Giovanni Battista Somis

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Portrait of Giovanni Battista Somis by Charles André van Loo

Giovanni Battista Somis , also Giambattista (born December 25, 1686 in Turin , † August 14, 1763 ibid) was an Italian violinist and composer .

Live and act

Giovanni Battista, painted by Lorenzo

Like his younger brother Giovanni Lorenzo Somis , he received his first musical training from his father Francesco Lorenzo Somis (1663–1736). Like his father, he became a member of the court orchestra of the Duke of Savoy in Turin. From 1703 to 1706 Somis stayed in Rome, where he learned and deepened new bowing techniques and the art of ornamentation with Arcangelo Corelli . From this time he was probably known to Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni , to whom he received his Op. 4 dedicated. Travels took him to Novara and Sicily. He gave several concerts with the Prince of Carignan , including in his Paris residence. Somis appeared there twice as a soloist at the Concert spirituel in 1733 . On his return to Turin, he became the first solo violinist of the court orchestra, of which he was a member until his death. He remained connected to Prince Carignan's chapel throughout his life.

His most famous student was Jean-Marie Leclair , who introduced Somi's style of playing to the French violin school. He also taught Gaspard Fritz , Jean-Pierre Guignon , Louis-Gabriel Guillemain , Gaetano Pugnani and his nephew Carlo Chiabrano , who all also made a name for themselves as violinists and composers.

From Op. 5 Somis increasingly used elements of the gallant style and French ornamentation ( agrémens ).

His younger sister was the soprano and singing teacher Anne Antonia Christina Somis (1704–1785) and later wife of the French painter Charles André van Loo . They met each other in 1733 during the painter's stay in Turin. The couple had two children, Marie-Rosalie van Loo (1741–1762) and Jules César Denis van Loo (1749–1821).

Works

  • Op. 1: twelve sonata da camera for violin and violoncello / harpsichord (Amsterdam, around 1717 and 1725)
  • Op. 2: twelve sonata da camera for violin and violoncello / harpsichord (Turin, 1723)
  • Op. 3: twelve sonata da camera for violin and violoncello / harpsichord (Turin, 1725)
  • Op. 4: twelve sonata da camera for violin and violoncello / harpsichord (Paris, 1726)
  • Op. 5: six sonata a tre for two violins and violoncello / harpsichord (Paris, 1734 and 1743)
  • Op. 6: twelve sonata da camera for violin and violoncello / harpsichord (Paris, 1734 and 1738)
  • -: twelve sonata for violoncello solo (Paris, around 1738)
  • Op. 7: twelve Ideali trattenimenti da camera for two violins, flauti traversieri or treble viols (Paris, around 1750)
  • Op. 8: six sonata a tre for two violins and violoncello (no place or date)
  • two concerts in F and D for violin and orchestra
  • seven concerts for violin and orchestra
  • a concert for several instruments in D
  • two symphonies in D and H
  • two sonatas in G and D for violin or viola da gamba and basso continuo
  • a sonata in G for violin and bass
  • a symphony for flute and basso continuo
  • four sonatas for violin and bass
  • Motet Mundi splendide catene vane pompe

A catalog of his own works, now lost, contained 152 violin concertos, 3 concertos for two violins, 3 flute concertos, 4 trumpet concertos, 1 oboe concert, 3 concertos pieni à 4 instrumenti , 1 sonata à 4, 1 sonata à 3 con ripieni, 6 printed sonatas à 3 , 1 sonata of 3 as manuscript, 75 sonatas for violin and basso continuo, 3 sonatas for viola d'amore and basso continuo and 7 sonatas for violoncello and basso continuo. Most of these works have not survived.

Web links

Commons : Giovanni Battista Somis  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Genealogy of the Somis, online
  2. ↑ Treasure of the Month - January 2010 'The Grand Turk giving a Concert to his Mistress' by Carle van Loo, 1737, cat. P451, online
  3. ↑ Glenn Burdette (Ed.): Giovanni Battista Somis. Sonatas for violin and basso continuo: opus 3. AR Editions, Inc., Wisconsin 1998, ISBN 0-89579-422-5 , p. IX.
  4. ^ Alberto Basso:  Somis, Giovanni Battista. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
personal data
SURNAME Somis, Giovanni Battista
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Somis, Giambattista
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian violinist and composer
DATE OF BIRTH December 25, 1686
PLACE OF BIRTH Turin
DATE OF DEATH August 14, 1763
Place of death Turin