Giuseppe Porsile

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Giuseppe Porsile (also Persile , Porcile or Porsille ; * May 5, 1680 in Naples , † May 29, 1750 in Vienna ) was an Italian composer and singing teacher. He worked in Barcelona and as an imperial court and chamber composer in Vienna and composed mainly operas, serenatas and oratorios.

Life

Giuseppe Porsile was the son of Carlo Porsile, whose opera Nerone was performed in Naples in 1686. He studied at the Conservatorio dei Poveri di Gesù Cristo in Naples with Gennaro Ursino , M. Giordano and Gaetano Greco . From his early days in Naples, only the opera Il ritorno d'Ulisse alla patria is known, which was performed in 1707 at the Nuovo Teatro di S Giovanni de 'Fiorentini. A little later he worked for a short time as the vice conductor of the Spanish band.

According to older publications, Porsile was called to Barcelona by King Charles II of Spain as early as 1695 . However, this statement has been shown to be incorrect. Only in a document dated December 6, 1707 is he named as one of the musicians and singers who succeeded Charles III. engaged in Italy for the new palace theater in Barcelona. His appointment officially began on January 1, 1708. In that year he was appointed Kapellmeister and chamber organist with a monthly salary of 10 doubloons . His duties included composing operas, serenatas, interludes and church music. Nothing of his works from this period has survived.

In 1711 Karl's brother, Emperor Joseph I, died. To succeed him, Karl gave up his claim to the Spanish throne and traveled to Vienna. On December 22, 1711 he was in Frankfurt am Main as Emperor Karl VI. crowned. In 1713 he was followed by his wife Elisabeth Christine from Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel to Vienna. Porsile joined her entourage with his Andalusian wife and her father because he hoped to find a job in Vienna. Some of the musicians were dismissed in Genoa on the way. Porsile was able to continue the journey - presumably because of his role as Elisabeth Christine's singing teacher. In Linz, the court servants complained that they had to make the trip at their own expense, while those who had traveled in Charles's entourage in 1711 were “fully paid”.

However, a job in Vienna was a long time coming, as the newly appointed Kapellmeister Johann Joseph Fux did not consider any other court composer to be necessary besides Carlo Agostino Badia . Nevertheless, Porsile received a grace pension of 200 ducats annually for the next four years . During this time he gave singing lessons to the widow Empress Wilhelmine Amalie and composed at least three works for her birthdays and names. His birthday cantata from 1717 was performed personally by her daughters, Archduchesses Maria Josepha and Maria Amalia . This year he applied for the position of vice conductor, referring to his six years of service in Spain. Although he was recommended by Fux as a "good virtuoso of good gusto", the emperor decided on Antonio Caldara . In a letter dated November 27, 1720, Porsile complained to the emperor about his financial difficulties and asked for permanent employment. On December 17th he was finally hired as the successor to Gregorio Genuesi as court composer and member of the imperial court orchestra with a salary of 1,440 fl . From 1725 to 1727 he was an officer of the Caecilien brotherhood in Vienna. After the death of Charles VI. in 1740 he continued to receive an honorary salary, which was reduced to 1200 fl in the following year. When he died in 1750, he left little fortune.

In 1729 Porsile supported the composer Matteo Luchini in a lawsuit against the soprano Margherita Gualandi (“la Campioli”), who had left Prague without paying him for twelve arias composed. In a letter he stated that although it was not difficult to compose twelve arias, they were certainly worth the required twelve ducats.

During his time at the Habsburg court, Porsile created at least 21 secular stage works and thirteen oratorios. Further performances in Bohemia are known of five oratorios. 1723 was his for the coronation of Charles VI. and Elisabeth Christine for the King and Queen of Bohemia performed a componimento di camera Il giorno felice in Prague. In 1726 he created in honor of the French King Louis XV. on the occasion of his birthday the cantata Il giorno natalizio di Giove, which was performed in the residence of the French ambassador, the Duke of Richelieu .

