1.
Hugh Howard
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Hugh Howard was a portrait-painter and collector of works of art from Dublin. Hugh Howard was born in Dublin on the 7 February 1675 and he was the eldest son of Dr. Ralph Howard of Shelton, county Wicklow. Howard remained in Italy about three years studying with Carlo Maratti who has described as the last painter in the Raphael tradition. Howard returning to the British Isles in October 1700 and he resided in Dublin. Howard settled in London eventually, where he practised for some time as a portrait-painter, Howard was appointed sinecure post of keeper of the state papers, and then paymaster of the works belonging to the crown. He was thus enabled to relinquish painting as a profession, Howard was an exceptional student of the arts and he was to find a new application for his training. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in November,1696, the salaries of his new jobs combined with his private income far outweighed his costs, and Howard invested in purchasing works of art, medals, drawings and prints. He also bought from the collections of Sir Peter Lely and the Earl of Arundel, of note with regard to his finances was his marriage in 1714 to Thomasine, General Thomas Langstons heir. Matthew Prior wrote a poem in his honour, Howard died in Pall Mall 17 March 1737, and was buried in the church at Richmond, Surrey. Howard inherited in 1728 part of Lord-chancellor Wests library from his brother, William Howard. He left his collections to his surviving brother, Robert Howard, bishop of Elphin. They remained in the possession of the descendants, the Earls of Wicklow, until December 1873. 1,488 eighteenth and seventeenth century prints found their way in 1874 into the British Museums collection
2.
Violin
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The violin is a wooden string instrument in the violin family. It is the smallest and highest-pitched instrument in the family in regular use, smaller violin-type instruments are known, including the violino piccolo and the kit violin, but these are virtually unused in the 2010s. The violin typically has four strings tuned in fifths, and is most commonly played by drawing a bow across its strings. Violins are important instruments in a variety of musical genres. They are most prominent in the Western classical tradition and in varieties of folk music. They are also used in genres of folk including country music and bluegrass music. Electric violins are used in forms of rock music, further. The violin is sometimes called a fiddle, particularly in Irish traditional music and bluegrass. The violin was first known in 16th-century Italy, with further modifications occurring in the 18th and 19th centuries. In Europe it served as the basis for stringed instruments used in classical music, the viola. According to their reputation, the quality of their sound has defied attempts to explain or equal it, many of these trade instruments were formerly sold by Sears, Roebuck and Co. and other mass merchandisers. A person who makes or repairs violins is called a luthier or violinmaker, the parts of a violin are usually made from different types of wood and on the use of a pickup and an amplifier and speaker). Violins can be strung with gut, Perlon or other synthetic, the earliest stringed instruments were mostly plucked. Similar and variant types were probably disseminated along East-West trading routes from Asia into the Middle East, the first makers of violins probably borrowed from various developments of the Byzantine lira. These included the rebec, the Arabic rebab, the vielle, the earliest pictures of violins, albeit with three strings, are seen in northern Italy around 1530, at around the same time as the words violino and vyollon are seen in Italian and French documents. One of the earliest explicit descriptions of the instrument, including its tuning, is from the Epitome musical by Jambe de Fer, by this time, the violin had already begun to spread throughout Europe. The violin proved very popular, both among street musicians and the nobility, the French king Charles IX ordered Andrea Amati to construct 24 violins for him in 1560, one of these noble instruments, the Charles IX, is the oldest surviving violin. The Messiah or Le Messie made by Antonio Stradivari in 1716 remains pristine and it is now located in the Ashmolean Museum of Oxford
3.
Composer
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A composer is a person who creates or writes music, which can be vocal music, instrumental music or music which combines both instruments and voices. The core meaning of the term refers to individuals who have contributed to the tradition of Western classical music through creation of works expressed in written musical notation, many composers are also skilled performers, either as singers, instrumentalists, and/or conductors. Examples of composers who are well known for their ability as performers include J. S. Bach, Mozart. In many popular genres, such as rock and country. For a singer or instrumental performer, the process of deciding how to perform music that has previously composed and notated is termed interpretation. Different performers interpretations of the work of music can vary widely, in terms of the tempos that are chosen. Composers and songwriters who present their own music are interpreting, just as much as those who perform the music of others, although a musical composition often has a single author, this is not always the case. A piece of music can also be composed with words, images, or, in the 20th and 21st century, a culture eventually developed whereby faithfulness to the composers written intention came to be highly valued. This musical culture is almost certainly related to the esteem in which the leading classical composers are often held by performers. The movement might be considered a way of creating greater faithfulness to the original in works composed at a time that expected performers to improvise. In Classical music, the composer typically orchestrates her own compositions, in some cases, a pop songwriter may not use notation at all, and instead compose the song in her mind and then play or record it from memory. In jazz and popular music, notable recordings by influential performers are given the weight that written scores play in classical music. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music. In the development of European classical music, the function of composing music initially did not have greater importance than that of performing it. The preservation of individual compositions did not receive attention and musicians generally had no qualms about modifying compositions for performance. In as much as the role of the composer in western art music has seen continued solidification, for instance, in certain contexts the line between composer and performer, sound designer, arranger, producer, and other roles, can be quite blurred. The term composer is often used to refer to composers of music, such as those found in classical, jazz or other forms of art. In popular and folk music, the composer is usually called a songwriter and this is distinct from a 19th-century conception of instrumental composition, where the work was represented solely by a musical score to be interpreted by performers
4.
Baroque music
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Baroque music is a style of Western art music composed from approximately 1600 to 1750. This era followed the Renaissance music era, and was followed in turn by the Classical era, Baroque music forms a major portion of the classical music canon, being widely studied, performed, and listened to. The Baroque period saw the creation of tonality, an approach to writing music in which a song or piece is written in a particular key, during the Baroque era, professional musicians were expected to be accomplished improvisers of both solo melodic lines and accompaniment parts. A characteristic Baroque form was the dance suite, while the pieces in a dance suite were inspired by actual dance music, dance suites were designed for listening, not for accompanying dancers. During the period, composers and performers used more elaborate ornamentation, made changes in musical notation. Many musical terms and concepts from this era, such as toccata, fugue, dense, complex polyphonic music, in which multiple independent melody lines were performed simultaneously, was an important part of many Baroque choral and instrumental works. The word baroque comes from the Portuguese word barroco, meaning misshapen pearl, the term Baroque is generally used by music historians to describe a broad range of styles from a wide geographic region, mostly in Europe, composed over a period of approximately 150 years. The systematic application by historians of the baroque to music of this period is a relatively recent development. In 1919, Curt Sachs became the first to apply the five characteristics of Heinrich Wölfflins theory of the Baroque systematically to music, all of these efforts resulted in appreciable disagreement about time boundaries of the period, especially concerning when it began. In English the term acquired currency only in the 1940s, in the writings of Bukofzer, nevertheless, the term has become widely used and accepted for this broad range of music. It may be helpful to distinguish the Baroque from both the preceding and following periods of musical history, the Baroque period is divided into three major phases, early, middle, and late. Although they overlap in time, they are dated from 1580 to 1630, from 1630 to 1680. In reference to music, they based their ideals on a perception of Classical musical drama that valued discourse, the early realizations of these ideas, including Jacopo Peris Dafne and LEuridice, marked the beginning of opera, which were a catalyst for Baroque music. Concerning music theory, the widespread use of figured bass represents the developing importance of harmony as the linear underpinnings of polyphony. Harmony is the end result of counterpoint, and figured bass is a representation of those harmonies commonly employed in musical performance. With figured bass, numbers, accidentals or symbols were placed above the bassline that was read by keyboard instrument players such as players or pipe organists. The numbers, accidentals or symbols indicated to the player what intervals she should play above each bass note. The keyboard player would improvise a chord voicing for each bass note and this led to the idea that certain sequences of chords, rather than just notes, could provide a sense of closure at the end of a piece—one of the fundamental ideas that became known as tonality
5.
Sonata
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Sonata, in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to a cantata, a piece sung. The term evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms until the Classical era, when it took on increasing importance, by the early 19th century, it came to represent a principle of composing large-scale works. It was applied to most instrumental genres and regarded—alongside the fugue—as one of two methods of organizing, interpreting and analyzing concert music. Though the musical style of sonatas has changed since the Classical era, most 20th-, the term sonatina, pl. sonatine, the diminutive form of sonata, is often used for a short or technically easy sonata. In the Baroque period, a sonata was for one or more instruments almost always with continuo, sonatas for a solo instrument other than keyboard have been composed, as have sonatas for other combinations of instruments. Although the four, five, or six movements of the sonata da chiesa are also most often in one key, one or two of the internal movements are sometimes in a contrasting tonality. This scheme, however, was not very defined, until the works of Arcangelo Corelli when it became the essential sonata. The sonata da camera consisted almost entirely of idealized dance-tunes, on the other hand, the features of sonata da chiesa and sonata da camera then tended to be freely intermixed. Although nearly half of Bachs 1,100 surviving compositions, arrangements and they are frequently virtuosic, and use more distant harmonic transitions and modulations than were common for other works of the time. They were admired for their variety and invention. Both the solo and trio sonatas of Vivaldi show parallels with the concerti he was writing at the same time. He composed over 70 sonatas, the majority of which are of the solo type, most of the rest are trio sonatas. The sonatas of Domenico Paradies are mild and elongated works with a graceful and this evolution stretched over fifty years. The term came to both to the structure of individual movements and to the layout of the movements in a multi-movement work. In the transition to the Classical period there were several names given to multimovement works, including divertimento, serenade, the usage of sonata as the standard term for such works began somewhere in the 1770s. Haydn labels his first piano sonata as such in 1771, after which the term divertimento is used sparingly in his output, the term sonata was increasingly applied to either a work for keyboard alone, or for keyboard and one other instrument, often the violin or cello. It was less and less frequently applied to works with more than two instrumentalists, for piano trios were not often labelled sonata for piano, violin. Initially the most common layout of movements was, Allegro, which at the time was understood to not only a tempo
6.
