The Italian Baroque Sonata
Rome, St. Andrew's Church of Scotland
About the Event
Experience an exceptional evening of Baroque classics at St. Andrew's Church of Scotland in Rome, featuring the works of Antonio Vivaldi, Alessandro Scarlatti, Benedetto Marcello, and Domenico Scarlatti.
“Il Violoncello da Spalla” (The Shoulder Cello)
Between the late 17th century and the first half of the 18th century, the Shoulder Cello was a popular instrument among violinists, who used it to play the bass line, for accompaniments and also solo obbligato parts. Composers wrote sonatas and concertos for this instrument or that could be played on it, and it was widely used as an obbligato instrument in church or chamber cantata arias.
Cellists/violinists from northern Italy traveled throughout Europe. Caldara, Bononcini and Dall'Abaco left their traces in Catalonia.
Program
- Alessandro Scarlatti – Sonata n. 1 per Cello e pianoforte (cembalo)
- Domenico Scarlatti – Sonate K 9 / K 64 in Re minore
- Benedetto Marcello – Sonata n.2 per cello e pianoforte (cembalo)
- Domenico Scarlatti – Sonate K 202 / K 322 in La maggiore
- Antonio Vivaldi – Sonata KV 43 n.3 per cello e pianoforte (cembalo)
Artists
| Cello: | Alberto Vitolo |
|---|---|
| Piano: | Mirco Roverelli |
Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Vivaldi went down in history as a creator of the instrumental concert genre and the father of orchestral music. He was born in Venice on the 4th of March 1678. Vivaldi was a weak and sickly child suffering from asthma, however could not stop him from devoting himself completely to music. His father, Giovanni Batista a professional violinist, taught his elder son Antonio to play the violin. With his father young Antonio met the best musicians of Venice of that time and gave concerts in local churches. He also worked as a violin teacher and later as a music director at the orphanage Ospedalle della Pieta. Meanwhile he composed concertos, sacred works and vocal music and in 1713 he achieved great recognition with his sacred choral music. Vivaldi got captivated by the world of opera and worked both as opera composer and impresario at the Teatro San Angelo. In 1717 he obtained a prestigious position by the prince court in Manua as a director of secular music and worked there until around 1720. During that time he composed his world-renowned masterpiece The Four Seasons. In the 1730's his career dwindled as his music became unfashionable and the great composer died in poverty. It took the world two centuries to rediscover and reevaluate Vivaldi’s music, as it was buried into oblivion after his death. In the early 20th century many previously unknown works were found and immediately captured the hearts of the music lovers.
Address
St. Andrew's Church of Scotland, Via Venti Settembre 7, Rome, Italy — Google Maps
