Six Chamber Cantatas With Strings 1708

During the first decade of the eighteenth century, a new generation of Italian composers brought the latest styles to a Vienna lagging behind the musical innovations that were occurring in cities such as Venice, Rome, and Naples. Among the intrepid individuals to join the Habsburg court was the north Italian composer Antonio Maria Bononcini (1677–1726). When Antonio began his service to the Habsburg emperor, he was still a young and little-known composer, but it was in Vienna that he distinguished himself as one of his generation’s most gifted composers of dramatic vocal music. The six cantatas by Antonio Bononcini found in this edition, from the Viennese manuscript A-Wn, Mus.Hs.17607, are written for soprano or alto with strings, and the string instrumentation is unique in specifying two of the violins and the violoncello as di concerto (that is, concertino), and two violins and double bass as di concerto grosso (that is, ripieno). These cantatas represent the new Italian style that flourished at the imperial Viennese court of Emperor Joseph I. Through their innovative use of form, design features, affective harmony, melody, and rhythm, they demonstrate that, although Antonio’s cantata output is much smaller than that of his more famous brother Giovanni, his compositional style reveals a composer of superior craftsmanship and imagination.

During the first decade of the eighteenth century, a new generation of Italian composers brought the latest styles to a Vienna lagging behind the musical innovations that were occurring in cities such as Venice, Rome, and Naples. Among the intrepid individuals to join the Habsburg court was the north Italian composer Antonio Maria Bononcini (1677–1726). When Antonio began his service to the Habsburg emperor, he was still a young and little-known composer, but it was in Vienna that he distinguished himself as one of his generation’s most gifted composers of dramatic vocal music. The six cantatas by Antonio Bononcini found in this edition, from the Viennese manuscript A-Wn, Mus.Hs.17587, represent the new Italian style that flourished at the imperial Viennese court of Emperor Joseph I. Through their innovative use of form, design features, and affective harmony, melody, and rhythm, they demonstrate that, although Antonio’s cantata output is much smaller than that of his more famous brother Giovanni, his compositional style reveals a composer of superior craftsmanship and imagination.

The five countries that make up Northern Europe—Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Iceland—have, over the course of the last several centuries, developed and unique and viable art music history that easily rivals that of their continental neighbors. Nordic Art Music: From the Middle Ages to the Third Millennium provides an informative and accessible overview of the fascinating historical and aesthetic developments of this music and its creators, from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, through the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic eras, to the beginning of this new century. Though some Nordic composers, including Edvard Grieg, Carl Nielsen, and Jean Sibelius, have found great acclaim in all parts of the world, author Frederick Key Smith lays the foundation for their work in his discussion of the many composers relatively unknown outside of Northern Europe. Smith ably discusses the composers, styles, and representative works of each era in language that makes for a highly readable musical history as well as a superior reference guide. The first English-language book of its type in nearly 40 years, Smith's study brings into focus this broad and exciting aspect of music history.

Volume 1. From medieval foundations to the romantic age