Concerto
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A concerto is a musical composition, whose characteristics have changed over time. In the 17th century, sacred works for voices and orchestra were typically called concertos, J. S. Bach was thus reflecting a long-standing tradition when he used the title concerto for many of the works that we know as cantatas. But in recent centuries, up to the present, a concerto is a piece composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra or concert band. The popularity of the concerto grosso form declined after the Baroque period, the solo concerto, however, has remained a vital musical force from its inception to this day. Examples of this form of concerto include Giovanni Gabrielis In Ecclesiis or Heinrich Schützs Saul, Saul, was verfolgst du mich. The concerto began to take its shape in the late Baroque period. Corellis concertino group was two violins and a cello, in J. S. Bachs Fifth Brandenburg Concerto, for example, the concertino is a flute, a violin, and a harpsichord, the harpsichord sometimes plays with the ripieno. Later the concerto approached its modern form in which the concertino usually reduces to a solo instrument playing with/against an orchestra. The concerto was intended as a typical of the Italian style of the time. The baroque concerto was mainly for an instrument or a wind instrument. Bach also wrote a concerto for two violins and orchestra, during the baroque period, before the invention of the piano, keyboard concertos were comparatively rare, with the exception of the organ and some harpsichord concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach. Cello concertos have been written since the Baroque era if not earlier, among the works from that period, those by Antonio Vivaldi and Giuseppe Tartini are still part of the standard repertoire today. The concerti of the sons of Johann Sebastian Bach, such as CPE Bach, are perhaps the best links between those of the Baroque period and those of the Classical era. It is conventional to state that the first movements of concerti from the Classical period onwards follow the structure of sonata form, final movements are often in rondo form, as in J. S. Mozart wrote five violin concertos, all in 1775 and they show a number of influences, notably Italian and Austrian. Several passages have leanings towards folk music, as manifested in Austrian serenades, mozart also wrote the highly regarded Sinfonia Concertante for violin, viola, and orchestra. Beethoven wrote only one violin concerto, under-appreciated until revealed as a masterpiece in a performance by violin virtuoso Joseph Joachim, Haydn wrote at least two cello concertos which are the most important works in that genre of the classical era. Bachs three cello concertos and Boccherinis are also noteworthy, Bachs keyboard concertos contain some brilliant soloistic writing
7.
Tonality
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Tonality is a musical system that arranges pitches or chords to induce a hierarchy of perceived relations, stabilities, and attractions. In this hierarchy, the pitch or triadic chord with the greatest stability is called the tonic. The root of the chord is considered to be the key of a piece or song. Thus a piece in which the chord is C major is said to be in the key of C. Simple folk music songs often start and end with the tonic note, the most common use of the term. is to designate the arrangement of musical phenomena around a referential tonic in European music from about 1600 to about 1910. Contemporary classical music from 1910 to the 2000s may practice or avoid any sort of harmony in almost all Western popular music remains tonal. Harmony in jazz music includes many, if not all, tonal characteristics, All harmonic idioms in popular music are tonal, and none is without function. Tonality is a system of tones in which one tone becomes the central point for the remaining tones. The other tones in a piece are all defined in terms of their relationship to the tonic. In tonality, the tonic is the tone of complete relaxation and stability, the cadence in which the dominant chord or dominant seventh chord resolves to the tonic chord plays an important role in establishing the tonality of a piece. Tonal music is music that is unified and dimensional, the term tonalité originated with Alexandre-Étienne Choron and was borrowed by François-Joseph Fétis in 1840. According to Carl Dahlhaus, however, the term tonalité was only coined by Castil-Blaze in 1821, major-minor tonality is also called harmonic tonality, diatonic tonality, common practice tonality, functional tonality, or just tonality. This sense also applies to the tonic/dominant/subdominant harmonic harmonic constellations in the theories of Jean-Philippe Rameau as well as the 144 basic transformations of twelve-tone technique, any rational and self-contained theoretical arrangement of musical pitches, existing prior to any concrete embodiment in music. For example, Sainsbury, who had Choron translated into English in 1825, while tonality qua system constitutes a theoretical abstraction from actual music, it is often hypostatized in musicological discourse, converted from a theoretical structure into a musical reality. As a term to contrast with modal and atonal, implying that tonal music is discontinuous as a form of expression from modal music on the one hand. Musical phenomena arranged or understood in relation to a referential tonic, Musical phenomena perceived or preinterpreted in terms of the categories of tonal theories. In major and minor harmonies, the fifth is often implied. To function as a tonic, a chord must be either a major or a minor triad, dominant function requires a major-quality triad with a root a perfect fifth above the affiliated tonic and containing the leading tone of the key
8.
Romagna
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Romagna is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to the east, the regions major cities include Cesena, Faenza, Forlì, Imola, Ravenna, Rimini and City of San Marino. The region has been formally expanded with the transfer of seven comuni from the Marche region. The name Romagna comes from the Latin name Romania, which originally was the name for land inhabited by Romans. It later took on the detailed meaning of territory subjected to Eastern Roman rule. Romania later became Romandìola in Vulgar Latin, meaning little Romania, a number of archaeological sites in the region, such as Monte Poggiolo, show that Romagna has been inhabited since the Paleolithic age. The Umbri, speaking an extinct Italic language called Umbrian, are the first traceable inhabitants of the region, the Etruscans also dwelt in some portions of Romagna. In the 5th Century BC, various Gaulish tribes, most notably the Lingones, Senoni and Boii, moved south into Italy, the Senoni utterly subjugated the Umbri and settled in Romagna. The Senoni extended further south to Ancona, with their capital Sena Gallica, the lands formerly inhabited by the Senoni were known as ager Gallicus to the Romans. According to the Italian linguist Giacomo Devoto, there are still a number of Celtic substrata in the Romagnolo dialect, gallic predominance in the region was consistently challenged by the Romans. In the battle of Telamon, the Romans defeated the joint forces of the Celtic tribes, after the Second Punic War, the pro-Carthaginian Lingones and Senoni were expelled. To consolidate the Roman rule in the region, the Via Aemilia was built from Ariminium to Piacentia, the most significant ones are Forum Livii, Forum Cornelii and Forum Popili. After the Social War, the Lex Julia was introduced in 90 BC, in the first Roman civil war, between Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla, most cities in the regions supported Marius. As a result, Forum Livii and Caesena were razed to ground, during the first triumvirate, the Roman Republic was divided along the infamous Rubicon. Most of modern Romagna was ruled by Julius Caesar, the exception of Ariminium. In 49 BC, Caesar, who was residing in Ravenna then, led the Legio XIII across the Rubicon, after the decisive battle of Actium, Augustus started a century-long era of Pax Romana. All of Cisalpine Gaul had been incorporated into the Roman province of Italia, around 7 BC, Augustus divided all of Italy into eleven regiones, and most of Romagna was in the eighth, Aemilia. By the beginning of the 3rd Century, Diocletian re-divided the Empire into four prefectures, each divided into dioceses, under the new system, Italy was demoted to a mere Imperial province
9.
Fusignano
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Fusignano is a comune in the province of Ravenna in Italy. It is located on the river Senio, the city was created in 1250 by count Bernardino of Cunio after a flood which had destroyed his castle at Donigallia. After several passages of property in the hands of noble families. When the Duchy of Ferrara was annexed to the Papal States, the fief was elevated to a marquisate, in the 18th century the city recovered from a dark period, and in 1796 became part of the French dominions. In 1815 it returned to the Roman Church, with the unification of Italy, Fusignano was separated from Ferrara and included in the province of Ravenna. During World War II, as part of the Spring 1945 offensive in Italy, Fusignano was for four months on the front line, the church of San Giovanni Battista houses a 16th-century pale portraying the Baptism of Christ. Arcangelo Corelli, an Italian violin player and Baroque music composer, was born in Fusignano, arrigo Sacchi, Italian football manager, was born there. Lea Melandri, feminist and writer was born in Fusignano
10.
Diocese of Ferrara
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The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ferrara-Comacchio has existed since 1986, when the diocese of Comacchio was combined with the historical archdiocese of Ferrara. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Bologna, Ferrara became an archdiocese, though without suffragans, in 1735. It was for a long period directly subject to the Holy See, the dioceses most recent archbishop Luigi Negri retired on February 15,2017. The earliest bishop of certain date is Constantine, present at Rome in 861, some think that the bishops of Ferrara are the successors to those of Voghenza. Up to 1717 the Archbishop of Ravenna claimed metropolitan rights over Ferrara, in 1735 Pope Clement XII raised the see to archiepiscopal rank, erected, 4th CenturyLatin Name, FerrariensisMetropolitan, Archdiocese of Ravenna Aldobrandino dEste. Niccolò Roberti Pietro Bolardi Giovanni Tossignano Francesco Legnamine Lorenzo Roverella Barthelemy della Rovere, girolamo Crispi Marcello Crescenzi Bernardino Giraud Alessandro Mattei Paolo Patricio Fava Ghisleri Carlo Odescalchi, S. J. Filippo Filonardi Gabriele della Genga Sermattei Ignazio Giovanni Cadolini Luigi Vannicelli Casoni Luigi Giordani Egidio Mauri, O. P. article name needed
11.
