequently, he was raised by his mother, Santa (née Ruffini, or Raffini), alongside four elder siblings.

He visited Modena and Nales, conducted at the Roman residence of Queen Christina of Sweden, and t uaght many pupils including Geminiani. 




His music, marked by graceful melody, is richer in contrapuntal and harmonic interest, and admired for the balance and brilliance of its style. He was key in the development of the modern genres of sonata and concerto, in establishing the preeminence of the violin.


 Image Credit: 

Arcangelo Corelli  as painted in 1697 by the Irish painter Hugh Howard. Public Domain. 

Video Credit:

Corelli - The Complete 12 Violin Sonatas, Op.5 | Andrew Manze & Richard Egarr. YouTube, uploaded by Essential Classical. Accessed February 17, 2018. 

Resources:

Arcangelo Corelli. en.wikipedia.org. 

The Grove Concise Dictionary of Music, ed. by Stanley Sadie. London: Macmillan Press, 1994.


(c) 2018.  Tel Asiado.  Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved. 

Marin Marais

Classical Music / Composers Datebook: May 31

French Composer Marin Marais

Marin Marais (31 May 1656 – 15 August 1728), was born and died in Paris. He is said to have brought viola da gamba playing to the highest level of perfection. He was a French composer and viol player who often conducted his own opera.  He studied composition with Jean-Baptiste Lully, and with master of the bass viol Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe for few months.

In 1676, he was hired as a musician to the royal court of Versailles.  Three years later, in 1679, he was appointed "ordinaire de la chambre du roy pour la viole", a title he kept until 1725.

Georg Philipp Telemann

Datebook: March 14, 1681 / Baroque Composers.

Known for his musical ability, Telemann was one of the most prolific composers in history, a contemporary and good friend of Johann Sebastian Bach and George F. Handel.

Georg Philipp Telemann (March 14, 1681 – June 25, 1767), was a German composer, organist and conductor. He was a contemporary and good friend of Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel. JS Bach's son, C.P.E. Bach, was Telemann's godson. Telemann's style was an exemplar of German Baroque during its height and he was the best-known German Baroque composer and organist of his time.  

He was born in Magdeburg, Germany into a family with strong links with the clerical people. As a child, he received no specific musical education and taught himself by studying stores especially those of Lully and Campra. At ten, he had learned to play the keyboard, flute and violin. By the time he was twelve, he had written an opera.

Sadly, his mother, still not impressed, confiscated his instruments and sent him away to school. Fortunately, the schoolmaster was a music theorist. For the next four years Telemann continued his formal studies while also developing his understanding of musical composition. 

Below, G.P. Telemann Oboe Concertos 

(1). Concerto in E minor 0:00  

(2). Concerto in D minor 11:32  

(3). Concerto in C minor 20:19  

(4). Concerto in F minor 29:40  

(5). Concerto in D 37:26 

Painting: detail of 'Still Life with Flowers and Fruits' by Jan Frans van Dael (1840).

Domenico Scarlatti

Classical Music / Composer  Dateline: October 26

Baroque composer Domenico Scarlatti was one of the greatest harpsichordists of all-time.

Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti (26 October 1685 – 23 July 1757), born in Naples, was an Italian Baroque composer and a harpsichord virtuoso. He was the son of renowned composer  Alessandro Scarlatti. Domenico spent much of his life in the service of the Portuguese and Spanish royal families. Although classified chronologically as a Baroque composer, his music was influential in the classical style development.

Domenico is featured as a secondary character in José Saramago's Nobel Prize winning novel Baltasar and Blimunda.

Both father and son composed in various musical forms although today Domenico Scarlatti is best known for his harpsichord sonatas. One of the most celebrated harpsichordist of his time, his 550 single-movement sonatas or esercizi (exercises) is considered his best composition.

Below is Scarlatti's  "Sonata in F Minor, K 466 (L 118): Andante moderato" by Vladimir Horowitz, one of my favourite interpreters of Scarlatti sonatas. For  others interested, I also recomment D. Scarlatti's Sonata K. 141 interpreted by painist Martha Argerich - Here. I've added, February 13, 2016.)     



Video Credit:

Vladimir Horowitz plays Scarlatti K 466.  YouTube, uploaded by Sylvio1980.  Accessed October 26, 2013.

Image Credit:
Domenico Scarlatti.  Public Domain.

 

Resource:

Sadie, Stanley, Ed.    The Grove Concise Dictionary of Music.  London:  Macmillan Publishers, 1994.   



(c)  2013-2016.  Tel Asiado.  Written for Inspired Pen Web.  All rights reserved. 

Antonio Vivaldi

Classical Music Composers Datebook: March 4

Baroque Composer famous for The Four Seasons

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (1678-1741), was one of the most prolific composers during his time. Several of his concerti were transcribed by Johann Sebastian Bach. He wrote symphonies, sonatas, and over 400 concerti, including the famous The Four Seasons for violin and orchestra. He also wrote operas and sacred music.

Vivaldi was born in Venice on March 4, 1678, and ordained as a priest in 1703, commonly known as "the red-haired priest" or il prete rosso. He was associatead with a girls' orphanage, also in Venice, for which he wrote oratorios and instrumental music.

Vivaldi's The four Seasons (Full), YouTube, uploaded by avrilfan2213. Accessed March 4, 2013.  

Johann Sebastian Bach

Classical Music: Composer's Datebook: March 21 (O.S.) and March 31 (N.S.)

