Francesco Antonio Bonporti (11 June 1672 – 19 December 1749) was an Italian priest and amateur composer. Born in

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin and lmo, Trent; german: Trient ; cim, Tria; , ), also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th centu ...

, he was admitted in 1691 to the ''Collegium Germanicum'' in Rome, where he studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. While in Rome, he also studied composition under the guidance of Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni and possibly (since this is unconfirmed)

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 ...

with

Arcangelo Corelli Arcangelo Corelli (, also , , ; 17 February 1653 – 8 January 1713) was an Italian composer and violinist of the Baroque era. His music was key in the development of the modern genres of sonata and concerto, in establishing the preeminence of ...

. Moving back to Trento, he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

in 1695. Bonporti's musical work consists of twelve ''opera'', published between 1696 and 1736. He influenced

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

in the development of the

invention An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an i ...

, and several of his works were mistakenly included in a set of Bach's inventions. In reality, Bach had transcribed for harpsichord four violin pieces from Bonporti's op. X (1712). He lived in

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

from 1740 until his death in 1749.

Works

This is a listing of his twelve ''opera'', first the Italian original, generally by Giuseppe Sala in

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 ...

, then the French edition as published by

Estienne Roger Estienne Roger (1664 or 1665 in Caen, France – 7 July 1722 in Amsterdam) was a francophone printer, bookseller and publisher of sheet music working in the Netherlands. Life Roger was born a French Huguenot. The revocation of Edict of Nantes ...

in Amsterdam, and finally the English edition, by John Walsh in London. Not every ''opus'' seem to have survived in all three languages, as listed in an article published by ''Studi Trentini'' in 1973 by Clemente Lunelli. His sources on European editions are

François Lesure François Lesure (23 May 1923 in Paris – 21 June 2001) was a French librarian and musicologist. Biography François Lesure studied at the Sorbonne, the École nationale des chartes (graduated in 1950), the École pratique des hautes étude ...

's ''Bibliographie des éditions musicales publiées par Estienne Roger...'', Paris, 1969, and William C. Smith's ''A bibliography of the musical works published by John Walsh...'', London, 1968. *Op. 1 ''Suonate a Tre. Due violini, e violoncello obligato...'', 1696. Four parts. **''Antoine Bomporti Gentilhomme di Trento opera prima, Sonate à tre, due Violini, Violoncello e basso continuo''. N. 101, 1706, f. 4.0 *Op. 2 **''Antonio Bomporti di Trento, opera seconda, Sonate da Camera à tre, due Violini e Basso continuo''. N. 292, 1701, f. 3.10 **''Bonporti's Sonata or Chamber Aires in three Parts for two Violins and a Through Bass compos'd by Francisco Antonio Bomporti Opera Seconda (...)'' N. 266, c. 1708 **''Bomporti's Sonata or Chamber Aires (...) Opera Seconda. (...)'', N. 482, c. 1715 *op. 3 ''Motetti a canto solo, con violini (...)'', 1702. Five parts. *op. 4 **''Antonio Bomporti Opera Quarta, Sonate da Camera à tre, due Violini e basso continuo'', N. 38, 1706, f. 40 **''Bomporti's Sonata or Chamber Aires (...) Opera Quarto (sic) (...)'', N. 267, c. 1708 *op. 5 ''Arie, baletti e correnti'' c. 1704 (not extant) *op. 6 **''Antonio Bomporti, opera sexta, Sonate da Camera à tre, due Violini e basso continuo'', N. 38, 1706, f. 4.0 *op. 7 **''Bomporti opera settima sonate à Violino solo e basso continuo'', N. 303, c. 1707-1708, f. 3.0 **''10 Solos by Bomporti for a Violin and a Bass'', (Walsh, P. Randall, J. Hare) N. 277d, 1708 **(?)''Bomportis Solos, for a Violin and a Bass, 4s. od.'', (Walsh) N. 603, c. 1720 or earlier *op. 8 (given as lost) **''Antonio Bomporti opera ottava, le Triomphe de la grande Aliance à Violon et basse continue'', N. 120, c. 1708-1712, f. 2.0; also mentioned as ''Le Triomphe de la grande Aliance, consistent en cent Menuets, composez par Mr. Bomporti opera VIII'' *op. 9 **''Bomporti opera nona, Baletti à Violino solo e basso continuo'', N. 413, f. 1.0; after 1716 *op. 10 ''Invenzioni a violino solo del (...),'' Venice-Trento, Giovanni Parone, 1713. Partiture. **''Bomporti opera dècima inventione a Violino solo, e basso contin. (La Pace)'', N. 404, c. 1712-1715, f. 4.0 *op. 11 ''Concerti a quattro, due violini, alto viola, e basso con violino di rinforzo'' Trento, Giambattista Monauni, circa 1715. Five parts *op. 12 ''Concertini e serenate con arie variate, siciliane, recitativi, e chiuse a violino, e violoncello, o cembalo'', Habsburg, Johann Christian Leopold. Partiture. *''Aria cromatica, e variata a violino violoncello, e cembalo...'', manuscript in the library of the Bruxelles conservatoire, dated 1720. Partiture. *''Sonata di Buonporti'', manuscript, same as above. Two parts. *''Six Sonate à deux Flutes et Basse continue, composées par Bomporti et transposées sur la Flute par Corbet'', N. 65, c. 1707-1708, f. 3.0

Bibliography

Antonio Carlini, Francesco Antonio Bonporti, Gentilhuomo di Trento – La vita e l'opera con catalogo tematico, Edizioni de I Solisti Veneti, Padova, 2000, ISBN (ev. verify on Wikipedia in Italian language=

External links

*
Entry at Classical-Composers.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonporti, Francesco Antonio 1672 births 1749 deaths People from Trento Italian male classical composers Italian Baroque composers 18th-century Italian composers 18th-century Italian male musicians