Papal States
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The Papal States, officially the State of the Church, were territories in the Italian Peninsula under the sovereign direct rule of the pope, from the 8th century until 1870. They were among the states of Italy from roughly the 8th century until the Italian Peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. At their zenith, they covered most of the modern Italian regions of Lazio, Marche, Umbria and Romagna and these holdings were considered to be a manifestation of the temporal power of the pope, as opposed to his ecclesiastical primacy. By 1861, much of the Papal States territory had been conquered by the Kingdom of Italy, only Lazio, including Rome, remained under the Popes temporal control. In 1870, the pope lost Lazio and Rome and had no physical territory at all, Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini ended the crisis between unified Italy and the Vatican by signing the Lateran Treaty, granting the Vatican City State sovereignty. The Papal States were also known as the Papal State, the territories were also referred to variously as the State of the Church, the Pontifical States, the Ecclesiastical States, or the Roman States. For its first 300 years the Catholic Church was persecuted and unrecognized and this system began to change during the reign of the emperor Constantine I, who made Christianity legal within the Roman Empire, and restoring to it any properties that had been confiscated. The Lateran Palace was the first significant new donation to the Church, other donations followed, primarily in mainland Italy but also in the provinces of the Roman Empire. But the Church held all of these lands as a private landowner, the seeds of the Papal States as a sovereign political entity were planted in the 6th century. Beginning In 535, the Byzantine Empire, under emperor Justinian I, launched a reconquest of Italy that took decades and devastated Italys political, just as these wars wound down, the Lombards entered the peninsula from the north and conquered much of the countryside. While the popes remained Byzantine subjects, in practice the Duchy of Rome, nevertheless, the pope and the exarch still worked together to control the rising power of the Lombards in Italy. As Byzantine power weakened, though, the took a ever larger role in defending Rome from the Lombards. In practice, the papal efforts served to focus Lombard aggrandizement on the exarch, a climactic moment in the founding of the Papal States was the agreement over boundaries embodied in the Lombard king Liutprands Donation of Sutri to Pope Gregory II. When the Exarchate of Ravenna finally fell to the Lombards in 751, the popes renewed earlier attempts to secure the support of the Franks. In 751, Pope Zachary had Pepin the Younger crowned king in place of the powerless Merovingian figurehead king Childeric III, zacharys successor, Pope Stephen II, later granted Pepin the title Patrician of the Romans. Pepin led a Frankish army into Italy in 754 and 756, Pepin defeated the Lombards – taking control of northern Italy – and made a gift of the properties formerly constituting the Exarchate of Ravenna to the pope. The cooperation between the papacy and the Carolingian dynasty climaxed in 800, when Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Emperor, the precise nature of the relationship between the popes and emperors – and between the Papal States and the Empire – is disputed. Events in the 9th century postponed the conflict, the Holy Roman Empire in its Frankish form collapsed as it was subdivided among Charlemagnes grandchildren
12.
Giovanni Mario Crescimbeni
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Giovanni Mario Crescimbeni was an Italian critic and poet. Crescimbeni was born in Macerata, which was part of the Papal States. Born in Macerata and educated by a French priest at Rome, he entered the Jesuits college of his town, where he produced a tragedy on the story of Darius. In 1679 he received the degree of doctor of laws, the study of Vincenzo Filicaja and Niccolò Leonico having convinced him that he and all his contemporaries were working in a wrong direction, he resolved to attempt a general reform. In 1690, in conjunction with fourteen others, he founded the celebrated Academy of Arcadians, Crescimbeni officiated as secretary to the Arcadians for thirty-eight years. His principal work is the Istoria della volgar poesia, an estimate of all the poets of Italy, past and contemporary, the most important of his numerous other publications are the Commentarii, and La Bellezza della volgar poezia. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh
13.
Faenza
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Faenza is an Italian city and comune, in the province of Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, situated 50 kilometres southeast of Bologna. Faenza is noted for its manufacture of glazed earthenware pottery. In the nearby valleys of the rivers Samoggia and Lamone there are great number of 18th and 19th century stately homes. According to mythology, the name of the first settlement, Faoentia, had Etruscan and Celtic roots, meaning in Latin Splendeo inter deos or I shine among the gods, in modern English. The very name, coming from the Romans who developed this center under the name of Faventia, has become synonymous with ceramics in various languages, including French, here Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius defeated populares army of Gnaeus Papirius Carbo in 82 BC. Here Totila and an Ostrogothic army defeated the Byzantine army in Italy in the Battle of Faventia in 542 CE, after a period of decadence from the 2nd century to the early Middle Ages it regained prosperity from 8th century on. The first consuls were elected in 1141 and in 1155 a podestà was in charge of government of the city, in the wars between Guelphs and Ghibellines that began in the following years Faenza was at first loyal to the emperor. In 1178, however, it changed side and entered the Lombard League, the inner disputes anyway favoured acquisition of power by Maghinardo Pagano, who remained podestà and capitano del popolo for several years. At the beginning of the 14th century the Guelph Manfredi began a rule over Faenza that was to last for almost two centuries, the peak of splendour was reached under Carlo II Manfredi, in the second half of the century, when the city centre was renewed. In 1488 Galeotto Manfredi was assassinated by his wife, his son Astorre III succeeded him, but was in turn killed in Rome as a prisoner of Cesare Borgia, after a brief period of Venetian domination Faenza became part of the Papal States until 1797. Faenzas architectural attractions are concentrated in the two main squares, Piazza del Popolo, lined by two double order porticoed wings, and Piazza della Libertà. Faenza Cathedral, located along the east side of Piazza della Libertà, influenced by Tuscan style, it is one of the highest expressions of Renaissance art in Romagna. Built to Giuliano da Maianos design, it was begun in 1474, the marble decoration of the façade remained unfinished. Goldsmiths Portico opposite the Cathedral this open gallery and monumental fountain with bronzes were built in the first decade of the 17th century. Clock Tower, in front of the entrance to the Piazza, is a rebuilding of the 17th century tower that stood at the crossroad of the cardo. Among the other monuments of the centre are Palazzo Milzetti, the richest and most significant Neoclassical building in the region. In the nearby, the Villa Case Grandi dei Ferniani has a collection of 18th and 19th century Faenza ceramics, Faenza is home to the International Museum of Ceramics. Other interesting art collections are located in the Municipal Art Gallery, the Diocese Museum, the Bendandi Museum, the historic production of Faenza majolica is recognized worldwide as one of the highest moments of artistic creativity expressed through pottery
14.
Lugo
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Lugo is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous community of Galicia. It is the capital of the province of Lugo, the municipality had a population of 98,560 in 2014, which makes it the fourth most populous city in Galicia. Lugo is the city in the world to be surrounded by completely intact Roman walls. The walk along the top is continuous round the circuit, and these 3rd century walls are protected by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The bridge over the Minho is essentially of Roman date, though many repairs over the centuries have effaced its Roman character. The population of the city in 2010 was 97,635 inhabitants, growing constantly since the first census in 1842, the population of the city in 2014 was 98,560 inhabitants. From INE In 2010 there were 5,373 foreigners living in the city, the main nationalities are Colombians, Moroccans and Brazilians. By language, according to 2008 data,47. 37% of the population speaks always or mainly in Galician,52. 63% speaks always or mainly in Spanish, the town lies on a hill surrounded by the rivers Minho, Rato and Chanca. The municipality of Lugo is the second largest in Galicia, with 329.78 square kilometres and 59 parishes, Lugo has a humid oceanic climate with drier summers, Cfsb in the Köppen climate classification. Due to its remoteness from the Atlantic, its annual precipitation of 1,084 millimetres can be considered low compared with areas of the Rias Baixas and Santiago de Compostela. The highest temperature recorded in history,39.6 °C, occurred in August 1961, the city has an average of six days of snow per year, which is a contrast to coastal cities of Galicia which have not received snow in modern times
15.
Bologna
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Bologna is the largest city of the Emilia-Romagna Region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy, located in the heart of an area of about one million. The first settlements back to at least 1000 BC. The city has been a centre, first under the Etruscans. Home to the oldest university in the world, University of Bologna, founded in 1088, Bologna is also an important transportation crossroad for the roads and trains of Northern Italy, where many important mechanical, electronic and nutritional industries have their headquarters. According to the most recent data gathered by the European Regional Economic Growth Index of 2009, Bologna is the first Italian city, Bologna is home to numerous prestigious cultural, economic and political institutions as well as one of the most impressive trade fair districts in Europe. In 2000 it was declared European capital of culture and in 2006, the city of Bologna was selected to participate in the Universal Exposition of Shanghai 2010 together with 45 other cities from around the world. Bologna is also one of the wealthiest cities in Italy, often ranking as one of the top cities in terms of quality of life in the country, after a long decline, Bologna was reborn in the 5th century under Bishop Petronius. According to legend, St. Petronius built the church of S. Stefano. After the fall of Rome, Bologna was a stronghold of the Exarchate of Ravenna in the Po plain. In 728, the city was captured by the Lombard king Liutprand, the Germanic conquerors formed a district called addizione longobarda near the complex of S. Stefano. Charlemagne stayed in this district in 786, traditionally said to be founded in 1088, the University of Bologna is widely considered to be the first university. The university originated as a centre of study of medieval Roman law under major glossators. It numbered Dante, Boccaccio and Petrarca among its students, the medical school is especially famous. In the 12th century, the families engaged in continual internecine fighting. Troops of Pope Julius II besieged Bologna and sacked the artistic treasures of his palace, in 1530, in front of Saint Petronio Church, Charles V was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Clement VII. Then a plague at the end of the 16th century reduced the population from 72,000 to 59,000, the population later recovered to a stable 60, 000–65,000. However, there was also great progress during this era, in 1564, the Piazza del Nettuno and the Palazzo dei Banchi were built, along with the Archiginnasio, the centre of the University
16.
