Francesco Maria Veracini
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Francesco Maria Veracini (February 1, 1690 – October 31, 1768) was an Italian composer and violinist, perhaps best known for his violin sonatas and violin concertos.
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[edit] Life
Born to a musical family in Florence,—though his father was a druggist— he was taught violin by his uncle Antonio, with whom he often appeared in concert. In Venice in 1711, Veracini wrote a concerto grosso for eight instruments, played at the festivities for the Emperor Charles VI. There is a legend that when Giuseppe Tartini heard Veracini's playing in 1712, he was so impressed by it and so dissatisfied with his own skill, that according to Antonio Vandini he fled to Ancona and locked himself away in a room to practice.
In 1714 Veracini went to London and played instrumental pieces ("symphonies" in contemporary parlance) between acts of operas at the Queen's Theatre. After a season at the court in Dusseldorf and once again in Venice in 1716, he wrote a set of violin sonatas dedicated to Prince Friedrich August, son of Augustus III of Poland, Elector of Saxony. The prince employed Veracini to play chamber music at his castle preparatory to transferring him to the official Dresden payroll as violinist in August 1717. Veracini was sent to recruit Italian singers for the Dresden opera. In 1721 Veracini wrote another set of violin sonatas dedicated to the Prince. Unfortunately, there was animosity among the musicians of the court. Veracini was involved in 1722 in a staged quarrel with the composer Johann David Heinichen and the singer Senesino, which concluded with Veracini leaping out of a third-story window. He walked with a limp for the rest of his life. Back in his native Florence in 1723, he played music in the church and wrote an oratorio. During this time he earned a bad reputation and the nickname "capo pazzo" ("crazy head").
Back in London in 1733, Veracini appeared in many concerts. There he wrote an opera, Adriano in Siria, considered too long by the music critics. In 1737, he wrote La Clemenza di Tito, on a libretto by Corri based on one by Pietro Metastasio. (The Metastasio libretto was also the basis of the one Mazzola wrote for Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito). In 1738 Veracini wrote his last opera, Rosalinda, based on Shakespeare's play As You Like It, a most unusual choice of material at that time . In that opera Veracini included the well-known ballad tune The Lass of Paties Mill. It was staged in London in 1744, the same year his oratorio L'errore di Salomone was staged, and its lack of success prompted Veracini to leave London.
After surviving a shipwreck in the English Channel, he returned to Florence, where he was appointed maestro di capella of the churches of San Pancrazio and San Gaetano, the latter one at which his uncle had worked, focusing on church music. Though he mostly conducted in his later years, he still sometimes appeared as a violinist. He died in Florence.
[edit] Compositions
In addition to violin sonatas, operas and oratorios, Veracini also wrote violin concertos, sonatas for recorder and basso continuo, and orchestral suites, called Overtures. The six Overtures were written for Prince Friedrich August in Dresden. They are all either in F major or B-flat major, with only one being in G minor. The last one of these, in B-flat major, is remarkable for concluding with an unison minuet. Veracini also wrote a treatise on counterpoint, Il trionfo della pratica musicale, and edited other composers' works, adding 'improvements' of his own, such as he did with the Opus 5 Violin Sonatas of Arcangelo Corelli.
[edit] Major works
- 12 Sonatas for flute or violin solo and basso (no Opus number)
- Opus 1, 12 Sonatas for violin solo and basso (dedicated to Prince Friedrich August , 1721)
- Opus 2, 12 Sonate Accademiche for violin solo and basso (1744)
- Dissartazioni sopra l'opera quinta del Corelli on Corelli's Sonatas Opus 5 (1750)
- Opus 3, Il trionfo della pratica musicale (1760)