His best-known work is the opera Spartaco, which was performed on February 21, 1726 in the Small Court Theater in Vienna. The then court poet Apostolo Zeno noted in his Lettere (IV, 98) that their success was due to both the beauty of the music and the singing of Faustina Bordoni , who first appeared in it in Vienna. He let the vocal abilities of Faustina and the three other internationally famous singers come into their own through the pitch range used, dramatic melodic jumps and long melodic phrases. In the mad scene of Spartacus in the third act, he renounced the traditional da capo form. The opera was the 2009 Heidelberg Theater in the Palace Theater Schwetzingen listed.

style

Porsile's style combined features of the Neapolitan and Northern Italian schools, thereby influencing the development of the pre-classical style in Vienna. In accordance with the preferences of the Habsburg court, he often used polyphonic elements, fughettas and imitations. His melodies and harmony turns, cadences and keys as well as the tone-symbolic text interpretation largely correspond to the typical formulas of his time. However, his choirs in particular are of a higher quality than those of many of his contemporaries. In the arias he found cantable melodies while largely dispensing with exaggerated coloratura. Johann Adolph Hasse appreciated his “exceptionally fine feeling for the expressiveness and the limits of virtuoso coloratura”, and his wife Faustina Bordoni sang several roles in his operas. According to Charles Burney , Hasse praised the music of the oratorio Giuseppe riconosciuto as the finest music he had ever heard. Most of the instrumentation is kept simple. However, frequent violoncello solos are noticeable. In the oratorio Il trionfo di Giuditta there are solos for trombone, and in the cantata Le sofferte amare two concertos flutes are used.

Works

Stage works

Meride e Selinunte - German title page of the libretto, Vienna 1721
Spartaco - title page of the libretto, Vienna 1726
  • Il ritorno d'Ulisse alla patria, dramma per musica in three acts; Libretto: Giovanni Andrea Moniglia ; Premiere: 1707, Naples, Teatro dei Fiorentini; 40 arias and duets received.
  • Il giorno natalizio… di Willhelmina Amalia, componimento per musica; Libretto: Pietro Pariati ; Premiere: April 24th, 1717, Vienna.
  • La virtù festeggiata, componimento per musica; Libretto: Pariati; Premiere: July 10th 1717, Vienna.
  • Alceste, festa teatrale; Libretto: Pariati; Premiere: November 19, 1718, Vienna, sala grande di Corte.
  • Meride e Selinunte, dramma per musica in five acts; Libretto: Apostolo Zeno ; Premiere: August 28, 1721, Vienna, Teatro della Favorita.
  • Il tempo fermato, componimento da camera; Premiere: October 15, 1721, Vienna.
  • La Virtù e la Bellezza in lega, serenata; Premiere: October 15, 1722, Vienna, Großes Hoftheater.
  • Il giorno felice, componimento per musica; Libretto: Pariati; Premiere: August 28, 1723, Prague.
  • Componimento a due voci; Premiere: August 28, 1725, Vienna, Neue Favorita.
  • Il giorno natalizio di Giove, cantata; Libretto: Giovanni Claudio Pasquini ; Premiere: February 15, 1726, Vienna, residence of the French ambassador, the Duke of Richelieu .
  • Spartaco, dramma per musica in three acts; Libretto: Pasquini; Premiere: February 21, 1726, Vienna, Kleines Hoftheater.
  • Il tempio di Giano, chiuso da Cesare Augusto, componimento per musica; Libretto: Pasquini; Premiere: October 1st, 1726, Vienna, Neue Favorita.
  • La clemenza di Cesare, servizio di camera; Libretto: Pasquini; Premiere: October 1st, 1727, Vienna, Neue Favorita.
  • Telesilla, festa teatrale; Libretto: Pasquini; Premiere: November 19, 1729, Vienna.
  • Scipione Africano, il maggiore, festa di camera; Libretto: Pasquini; Premiere: October 1st, 1730, Vienna, Neue Favorita.
  • Dialogo tra il Decoro e la Placidezza, festa di camera; Libretto: Pasquini; Premiere: July 26th 1732, Vienna.
  • Dialogo pastorale a cinque voci, premiere: August 28, 1732, Vienna, Neue Favorita.
  • Dialogo tra la Prudenza e la Vivacità, festa di camera; Libretto: Pasquini; Premiere: October 15, 1732, Vienna.
  • La Fama accresciuta dalla Virtù, festa di camera; Libretto: Pasquini; Premiere: October 15, 1735, Vienna.
  • Sesostri, re d'Egitto, ovvero Le Fest d'Iside, dramma per musica in three acts; Libretto: Pariati ?; Premiere: Carnival 1737, Vienna.
  • Il giudizio rivocato , festa di camera; Libretto: Pasquini; Premiere: October 15, 1737, Vienna.
  • Psiche, dramma per musica in three acts.
  • Osmeno e Fileno, dialoghetto; UA: after 1712; doubtful, attributed to Porsile or Caldara .

