Marco Uccellini
Encyclopedia
Marco Uccellini was an Italian Baroque
violin
ist and composer
.
, Forlì
, he studied in the Assisi
seminary. He became musical director (Capo degl’ instrumentisti) of the Este court in Modena
from 1641 to 1662, and was the musical director (maestro di cappella ) of the Modena cathedral from 1647 to 1665. Afterwards he served as maestro di cappella at the Farnese court in Parma
until his death. At the Farnese court, he composed operas and ballets, but none of this music survives; thus, he is mainly known today for his instrumental music.
Uccellini was one of a long line of distinguished Italian violinist-composers in the first half of the 17th century. His sonatas for violin and continuo contributed to the development of an idiomatic style of writing for the violin (including virtuosic runs, leaps, and forays into high positions), expanding the instrument's technical capabilities and expressive range. Like other 17th-century Italian sonatas, Uccellini's consist of short contrasting sections (frequently dances) that flow one into the another. Uccellini's innovations influenced a generation of Austro-German violinist-composers including Johann Heinrich Schmelzer
, Heinrich Ignaz Biber
, and Johann Jakob Walther
.
He also composed one opera
, Gli eventi di Filandro ad Edessa, which premiered in Parma
in 1675.
. His publication Sonate over canzoni (1649) is reckoned as the first publication devoted solely to music for solo violin and continuo.
(on-line contents)
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
.
Life
Uccellini's life is poorly known. Born at ForlimpopoliForlimpopoli
Forlimpopoli is a town and comune in the Province of Forlì-Cesena, northern Italy. It is located on the Via Emilia between Cesena and Forlì.-History:...
, Forlì
Forlì
Forlì is a comune and city in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the right of the Montone river, and is an important agricultural centre...
, he studied in the Assisi
Assisi
- Churches :* The Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi is a World Heritage Site. The Franciscan monastery, il Sacro Convento, and the lower and upper church of St Francis were begun immediately after his canonization in 1228, and completed in 1253...
seminary. He became musical director (Capo degl’ instrumentisti) of the Este court in Modena
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
from 1641 to 1662, and was the musical director (maestro di cappella ) of the Modena cathedral from 1647 to 1665. Afterwards he served as maestro di cappella at the Farnese court in Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
until his death. At the Farnese court, he composed operas and ballets, but none of this music survives; thus, he is mainly known today for his instrumental music.
Uccellini was one of a long line of distinguished Italian violinist-composers in the first half of the 17th century. His sonatas for violin and continuo contributed to the development of an idiomatic style of writing for the violin (including virtuosic runs, leaps, and forays into high positions), expanding the instrument's technical capabilities and expressive range. Like other 17th-century Italian sonatas, Uccellini's consist of short contrasting sections (frequently dances) that flow one into the another. Uccellini's innovations influenced a generation of Austro-German violinist-composers including Johann Heinrich Schmelzer
Johann Heinrich Schmelzer
Johann Heinrich Schmelzer was an Austrian composer and violinist of the Baroque era. Almost nothing is known about his early years, but he seems to have arrived in Vienna during the 1630s, and remained composer and musician at the Habsburg court for the rest of his life...
, Heinrich Ignaz Biber
Heinrich Ignaz Biber
Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber von Bibern was a Bohemian-Austrian composer and violinist. Born in the small Bohemian town of Wartenberg , Biber worked at Graz and Kroměříž before he illegally left his Kroměříž employer and settled in Salzburg...
, and Johann Jakob Walther
Johann Jakob Walther
Johann Jakob Walther was a German violinist and composer.- Life :All the known facts of his life and activity are from Musikalischen Lexikon by Johann Gottfried Walther , a dictionary which first appeared in 1732. He was born in Witterda bei Erfurt...
.
Works
Uccellini mainly composed instrumental music, of which seven collections were published. Some examples are:- Sonate, sinfonie et correnti, Op. 2 (1639)
- Sonate, arie et correnti, Op 3 (Venice, 1642)
- Sonate, correnti et arie, Op 4
- Sonate, over canzoni, Op. 5 (1649)
- Salmi a 1, a 3, 4, et a 5 concertati parte con istromenti e parte senza con Letanie della Beata Vergine Concertate a 5 con istromenti, Op. 6 (Venice, 1654)
- Ozio regio, Op. 7
- Sinfonie Boscarecie, Op. 8, a collection of 37 small pieces for violin and basso continuo joined ad libitumAd libitumAd libitum is Latin for "at one's pleasure"; it is often shortened to "ad lib" or "ad-lib"...
by a second and third violins. The first edition of the sheet music was printed in Venice in 1660 but a version reprinted in Antwerp in 1669 was used in the freely available version Sinfonie Boscarecie - Sinfonici concerti brevi e facili, Op. 9
He also composed one opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, Gli eventi di Filandro ad Edessa, which premiered in Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
in 1675.
Contributions as violinist
Uccellini contributed to the left-hand technique by introducing the sixth position. He was also one of the first to use scordaturaScordatura
A scordatura , also called cross-tuning, is an alternative tuning used for the open strings of a string instrument, in which the notes indicated in the score would represent the finger position as if played in regular tuning, while the actual pitch is altered...
. His publication Sonate over canzoni (1649) is reckoned as the first publication devoted solely to music for solo violin and continuo.
Further reading
- Marco Uccellini: Atti del Convegno "Marco Uccelliini… e la sua musica" editors Maria Caraci Vela and Marina Toffetti, Lucca 1999. Record of conference in Forlimpopoli, 1996. The first study devoted to this composer. Bibliography
(on-line contents)
Selected discography
- Marco Uccellini: Sonatas. Performed by Romanesca, a trio with Andrew ManzeAndrew ManzeAndrew Manze is an English violinist and conductor.As a guest conductor Manze has regular relationships with a number of leading international orchestras including the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Munich Philharmonic, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra,...
(violin), Nigel NorthNigel NorthNigel North is an English lutenist and guitarist.-Student days:He studied guitar on a scholarship to the junior department of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama , taking up the lute in 1969, at the age of 15. He maintains he was more or less self-taught on the instrument...
(theorboTheorboA theorbo is a plucked string instrument. As a name, theorbo signifies a number of long-necked lutes with second pegboxes, such as the liuto attiorbato, the French théorbe des pièces, the English theorbo, the archlute, the German baroque lute, the angélique or angelica. The etymology of the name...
, archluteArchluteThe archlute is a European plucked string instrument developed around 1600 as a compromise between the very large theorbo, the size and re-entrant tuning of which made for difficulties in the performance of solo music, and the Renaissance tenor lute, which lacked the bass range of the theorbo...
, Baroque guitar), and John Toll (harpsichord, organ) and excellent liner notes by Manze. Released in 1999. Harmonia MundiHarmonia MundiHarmonia Mundi is an independent music record label founded in 1958 by Bernard Coutaz in Arles . The Latin phrase means "world harmony"....
907196 - Marco Uccellini: La Hortensia Virtuosa. Performed by Bob van AsperenBob van AsperenBob van Asperen is a harpsichordist, organist, conductor, clavichordist and early music-specialist.After completing a conventional music course at university, in 1967 he studied under the harpsichord master Gustav Leonhardt. In 1968 he joined the group Quadro Hotteterre, of which he was a member...
(harpsichord), Lucy Van Dael (violin), Jaap ter LindenJaap ter LindenJaap ter Linden is a Dutch cellist, viol player and conductor. He specialises in performance of baroque and classical music on authentic instruments....
(cello), and Toyohiko Satoh (lute). Released in 2007. Aeolus 10096
External links
- Uccellini works Altri instrumenti ensemble plays Uccellini