Accademia Filarmonica of Bologna
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The Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna is a music education institution in Bologna, Italy. The Accademia de Filarmonici was founded as an association of musicians in Bologna in 1666 by Vincenzo Maria Carrati, saint Anthony of Padua was chosen as the patron saint, and an organ with the motto Unitate melos as the emblem. Through the influence of Pietro Ottoboni, the statute of the academy was approved by Clement XI in 1716, in 1749 the Benedict XIV decreed that the Accademia could award the title of Maestro di cappella. LAccademia Filarmonica di Bologna, 1666-1966, volume I, Fondazione e vicende storiche
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Jean-Baptiste Lully
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Jean-Baptiste Lully was an Italian-born French composer, instrumentalist, and dancer who spent most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV of France. He is considered a master of the French baroque style, Lully disavowed any Italian influence in French music of the period. He became a French subject in 1661, Lully was born on November 28,1632 in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, to a family of millers. His general education and his training during his youth in Florence remain uncertain. He used to say that a Franciscan friar gave him his first music lessons and he also learned to play the violin. Guise took the boy to Paris, where the fourteen-year-old entered Mademoiselles service and he probably honed his musical skills by working with Mademoiselles household musicians and with composers Nicolas Métru, François Roberday and Nicolas Gigault. The teenagers talents as a guitarist, violinist, and dancer quickly won him the nicknames Baptiste, when Mademoiselle was exiled to the provinces in 1652 after the rebellion known as the Fronde, Lully begged his leave. Because he did not want to live in the country, by February 1653 Lully had attracted the attention of young Louis XIV, dancing with him in the Ballet royal de la nuit. By March 16,1653, Lully had been made royal composer for instrumental music and his vocal and instrumental music for court ballets gradually made him indispensable. In 1660 and 1662 he collaborated on performances of Francesco Cavallis Xerse. When Louis XIV took over the reins of government in 1661, in December 1661 the Florentine was granted letters of naturalization. The latter assertion was an untruth, from 1661 on, the trios and dances he wrote for the court were promptly published. When he became surintendant de la de la chambre du roi in 1661. He relied mainly on the Little Violins for court ballets and their collaboration began in earnest in 1664 with Le Mariage forcé. In 1672 Lully broke with Molière, who turned to Marc-Antoine Charpentier, having acquired Pierre Perrins opera privilege, Lully became the director of the Académie Royale de Musique, that is, the royal opera, which performed in the Palais-Royal. Between 1673 and 1687 he produced a new opera almost yearly and fiercely protected his monopoly over that new genre, after Queen Marie-Thérèses death in 1683 and the kings secret marriage to Mme de Maintenon, devotion came to the fore at court. The kings enthusiasm for opera dissipated, he was revolted by Lullys dissolute life, in 1686, to show his displeasure, Louis XIV made a point of not inviting Lully to perform Armide at Versailles. Lully died from gangrene, having struck his foot with his conducting staff during a performance of his Te Deum to celebrate Louis XIVs recovery from surgery
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Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Francophone Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of the 18th century. His political philosophy influenced the Enlightenment in France and across Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolution, Rousseaus novel Emile, or On Education is a treatise on the education of the whole person for citizenship. His sentimental novel Julie, or the New Heloise was of importance to the development of pre-romanticism and romanticism in fiction and his Discourse on Inequality and The Social Contract are cornerstones in modern political and social thought. During the period of the French Revolution, Rousseau was the most popular of the philosophes among members of the Jacobin Club and he was interred as a national hero in the Panthéon in Paris, in 1794,16 years after his death. Rousseau was born in Geneva, which was at the time a city-state, since 1536, Geneva had been a Huguenot republic and the seat of Calvinism. Rousseau was proud that his family, of the order, had voting rights in the city. Throughout his life, he signed his books Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Geneva, in theory, was governed democratically by its male voting citizens, the citizens were a minority of the population when compared to the immigrants, referred to as inhabitants, whose descendants were called natives and continued to lack suffrage. There was much debate within Geneva, extending down to the tradespeople. Much discussion was over the idea of the sovereignty of the people, in 1707, a democratic reformer named Pierre Fatio protested this situation, saying a sovereign that never performs an act of sovereignty is an imaginary being. He was shot by order of the Little Council, Jean-Jacques Rousseaus father, Isaac, was not in the city at this time, but Jean-Jacquess grandfather supported Fatio and was penalized for it. The trade of watchmaking had become a tradition by the time of Rousseaus father. Isaac followed his grandfather, father and brothers into the business, Isaac, notwithstanding his artisan status, was well educated and a lover of music. A Genevan watchmaker, Rousseau wrote, is a man who can be introduced anywhere, in 1699, Isaac ran into political difficulty by entering a quarrel with visiting English officers, who in response drew their swords and threatened him. After local officials stepped in, it was Isaac who was punished, Rousseaus mother, Suzanne Bernard Rousseau, was from an upper-class family. She was raised by her uncle Samuel Bernard, a Calvinist preacher and he cared for Suzanne after her father Jacques died in his early thirties. In 1695, Suzanne had to answer charges that she had attended a street theater disguised as a peasant woman so she could gaze upon M. Vincent Sarrasin, after a hearing, she was ordered by the Genevan Consistory to never interact with him again. She married Rousseaus father at the age of 31, isaacs sister had married Suzannes brother eight years earlier, after she had become pregnant and they had been chastised by the Consistory
19.
Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
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Maximilian II, also known as Max Emanuel or Maximilian Emanuel, was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and a Kurfürst of the Holy Roman Empire. He was also the last governor of the Spanish Netherlands and duke of Luxembourg, an able soldier, his ambition led to conflicts that limited his ultimate dynastic achievements. He was born in Munich to Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria and his maternal grandparents were Victor Amadeus I of Savoy and Christine Marie of France, daughter of King Henri IV. Maximilian inherited the mantle while still a minor in 1679. By 1683 he was embarked on a military career, fighting in the defense of Vienna against the attempt of the Ottoman Empire to extend their possessions further into Europe. He returned to court for long enough to marry Maria Antonia, daughter of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor and Margaret Theresa of Spain, on July 15,1685 in Vienna, Austria. This marriage was unhappy since the couple disliked each other. Maximilian Emanuels fame was assured when, in 1688, he led the capture of Belgrade from the Turks and his Netherlands adventure catalyzed Maximilian Emanuels dynastic ambitions. However, he concentrated his interests in Western Europe, making his sons by Theresa Kunegunda Sobieska, Charles Albert and Clemens August, Maximilian Emanuel was one of many who sought to claim the Spanish throne pending the death of Charles II of Spain. In 1699 Maximilian Emanuels first son, Joseph Ferdinand, died, by the outbreak of the War of the Spanish Succession in 1701, he had developed a plan for the Wittelsbachs to supplant the Habsburgs as Holy Roman Emperors. However, when Theresa Kunegunda had found love letters of the Countess of Arco, the army would not allow her to return. Bavaria was partitioned between Austria and Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine, leading to bloody uprisings of the people against the Austrian imperial troops, in 1712* Luxembourg and Namur were ceded to Maximilian Emanuel by his French allies. The war was ended in 1713 in the Treaty of Utrecht which restored Maximilian Emanuel. Only in 1715 was the family re-united in Munich, back in Bavaria, Maximilian Emanuel focused on architecture projects to balance the failure of his political ambitions. It was bitter for him to witness the royal elevation of the German princes Augustus II the Strong, Frederick I of Prussia, Maximilian Emanuel then supported the new wars of the Habsburg against the Turks with Bavarian auxiliary forces. In 1724 he created a union of all lines of the Wittelsbach dynasty to increase the influence of his house, the crown of the Holy Roman Empire was sought for either Max Emanuel or his son Charles Albert. Already in 1722 Charles Albert had been married to the Habsburg princess Maria Amalia of Austria, in 1726, Max Emanuel died of a stroke. He is buried in the crypt of the Theatinerkirche in Munich, during his entire reign Maximilian II Emanuel patronized the arts
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Jan Frans van Douven
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Jan Frans van Douven, or Johan Francois Douven, was a Southern Netherlandish portrait painter belonging to the Dutch Leyden School. Born in Roermond, he spent most of his life as Court painter in Düsseldorf, now in Germany, according to Houbraken, his father Gerard Douven was a canon priest in the Roermond chapter and had spent several years in Rome, where he learned to appreciate art. He gave his enthusiasm to his son taught him Latin by age eleven and his father died young however, and his mother apprenticed him for two years in Liege under the supervision of the painter Gabriel Lambertin. When his cousin, the painter Chistopher Puitlink, returned from his Rome journey and his work was noticed by Don Jan Dellano Velasco, the minister of finance in Roermond for Charles II of Spain. He spent 3 years working for him, copying the works of Roman painters for his large painting cabinet, according to the RKD, he was the nephew of his teacher Christoffel Puytlinck, and the father of the painter Frans Bartholomeus Douven. In 1682 he moved to Düsseldorf, as the painter of the Court of Elector Palatine of Rhineland. Starting from 1682 he worked on a series of paintings ordered by Elector Palatine and these paintings depict scenes from the quotidian life of the Prince and his second wife, Anna Maria Luisa de Medici. Van Douven played a role in the establishment of the Painting Gallery of the Palace of Düsseldorf. Van Douven also travelled to Vienna, accompanying the Elector Palatine on a journey, on this occasion he painted the portraits of the Emperor and the Empress. He also painted portraits of princes and aristocrats or celebrities. Biografias y Vidas, Jan Frans van Douven International Auctioneers, Jan Frans van Douven
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San Giovanni dei Fiorentini
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San Giovanni dei Fiorentini is a minor basilica and a titular church in the Ponte rione of Rome, Italy. The main façade fronts onto the Via Giulia, julius IIs successor, the Florentine Pope Leo X de Medici initiated the architectural competition for a new church in 1518 on the site of the old church of San Pantaleo. Designs were put forward by a number of architects, among them Baldassare Peruzzi, Jacopo Sansovino, Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, the dominant initial ideas were for a centralised church arrangement. Sansovino won the competition but the construction was subsequently executed by Sangallo. In 1559, Michelangelo was asked by Cosimo I de Medici, Duke of Tuscany, to designs for the church and he presented a centralised church arrangement. The main construction of the church was carried out in 1583-1602 under the architect Giacomo della Porta based on the Latin cross arrangement, carlo Maderno took over from 1602 to 1620, and directed construction of the dome and the main body of the church completed. However, the main façade, based on a design by Alessandro Galilei, was not finished until 1734, in 1623-24 Giovanni Lanfranco produced paintings for the Sacchetti chapel. In 1634, the Baroque painter and architect Pietro da Cortona was asked by the Florentine nobleman Orazio Falconieri to design the high altar, drawings for the altar and its setting and a model were prepared but the project was not carried out. After Borromini died in 1667, the work was completed and partly modified by Cortona and on his death in 1669, by Ciro Ferri, Cortona’s pupil and associate. By a decree of Pope John XXIII of 12 March 1960 and they were, Joseph-Charles Lefèbvre appointed on 28 March 1960 - died 2 April 1973. Juan Carlos Aramburu appointed on 24 May 1976 - died 18 Nov 2004, carlo Caffarra appointed on 24 March 2006. - present Francesco Borromini is buried under the dome
