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Francesco Geminiani

January 01, 1970

Francesco Xaverio Geminiani (baptised 5 December 1687[1] – 17 September 1762) was an Italian violinist, composer, and music theorist. BBC Radio 3 once described him as "now largely forgotten, but in his time considered almost a musical god, deemed to be the equal of Handel and Corelli."[2]

Francesco Geminiani circa 1735 (originally attributed to Andrea Soldi)

Life edit

Born at Lucca, he received lessons in music from Alessandro Scarlatti, and studied the violin under Carlo Ambrogio Lonati in Milan and afterwards under Arcangelo Corelli. From 1707 he took the place of his father in the Cappella Palatina of Lucca. From 1711, he led the opera orchestra at Naples, as Leader of the Opera Orchestra and concertmaster, which gave him many opportunities for contact with Alessandro Scarlatti. After a brief return to Lucca, in 1714, he set off for London in the company of Francesco Barsanti, where he arrived with the reputation of a virtuoso violinist, and soon attracted attention and patrons, including William Capel, 3rd Earl of Essex, who remained a consistent patron. In 1715 Geminiani played his violin concerti for the court of George I, with Handel at the keyboard. In the mid-1720s he became a freemason in London, notably as a leading member of the short-lived lodge Philo-Musicae et Architecturae Societas (1725–27) at the Queen's Head Tavern on Fleet Street.[3] He seems to have retained his masonic connections thereafter.[4] On 1 February 1725, he joined the Queen's Head lodge in London, becoming the first Italian to be in initiated in the Freemasonry. On 12 May 1725, he became Fellowcraft and Master Mason in the same day.[5] On 11 May 1728, the Grand Master of the Premier Grand Lodge of England James King 4th Baron of Kingstone designated the brothers Geminiani for constituting in Naples the first Italian regular masonic Lodge, directly affiliated to the English Freemasonry.[6]

Geminiani made a living by teaching and writing music, and tried to keep pace with his passion for collecting by dealing in art, not always successfully. Many of his students went on to have successful careers, such as Charles Avison, Matthew Dubourg, Michael Christian Festing, Bernhard Joachim Hagen and Cecilia Young. See: List of music students by teacher: G to J#Francesco Geminiani.

After visiting Paris and living there for some time, he returned to England in 1755. In 1761, on one of his sojourns in Dublin, a servant robbed him of a musical manuscript on which he had bestowed much time and labour. His vexation at this loss is said to have hastened his death. He died and was buried in Dublin, but his remains were later reburied in the city of his birth, in the church of San Francesco, Lucca.

He appears to have been a first-rate violinist. Tartini reportedly called him Il Furibondo, the Madman, because of his expressive rhythms.[7]

Works edit

Geminiani's best-known compositions are three sets of concerti grossi; his Opus 2 (1732), Opus 3 (1733) and Opus 7 (1746) (there are 42 concerti in all) which introduce the viola as a member of the concertino group of soloists, making them essentially concerti for string quartet. These works are deeply contrapuntal to please a London audience still in love with Corelli, compared to the galant work that was fashionable on the Continent at the time of their composition. Geminiani also reworked his teacher Corelli's Opp. 1, 3 and 5 into concerti grossi.

Geminiani's significance today is largely due to his 1751 treatise Art of Playing on the Violin Op. 9, published in London, which is the best known summation of the 18th-century Italian method of violin playing and is an invaluable source for the study of late Baroque performance practice. The book is in the form of 24 exercises accompanied by a relatively short but extremely informative section of text, giving detailed instructions on articulation, trills and other ornaments, shifting between positions, and other aspects of left- and right-hand violin technique. The instructions in this treatise are famously opposed to those expressed by Leopold Mozart in his Treatise on the Fundamental Principles of Violin Playing (1756) on several issues, including on bow hold, use of vibrato, and the so-called "rule of the down-bow", which states that the first beat of every bar must be played with a down-stroke.

His Guida harmonica (c. 1752, with an addendum in 1756) is one of the most unusual harmony treatises of the late Baroque, serving as a sort of encyclopedia of basso continuo patterns and realizations. There are 2,236 patterns in all, and at the end of each pattern is a page number reference for a potential next pattern; thus a student composer studying the book would have an idea of all the subsequent possibilities available after any given short bass line.

Geminiani also published a number of solos for the violin, three sets of violin concerti, twelve violin trios, the Art of Accompaniment on the Harpsichord, Organ, etc. (1754), Lessons for the Harpsichord, Art of Playing on the Guitar or Cittra (1760) and some other works.

