Giovanni Felice Sances

Giovanni Felice Sances (* around 1600 in Rome ; † November 24, 1679 in Vienna ) was an Italian composer and singer (tenor) of the Baroque and court music director in Vienna.

Life

Giovanni Felice Sances, son of the singer Horatio Sances, who worked in Mantua and later in Rome, was a boy soprano at the Collegium Germanicum in Rome from 1609 to 1614 , where he received his musical training from Ottavio Catalani and Annibale Orgas. In February 1614 he was noted as a singer in an opera performance scheduled by Cardinal Montalto in the Palazzo della Cancelleria. Later stays in Bologna and Venice are documented. Not until 1633, with the publication of his two-volume Venetian print, one- and two-part Cantades , known as Libro secondo , were the next biographical facts to be found. This double work is dedicated to the Marchese Pio Enea degli Obizzi from Padua. From December 1636, Sances was tenor in the Vienna court orchestra . In 1649, Sances became vice conductor under Antonio Bertali and from 1669 Kapellmeister, a position he held until his death.

During his lifetime, Sances was considered one of the well-known composers in Europe. His complete works include, in addition to a few instrumental sonatas, church music, more than 50 masses, cantatas, three collections of motets (Venice, 1638, 1638, 1642), two collections of psalm settings (Venice 1643 and 1648), three funeral masses, three Teeums, a Stabat mater , several collections with secular cantatas and eight stage works, the latter partly in collaboration with Johann Heinrich Schmelzer and Antonio Draghi . Sances is one of the first to describe a work consisting of several vocal pieces as a cantata .

Discography

• Dulcis amor Iesu Ensemble Scherzi Musicali, conducted by Nicolas Acht , 2010, Ricercar RIC 292

Web links

• List of stage works by Giovanni Felice Sances based on the MGG at Operone
• Sheet music and audio files by Giovanni Felice Sances in the International Music Score Library Project