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San Luigi dei Francesi
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The Church of St. Louis of the French is a Roman Catholic church in Rome, not far from Piazza Navona. The church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, to St. Denis the Areopagite and St. Louis IX and it is the national church in Rome of France. The current Cardinal-Priest of the Titulus S. Ludovici Francorum de Urbe is André Vingt-Trois, when the Saracens burned the Abbey of Farfa in 898, a group of refugees settled in Rome. Some monks remained in Rome even after their abbot Ratfredus rebuilt the abbey, by the end of the tenth century, the Abbey of Farfa owned in Rome churches, houses, windmills and vineyards. A bull of Holy Roman Emperor Otto III in 998 confirms the property of three churches, Santa Maria, San Benedetto and the oratorio of San Salvatore. When they ceded their property to the Medici family in 1480, Cardinal Giulio di Giuliano de Medici commissioned Jean de Chenevière to build a church for the French community in 1518. Chenevières design was for an octagonal, centrally planned edifice, the church was consecrated by the Cardinal François de Joyeuse, Protector of France before the Holy See, on 8 October 1589. The interior was restored by Antoine Dérizet between 1749 and 1756, the foundation Pieux Etablissements de la France à Rome et à Lorette is responsible for the five French churches in Rome and apartment buildings in Rome and in Loreto. The foundation is governed by a deputy named by the French Ambassador to the Holy See. Giacomo della Porta made the façade as a piece of work entirely independent of the body of the structure. The French character is evident from the façade itself, which has several statues recalling national history, the interior also has frescoes by Charles-Joseph Natoire recounting stories of Saint Louis IX, Saint Denis and Clovis. Domenichino painted here one of his masterworks, the frescoes portraying the Histories of Saint Cecilia, the churchs most famous treasure is, however, the cycle of paintings in the Contarelli Chapel, painted by the Baroque master Caravaggio in 1599–1600 about the life of St. Matthew. This includes the three world-renowned canvases of The Calling of St Matthew, The Inspiration of Saint Matthew, there is also the tomb of Pauline de Beaumont, who died of consumption in Rome in 1805, erected by her lover Chateaubriand. The inscriptions found in San Luigi dei Francesi, a valuable source illustrating the history of the church, have collected and published by Vincenzo Forcella. Adjacent to the church is the late-Baroque Ospizio San Luigi dei Francesi and it was built in 1709–1716 as a place to stay for the French religious community and pilgrims without resources. Its porch has a bust of Christ whose face is identified as Cesare Borgias. The interior houses a gallery with portraits of the French kings, the Church of S. Louis was designated as a cardinalatial titulus on 7 June 1967, by Pope Paul VI. Pierre Veuillot François Marty Jean-Marie Lustiger André Armand Vingt-Trois Patrizia Tosini, Natalia Gozzano, calogero Bellanca, Oliva Muratore, O. Muratore, Una didattica per il restauro II, esperienze a San Luigi dei Francesi e San Nicola dei Lorenesi
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House of Chigi
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The Chigi family is a Roman princely family of Sienese extraction descended from the counts of Ardenghesca, which possessed castles in the Maremma, southern Tuscany. The earliest authentic mention of them is in the 13th century, with one Alemanno, the first very prominent member was Mariano, a banker and two times ambassador of Siena to the Popes Alexander VI and Julius II. He founded the Roman branch of the family, the branch was started by his brother. Agostino Chigi was the most famous member of the family during the Renaissance and he became an immensely rich banker, and built the palace and gardens afterwards known as the Farnesina, decorated by Raphael, and was noted for the splendour of his entertainments. Pope Julius II made him practically his finance minister and gave him the privilege of quartering his own arms with those of the Chigi, Cardinal Fabio Chigi, on being elected pope as Alexander VII at the Conclave of 1655, conferred the Roman patriciate on his family. His elder brother Mario, last commander of the Corsican Guard in Rome and his brother Augusto continued the line in Rome. Augustos son Agostino was made Reichsfurst by Leopold I in 1659, Agostino married Maria Virginia Borghese, and acquired the principates of Farnese, Campagnano and Ariccia, where a famous palazzo bearing the family name still exists. The pope also had two nephews who became cardinals, Flavio I, who was his Cardinal-Nephew and one of the art collectors of the family and built the Villa Cetinale in 1680. During the 18th century, Flavio II became cardinal, on the marriage in 1735 of another Agostino Chigi with Giulia Albani, heiress of the Albani, a Venetian patrician family, said to be of Albanian origin, her name was added to that of Chigi. Prince Sigismondo Chigi Albani della Rovere, Prince of Campagnano, had a son, Don Mario Chigi, and four daughters. Prince Sigismondos brother, Flavio III, became a Cardinal on December 22,1873 with the title of Santa Maria del Popolo, Prince Mario Chigi Albani della Rovere succeeded his father in 1877 and served as Marshal of the Holy Roman Church at the Conclave of 1878. He married Antonietta, the daughter of Prince Louis of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn in 1857 and they had three children, Agostino, Ludovico and Eleonora. Prince Ludovico Chigi Albani della Rovere, son of Prince Mario, in 1893 he married Donna Anna Aldobrandini, Princess of Sarsina, they had three children, Sigismondo, Petro and Laura. Prince Ludovico was Marshal of both the conclave of 1922 and that of 1939, Prince Sigismondo Chigi, Hereditary Marshal of the Holy Roman Church, was the son of Prince Ludovico Chigi Albani della Rovere and Donna Anna Aldobrandini, princess of Sarsina. He had one son, Don Agostino Chigi Albani della Rovere and one daughter and he was the Marshal of the Conclave both in 1958 and 1963. The office, to which the Chigi had succeeded after the extinction of the Savelli in 1712, was abolished by Pope Paul VI in a motu proprio, Pontificalis Domus, the family owns large estates at Siena. The family palace on the Via del Corso in Rome is currently seat of the Italian government, another Palazzo Chigi in Ariccia is now a museum and site for meetings. The familys mausoleum is in the Chigi Chapel of the Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome, annuario della nobilta italiana Anno I
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Santi Domenico e Sisto
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The Church of Santi Domenico e Sisto is one of the titular churches in Rome, Italy in the care of the Roman Catholic Order of Preachers, better known as the Dominicans. It is located at no.1 Largo Angelicum on the Quirinal Hill on the campus of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, cottier studied theology and philosophy at the Angelicum obtaining a baccalaurate in philosophy and completing his licentiate in theology in 1952. The first church at the site, Santa Maria a Magnanapoli, was sometime before the year 1000. The present church was built at the order of Dominican Pope Pius V, construction on the church began in 1569 and on a convent for Dominican nuns in 1575. The original plan was the work of Giacomo della Porta though during the construction period that stretched until 1663 several other architects were involved. The lower part of the church was designed by Nicola Torriani, della Greca constructed the Baroque travertine façade in 1646, with his brother Felice. The two lower statues representing St. Thomas Aquinas and Saint Peter of Verona are by Carlo Maderno, the two upper statues representing Saint Dominic and Saint Pope Sixtus II are by Marcantonio Canini. The exterior double staircase built in 1654 is the design of architect Orazio Torriani, in 1649 Gian Lorenzo Bernini made designs for this church including the high altar and the first chapel on the right upon entering. The altar of this chapel and the sculpture group Noli me tangere were executed by Berninis pupil Antonio Raggi on the designs by Bernini, the ceiling painting of the Apotheosis of St Dominic was produced in 1674 by Domenico Maria Canuti, with trompe loeil framing by Enrico Haffner. The altarpiece in the chapel on the south side, by Pier Francesco Mola. In the second chapel on the side is Francesco Allegrinis 1532 The Mystical Marriage of St Catherine. In the third chapel on the side is the 1460 Madonna and Child by Benozzo Gozzoli. The church has functioned as the university church for the Pontifical University of St, the church is used to celebrate the solemn inauguration of each academic year, the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas and the official closing of the academic year. It closes during the summer break except for the feast of St. Dominic on 7 August. Other than during public functions, visits need to be arranged by prior appointment, the church has been the subject of or appeared in numerous works of art. In 1906, American painter John Singer Sargent completed an oil painting of the exterior staircase, Sargent described the ensemble as a magnificent curved staircase and balustrade, leading to a grand façade that would reduce a millionaire to a worm. Sargent used the architectural features from this later in a portrait of Charles William Eliot. Sargent also made several preliminary sketches of the balustrade and staircase
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San Marcello al Corso
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San Marcello al Corso, a church in Rome, Italy, is a titular church whose cardinal-protector normally holds the rank of cardinal-priest. The church, dedicated to Pope Marcellus I, is located just inset from Via del Corso, in ancient times called via Lata, and it stands diagonal from the church of Santa Maria in Via Lata and two doors from the Oratory of Santissimo Crocifisso. While the tradition holds that the church was built over the prison of Pope Marcellus I, it is known that the Titulus Marcelli was present no later than 418, the Septiformis litany, commanded by Pope Gregory I in 590, saw the men moving from San Marcello. Pope Adrian I, in the 8th century, built a church on the same place, the corpse of Cola di Rienzo was held in the church for three days after his execution in 1354. On 22 May 1519, a fire destroyed the church, the money collected for its rebuilding was used to bribe the landsknechts, who were pillaging the city during the Sack of Rome. The original plan to rebuild the church was designed by Jacopo Sansovino, the work was continued by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, who rebuilt the church, but a Tiber flood damaged it again in 1530. It was only in 1592–1597 that the church was completed with a facade by Carlo Fontana, the exterior travertine statues were sculpted by Francesco Cavallini, and the stucco bas-relief over the entrance, with depicts San Filippo Benizio, was created by Antonio Raggi. Benizio had been a member of the Servite order, under the main altar, decorated with 12th century opus sectile, are the relics of several saints, which include those of Pope Marcellus as well as Digna and Emerita. The last chapel on the left is dedicated to St Philip Benizi, the late-Baroque decoration contains sculptures by Francesco Cavallini and reliefs by Ercole Ferrata and Antonio Raggi. The first chapel on the left has the tomb of Cardinal Giovanni Michiel. Behind the facade is a Crucifixion by Giovanni Battista Ricci, the tomb of Cardinal Cennino was sculpted by Giovanni Francesco deRossi. Along the right, the first chapel of Marchese Maccarani holds an Annunciation by Lazzaro Baldi, inside of the chapel has busts of Muzio, Roberto, Lelio Frangipane by Alessandro Algardi. In the third chapel on the left is a Doloroso by Pietro Paolo Naldini, Sacrifice of Isaac and discovery of Moses by Domenico Corvi, in the first, Madonna, the church is administered and owned by the Servite Order since 1369. San Marcello al Corso, Chris Nyborg, descrizione delle Pitture, Sculture e Architetture esposte in Roma. GCatholic Media related to San Marcello al Corso at Wikimedia Commons