Oratorios

  • Sisara; Libretto: Zeno; Premiere: March 23, 1719, Vienna, Hofkapelle.
  • Tobia; Libretto: Zeno; Premiere: March 14th 1720, Vienna, Hofkapelle.
  • Il zelo di Nathan; Libretto: G. Velardi; Premiere: 1721, Vienna, Hofkapelle.
  • L'anima immortale creata e redenta per il cielo; Libretto: Bernardino Maddali; Premiere: February 26th 1722, Vienna, Hofkapelle; repeated in 1737.
  • Il trionfo di Giuditta; Libretto: Maddali; Premiere: February 18, 1723, Vienna, Hofkapelle.
  • Il sacrificio di Gefte, azione sacra; Libretto: Giuseppe Salio; Premiere: March 9th 1724, Brno.
  • Mosè liberato dal Nilo, componimento sacro; Premiere: March 1st, 1725, Vienna, Hofkapelle.
  • Assalone nemico del padre amante; Premiere: March 14th 1726, Vienna, Hofkapelle.
  • L'esaltazione de Salomone; Libretto: Maddali; Premiere: March 6th 1727, Vienna, Hofkapelle.
  • L'ubbidienza a Dio; Libretto: Antonio Maria Lucchini ; Premiere: March 9, 1730, Vienna, Hofkapelle.
  • Due re, Roboamo e Geroboamo, azione sacra; Libretto: Francesco Fozio; Premiere: February 23, 1731, Vienna, Hofkapelle.
  • Giuseppe riconosciuto , azione sacra in two acts; Libretto: Pietro Metastasio; Premiere: March 12th 1733, Vienna, Hofkapelle.
  • La madre de 'Maccabei; Libretto: Francesca Manzóni Giusti; Premiere: March 14th 1737, Vienna, Hofkapelle.

Other vocal works

  • measure up
  • Arias from operas and oratorios
  • Seven canzonettes for soprano and basso continuo
  • Chamber cantatas for solo part and basso continuo
    • Allor che a miei pensieri
    • Aspra scoscesa ed erta
    • Cara sarei contento
    • Care luci che ferite
    • Che sia lontan l'arciero
    • Clori vezzosa
    • Deh cessate o miei pensieri
    • The amor nell'alma mia
    • E già tre volte sorse, with violin
    • È partito il mio tesoro
    • Eurillo ve'l confesso
    • Gelsomin che agl'occhi miei
    • Godeva in pace Eurillo
    • Le soffert amore pene, with violin and flute
    • Mentre un giorno io men
    • Misero core tu chiedi amore
    • Nasce un Narciso
    • Ninfe questa è la rosa
    • Oggi quando l'aurora calma
    • Ombre amiche ombre care
    • Piango è ver ma il pianto mio
    • Poiché per mio destino, with two violins
    • Posa sopra d'un faggio, with flute
    • Quale appunto l'aquila altiera
    • Quei duri sassi
    • Ruscel dal mar lontano, with flute
    • Se tutto in un volto
    • S'io t'amai cruda Filli
    • Son tradita e lo scorgete
    • Sovra funesta Pyra
    • Trattar tutti egualmente
    • Vago onor di bel giardino
    • Violetta gentil, do be pure cara, with the flute
    • Voglio ad un altro cor amor
    • Voglio the si che il vivere
    • Voi felici zeffiretti

