Bonifazio Asioli (30 April 176926 May 1832) was an Italian composer of classical and

church music Church music is Christian music written for performance in church, or any musical setting of ecclesiastical liturgy, or music set to words expressing propositions of a sacred nature, such as a hymn. History Early Christian music The onl ...

Biography

Born in Correggio, Asioli was a

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, commencing his study of music at five years of age, and having composed several

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es and a

piano concerto A piano concerto is a type of concerto, a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for a piano player, which is typically accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuoso showpiec ...

by the age of eight. By the time he was eighteen, he had composed five masses, twenty-four other works for church and theatre, and many instrumental pieces. Later Asioli became a student of Angelo Morigi. Asioli is the author of theoretical treatises on music, which were published by Ricordi in

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, and also a Trio for

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

and

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; a Duo for two voices with guitar accompaniment, published by Ricordi, and two methods for the guitar — a short one published by Ricordi and a more comprehensive work published by B. Girard & Co., of Naples. This latter work contained a diagram of the instrument and airs arranged for guitar solo. His treatise on contrabass playing, ''Elementi per il Contrabasso con una Nuova Maniera di Digitare'' (1823), developed a three-finger system which flourished in Italy in the mid-nineteenth century after it was promoted by Giuseppe Andreoli and others. In 1787, he moved from Correggio to

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where he resided for nine years. In 1796, he accompanied the Duchess Gherardini to

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, where he remained until 1799. He lived in Paris in 1810 in the service of the Empress

Marie Louise Marie Louise or Marie-Louise may refer to: People *Marie Louise of Orléans (1662–1689), daughter of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, queen consort of Charles II of Spain *Marie Louise of Hesse-Kassel (1688–1765), daughter of Charles I, Landgrave ...

, and remained there until the fall of the empire, when he returned to his native town.

References

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* * * (See Dino Ciani.) * * * * 1769 births 1832 deaths Italian Classical-period composers 18th-century Italian composers 18th-century Italian male musicians 19th-century Italian composers 19th-century Italian male musicians Italian male classical composers 18th-century Italian male writers 19th-century Italian male writers Italian classical mandolinists People from Correggio, Emilia-Romagna {{Italy-classical-musician-stub