Giovanni Mossi

Giovanni Mossi (* around 1680 in Rome ; † 1742 there ) was an Italian composer and violinist of the Roman Baroque.

Live and act

Giovanni Mossi was the son of the viola player Bartolomeo Mossi, his brother Giuseppe was also a violinist and another brother, Gaetano, was a singer in the papal capella musicale . Giovanni Mossi was active as a violinist from 1694 and only had a permanent position at the court of the Duke of Bracciano for a short time (1709–1711). His career is divided into three phases. Before 1715 he appeared regularly as a soloist in private palaces of cardinals, aristocrats or in music bands of churches. An intense period of composing instrumental music began between 1716 and 1733, with the continuation of solo activity. During this time Mossi published his three sonata collections and three concert collections with Amsterdam publishers. Between 1733 and his death he hardly composed any more and appeared less and less in public. It is not completely clear what relationship Mossi had with Cardinal Schrattenbach , Princess Vittoria Altieri Pallavicini and Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni , to whom he opp. 1, 4 and 6 dedicated.

It is still uncertain whether Mossi, as reported during his lifetime, can be considered a student of Arcangelo Corelli , as there is no written evidence for this. Nevertheless, they both certainly knew each other. Corelli's influence is unmistakable in Mossi's sonatas, but in his concerts he treads different stylistic paths that show parallels to the works of Giuseppe Valentini . The 26 Concerti opp. 2, 3 and 4 are all laid out in three or four movements, fast movements alternate with slow ones. In op. 4, the solo violin takes over the Roman practice of the Concerto grosso , in which two solo violins with two additional violin parts form the tutti. In op. 4 No. 12, four solo violins stand opposite an equally strong tutti.

Mossi belonged with Giovanni Battista Costanzi and Francisco António de Almeida to the group of successor composers Corellis.

Works

• Op. 1: 12 Sonata a Violino e Violone o Cimbalo (Amsterdam, 1716)
• Op. 2: 8 Concerti a tre ea cinque Instromenti (Amsterdam, around 1720)
• Op. 3: 6 concerti a 6 instromenti, 4 violini, alto viola e basso continuo (Amsterdam, around 1720)
• Op. 4: 12 Concerti a quattro Violini e Violoncello obligati (Amsterdam, 1727)
• Op. 5: 12 sonata o symphony a violino solo con il violoncello (Amsterdam, 1727)
• Op. 6: 12 Sonata da Camera for violin and B. c. (Amsterdam, 1733)

Web links

• Sheet music and audio files by Giovanni Mossi in the International Music Score Library Project
• Antonella D'Ovidio: Giovanni Mossi in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, Volume 77 (2012)

Literature and source

• Giovanni Sgaria: Giovanni Mossi, Musicista romano del primo Settecento . In: Albert Dunning (Ed.): Intorno a Locatelli. Studi in occasione del tricentenario dell nascita di Pietro Locatelli (1695–1764) . Lucca 1995, pp. 113-167