Giovanni Porta

Giovanni Porta

Giovanni Porta (* around 1675 in Venice or in Veneto ; † June 21, 1755 in Munich ) was an Italian composer .

Life

Giovanni Porta studied in Venice with Francesco Gasparini . From 1706 to 1710 he probably stayed at the court of Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni in Rome . In April 1710 he married Leonora Zanchi, with whom he had three children. 1710–11 he was maestro di cappella at the Cathedral of Vicenza , 1714–16 he held the same position at the Cathedral of Verona . In 1716 he returned to Venice and over the next few years worked primarily as an opera composer . From 1726–37 he was also maestro di coro at the Ospedale della Pietà and in this role wrote numerous sacred works for women's choir and orchestra . After two unsuccessful applications as maestro di composizione at the Ospedale dei Derelitti ( Ospedaletto , 1733) and as maestro di cappella at St. Mark's Basilica (1736), Porta went to Munich in 1737 to the court of Elector Karl Albrecht , where he worked as court conductor until the end of his life . He succeeded his predecessor Pietro Torri , who also came from Veneto and died in 1737. Giovanni Porta's wife probably died in February 1742; seven years later, in December 1749, he married a German widow with two children. After his death in 1755, Andrea Bernasconi took over his position.

plant

Only vocal music has come down to us from Porta .

Stage works

L'Argippo , first page

Between 1716 and 1738 Porta wrote 30 operas for theaters in Venice , Rome , London , Milan , Naples , Florence , Bologna , Mantua and Munich , several of them in collaboration with other composers such as Francesco Gasparini and Tomaso Albinoni . Among his librettists were u. a. Apostolo Zeno (7 operas), Pietro Metastasio (4) and Domenico Lalli (4). Only four operas have been completely preserved:

• L'Argippo ( Lalli ), Venice 1717
• Farnace ( Lucchini ), Bologna 1731
• Gianguir ( Zeno ), Milan 1732
• Ifigenia in Aulide ("Teutsch-musicalisches Trauerspiel", Zeno ), Munich 1738

At least individual arias of 13 other operas are known, of the others only the textbook. The authenticity of an opera ( Artaserse , Munich 1739) is doubtful. In 1730 he composed Il gran Tamerlano on the well-known libretto Agostino Piovenes and in 1732 Lucio Papirio dittatore on the text Apostolo Zenos.

In addition to the operas, Porta composed at least six other works for the stage, including three cantatas , a serenata , an Azione teatrale ( The Dream of Scipio ) and an oratorio . The cantatas Caro padre, ah forse and Apollo in Tempe have survived .

Spiritual works

Porta's spiritual oeuvre comprises at least 103 psalms , 19 masses , 18 magnificats , eight motets , five creeds , four passions , three misereres , two tantum ergo , a te deum and other individual works. A Laetatus sum and a Magnificat have been printed since 1995.

style

Porta's operas are typical representatives of the Venetian style of the 1720s and 1730s; they stand out u. a. through fast runs, arpeggios , big melodic jumps, extended sequences and tutti - unisoni . His sacred music is also influenced by opera with its virtuoso solo movements, trills , large jumps and long melisms .

literature

• Gerhart von Westerman: Giovanni Porta as an opera composer . Dissertation Munich 1921.
• Faun S. Tanenbaum: The Partbook Collection from the Ospedale della Pietà and the Sacred Music of Giovanni Porta . Diss. New York 1993.

Web links

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