Nationality: Italian

Born in Venice, June 8, 1671
Died in Venice, Jan 17, 1750/51

[toh-MA-zoh all-bee-NO-nee / Italian pronunciation]

• Albinoni was not a professional composer but an independently wealthy dilettante.
  • Dilettante was a respected title in Albinoni’s Italy. It indicated composing for “delight” (without connoting “amateurish”).
• Albinoni listed his career title (on compositions) both as “musico di violino” (freelance violinist) and as “dilettante.”¹
• The defining characteristic of Albinoni’s music was its lyricism – his instrumental works were known for their cantabile lines, “shaped with a singer’s feel for articulation and phrasing.”
  • Compared to Vivaldi, Albinoni’s violin writing is much more restrained, often choosing elegance and balance over flashy virtuosity.
• Fun fact – Albinoni had a particular fondness for the oboe and is credited with being the first Italian composer to write oboe concertos.
• Sad fact – much of Albinoni’s existing manuscripts were destroyed during WWI (they were being held at the Dresden State Library).²

Historical Context

• In 1751, the (probable) year of Albinoni’s death, Diderot published his Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers.³

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Biography from Bach Cantatas
Short biography from Britannica

Born in Rome, 1582
Died in Rome, Feb 7, 1652

• Gregorio Allegri’s [PRONUNCIATION] music lies right on the cusp of late Renaissance and early Baroque styles. Most of his published works lean towards the more modern idioms of the day. Interestingly, Allegri’s most famous work, Miserere, is an exception and much more conservative in style.
• Allegri worked first gained a position in the Papal Choir in 1629 as an alto and then worked his way up to maestro di cappella in 1650. While working in the choir, he was regarded as the successor of Palestrina and “guardian of the stile antico.”⁴

Born in Trent, bap. June 11, 1672
Died in Padua, Dec 19, 1749

• Bonporti was a priest connected to the cathedral of Trent, Germany, and he considered his religious position his primary career.
• Bonporti was trained in composition, but rather than composing sacred music connected with his religious profession, he primarily wrote secular instrumental pieces dedicated to dignitaries whom he hoped might reward him with advancement in his ecclesiastical career.  This effort was unsuccessful – he composed a great deal of graceful, melodically intricate music, but never became a high-ranking ecclesiastic.¹³

Short biography from Encylcopaedia Brittanica

Born in Fusignano, Feb 17, 1653
Died in Rome, Jan 8, 1713

• Corelli was an Italian violinist and composer whose published works exerted great influence on the development of Baroque instrumental genres in Italy and throughout Europe; for example, the development of the concerto grosso.
• Corelli is the first classical composer who gained his fame exclusively from his instrumental compositions, rather than from composing vocal music, or being a famous performer.³⁰

Short biography

Born in Ferrara, bap. mid-Sept 1583
Died in Rome, March 1, 1643

• Frescobaldi was a keyboard virtuoso who composed some of the most important Italian harpsichord and organ music of the early 17^th C.
• Frescobaldi spent his career working as an organist in prestigious Italian churches and as a court musician for noble families, including the Medici.
• Frescobaldi was also the first European composer to focus on composing instrumental music, rather than mainly vocal music.³⁶

Born in Lucca, bap. Dec 5, 1687
Died in Dublin, Sept 17, 1762³⁹

Short biography from Naxos

Born in Venice, Aug 24, 1673
Died in Venice, June 19, 1747

• Alessandro Marcello was more a dilettante than composer. He came from a noble Venetian family and pursued many fields of study during his lifetime, including music, painting, poetry, and law.
  • While his compositional output was relatively small, his scores were (and continue to be) highly respected.
• As a composer, Marcello used the pseudonym “Eterio Stinfalico.” His best-known work is his Oboe Concerto in d minor.⁴¹

“He is a distinguished student of mathematics.  He composes verses in Latin and Italian . . . has a knowledge of many languages . . . is most ingenious in working with mathematical instruments and globes, and even in drawing and painting.  He plays many instruments and knows a good deal about music, which has enabled him to send to press twelve cantatas . . . He dresses impeccably and is incomparably kind.”

Eleanor Selfridge-Field, Venetian Instrumental Music (source)

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Biography from Bach Cantatas

• Pollarolo was an organist and a composer of operas and oratorios.
• Pollarolo spent a significant portion of his career in Venice, where his operas were regularly performed.
• He also held positions at San Marco and other Venetian churches.⁵¹

Short biography

Born in Venice or the Veneto, c. 1675
Died in Munich, June 21, 1755

• Porta was a Venetian opera composer who also worked in Rome and Bavaria.
• Porta worked alongside Vivaldi at the Ospedale della Pietà, the girls’ orphanage with a renowned choir and orchestra made up of the girls who lived there. Porta directed the choir.⁵³

Short biography