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Christina, Queen of Sweden
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Christina reigned as Queen of Sweden from 1632 to 1654. She was the surviving legitimate child of King Gustav II Adolph. At the age of six, Christina succeeded her father on the throne upon his death at the Battle of Lützen, Christina is remembered as one of the most educated women of the 1600s. She was fond of books, manuscripts, paintings, and sculptures, with her interest in religion, philosophy, mathematics and alchemy, she attracted many scientists to Stockholm, wanting the city to become the Athens of the North. She was intelligent, fickle and moody, she rejected what the role of a woman was at the time. She caused a scandal when she decided not to marry and in 1654 when she abdicated her throne and she changed her name from Kristina Augusta Wasa, adopting the name Christina Alexandra. At the age of 28, the Minerva of the North moved to Rome, the Pope described Christina as a queen without a realm, a Christian without faith, and a woman without shame. Notwithstanding all that, she became a leader of the theatrical and musical life and protected many Baroque artists, composers, being the guest of five consecutive popes, and a symbol of the Counter Reformation, she is one of the few women buried in the Vatican grotto. Her unconventional lifestyle and masculine dressing and behavior have been featured in novels, plays, opera. In all the biographies on Christina her gender and cultural identity play an important role, Christina was born in the royal castle Tre Kronor. The king had already sired two daughters – a nameless princess stillborn in 1620 and then the first princess Christina, who was born in 1623, excited expectation surrounded Maria Eleonoras third pregnancy in 1626. When the baby was born it was first thought to be a boy as it was hairy and screamed, with a strong and she later wrote in her autobiography that, Deep embarrassment spread among the women when they discovered their mistake. The king, though, was happy, stating, Shell be clever. From most accounts, Gustav Adolf appears to have been attached to his daughter. Her mother remained disappointed that Christina was a girl and her mother, of the House of Hohenzollern, was a woman of quite distraught temperament and was melancholic. It is possible she was insane, after the king died on 6 November 1632 on the battlefield, his corpse was brought home in a coffin, with his heart in a separate box. Maria Eleonora ordered that the king should not be buried until she could be buried with him and she also demanded that the coffin be kept open, and went to see it regularly, patting it and taking no notice of the putrefaction. Eventually, the embarrassed Chancellor, Axel Oxenstierna, saw no other solution than to have a guard posted at the room to prevent further episodes, as a result, he was not buried until 22 June 1634, more than eighteen months later
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Pietro Ottoboni (cardinal)
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Pietro Ottoboni was an Italian cardinal and grandnephew of Pope Alexander VIII. He is remembered especially as a patron of music and art. Ottoboni was the last person to hold the office of Cardinal-nephew. Ottoboni loved pomp, prodigality and sensual pleasure, but was in the same kind, ready to serve. Pietro was born in Venice to the noble Ottoboni family, whose most prominent member had been his granduncle Pope Alexander VIII, the family had bought their way into Venetian nobility in the 17th century. He received the tonsure and the minor orders on 20 October 1689 and was created cardinal deacon in the consistory of 7 November 1689. He was superintendent general of the affairs of the Apostolic See and he held the office of vice-chancellor of the Holy Roman Church from 14 November 1689 until 29 February 1740. He was cardinal-bishop of Sabina 1725, cardinal-bishop of Frascati,1730, Cardinal-bishop of Porto and Santa Rufina,1734, Ottoboni was also Archpriest of the patriarchal Liberian Basilica, secretary of the Roman Inquisition, Archpriest of the patriarchal Lateran Basilica and Grand prior of Ireland. Ottoboni was one of the patrons of his generation. He resided in the Palazzo della Cancelleria, where he had begun to construct a theatre in 1689, the favourite of Cardinal Ottoboni, Andrea Adami, a castrato, was appointed master of the papal choir in the Sistine Chapel. Between 1709 and 1710 Filippo Juvarra entered the court and enlarged the theatre, domenico Paradisi and Angelo de Rossi were responsible for decoration of the palace suites. Ottoboni supported Arcangelo Corelli, the finest violinist of his generation, through these concerts, Corelli was introduced to Handel. Other protégés of the cardinal were Alessandro Scarlatti, Antonio Vivaldi, as his father Antonio Ottoboni also did, Pietro Ottoboni wrote texts of cantatas, and librettos for oratorios, such as for Scarlattis La Giuditta of 1693. When opera was banned in Rome, performances withdrew to Ottobonis Cancelleria and his triumphal return to Venice in 1726 was celebrated with musical festivities that included a serenata Andromeda liberata, with arias contributed by various Venetian masters, including Vivaldi. One of his most important commissions was the Seven Sacraments executed in 1712 by Giuseppe Maria Crespi, in 1735 he donated his Roman sculptures and other antiquities to the Capitoline Museums. The last decade of Ottobinis life was his most active as a patron, Ottoboni was considered papabile, but left the conclave with a fever. His heirs took advantage of the vacant papacy and removed everything portable from the Cancelleria, there is a full description of the cardinals paintings, which locates them by room. It presents a picture of his extensive acquisitions over a period of fifty years
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Pope Alexander VIII
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Pope Alexander VIII, born Pietro Vito Ottoboni, was Pope from 6 October 1689 to his death in 1691. He is the last pope to take the name of Alexander upon his election to the papacy. Pietro Vito Ottoboni was born in 1610 of a noble Venetian family and his early studies were made with marked brilliancy at the University of Padua where, in 1627, he earned a doctorate in canon and civil law. He also served as the auditor of the Sacred Roman Rota, Pope Innocent X appointed him to the cardinalate and in 1652 at the request of the Venetian government and he was made the Cardinal-Priest of San Salvatore in Lauro. He was appointed as Bishop of Brescia in 1654 and later received episcopal consecration in the church of San Marco in Rome and he would spend a quiet decade in his diocese. He opted to be Cardinal-Priest of San Marco in 1660 and resigned as Bishop of Brescia in 1664, Ottoboni also opted to become Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria in Trastevere in 1677 and later as Cardinal-Priest of Santa Prassede in 1680. He later became the Cardinal-Bishop of Sabina in 1681 and then to Frascati in 1683 and his last swap was that of Porto e Santa Rufina in 1687. Ottoboni was also the Vice-Dean of the College of Cardinals from 1687 to his pontifical election and he chose the pontifical name of Alexander VIII in gratitude to Cardinal Flavio Chigi, the nephew of Pope Alexander VII, who also had helped support his candidacy. Ottoboni was crowned as pontiff on 16 October 1689 by the protodeacon Cardinal Francesco Maidalchini, old but of a strong constitution, Alexander VIII was said to be an able diplomat. During his brief pontificate he managed to destroy most of his predecessors good work, all the money saved by Innocent XI was spent on enriching the Ottoboni family and to a cardinal he said, I have no time to lose, for me the day is almost done. Alexander VIII was almost an octogenarian when elected to the papacy, charities on a large scale and unbounded nepotism exhausted the papal treasury, reversing the policies of his predecessor. His nephew Giovanni Rubin was made secretary of state and bishop of Vicenza, out of compassion for the poor of the impoverished Papal States, he sought to help them by reducing taxes. He bought the books and manuscripts of Queen Christina of Sweden for the Vatican Library, Alexander VIII assisted his native Venice by generous subsidies in the war against the Turks, as well as sending seven galleys and 2,000 infantry for the campaign in Albania. In 1690 he condemned the doctrines of the so-called philosophical sin and he also held three consistories that saw 14 new cardinals elevated. Alexander VIII confirmed the cultus of Kinga of Poland on 11 June 1690 which served as the beatification, on 16 October 1690, he canonized several saints, Ss. Pascal Baylon, Lorenzo Giustiniani, John of Sahagun, John of God, Alexander VIII died on 1 February 1691. His grandiose tomb in St. Peters was commissioned by his grandnephew, Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni, the bas-relief at the base and the flanking figures were sculpted by Angelo de Rossi, while the bronze statue of the pope was cast by Giuseppe Bertosi. Cardinals created by Alexander VIII Rendina, Claudio, attribution This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Alexander
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Modena
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Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. One of Ferraris cars, the 360 Modena, was named after the town itself, the University of Modena, founded in 1175 and expanded by Francesco II dEste in 1686, has traditional strengths in economics, medicine and law and is the second oldest athenaeum in Italy. Italian military officers are trained at the Military Academy of Modena, the Biblioteca Estense houses historical volumes and 3,000 manuscripts. The Cathedral of Modena, the Torre della Ghirlandina and Piazza Grande are a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997, Modena is also known in culinary circles for its production of balsamic vinegar. Modena lies on the Pianura Padana, and is bounded by the two rivers Secchia and Panaro, both affluents of the Po River and their presence is symbolized by the Two Rivers Fountain in the citys center, by Giuseppe Graziosi. The city is connected to the Panaro by the Naviglio channel, the Apennines begin some 10 kilometres from the city, to the south. The commune is divided into four circoscrizioni and these are, Centro storico Crocetta Buon Pastore San Faustino Modena has a humid subtropical climate, with an average annual precipitation of 809 millimetres. Summers are warm and winters are chilly and wetter, with the possibility of snowfall and this climate is described by the Köppen climate classification as Cfa. From 1945 to 1992, Modena had a consecutive series of Communist mayors. From the 1990s, the city has been governed by center-left coalitions, at the April 2006 elections, the city of Modena gave about 50% of its votes to the Democratic Party. The legislative body of the municipality is the City Council which is composed by 35 members elected every five years, Modenas executive body is the City Committee composed by 9 assessors, the deputy-mayor and the mayor. The current mayor of Modena is Giancarlo Muzzarelli, member of the Democratic Party of Italy, the territory around Modena was inhabited by the Villanovans in the Iron Age, and later by Ligurian tribes, Etruscans, and the Gaulish Boii. Livy described it as a fortified citadel where Roman magistrates took shelter, the outcome of the siege is not known, but the city was most likely abandoned after Hannibals arrival. Mutina was refounded as a Roman colony in 183 BC, to be used as a base by Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. In the 1st century BC Mutina was besieged twice, the first siege was by Pompey in 78 BC, when Mutina was defended by Marcus Junius Brutus. The city eventually surrendered out of hunger, and Brutus fled, in the civil war following Caesars assassination, the city was besieged again, this time by Mark Antony, in 44 BC, and defended by Decimus Junius Brutus. Octavian relieved the city with the help of the Senate, cicero called it Mutina splendidissima in his Philippics. It is said that Mutina was never sacked by Attila, for a dense fog hid it, as of December 2008, Italian researchers have discovered the pottery center where the oil lamps that lit the ancient Roman empire were made
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Francesco Geminiani
