Carlo Ambrogio Lonati, baptized Giovanni Ambrogio Leinati, also Lunati; (c.1645 – c.1712) was an Italian composer, violinist and singer.

Francesco Maria Veracini Francesco Maria Veracini (1 February 1690 – 31 October 1768) was an Italian composer and violinist, perhaps best known for his sets of violin sonatas. As a composer, according to Manfred Bukofzer, "His individual, if not subjective, style has ...

described him in 1760 as one of the most virtuoso violinists of his century.

Life

Nothing is known so far about the family and the musical education of Lonati, but he is thought to have been born in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. Between 1665 and 1667 he figured as a violinist in the viceroy's (

Pedro Antonio de Aragón Pedro Antonio de Aragón (7 November 1611 – 1 September 1690) was a Spanish nobleman, military figure and politician who served under Kings Philip IV and Charles II of Spain. He was the brother of Cardinal Pascual de Aragón, Viceroy of Nap ...

) chapel in Naples. Since 1673 he was in the service of Queen Christina of Sweden, and led her string orchestra, and from that time was also known as the "Queen's Hunchback" ('Il Gobbo della Regina'). He made friends with Alessandro Stradella, his companion in notoriety. Together with

Carlo Mannelli Carlo Mannelli (4 November 1640 in Rome – 6 January 1697 in Rome) was an Italian violinist, castrato and composer. Life Mannelli spent the major part of his life in Rome where he also worked during the opera performances and religious events ...

and Lelio Colista he counted among the "più valorosi professori musici di Roma". From this period probably dates the majority of his compositions for several instruments. Eglise Santissimo Crocifisso

The Teatro Tordinona, the first public theater for opera performances in Rome, opened in 1671 with music by

Bernardo Pasquini Bernardo Pasquini (Massa e Cozzile, 7 December 1637Rome, 21 November 1710) was an Italian composer of operas, oratorios, cantatas and keyboard music. A renowned virtuoso keyboard player in his day, he was one of the most important Italian composer ...

. In 1673 he sang in Pasquini's ''L'Amor per vendetta''. Lonati played the comic character Vafrindo, singing and playing the violin on stage. The dual roles as a singer of funny songs and virtuoso performer on stage is considered his specialty. He was appointed as a violin player at the

Oratory of Santissimo Crocifisso The Oratorio del Santissimo Crocifisso or the Oratory of the Most Holy Crucifix is a building in central Rome, Italy. Located next to the church of San Marcello al Corso, it served as a prayer hall and meeting house for the Archconfraternity of t ...

. Due to the closure of the Tordinona theatre from the Holy Year 1675, it is suggested that Lonati left Rome and participated in two Venetian works of

Giovanni Legrenzi Giovanni Legrenzi (baptized August 12, 1626 – May 27, 1690) was an Italian composer of opera, vocal and instrumental music, and organist, of the Baroque era. He was one of the most prominent composers in Venice in the late 17th century, and ext ...

. Lonati also worked in Genoa, from autumn 1677 to carnival of 1678, as the impresario of the Falconi theater. In Genoa, Lonati was joined by Stradella. After the stabbing of Stradella, Lonati left the city. (This period could be in the Royal Chapel of Madrid.) In 1684 Lonati appears as a virtuoso in the service of Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua. Lonati composed his only oratorio for the court at Modena. During the 1680s he worked at the Mantuan court, then spent his last years in Milan where five of his ten known operas were performed. Lonati was present in London during the reign of

James II of England James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

, in the company of the famous singer Giovanni Francesco Grossi, who would serve the Queen of England,

Maria Beatrice d'Este Mary of Modena ( it, Maria Beatrice Eleonora Anna Margherita Isabella d'Este; ) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland as the second wife of James II and VII. A devout Roman Catholic, Mary married the widower James, who was then the young ...

. The stay in London is placed between the end of 1686 and 1688. In 1691 the name of Lonati is still in the list of musicians employed at the court of Mantua. At that time, Lonati is increasingly present in the musical life in Milan. Despite the lack of proof, the violinist Francesco Geminiani continues to be regarded as a student of Lonati. It is not known if Lonati visited the court of Emperor Leopold I, to whom he dedicated his last work, a set of twelve sonatas for violin and basso continuo. The 12 sonatas are considered his best composition due to their technical difficulties and expressive range.

Works

Lonati's few extant violin works reveal a bold, fluent style with (in his 1701 ''12 Sonate per violino e basso continuo'') prominent double stopping and use of

scordatura Scordatura (; literally, Italian for "discord", or "mistuning") is a tuning of a string instrument that is different from the normal, standard tuning. It typically attempts to allow special effects or unusual chords or timbre, or to make certain p ...

, as well as the

idiosyncratic An idiosyncrasy is an unusual feature of a person (though there are also other uses, see below). It can also mean an odd habit. The term is often used to express eccentricity or peculiarity. A synonym may be "quirk". Etymology The term "idiosyncr ...

melodic writing that runs through all his music. His cantatas – long, varied and of unusual expressive force – rank with those of Stradella and Alessandro Scarlatti, while his surviving operas, in Venetian style, are characterized by mature

da capo Da capo (, also , ) is an Italian musical term that means "from the beginning" (literally, "from the head"). It is often abbreviated as D.C. The term is a directive to repeat the previous part of music, often used to save space, and thus is a ...

arias and a penchant for the '' stile concitato'' with brilliant writing for

obbligato In Western classical music, ''obbligato'' (, also spelled ''obligato'') usually describes a musical line that is in some way indispensable in performance. Its opposite is the marking ''ad libitum''. It can also be used, more specifically, to indic ...

instruments. Lonati had his work seldom printed, so it could not be copied by people that could "hardly read a watch". *''Amor stravagante'' (Libretto by

Giovanni Filippo Apolloni Giovanni Filippo Apolloni (1620 – 15 May 1688) was an Italian poet and librettist. Born in Arezzo, he has sometimes been referred to as "Giovanni Apollonio Apolloni", but the second given name is spurious.Walker, Thomas (2001)"Apolloni, Giovann ...

''Amor per vendetta o vero L'Alcasta''), 1677 Genua, Teatro Falcone *''Amor per destino'' (Libretto by

Nicolò Minato Count Nicolò Minato (b. Bergamo, ca. 1627; d. Vienna, 28 February 1698) was an Italian poet, librettist and impresario. His career can be divided into two parts: the years he spent at Venice, from 1650 to 1669, and the years at Vienna, from 1669 un ...

s ''Antioco''), 1678 Genua *''Ariberto e Flavio, regi de Longobardi'' (Libretto by Rinaldo Cialli), 9. Dez. 1684 Venice, Teatro S. Salvatore.Description of this opera
/ref> *''Enea in Italia'' ( Giacomo Francesco Bussani), 1686 Milano, Regio Teatro Nuovo *''I due germani rivali'', 1686 Modena, Teatro Fontanelli *''Scipione africano'' (Libretto by Nicolò Minato), 1692 Milano, Regio Teatro; together with Paolo Magni *''L'Aiace'' (Libretto by Pietro d'Averara), 1694 Milano, Regio Teatro; together with Paolo Magni and Francesco Ballarotti

References

External links

*http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/carlo-ambrogio-lonati_%28Dizionario-Biografico%29/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Lonati, Carlo Ambrogio Italian Baroque composers Italian male classical composers Italian violinists Male violinists Musicians from Milan 1640s births 1710s deaths 18th-century Italian composers 18th-century Italian male musicians