Giovanni Battista Bassani (c. 1650 – 1 October 1716) was an Italian

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

, violinist, and organist.

Biography

Bassani was born 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 ...

. It is thought that he studied 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 ...

under Daniele Castrovillari and in

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

under

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 ...

Charles Burney Charles Burney (7 April 1726 – 12 April 1814) was an English music historian, composer and musician. He was the father of the writers Frances Burney and Sarah Burney, of the explorer James Burney, and of Charles Burney, a classicist a ...

and

John Hawkins John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

claimed he taught

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 ...

, but there is no solid evidence for this assertion. He was an organist at the Accademia della Morte in Ferrara from 1667, but had probably left by 1675. He published his first music in 1677; the title page calls him maestro of music at the ''Confraternità della Morte'' in

Finale Emilia Finale Emilia ( Finalese: ; Modenese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Modena, in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about north of Bologna and about northeast of Modena. Finale was struck by an earthquake on 20 May ...

, not far from

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...

. He was ''

maestro di cappella (, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...

'' at Duke Alessandro II della Mirandola's court in 1680, and was elected ''principe'' at the Accademica Filarmonica in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

. He became ''maestro di cappella'' at the Accademia della Morte in

in 1683, and then ''maestro di cappella'' at

Ferrara Cathedral Ferrara Cathedral ( it, Basilica Cattedrale di San Giorgio, ''Duomo di Ferrara'') is a Roman Catholic cathedral and minor basilica in Ferrara, Northern Italy. Dedicated to Saint George, the patron saint of the city, it is the seat of the Archb ...

in 1686. For his contributions to the musical life of Ferrara, he was often called "Bassani of Ferrara". He wrote 76 liturgically ordered services for use at

between 1710 and 1712. He became director of music at

Santa Maria Maggiore The Basilica of Saint Mary Major ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, ; la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris), or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is a Major papal basilica as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and the larges ...

Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...

in 1712, and also taught at the Congregazione di Carità in the same city until his death. Bassani was a celebrated violinist in his own time, and his fame was compounded by Burney's praise for him. His trio sonatas are his best-known and most often performed pieces in modern times. He wrote 13

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

s, but only four survive, and all 13 of his

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

s have been lost aside from a few

aria In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

s from ''Gli amori alla moda''.

Works

;Operas * ''L'amorosa preda di Paride'', 1683 * ''Falarido, tiranno d'Agrigento'', 1685 * ''L'Alarico, re de'Goti'', 1685 * ''Vitige, re de'Vandalia'', 1686 * ''Agrippina in Baia'', 1687 * ''Gli amori alla moda'', 1688, 10 arias survive * ''Il trionfo di Venere in Ida'', 1688 * ''La Ginevra, infanta di Scozia'', 1690 * ''Le vicende di cocceio Nerva'', 1691 * ''Gli amori tra gl'odii, o sia Il Ramiro in Norvegia'', 1693 * ''Roderico'', 1696 * ''Armida al campo'', 1711 ;Oratorios * ''L'Esaltazione di S Croce'', 1675 * ''L'Epulone'', 1675 * ''La tromba della divina misericordia'', 1676 * ''L'amore ingeniero'', 1678 * ''Il mistico Roveto'', 1681 * ''La morte delusa'', 1686 * ''Il Davide punito overo La pestilente strage d'Israele'', 1686; performed as Nella luna eclissata dal Cristiano valore, 1687, and as La Pietà trionfante della morte, 1692 and 1697 * ''Il Giona'', 1689 * ''Mosè risorto dalle acque'', 1694 * ''Il conte di Bacheville'', 1696 * ''Susanna'', 1697 * ''Gl'impegni del divino amore nel transito della Beata''

Caterina Vegri Catherine of Bologna aterina de' Vigri(8 September 1413 – 9 March 1463)Stephen Donovan (1908). " St. Catherine of Bologna". In ''Catholic Encyclopedia''. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company. was an Italian Poor Clare, writer, teacher, mystic ...

detta di Bologna, 1703 * ''Il trionfo della Fede'', 1704 ;Other vocal works * 8 masses * at least 20 motets * various sacred solo vocal works and choral works * 76 services, most with four solo voices, chorus, and

basso continuo Basso continuo parts, almost universal in the Baroque era (1600–1750), provided the harmonic structure of the music by supplying a bassline and a chord progression. The phrase is often shortened to continuo, and the instrumentalists playing th ...

;Instrumental music * 16 trio sonatas * 12 sinfonie da chiesa, op. 5, 1683

References

*Smith/Vanscheeuwijck, "Giovanni Battista Bassani". ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

'' online.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bassani, Giovanni Battista Year of birth uncertain 1716 deaths 18th-century keyboardists 18th-century Italian male musicians 18th-century Italian composers Italian Baroque composers Italian male classical composers Italian classical violinists Male classical violinists Italian classical organists Male classical organists Musicians from Padua