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The Academy Of Ancient Music
The Academy of Ancient Music (AAM) is a British period-instrument orchestra based in Cambridge, England. Founded by harpsichordist Christopher Hogwood in 1973, it was named after an 18th-century organisation of the same name (originally the Academy of Vocal Music). The musicians play on either original instruments from the period when the music was composed or modern copies of such instruments. They generally play Baroque and Classical music, though they have also played some new compositions for baroque orchestra in recent years. The AAM's current Music Director is Laurence Cummings, who took over the post from Richard Egarr at the beginning of the 2021-2022 season. Original organisation The original Academy of Vocal Music was founded in London, England in 1725/26 (the Gregorian date of the inaugural meeting was 1 February 1726). Records of the purpose of the academy no longer exist, but according to John Hawkins in 1770, it was intended to "promote the study and practice o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge became an important trading centre during the Roman and Viking ages, and there is archaeological evidence of settlement in the area as early as the Bronze Age. The first town charters were granted in the 12th century, although modern city status was not officially conferred until 1951. The city is most famous as the home of the University of Cambridge, which was founded in 1209 and consistently ranks among the best universities in the world. The buildings of the university include King's College Chapel, Cavendish Laboratory, and the Cambridge University Library, one of the largest legal deposit libraries in the world. The city's skyline is dominated by several college buildings, along with the spire of the Our Lady and the English Martyrs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Christian Festing
Michael Christian Festing (29 November 1705 – 24 July 1752) was an English violinist and composer. His reputation lies mostly on his work as a violin virtuoso. Biography Michael Christian Festing was born in London to parents John and Elizabeth Festing and christened at Saint Anne's Church, Soho, on 17 December 1705. Some evidence suggests that his family had ties to Gros Festin, near Stralsund in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Michael's brother, John Festing, was a flautist and oboist who amassed a sizeable fortune through teaching music. His brother is most likely the musician depicted in William Hogarth's painting ''The Enraged Musician'' (1741, now in the Tate Britain, London).Melanie Groundsell: "Michael Christian Festing", ''Grove Music Online'' ed. L. Macy (Accessed 19 January 2009)(subscription access) Festing first studied violin with Richard Jones and then later became a pupil of Francesco Geminiani. He made his professional debut on 6 March 1723 performing a conc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benjamin Cooke
Benjamin Cooke (1734 – 14 September 1793) was an English composer, organist and teacher. Cooke was born in London and named after his father, also Benjamin Cooke (1695/1705 – 1743), a music publisher based in Covent Garden (active from 1726 to 1743), whose production included a seminal edition of the collected works of Arcangelo Corelli in study scores comprising all five books of sonatas and the twelve ''concerti grossi''. From the age of nine, Benjamin Cooke the younger was one of four boy sopranos who sang at performances of the Academy of Ancient Music under the Academy's director Johann Christoph Pepusch (1667–1752), who supervised the boys' education. In due course Cooke became the Academy's librarian, and at the death of Pepusch assumed the leadership of the Academy. In later life he received doctoral degrees in music from both Oxford and Cambridge universities. Like his father before him, he became a member of the Royal Society of Musicians (from 1760). He w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training in Halle (Saale), Halle and worked as a composer in Hamburg and Italy before settling in London in 1712, where he spent the bulk of his career and Handel's Naturalisation Act 1727, became a naturalised British subject in 1727. He was strongly influenced both by the middle-German polyphony, polyphonic choral tradition and by composers of the Italian Baroque. In turn, Handel's music forms one of the peaks of the "high baroque" style, bringing Italian opera to its highest development, creating the genres of English oratorio and organ concerto, and introducing a new style into English church music. He is consistently recognized as one of the greatest composers of his age. Handel started three c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giuseppe Riva
Giuseppe Riva (4 November 1834 in Ivrea – 10 November 1916) was an Italian lawyer and painter, known for portraits, historical paintings, and landscapes. He was a resident of Milan. One of his masterworks was ''While reading a memorial plaque for the Calvinist Covenanters, Catherine de' Medici Catherine de' Medici ( it, Caterina de' Medici, ; french: Catherine de Médicis, ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Florentine noblewoman born into the Medici family. She was Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to King ... surprised by Mary Stuart'', sent to the Exhibition of Fine Arts at Turin in 1883. To the same exhibition in 1887, he sent ''Ultimi istanti di Cola di Rienzi, last Tribune of Rome''. In 1872 at the Milan Exposition, he displayed, a number of half-figure portraits. At the 1883 Rome Exposition, he displayed ''Two Shepherdesses, an Idyll''. Another painter of the same name was active in Bergamo and Rome (1861–1941). [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean-Baptiste Loeillet Of London
Jean-Baptiste Loeillet of London (18 November 1680 – 19 July 1730), was a Flemish baroque composer as well as a performer on the recorder, flute, oboe, and harpsichord. He is called the London Loeillet to distinguish him from another famous composer, his first cousin Jean Baptiste Loeillet of Ghent, and he was the elder brother of Jacques Loeillet, also a composer. Loeillet was born at Ghent, then in the Spanish Netherlands. In 1705, after his studies in Ghent and Paris, he moved to London and became known as John. In London, his last name was sometimes rendered as 'Lully' or 'Lullie': he was unrelated to the Jean-Baptiste Lully, the Italian-born French composer. His works were published by John Walsh in London under the name of John Loeillet. He was successful as a player and teacher of the harpsichord. He played woodwind in the Queen's Theatre in the Haymarket and held musical gatherings every week at his home. His performances were well received in London; and he was resp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Dieupart
