Polymath of the baroque : Agostino Steffani and his music / Colin Timms.

Author/creator Timms, Colin
Format Book
Publication InfoNew York : Oxford University Press, 2003.
Descriptionxviii, 422 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
Subjects
Steffani, Agostino, 1654-1728.
Composers--Italy. --Biography.

Contents Part I. The life. Castelfranco and Padua, 1654-1667 -- Munich 1667-1688. Court and chamber musician ; Director of chamber music -- Hanover 1688-1703. Musical and operatic background ; Kapellmeister ; Envoye Extraordinaire -- Dusseldorf 1703-1709. Statesman and bishop ; Musician -- Apostolic vicar of North Germany 1709-1728. The Provostship of Seltz ; Problems in Padua ; Retirement and return ; Coda -- Part II. The music. The sacred works. Psalmodia vespertina (1674) ; Early manuscript works ; Sacer Ianus quadrifrons (1685) ; Later manuscript works ; Doubtful works -- The operas, I: general survey. Subject and spectacle ; Steffani's writing for the voice ; Aria technique and form ; Instruments and accompaniments ; Duets ; Overtures and dances ; Reception -- The operas, II: case studies. Music and drama in Alarico il Baltha ; Niobe, amphion, and Maz Emanuel ; Problems in the revision of Alessandro ; Arisoto, Mauro, and Steffani: Orlando generoso ; Arminio: apologia pro Pasticcio ; The question of Tassilone -- The chamber music. Cantatas for solo voice ; Chamber duets. Canon and chronology ; Content and style ; Structure ; Revisions ; Reception -- Other works -- Conclusion. Personality and achievement -- Appendix A. Documents. Steffani's autobiography (1706) ; Steffani's letter to Giacomo Antonio Stievani (1724) ; Arrangements for opera in Munich 1688 -- Appendix B. Catalogue of Steffani's musical works -- Appendix C. Analyses of Steffani's operas.
Abstract Composer, diplomat, bishop: Agostino Steffani (1654-1728) was one of the most remarkable figures in late-seventeenth- and early-eighteenth-century Europe. Steffani began his career as a composer, musician, and courtier, but his accomplishments brought him high-level positions in the courts of Germany and in the Catholic church. He served as advisor to Bavarian and Hanoverian Electors and played a leading role in the promotion of the Catholic church in the north German states. Throughout his diplomatic and ecclesiastical career, Steffani continued to compose sacred music, opera, and chamber music - works that inspired Handel and other Baroque composers. Polymath of the Baroque discusses the entire musical output of Agostino Steffani, including a comprehensive treatment of his chamber duets, considered models of their kind. It also traces his principal diplomatic and political activities at Hanover and Dusseldorf, his rise to the bishopric of Spiga, and his career as Apostolic Vicar of North Germany.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references (pages 387-406) and index.
LCCN 2002007058
ISBN0195154738 (alk. paper)

Availability

Library Location Call Number Status Item Actions
Music Closed Stacks - Ask at Circulation Desk ML410.S813 T45 2003 ✔ Available Place Hold