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Francesco Saverio Geminiani was an Italian violinist, composer, and music theorist. Born at Lucca, he received lessons in music from Alessandro Scarlatti, from 1707 he took the place of his father in the Cappella Palatina of Lucca. From 1711, he led the orchestra at Naples, as Leader of the Opera Orchestra and concertmaster. In 1715 Geminiani played his violin concerti for the court of George I, in the mid 1720s he became a freemason in London, notably as a leading member of the short-lived lodge Philo-musicae at -architecturae societas at the Queens Head tavern on Fleet Street. He seems to have retained his masonic connections thereafter, 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 careers, such as Charles Avison, Matthew Dubourg, Michael Christian Festing, Bernhard Joachim Hagen. See, List of music students by teacher, G to J#Francesco Geminiani, after visiting Paris and residing 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 manuscript on which he had bestowed much time. His vexation at this loss is said to have hastened his death and 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 and his Italian pupils reportedly called him Il Furibondo, the Madman, because of his expressive rhythms. These works are deeply contrapuntal to please a London audience still in love with Corelli, Geminiani also reworked his teacher Corellis Opp. 1,3 and 5 into concerti grossi and his Guida harmonica is one of the most unusual harmony treatises of the late Baroque, serving as a sort of encyclopedia of basso continuo patterns and realizations. 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, lessons for the Harpsichord, Art of Playing the Guitar or Cittra and some other works. Geminianis compositions are noted for their imagination, expression, and warmth, Charles Burney took Geminiani to task for irregular melodic structure. Hawkins, on the hand, was of the opinion that Geminianis approach represented an important advance in composition. It is observable upon the works of Geminiani, that his modulations are not only original, hawkins, Sir John, A General History of the Science and Practice of Music Vol.5, T. Payne & Sons, London,1776. This entry incorporates corrected and expanded material originally from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, vita of Francesco Geminiani Free scores by Francesco Geminiani at the International Music Score Library Project Free scores by Francesco Geminiani in the Choral Public Domain Library
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Pietro Locatelli
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Pietro Antonio Locatelli was an Italian Baroque composer and violinist. Little is known about Locatellis childhood, in his early youth he was the third violinist and held the title of virtuoso in the cappella musicale of the church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Bergamo. His first violin teachers were probably Ludovico Ferronati and Carlo Antonio Marino, the maestro di cappella, Francesco Ballarotti, may have taught him composition. In autumn 1711 Locatelli went to Rome to seek greater recognition, Locatelli began studying in Rome in autumn 1711, probably under Antonio Montanari or Giuseppe Valentini and perhaps for a short time under Arcangelo Corelli, who died in January 1713. Between 1716 and 1722, Locatelli was also a member of the congregazione generale dei musici di S. Cecilia and he also assisted other Roman noble houses, often including that of Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni in the church of San Lorenzo e San Damaso, probably until 7 February 1723. While in Rome, Locatelli debuted as a composer, in 1721 his XII Concerti grossi, Op.1, dedicated to Camillo Cybo, was published in Amsterdam. From 1723 to 1728 Locatelli travelled through Italy and Germany, Mantua, Venice, Munich, Dresden, Berlin, Frankfurt and Kassel are the only places he is known to have visited. Most of his compositions, including the violin concertos and the capricci, were probably written in this period. They were published later in Amsterdam and it is believed that his performances made him famous, but almost no source attests to his attaining high virtuosity. Locatellis activity at the court of the regent of Mantua, the landgrave Philipp von Hessen-Darmstadt, is attested by a 1725 document in which the refers to him as our virtuoso. How often and in what capacity Locatelli performed at court is not known. Also unknown is the time of his activity in Venice, although he went there. One notice describes Locatellis visit to Munich, on 26 June 1727, the foreign virtuoso Locatelli was paid twelve double golden guilder by the electors director of music. Just one year later, in May 1728, Locatelli visited the Prussian court in Berlin and he moved from Dresden to Potsdam with Augustus II and the electors escort of about 500 people, including Johann Georg Pisendel, Johann Joachim Quantz and Silvius Leopold Weiss. A notice about Locatellis performance before Frederick William I anecdotically describes the musicians self-assurance and his vanity in wearing gorgeous, the aristocratic listeners may have preferred Johann Gottlieb Grauns violin playing to Locatellis. According to an entry in a rich autograph collectors records, Locatelli was living in Frankfurt on 20 October 1728, the entry includes a miniature version of the Andante from Sonata III, Op.2, for piano. Locatellis last known stop was in Kassel, where he received the high payment of 80 reichsthaler after his visit to Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel. The organist Jacob Wilhelm Lustig stated in 1728 that Locatelli had astonished his listeners with hugely difficult passages while scraping at his violin, in 1729 Locatelli moved to Amsterdam, where he stayed until his death
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Pietro Castrucci
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Pietro Castrucci was an Italian violinist and composer. Castrucci was born in Rome, where he studied with Arcangelo Corelli, in 1715, he settled in London, where he became known as one of the finest virtuoso violinists of his generation. By 1718 he had become leader of the orchestra of George Frideric Handel, a position which he held until 1737. In 1739 he became one of the first beneficiaries of the Royal Society of Musicians and was heard of thereafter. After a benefit concert in Dublin in 1750, he died there of malaria in 1752, despite being by then a pauper, he was buried with full ceremony in St. Marys Church, Dublin. Castrucci was the inventor of the marina, which was a variation of the viola damore. Handel wrote obbligati for this instrument, highfill, Philip H. Burnim, Kalman A. Langhans, Edward A
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The Triumph of Time and Truth
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The Triumph of Time and Truth is an oratorio by George Frideric Handel produced in three different versions across 50 years of Handels career. HWV 46a is an Italian oratorio from 1707, Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno, finally, HWV71 is a further expansion and revision, possibly without much involvement by the blind and aging Handel in his retirement, into an English-language oratorio from 1757. This is Handels very first oratorio, to a libretto by Cardinal Benedetto Pamphili and with a title that translates as The Triumph of Time, the work, comprising two sections, was composed in spring 1707 and premiered that summer in Rome. Its most famous aria is Lascia la spina, later recast as Lascia chio pianga in his 1711 opera Rinaldo, three more performances followed within the ensuing month, and one more as a single revival production in 1739. While Jephtha is considered Handels final oratorio, the revision of Il trionfo dates from March 1757 with Isabella Young singing the role of Counsel. The libretto was reworked into English, and the oratorio again expanded, Handel was in very poor health at this time, and the extent of his contribution to this new work is uncertain. John Christopher Smith Jr. probably assembled the score, libretto at opera. stanford. edu Score on IMSLP
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Chamber music
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Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a number of performers. However, by convention, it usually does not include solo instrument performances, because of its intimate nature, chamber music has been described as the music of friends. Playing chamber music requires special skills, both musical and social, that differ from the skills required for playing solo or symphonic works, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe described chamber music as four rational people conversing. The analogy to conversation recurs in descriptions and analyses of chamber music compositions, from its earliest beginnings in the Medieval period to the present, chamber music has been a reflection of the changes in the technology and the society that produced it. During the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance, instruments were used primarily as accompaniment for singers, String players would play along with the melody line sung by the singer. There were also purely instrumental ensembles, often of stringed precursors of the violin family, some analysts consider the origin of classical instrumental ensembles to be the sonata da camera and the sonata da chiesa. These were compositions for one to five or more instruments, the sonata da camera was a suite of slow and fast movements, interspersed with dance tunes, the sonata da chiesa was the same, but the dances were omitted. These forms gradually developed into the trio sonata of the Baroque – two treble instruments and an instrument, often with a keyboard or other chording instrument filling in the harmony. Both the bass instrument and the instrument would play the basso continuo part. During the Baroque period, chamber music as a genre was not clearly defined, often, works could be played on any variety of instruments, in orchestral or chamber ensembles. The Art of Fugue by Johann Sebastian Bach, for example, sometimes composers mixed movements for chamber ensembles with orchestral movements. Telemanns Tafelmusik, for example, has five sets of movements for various combinations of instruments, Baroque chamber music was often contrapuntal, that is, each instrument played the same melodic materials at different times, creating a complex, interwoven fabric of sound. Because each instrument was playing essentially the same melodies, all the instruments were equal, in the trio sonata, there is often no ascendent or solo instrument, but all three instruments share equal importance. In the second half of the 18th century, tastes began to change, many preferred a new, lighter Galant style. And clearly defined melody and bass to the complexities of counterpoint, now a new custom arose that gave birth to a new form of chamber music, the serenade. Patrons invited street musicians to play evening concerts below the balconies of their homes, their friends, patrons and musicians commissioned composers to write suitable suites of dances and tunes, for groups of two to five or six players. These works were called serenades, nocturnes, divertimenti, or cassations, the young Joseph Haydn was commissioned to write several of these
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Johann Sebastian Bach
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Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. Bachs compositions include the Brandenburg Concertos, the Goldberg Variations, the Mass in B minor and his music is revered for its technical command, artistic beauty, and intellectual depth. He is now regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time. Bach was born in Eisenach, in the duchy of Saxe-Eisenach and his father Johann Ambrosius Bach was the director of the town musicians, and all of his uncles were professional musicians. His father probably taught him to play the violin and harpsichord, apparently at his own initiative, Bach attended St. Michaels School in Lüneburg for two years. He received the title of Royal Court Composer from Augustus III in 1736, Bachs health and vision declined in 1749, and he died on 28 July 1750. Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach, the capital of the duchy of Saxe-Eisenach, in present-day Germany and he was the son of Johann Ambrosius Bach, the director of the town musicians, and Maria Elisabeth Lämmerhirt. He was the eighth and youngest child of Johann Ambrosius, who taught him violin. His uncles were all musicians, whose posts included church organists, court chamber musicians. One uncle, Johann Christoph Bach, introduced him to the organ, Bachs mother died in 1694, and his father died eight months later. The 10-year-old Bach moved in with his eldest brother, Johann Christoph Bach, there he studied, performed, and copied music, including his own brothers, despite being forbidden to do so because scores were so valuable and private and blank ledger paper of that type was costly. He received valuable teaching from his brother, who instructed him on the clavichord, also during this time he was taught theology, Latin, Greek, French and Italian at the local gymnasium. By 3 April 1700 Bach and his schoolfriend Georg Erdmann–who was two years Bachs elder–were enrolled in the prestigious St. Michaels School in Lüneburg, some two weeks travel north of Ohrdruf and their journey was probably undertaken mostly on foot. His two years there were critical in exposing Bach to a range of European culture. In addition to singing in the choir, he played the Schools three-manual organ and he came into contact with sons of aristocrats from northern Germany, sent to the highly selective school to prepare for careers in other disciplines. While in Lüneburg, Bach had access to St. Johns Church and possibly used the famous organ from 1553. His role there is unclear, but it probably included menial, non-musical duties, despite strong family connections and a musically enthusiastic employer, tension built up between Bach and the authorities after several years in the post. Bach was dissatisfied with the standard of singers in the choir and he called one of them a Zippel Fagottist