"The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul." ~ Johann Sebastian Bach

Brief biography of Baroque German composer JS Bach - his life, works and influence on classical music. A master of counterpoint or contrapuntal technique, his Baroque music is one of the world's most famous.

Johann Sebastian Bach or simply JS Bach (31 March (O.S. 21 March, and N.S. 31 March, 1685), a Baroque German Protestant composer, organist, choirmaster, singer and violinist, the most popular of the musical Bach family. He was born on March 21, 1685, in Eisenach, North Germany. His father, Johann Ambrosius Bach, was a court musician.

He was a counterpoint master known for church music famous for St. John Passion that includes the famous "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring,"  and  St. Matthew Passion.





 

Note: This next video has been deleted as embedding is no longer available due to copyright issue.

J.S. Bach: St John Passion, BWV 245 - Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki (HD 1080p)  

Please watch directly at YouTube. Link: Here.

Jacques Duphly

Classical Composers Datebook: January 12


Jacques Duphly (January 12, 1715 – July 15, 1789), was a French harpsichordist and composer. Born in Rouen, France, he was the son of Jacques-Agathe Duphly and Marie-Louise Boivin.  As a boy, he studied the harpsichord and organ, and was employed as organist at the cathedral in Evreux.

His teachers were Francois d'Agincourt and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. After his father died in 1742, Duphly moved to Paris, where he became famous as a performer and teacher. Pascal Taskin, a prominent harpsichord maker of the time, considered him to be one of the best teachers in Paris. 

Wilhelm Friedemann Bach

Classical Music / Composers Datebook: November 22

Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (Nov 22, 1710 – July 1, 1784), German composer and organist,  was the second child and eldest son of Johann Sebastian (JS) Bach. He is considered the most gifted son by common reputation.

Early Life of Wilhelm F. Bach 

Born in Weimar and educated at Leipzig, he was appointed in 1733 organist of St. Sophia's Church at Dresden. In 1746, he became organist of the Liebfrauenkirche at Halle. His  father's influence was enough to secure him the latter position without the usual trial performance.

His father, JS Bach, was the stabilizing factor in his life, and when his father died in 1750, he lived an unhappy life in Halle, from which he frequently traveled to seek other employment.

François Couperin

Classical Music / Composers Datebook: November 10


François Couperin (10 November 1668 – 11 September 1733), was a French Baroque composer, organist and harpsichordist. He was known as Couperin le Grand ("Couperin the Great"), to distinguish him from other members of the musically talented Couperin family.
He was also noted for his harpsichord and organ music, highly influential to Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750).  

Life in Brief


Couperin was born in Paris. He was taught by his father, Charles Couperin, who died when François was about 10, and by Jacques Thomelin. In 1685 he became the organist at the church of Saint-Gervais, Paris, a post he inherited from his father and that he would pass on to his cousin, Nicolas Couperin, and other members of the family. In 1693 Couperin succeeded his teacher Thomelin as organist at the Chapelle Royale (Royal Chapel) with the title organiste du Roi, organist by appointment to Louis XIV.

Giacomo Carissimi

Classical Music / Composers Datebook: April 18


Giacomo Carissimi, Italian composer, was baptized April 18, 1605 in Marino. He contributed to the development of the sacred oratorio.

Achievements generally ascribed to him are the further development of the recitative, later introduced by Monteverdi, and of importance in the history of dramatic music; the further development of the chamber-cantata; and the development of the oratorio, of which he was the first significant composer.

As Cavalli is credited to the history of opera, so is Carissimi in the history of church music and vocal chamber music. Carissimi died in Rome in January 12, 1674.



(c) April 2008. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.

George Frideric Handel

Composers Datebook / 23 February 

G.F. Handel is one of the greatest composers in the Baroque Era 

Handel excelled in oratorios and operas. He received wide acclaim during his lifetime. To this day, he is best known for his oratorio Messiah, the summation of his life’s work composed in a single burst of inspiration but including some elements from earlier works.     

   
"What a wonderful thing it is to be sure of one's faith!" - G.F. Handel

George Frideric Handel (February 23, 1685 – April 14, 1759) was an English composer and violinist of German origin.  He was born in Halle, the son of a barber-surgeon. At first his father wanted him to pursue law instead of music; eventually, his father relented and allowed him to study under Zachau, the local organist at St Michael's Church. 

  

When his father died in 1703, he abandoned the study of law and became a violinist at Keiser's Opera House in Hamburg. He completed the opera Almira (started by Keiser in 1705) and Nero.  

From 1706 to 1710, he visited Italy. He was inspired by these travels through meetings with Archangelo Corelli and Alessandro Scarlatti that he was able to write a number of oratorios and operas to Italian styles of composition. His first opera Almira was performed in Hamburg in 1705.  In 1710, Handel was appointed Kapellmesiter to the Elector of Hanover Court (the future George I of England). The following year, he performed the opera Rinaldo in London. It was a huge success that Handel decided to move to England, at the same time he composed the operas Il pastor fido, Sila and Amadigi. 

Handel established his popularity in England with such works as the Water Music Suite written for George I.  The king gave him a life pension of six hundred pounds.  The following year, he became musical director to the Duke of Chandos, as well as director of the Royal Academy of Music at the King's. He wrote some operas, anthems, solo sonatas, and suites for the harpsichord specifically for the Royal Academy of Music until the theatre closed in 1728.