Criticism edit

Geminiani's compositions are noted for their imagination, expression, and warmth, but also for their lack of discipline and for under-development. Charles Burney took Geminiani to task for irregular melodic structure.[8] Hawkins, on the other hand, was of the opinion that Geminiani's approach represented an important advance in composition. "That we are at this time in a state of emancipation from the bondage of laws imposed without authority, is owing to a new investigation of the principles of harmony, and the studies of a class of musicians, of whom Geminiani seems to have been the chief.... It is observable upon the works of Geminiani, that his modulations are not only original, but that his harmonies consist of such combinations as were never introduced into music till his time. The rules of transition from one key to another, which are laid down by those who have written on the composition of music, he not only disregarded, but objected to as an unnecessary restraint on the powers of invention. He has been frequently heard to say, that the cadences in the fifth, the third, and the sixth of the key which occur in the works of Corelli, were rendered too familiar to the ear by the frequent repetition of them. And it seems to have been the study of his life, by a liberal use of the semitonic intervals, to increase the number of harmonic combinations; and into melody to introduce a greater variety than it was otherwise capable of."[9]

References edit

  1. ^ He was possibly born 3 December, the feast day of St Francis Xavier.
  2. ^ "Francesco Geminiani". BBC Online. 25 February 2011.
  3. ^ Pink, Andrew (2010). "A music club for freemasons: Philo-musicae et architecturae societas Apollini, London, 1725–1727". Early Music. 38 (4): 523–536. doi:10.1093/em/caq077.
  4. ^ Pink, Andrew (2013). "Francesco Geminiani and Freemasonry". In Hogwood, C (ed.). Geminiani Studies. Ad Parnassum Studies. Vol. 6. Bologna: Ut Orpheus Edizione.
  5. ^ Louis Trébuchet (24 February 2019). (in French). Archived from the original on 7 April 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  6. ^ Ruggero di Castiglione, La Massoneria delle Due Sicilie: I Fratelli Meridionali del '700, Rome: Gangemi Editore, pp. 15–16. ISBN 9788849278903, OCLC 470796156, FRBNF40961084 .
  7. ^ "Francesco Geminiani (1687 – 1762)". early-music.com. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  8. ^ Halbreich, Harry. Concerti Grossi, Op. 7 (LP Record). I Solisti Veneti conducted by Claudio Scimone. New York: Musical Heritage Society. MHS 1142.
  9. ^ Hawkins, John (1776). A General History of the Science and Practice of Music. Vol. 5. London: T. Payne & Sons. pp. 389 et seq.
This entry incorporates corrected and expanded material originally from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.

External links edit

 
Wikisource has original works by or about:
Francesco Geminiani
 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Francesco Geminiani.

