Tomaso Antonio Vitali
Encyclopedia
Tomaso Antonio Vitali was an Italian
composer and violinist from Bologna
, the eldest son of Giovanni Battista Vitali
. He is known mainly for a chaconne
in G minor
for violin
and continuo, which was probably not written by Vitali (it was ascribed to him in a 19th-century edition by German violinist Ferdinand David
.
with Antonio Maria Pacchioni, and was employed at the Este
court orchestra from 1675 to 1742. He was a teacher, whose pupils included Evaristo Felice dall'Abaco
, Jean Baptiste Senaillé
, Girolamo Nicolò Laurenti and Luca Antonio Predieri
.
Authentic works by Vitali include a set of trio sonata
s published as his opus number
s 1 and 2 (1693), sonatas da camera (chamber sonatas), and violin sonatas (including his opus 6) among other works. Among those that have been recorded include all of the op. 1 (on Naxos 8.570182), three of the violin sonatas (on the Swiss label Gallo), and some of the sonatas from the opp. 2 and 4 sets (opus 4, no. 12 on Classica CL 101 from Finland.)
He died at Modena
.
became typical only in Romanticism
. Despite its dubious provenance (the manuscript Sächsische Landesbibliothek Dresden, Mus. 2037/R/1, in the hand of a known copyist working at the Dresden court between 1710 and 1730) the piece has been ever popular amongst violinists. For example, Jascha Heifetz
chose it, in a "very much arranged and altered version", with organ accompaniment, to open his New York debut in Queen's Hall on 5 May 1920.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
composer and violinist from Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, the eldest son of Giovanni Battista Vitali
Giovanni Battista Vitali
Giovanni Battista Vitali was an Italian composer and violone player.Vitali was born in Bologna and spent all of his life in the Emilian region, moving to Modena in 1674...
. He is known mainly for a chaconne
Chaconne
A chaconne ; is a type of musical composition popular in the baroque era when it was much used as a vehicle for variation on a repeated short harmonic progression, often involving a fairly short repetitive bass-line which offered a compositional outline for variation, decoration, figuration and...
in G minor
G minor
G minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. For the harmonic minor scale, the F is raised to F. Its relative major is B-flat major, and its parallel major is G major....
for 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....
and continuo, which was probably not written by Vitali (it was ascribed to him in a 19th-century edition by German violinist Ferdinand David
Ferdinand David (musician)
Ferdinand David was a German virtuoso violinist and composer.Born in the same house in Hamburg where Felix Mendelssohn had been born the previous year, David was raised Jewish but later converted to Christianity...
.
Biography
Vitali studied composition in ModenaModena
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....
with Antonio Maria Pacchioni, and was employed at the Este
Este
The House of Este is a European princely dynasty. It is split into two branches; the elder is known as the House of Welf-Este or House of Welf historically rendered in English, Guelf or Guelph...
court orchestra from 1675 to 1742. He was a teacher, whose pupils included Evaristo Felice dall'Abaco
Evaristo Abaco
Evaristo Felice dall'Abaco was an Italian composer and violinist.- Life :Dall'Abaco was born in Verona, the son of renowned guitarist Damiano dall'Abaco. His father, after seeing his son's musical talent in school let him take on violin and cello lessons...
, Jean Baptiste Senaillé
Jean Baptiste Senaillé
Jean Baptiste Senaillé was a French born Baroque composer and violin virtuoso. His father was member of Les Vingt-quatre Violons du Roi. Senaillé studied under Jean-Baptiste Anet, Giovanni Antonio Piani and in Italy under Tomaso Antonio Vitali, he imported Italian musical techniques and pieces...
, Girolamo Nicolò Laurenti and Luca Antonio Predieri
Luca Antonio Predieri
Luca Antonio Predieri was an Italian composer and violinist. A member of a prominent family of musicians, Predieri was born in Bologna and was active there from 1704. In 1737 he moved to Vienna, eventually becoming Kapellmeister to the imperial Habsburg court in 1741, a post he held for ten years...
.
Authentic works by Vitali include a set of trio sonata
Trio sonata
The trio sonata is a musical form that was popular in the 17th and early 18th centuries.A trio sonata is written for two solo melodic instruments and basso continuo, making three parts in all, hence the name trio sonata...
s published as his opus number
Opus number
An Opus number , pl. opera and opuses, abbreviated, sing. Op. and pl. Opp. refers to a number generally assigned by composers to an individual composition or set of compositions on publication, to help identify their works...
s 1 and 2 (1693), sonatas da camera (chamber sonatas), and violin sonatas (including his opus 6) among other works. Among those that have been recorded include all of the op. 1 (on Naxos 8.570182), three of the violin sonatas (on the Swiss label Gallo), and some of the sonatas from the opp. 2 and 4 sets (opus 4, no. 12 on Classica CL 101 from Finland.)
He died at 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....
.
The Chaconne
A chaconne is a musical form used as a vehicle for variation on a repeated short harmonic progression over a ground bass. The Chaconne was marked by the copyist, at the time of transcription, in the upper margin of the first page of the Dresden manuscript as "Parte del Tomaso Vitalino" (Tomaso Vitalino's part), who may or may not be Vitali. One striking feature of the "Vitali" Chaconne's style is the way it wildly changes key, reaching the far-flung territories of B flat minor and, also, D sharp minor, uncharacteristic of the Baroque era, as change of key signatureKey signature
In musical notation, a key signature is a series of sharp or flat symbols placed on the staff, designating notes that are to be consistently played one semitone higher or lower than the equivalent natural notes unless otherwise altered with an accidental...
became typical only in Romanticism
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
. Despite its dubious provenance (the manuscript Sächsische Landesbibliothek Dresden, Mus. 2037/R/1, in the hand of a known copyist working at the Dresden court between 1710 and 1730) the piece has been ever popular amongst violinists. For example, Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz was a violinist, born in Vilnius, then Russian Empire, now Lithuania. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time.- Early life :...
chose it, in a "very much arranged and altered version", with organ accompaniment, to open his New York debut in Queen's Hall on 5 May 1920.
Further reading
- Newman, William S. 1972. The Sonata in the Baroque Era, third edition. The Norton Library. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
- Reich, Wolfgang. 1965. "Die Chaconne g-Moll: von Vitali?". Beiträge zur Musikwissenschaft 7:149–52.