Charles Dieupart (1676 - 1751) was a French harpsichordist, violinist, and composer. Although he was known as Charles to his contemporaries according to some biographers, his real name was actually François. He was most probably born in Paris, but spent much of his life in London, where he settled sometime after 1702/1703. A prominent member of the Drury Lane musical establishment, Dieupart was active both as composer and performer and actively participated in the musical life of the city. However, after about 1712 he earned his income mostly by teaching, and in his later years lived in poverty. He is best remembered today for a collection of six harpsichord suites which influenced Johann Sebastian Bach's '' English Suites''. Life Details of Dieupart's early life and training are sketchy, and the reason for his emigration to England is unknown. The earliest document to refer to the composer is his own , published in Amsterdam in 1701. He is next heard of on 11 February 1703 in Lon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Ernest Galliard
Johann Ernst Galliard (?1666/?1687–1749 ) was a German composer. Galliard was born in Celle, Germany to a French wig-maker. His first composition instruction began at age 15. Galliard studied composition under Jean-Baptiste Farinel, the director of music at the Court of Hanover, and Abbate Steffani. In addition to his compositional ability, he was also a capable oboe and recorder player. Galliard made a step forward in his musical career when he performed one of his original compositions. This Sonata for oboe and two bassoons debuted at one of Farinel’s concerts. Galliard earned an esteemed seat in the chamber music of George, Prince of Denmark. Later, he moved to England where he became chapel-master of Somerset House. Galliard became a familiar face in high society due to his proximity to and frequenting of the royal residence. In response to war victories, Galliard composed a ''Te Deum'', ''Jubilate'', and three additional anthems. Bigger and better things seemed promisi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pier Francesco Tosi
Pier Francesco Tosi (c. 16531732) was a castrato singer, composer, and writer on music. His ''Opinoni de' cantori antichi e moderni...'' was the first full-length treatise on singing and provides a unique glimpse into the technical and social aspects of Baroque vocal music. Life and career Tosi was born in Cesena, Italy in 1653 or 1654. There is a disagreement among sources whether he was the son of composer Giuseppe Felice Tosi. He was castrated before puberty to preserve his high voice. While it is not known where he received his rudimentary music training, he sang at a church in Rome from 1676 to 1677 and at the Milan cathedral from 1681 until 1685, when he was dismissed for “misconduct.” Thereafter, he made his one recorded appearance in opera at Reggio nell’Emilia in 1687 (in Varischino’s ''Odoacre'') and was based for a time in Genoa. In 1693 Tosi relocated to London where he took on singing students and sang in weekly public concerts. In 1701 he entered into ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Francesco Geminiani
230px Francesco Saverio Geminiani (baptised 5 December 1687 – 17 September 1762) was an Italian violinist, composer, and music theorist. BBC Radio 3 once described him as "now largely forgotten, but in his time considered almost a musical god, deemed to be the equal of Handel and Corelli." Life Born at Lucca, he received lessons in music from Alessandro Scarlatti, and studied the violin under Carlo Ambrogio Lonati in Milan and afterwards under Arcangelo Corelli. From 1707 he took the place of his father in the Cappella Palatina of Lucca. From 1711, he led the opera orchestra at Naples, as Leader of the Opera Orchestra and concertmaster, which gave him many opportunities for contact with Alessandro Scarlatti. After a brief return to Lucca, in 1714, he set off for London in the company of Francesco Barsanti, where he arrived with the reputation of a virtuoso violinist, and soon attracted attention and patrons, including William Capel, 3rd Earl of Essex, who remained a consiste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicola Haym
Nicola Francesco Haym (6 July 1678 – 31 July 1729) was an Italian opera librettist, composer, theatre manager and performer, literary editor and numismatist. He is best remembered for adapting texts into libretti for the London operas of George Frideric Handel and Giovanni Bononcini. Libretti that he provided for Handel included those for ''Giulio Cesare'', ''Ottone'', ''Flavio'', ''Tamerlano'', '' Rodelinda'', and several others; for Bononcini, he produced two, ''Calfurnia'' and ''Astianatte''. Compositions Haym was born in Rome. His career began as a cellist in Italy, and he arrived in London in 1701: he swiftly became master of the 2nd Duke of Bedford's chamber music. He wrote the libretto for Bononcini's '' Camilla'', a seminal work of enormous success that did much to establish Italian opera in London. Later, when operas in London came to be performed entirely in Italian, rather than in a bilingual blend of English and Italian, Haym spent much time adapting both librett ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Senesino
Francesco Bernardi (; 31 October 1686 – 27 November 1758), known as Senesino ( or traditionally ), was a celebrated Italian contralto castrato, particularly remembered today for his long collaboration with the composer George Frideric Handel. Early life and career Senesino was the son of a barber from Siena (hence his stage-name). He joined the cathedral choir there in 1695 and was castrated at the comparatively late age of thirteen. His debut was at Venice in 1707, and during the next decade he acquired a European reputation and, by the time he sang in Lotti's ''Giove in Argo'' in 1717 at Dresden, a commensurately enormous salary. As with many castrati, reports of Senesino's acting were not always positive, to say the least. The impresario Count Francesco Zambeccari wrote of his performance in Naples in 1715: "Senesino continues to comport himself badly enough; he stands like a statue, and when occasionally he does make a gesture, he makes one directly the opposite of what ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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