January 01, 1970
francesco, geminiani, francesco, xaverio, geminiani, baptised, december, 1687, september, 1762, italian, violinist, composer, music, theorist, radio, once, described, largely, forgotten, time, considered, almost, musical, deemed, equal, handel, corelli, circa,. Francesco Xaverio Geminiani baptised 5 December 1687 1 17 September 1762 was an Italian violinist composer and music theorist BBC Radio 3 once described him as now largely forgotten but in his time considered almost a musical god deemed to be the equal of Handel and Corelli 2 Francesco Geminiani circa 1735 originally attributed to Andrea Soldi Contents 1 Life 2 Works 3 Criticism 4 References 5 External linksLife editBorn at Lucca he received lessons in music from Alessandro Scarlatti and studied the violin under Carlo Ambrogio Lonati in Milan and afterwards under Arcangelo Corelli From 1707 he took the place of his father in the Cappella Palatina of Lucca From 1711 he led the opera orchestra at Naples as Leader of the Opera Orchestra and concertmaster which gave him many opportunities for contact with Alessandro Scarlatti After a brief return to Lucca in 1714 he set off for London in the company of Francesco Barsanti where he arrived with the reputation of a virtuoso violinist and soon attracted attention and patrons including William Capel 3rd Earl of Essex who remained a consistent patron In 1715 Geminiani played his violin concerti for the court of George I with Handel at the keyboard In the mid 1720s he became a freemason in London notably as a leading member of the short lived lodge Philo Musicae et Architecturae Societas 1725 27 at the Queen s Head Tavern on Fleet Street 3 He seems to have retained his masonic connections thereafter 4 On 1 February 1725 he joined the Queen s Head lodge in London becoming the first Italian to be in initiated in the Freemasonry On 12 May 1725 he became Fellowcraft and Master Mason in the same day 5 On 11 May 1728 the Grand Master of the Premier Grand Lodge of England James King 4th Baron of Kingstone designated the brothers Geminiani for constituting in Naples the first Italian regular masonic Lodge directly affiliated to the English Freemasonry 6 Geminiani made a living by teaching and writing music and tried to keep pace with his passion for collecting by dealing in art not always successfully Many of his students went on to have successful careers such as Charles Avison Matthew Dubourg Michael Christian Festing Bernhard Joachim Hagen and Cecilia Young See List of music students by teacher G to J Francesco Geminiani After visiting Paris and living there for some time he returned to England in 1755 In 1761 on one of his sojourns in Dublin a servant robbed him of a musical manuscript on which he had bestowed much time and labour His vexation at this loss is said to have hastened his death He died and was buried in Dublin but his remains were later reburied in the city of his birth in the church of San Francesco Lucca He appears to have been a first rate violinist Tartini reportedly called him Il Furibondo the Madman because of his expressive rhythms 7 Works editGeminiani s best known compositions are three sets of concerti grossi his Opus 2 1732 Opus 3 1733 and Opus 7 1746 there are 42 concerti in all which introduce the viola as a member of the concertino group of soloists making them essentially concerti for string quartet These works are deeply contrapuntal to please a London audience still in love with Corelli compared to the galant work that was fashionable on the Continent at the time of their composition Geminiani also reworked his teacher Corelli s Opp 1 3 and 5 into concerti grossi Geminiani s significance today is largely due to his 1751 treatise Art of Playing on the Violin Op 9 published in London which is the best known summation of the 18th century Italian method of violin playing and is an invaluable source for the study of late Baroque performance practice The book is in the form of 24 exercises accompanied by a relatively short but extremely informative section of text giving detailed instructions on articulation trills and other ornaments shifting between positions and other aspects of left and right hand violin technique The instructions in this treatise are famously opposed to those expressed by Leopold Mozart in his Treatise on the Fundamental Principles of Violin Playing 1756 on several issues including on bow hold use of vibrato and the so called rule of the down bow which states that the first beat of every bar must be played with a down stroke His Guida harmonica c 1752 with an addendum in 1756 is one of the most unusual harmony treatises of the late Baroque serving as a sort of encyclopedia of basso continuo patterns and realizations There are 2 236 patterns in all and at the end of each pattern is a page number reference for a potential next pattern thus a student composer studying the book would have an idea of all the subsequent possibilities available after any given short bass line Geminiani also published a number of solos for the violin three sets of violin concerti twelve violin trios the Art of Accompaniment on the Harpsichord Organ etc 1754 Lessons for the Harpsichord Art of Playing on the Guitar or Cittra 1760 and some other works Criticism editGeminiani s compositions are noted for their imagination expression and warmth but also for their lack of discipline and for under development Charles Burney took Geminiani to task for irregular melodic structure 8 Hawkins on the other hand was of the opinion that Geminiani s approach represented an important advance in composition That we are at this time in a state of emancipation from the bondage of laws imposed without authority is owing to a new investigation of the principles of harmony and the studies of a class of musicians of whom Geminiani seems to have been the chief It is observable upon the works of Geminiani that his modulations are not only original but that his harmonies consist of such combinations as were never introduced into music till his time The rules of transition from one key to another which are laid down by those who have written on the composition of music he not only disregarded but objected to as an unnecessary restraint on the powers of invention He has been frequently heard to say that the cadences in the fifth the third and the sixth of the key which occur in the works of Corelli were rendered too familiar to the ear by the frequent repetition of them And it seems to have been the study of his life by a liberal use of the semitonic intervals to increase the number of harmonic combinations and into melody to introduce a greater variety than it was otherwise capable of 9 References edit He was possibly born 3 December the feast day of St Francis Xavier Francesco Geminiani BBC Online 25 February 2011 Pink Andrew 2010 A music club for freemasons Philo musicae et architecturae societas Apollini London 1725 1727 Early Music 38 4 523 536 doi 10 1093 em caq077 Pink Andrew 2013 Francesco Geminiani and Freemasonry In Hogwood C ed Geminiani Studies Ad Parnassum Studies Vol 6 Bologna Ut Orpheus Edizione Louis Trebuchet 24 February 2019 Les Antediluviens et les Modernes in French Archived from the original on 7 April 2019 Retrieved 5 September 2020 Ruggero di Castiglione La Massoneria delle Due Sicilie I Fratelli Meridionali del 700 Rome Gangemi Editore pp 15 16 ISBN 9788849278903 OCLC 470796156 FRBNF40961084 Francesco Geminiani 1687 1762 early music com Retrieved 24 September 2022 Halbreich Harry Concerti Grossi Op 7 LP Record I Solisti Veneti conducted by Claudio Scimone New York Musical Heritage Society MHS 1142 Hawkins John 1776 A General History of the Science and Practice of Music Vol 5 London T Payne amp Sons pp 389 et seq This entry incorporates corrected and expanded material originally from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica External links edit nbsp Wikisource has original works by or about Francesco Geminiani nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Francesco Geminiani Francesco Geminiani 1687 1762 at www wbr baroquemusic wbr org Free scores by Francesco Geminiani at the International Music Score Library Project IMSLP Free scores by Francesco Geminiani in the Choral Public Domain Library ChoralWiki Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Francesco Geminiani amp oldid 1221179972, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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