Saturday 11 June 2016

MUSIC SATURDAY - MASCITTI

“A poet is a man who puts up a ladder to a star and climbs it while playing a violin.” - Edmond de Goncourt

Michele Mascitti (1664 in Villa Santa Maria [from Chieti]; 24 April 1760 in Paris) was an Italian violinist and Baroque composer. In Italian instrumental music, Mascitti at his time was considered comparable to Corelli and Albinoni. He was educated by his uncle, Pietro Marchitelli (1643-1729), a violinist in the royal court orchestra in Naples, and at the “Teatro San Bartolomeo”. Mascitti was also possibly tutored by Corelli.

Mascitti found a temporary position in the royal orchestra, but he soon left, travelled through Italy but fated to find his fortune outside of Italy. First, he spent time in Germany and the Netherlands. He was under the protectorate of Cardinal Ottoboni and the reigning Duke of Bavaria.

In 1704, he settled in Paris and took the Frenchified given name of Michel. He became a French citizen in 1739. Through a meeting with the Duke of Orleans he was afforded the opportunity to play before the king and the entire court. He became immensely popular among the French public, known familiarly by his first name, and he served both the Duke of Orleans but was also patronised by the house of Crozat.

The primary genre of his compositions was the solo sonata but he also arranged trio sonatas and concertos. Mascitti’s were the first string concertos published in France by a resident composer. He published all nine of his sonata collections in Paris. The four concertos from Op. 7 follow the concerto grosso style of Corelli. His compositions were mainly in the Italian, and sometimes French, style. They contained an abundance of novel harmonies for the period.

Here are some of his sonatas (IV & V from op. 3) and the Concerti Grossi (Opus 7) performed by Camerata Anxanum.
1 Concerto Grosso in B flat major, Op. 7/1: Allegro
2 Concerto Grosso in B flat major, Op. 7/1: Larghetto
3 Concerto Grosso in B flat major, Op. 7/1: Allegro
4 Concerto Grosso in B flat major, Op. 7/1: Largo
5 Concerto Grosso in B flat major, Op. 7/1: Allegro
6 Concerto Grosso in E minor, Op. 7/2: Allegro moderato
7 Concerto Grosso in E minor, Op. 7/2: Allegro
8 Concerto Grosso in E minor, Op. 7/2: Larghetto
9 Concerto Grosso in E minor, Op. 7/2: Allegro moderato
10 Concerto Grosso in G major, Op. 7/3: Vivace
11 Concerto Grosso in G major, Op. 7/3: Largo
12 Concerto Grosso in G major, Op. 7/3: Allegro
13 Concerto Grosso in G major, Op. 7/3: Largo
14 Concerto Grosso in G major, Op. 7/3: Allegro
15 Concerto Grosso in A major, Op. 7/4: Vivace
16 Concerto Grosso in A major, Op. 7/4: Passacaglia variata (Andante)
17 Sonata in E minor, Op. 3/4: Allemanda Largo
18 Sonata in E minor, Op. 3/4: Corrente Allegro
19 Sonata in E minor, Op. 3/4: Largo
20 Sonata in E minor, Op. 3/4: Gavotta Allegro
21 Sonata in D major, Op. 3/5: Vivace
22 Sonata in D major, Op. 3/5: Allemanda Grave
23 Sonata in D major, Op. 3/5: Allemanda Allegro
24 Sonata in D major, Op. 3/5: Sarabanda Andante
25 Sonata in D major, Op. 3/5: Corrente Allegro assai

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