Giovanni Bononcini
Two Sinfonie per violoncello e basso continuo
edited by Guido Olivieri

(Instrumental Music, 19)

29,7 x 21 cm; XX, 10 pp.
Introduction and Apparatus in Italian and English

Giovanni Bononcini (1670-1747) was not only a renowned composer of vocal music, but also one of the most eminent cello players of the 18th century. His talent as a performer was admired throughout his long career: Nicola Haym, who played with him in Rome, called Bononcini «indisputably the first» among the cello virtuosi. In 1716 Johann Ernst Galliard compared Bononcini’s competence at the cello to his qualities as a composer of cantatas: «Of later years, Aless. Scarlatti and Bononcini have brought cantatas to what they are at present; Bononcini by his agreeable and easie style and those fine inventions in his basses (to which he was led by an instrument upon which he excels)». His fame was so well established that in 1741 Michel Corrette could refer to Bononcini as the inventor of the «violoncello of the Italians». Despite such a prestigious activity, the cello works attributed to Bononcini included thus far a single sonata. The two Sinfonie per violoncello, published for the first time in this critical edition, are a remarkable addition to the catalog of instrumental music written by this celebrated musician. They are part of a manuscript of Neapolitan origins and were most likely composed around the years 1696-97, when Bononcini visited Naples for the production of his opera Il trionfo di Camilla. These Sinfonie, divided into four movements, display both the advanced cello technique and the galant cantabile style characteristic of Bononcini.

Guido Olivieri teaches musicology at The University of Texas at Austin, where he also directs the Early Music Ensemble “Austinato.” An expert of instrumental music of the 17th and 18th centuries, his research focuses on the circulation of music and musicians in Europe, with specific attention to the development of the string sonata in Naples. Among his most recent publications are the volume Arcomelo 2013. Studi in occasione del terzo centenario della nascita di Arcangelo Corelli (LIM, 2015), and the edition of A. Corelli’s Sonate da camera di Assisi (LIM, 2015). He also authored entries on The New Grove Dictionary of Music, the MGG, and the Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, and published several articles on performance practice, music patronage, and on the cultural exchanges between Naples and other major European capitals. He is currently working in collaboration with Federico Gon at the first critical edition of Domenico Cimarosa’s Il matrimonio segreto published by Bärenreiter. His groundbreaking research - conducted on archival sources - and collaborations with international artists have significantly contributed to the revival of interest on Neapolitan instrumental music and musicians.