Pietro Baldassari

Pietro Baldassari (* before 1680 in Rome (uncertain); † after 1768) was an Italian composer and Catholic clergyman.

Live and act

The place of birth Rome has recently been questioned by music historians, since documents found point to Brescia , where the name is more common. Music historical research has not yet been able to gain any knowledge about the year of birth and the early days of Pietro Baldassari; His place of death and the date of death could not yet be determined either. The first verifiable fact was his application for admission as a musician to San Marco in Venice in 1689; after corresponding tests, however, it was rejected twice. Finally he was recorded there on February 16, 1690 as a bass singer ; in this position he remained until at least 1708. During this time he was also a member of theCongregazione di Santa Cecilia (Cecilia Association). It is also documented that in 1707 on the name day of Empress Amalie Wilhelmine in Vienna his serenata “Il giudizio di Paride” (The Judgment of Paris ) was performed and in 1709 in Brescia his oratorio “Applausi eterni”. The composer also took part in a performance at the Chiesa della Pace church in Brescia in 1713 . There is evidence of his stays in Venice for the years 1713 and 1715. From 1714 he was Kapellmeister at the Congregazione di Oratorio di San Filippo Neri at this church in Brescia, at least until 1768; in addition, he was maestro di cappella at the Church of San Clemente in Brescia until 1754 . In December 1717 he applied unsuccessfully to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Bergamo . In the account books of San Filippo Neri , multiple payments to himself or for copies of his church music works are recorded, such as requiem , Vesper psalms , hymns and cantatas . After 1768, Baldassari's track is lost; neither the date nor the place of his death has yet been known.

meaning

The aforementioned serenata "Il giudizio di Paride" is based on the well-known Greek legend in which three Greek goddesses ask the hero Paris to judge which of them is the most beautiful. In the Serenata, God Jupiter states that Empress Amalie Wilhelmine possesses the advantages of all three goddesses. The music in the contemporary baroque style shows solid contrapuntal work. In addition to the usual contemporary accompaniment, the da capo arias also feature one or two violas da gamba , in one case even solo violins with double stops.

The sonatas for zinc have the character of three-movement concertos. The first movements are in the form of a ritornello modeled on Vivaldi , while the final movements are minuet-like or imitating .

Baldassari's church music works (oratorios and sacred cantatas) have all been lost. There is evidence that five of his oratorios were performed in Bologna between 1721 and 1725 , including La santità riconciliata col mondo with the singer Margherita Durastanti in May 1722 . In addition, the composer had Giambattista Martini (1706-1784) in his collection, the librettos of some of these plants and a letter Baldassaris of 21 February 1768. In the letter, this demonstrates an intention, a collection of twelve Psalms the famous singer Farinelli (1705- 1782).

Works

Vocal works: oratorios and sacred cantatas (all lost)
- Applausi eterni dell'amore manifestato nel Tempo (lyricist: unknown), first performance: Brescia 1709
- La vera idea del ben chiedere mercede (TD: unknown), WP : Pavia 1714
- Le sagre contese dell'Amore e dell'Umiltà per il cuore di San Filippo Neri , WP : Bologna 1721

Other works

Benedictus for voices
2 sonatas in F major for zinc, strings and basso continuo (Baldassari's authorship only secured for one of them)
Componimento per musica Il giudizio di Paride corretto dalla giustizia di Giove (Text: Liberio Nicomede Cyni), first performance: Vienna, July 10, 1707
Cantata per musica I trionfi della fede in Brescia o sia i privilegi della di lei antichità e purità nella Medesima , first performance: Brescia 1715
Sonata for harpsichord, in the Raccolta musicale op.1 collection , Nuremberg 1756

Literature (selection)

C. Ricci: I teatri di Bologna nei secoli XVII e XVIII , Bologna 1888, pages 423-429
A. von Weilen: On the history of theater in Vienna. The works of a theatrical character and oratorios performed at the Viennese court from 1629 to 1740 , Vienna 1901, page 67
R. Emans: The musicians of St. Mark's Basilica in Venice 1650–1708 , 1st part, in: Church music yearbook No. 65, 1981, page 64
E: Citati: La musica nella Congregazione dei Padri di Santa Maria della Pace in Brescia, tra il XVII e il XVIII secolo , dissertation at the University of Bologna 1986/87
O. Termini: Vivaldi at Brescia: the Feast of the Purification at the Chiesa della Pace (1711) , in: Informazioni e studi vivaldiani No. 9, 1988, p. 65
E. Citati: La musica presso la Congregazione di Santa Maria della Pace in Brescia con riferimento all'attività esercitata del compositore Pietro Baldassari , in: La cappella musicale nell'Italia della Contoriforma, Congress Report Florence 1993, pages 353-360.

Web links

Literature by and about Pietro Baldassari in the catalog of the German National Library

swell

^ Herbert Seifert: Baldassari, Pietro. In: Ludwig Finscher (Hrsg.): The music in past and present . Second edition, personal section, volume 2 (Bagatti - Bizet). Bärenreiter / Metzler, Kassel et al. 1999, ISBN 3-7618-1112-8 , Sp. 94-95
^ The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians , edited by Stanley Sadie, 2nd Edition, Volume 2, McMillan Publishers, London 2001, ISBN 0-333-60800-3

personal data
SURNAME	Baldassari, Pietro
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Baldassare, Pietro
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Italian composer and clergyman of the Baroque
DATE OF BIRTH	before 1680
PLACE OF BIRTH	uncertain: Rome
DATE OF DEATH	after 1768

[1] Herbert Seifert: Baldassari, Pietro. In: Ludwig Finscher (Hrsg.): The music in past and present . Second edition, personal section, volume 2 (Bagatti - Bizet). Bärenreiter / Metzler, Kassel et al. 1999, ISBN 3-7618-1112-8 , Sp. 94-95

[2] The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians , edited by Stanley Sadie, 2nd Edition, Volume 2, McMillan Publishers, London 2001, ISBN 0-333-60800-3