Instrumental works

  • Six partitas for two violins and basso continuo
  • Part for solo lute
  • Two symphonies for two violins, two oboes, viola and basso continuo
  • Divertimento a 3rd
  • Piece for flute and basso continuo

Web links

Commons : Giuseppe Porsile  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Digital copies

  1. ^ Il Ritorno di Ulisse alla patria. Libretto (Italian), Naples 1707. Digitized from the Museo internazionale e biblioteca della musica di Bologna .
  2. ↑ Meride e Selinunte. Libretto (Italian), Vienna 1721. Digital copy from the Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense .
  3. ↑ The Meride and Selinunte. Libretto (German), Vienna 1721. Digitized at Google Books .
  4. ↑ Spartaco. Libretto (Italian), Vienna 1726. Digital copy from the Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense .
  5. ^ Giuseppe riconosciuto. Libretto (Italian), Vienna 1733. Digitized at Google Books .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Andrea Sommer-Mathis: Politics and musician trips at the beginning of the 18th century using the example of Giuseppe Porsiles. In: Christian Meyer (ed.): Le musicien et ses voyages: pratiques, réseaux et représentations. BWV Verlag, 2003, ISBN 978-3-8305-0382-8 . P. 28 ff. ( Limited preview on Google Books ).
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h Lawrence E. Bennett:  Porsile, Giuseppe. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
  3. ^ Daniel E. Freeman: The Opera Theater of Count Franz Anton Von Sporck in Prague. Pendragon Press, 1992, ISBN 978-0-945193-17-3 , pp. 96 and 292 ( limited preview on Google Books ).
  4. ↑ Spartaco. Review of the performance at Theater Heidelberg in Online Musik Magazin. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  5. ↑ Spartaco. Work data and table of contents on Klassika.info. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  6. ↑ Quoted from MGG
  7. ^ Charles Burney: A General History Of Music: From The Earliest Ages to the Present Period, Volume 4. 1789, p. 550 ( online at Google Books ).
  8. ^ Eva Badura-Skoda :  Porsile, Giuseppe. In: Friedrich Blume (Hrsg.): The music in past and present (MGG). First edition, Volume 10 (Opera - Rappresentazione). Bärenreiter / Metzler, Kassel et al. 1962, DNB 550439609 , Sp. 1461–1462 (= Digital Library Volume 60, pp. 60233–60237).
  9. ↑ Il ritorno d'Ulisse alla patria (Giuseppe Porsile) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna . Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  10. ^ Il giorno natalizio (Giuseppe Porsile) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna . Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  11. ^ La virtù festeggiata (Giuseppe Porsile) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna . Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  12. ^ Alceste (Giuseppe Porsile) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna . Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  13. ↑ Meride e Selinunte (Giuseppe Porsile) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna . Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  14. ^ Il giorno felice (Giuseppe Porsile) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna . Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  15. ^ Spartaco (Giuseppe Porsile) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna . Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  16. ^ Sesostri, re d'Egitto, ovvero Le Fest d'Iside (Giuseppe Porsile) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna . Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  17. ^ Giuseppe riconosciuto (Giuseppe Porsile) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna . Retrieved July 23, 2015.
personal data
SURNAME Porsile, Giuseppe
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Porcile, Giuseppe; Porsille, Giuseppe; Persile, Giuseppe
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian opera composer
DATE OF BIRTH May 5, 1680
PLACE OF BIRTH Naples
DATE OF DEATH May 29, 1750
Place of death Vienna