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Concerti grossi, Op. 6 (Handel)
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First published by subscription in London by John Walsh in 1739, in the second edition of 1741 they became Handels Opus 6. The concertos were composed of new material, they are amongst the finest examples in the genre of baroque concerto grosso. In 1735 Handel had started to incorporate organ concertos into performances of his oratorios, by showcasing himself as composer-performer, he could provide an attraction to match the Italian castrati of the rival company, the Opera of the Nobility. These concertos formed the basis of the Handel organ concertos Op.4, scored for string orchestra with solo parts for two violins and violoncello, it had four movements and was later published in Walshs collection Select Harmony of 1740. Its first three movements have the form of a contemporary Italian concerto, with alternation between solo and tutti passages, the less conventional fourth movement, marked andante, non presto, is a charming and stately gavotte with elegant variations for the two violins. Because of changes in tastes, the season in 1737 had been disastrous for both the Opera of the Nobility and Handels own company, which by that time he managed single-handedly. At the close of the season Handel suffered a form of physical and mental breakdown, persuaded by friends to take the waters at Aix-la-Chapelle, he experienced a complete recovery. Henceforth, with the exception of Giove in Argo, Imeneo and Deidamia, he abandoned Italian opera in favour of the English oratorio, a new musical genre that he was largely responsible for creating. The year 1739 saw the first performance of his great oratorio Saul, his setting of John Drydens Ode for St Cecilias Day and the revival of his pastoral English opera or serenata Acis and Galatea. In the previous year he had produced the choral work Israel in Egypt and in 1740 he composed LAllegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, a cantata-like setting of John Miltons poetry. Walsh had himself very successfully sold his own 1715 edition of Corellis celebrated Twelve concerti grossi Op.6, the twelve concertos were produced in a space of five weeks in late September and October 1739, with the dates of completion recorded on all but No.9. The ten concertos of the set that were newly composed were first heard during performance of oratorios later in the season. The two remaining concertos were reworkings of organ concertos, HWV295 in F major and HWV296 in A major, in 1740 Walsh published his own arrangements for solo organ of these two concertos, along with arrangements of four of the Op.6 concerti grossi. Two were performed on November 22, St Cecilias Day, during performances of Alexanders Feast and Ode for St Cecilias Day, two more on December 13 and another four on February 14. Two concertos were heard at the first performance of LAllegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato at the end of February, the final pair of concertos were first played during a performance of LAllegro on April 23, just two days after the official publication of the set. Op.6 No.1 The first movement was a reworking of a first draft of the overture for Imeneo, Handels penultimate Italian opera. The final allegro is a reworking of the aria È si vaga in preparation for Imeneo, Op.6 No.5 Movements i, ii and vi are taken from the Ode for St Cecilias Day. The first movement is derived from the Componimenti Musicali for harpsichord by Gottlieb Muffat, Op.6 No.7 Newly composed, except for the final hornpipe derived from Muffats Componimenti Musicali
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Antonio Vivaldi
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Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was an Italian Baroque composer, virtuoso violinist, teacher and cleric. Born in Venice, he is recognized as one of the greatest Baroque composers and he composed many instrumental concertos, for the violin and a variety of other instruments, as well as sacred choral works and more than forty operas. His best-known work is a series of violin concertos known as The Four Seasons, many of his compositions were written for the female music ensemble of the Ospedale della Pietà, a home for abandoned children where Vivaldi was employed from 1703 to 1715 and from 1723 to 1740. Vivaldi also had success with expensive stagings of his operas in Venice, Mantua. After meeting the Emperor Charles VI, Vivaldi moved to Vienna, however, the Emperor died soon after Vivaldis arrival, and Vivaldi himself died less than a year later in poverty. Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was born in 1678 in Venice, then the capital of the Republic of Venice and he was baptized immediately after his birth at his home by the midwife, which led to a belief that his life was somehow in danger. Though not known for certain, the childs immediate baptism was most likely due either to his health or to an earthquake that shook the city that day. In the trauma of the earthquake, Vivaldis mother may have dedicated him to the priesthood, Vivaldis official church baptism took place two months later. Vivaldis parents were Giovanni Battista Vivaldi and Camilla Calicchio, as recorded in the register of San Giovanni in Bragora, Giovanni Battista, who was a barber before becoming a professional violinist, taught Antonio to play the violin and then toured Venice playing the violin with his young son. Antonio was probably taught at an age, judging by the extensive musical knowledge he had acquired by the age of 24. Giovanni Battista was one of the founders of the Sovvegno dei musicisti di Santa Cecilia, the president of the Sovvegno was Giovanni Legrenzi, an early Baroque composer and the maestro di cappella at St Marks Basilica. It is possible that Legrenzi gave the young Antonio his first lessons in composition, the Luxembourg scholar Walter Kolneder has discerned the influence of Legrenzis style in Vivaldis early liturgical work Laetatus sum, written in 1691 at the age of thirteen. His symptoms, strettezza di petto, have interpreted as a form of asthma. This did not prevent him from learning to play the violin, composing or taking part in musical activities, in 1693, at the age of fifteen, he began studying to become a priest. He was ordained in 1703, aged 25, and was nicknamed il Prete Rosso. Not long after his ordination, in 1704, he was given a dispensation from celebrating Mass because of his ill health, Vivaldi only said Mass as a priest a few times and appeared to have withdrawn from priestly duties, though he remained a priest. In September 1703, Vivaldi became maestro di violino at a called the Pio Ospedale della Pietà in Venice. While Vivaldi is most famous as a composer, he was regarded as an exceptional technical violinist as well, Vivaldi was only 25 when he started working at the Ospedale della Pietà
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Pantheon, Rome
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The Pantheon is a former Roman temple, now a church, in Rome, Italy, on the site of an earlier temple commissioned by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus. The present building was completed by the emperor Hadrian and probably dedicated about 126 AD and he retained Agrippas original inscription, which has confused its date of construction as the original Pantheon burnt down so it is not certain when the present one was built. The building is circular with a portico of large granite Corinthian columns under a pediment, a rectangular vestibule links the porch to the rotunda, which is under a coffered concrete dome, with a central opening to the sky. Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheons dome is still the worlds largest unreinforced concrete dome, the height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same,43.3 metres. Mary and the Martyrs but informally known as Santa Maria Rotonda, the square in front of the Pantheon is called Piazza della Rotonda. The Pantheon is a property, ruled by Italys Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism through the Polo Museale del Lazio. The Pantheons large circular domed cella, with a temple portico front, is unique in Roman architecture. Nevertheless, it became a standard exemplar when classical styles were revived, Pantheon is derived from the Ancient Greek Pantheion meaning of, relating to, or common to all the gods. His uncertainty strongly suggests that Pantheon was merely a nickname, not the name of the building. In fact, the concept of a dedicated to all the gods is questionable. The only definite pantheon recorded earlier than Agrippas was at Antioch in Syria and it seems highly significant that Dio does not quote the simplest explanation for the name—that the Pantheon was dedicated to all the gods. Godfrey and Hemsoll maintain that the word Pantheon need not denote a group of gods, or, indeed, even all the gods. Certainly the word pantheus or pantheos, could be applicable to individual deities…, bearing in mind also that the Greek word θεῖος need not mean of a god but could mean superhuman, or even excellent. It seems likely that the Pantheon and the Basilica of Neptune were Agrippas sacra privata and this less solemn designation would help explain how the building could have so easily lost its original name and purpose in such a relatively short period of time. However, archaeological excavations have shown that the Pantheon of Agrippa had been destroyed except for the façade. Lise Hetland argues that the present construction began in 114, under Trajan and her argument is particularly interesting in light of Heilmeyers argument that, based on stylistic evidence, Apollodorus of Damascus, Trajans architect, was the obvious architect. The form of Agrippas Pantheon is debated and this description was widely accepted until the late 20th century. The only passages referring to the decoration of the Agrippan Pantheon written by an eyewitness are in Plinys Natural History, from him we know that the capitals, too, of the pillars, which were placed by M
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Christmas Concerto (Corelli)
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The concerto bears the inscription Fatto per la notte di Natale. Its composition date is uncertain, but there is a record of Corelli having performed a Christmas concerto in 1690 for the enjoyment of his new patron, the concerto is scored for an ensemble consisting of two concertino violins and cello, ripieno strings and continuo. The work is structured as a concerto da chiesa, in this case expanded from a four movement structure to six. Arcate, sostenuto e come stà, 4/2 Allegro, common time Adagio – Allegro – Adagio, common time, E-flat major Vivace, 3/4 Allegro, Pastorale ad libitum, 12/8, G major Each relatively short movement provides multiple tempi and a range of major and minor suspensions. The concerto is generally no longer than fifteen minutes, ending with Corellis famous Pastorale ad libitum, the Oxford Dictionary of Music by Michael Kennedy,1994, Oxford University Press. Outlines of Music History by Clarence Grant Hamilton,1924, Oliver Ditson Company,12 Concerti Grossi, Op.6, Scores at the International Music Score Library Project Johnston, Blair. Concerto Grosso in G minor, Op. 6/8 at AllMusic, free typeset sheet music from Cantorion. org Concerto grosso, Op.6, No.8 on YouTube, Liverpool String Quartet 6
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Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
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Master and Commander, The Far Side of the World is a 2003 American epic historical war-drama film written, produced and directed by Peter Weir, set in the Napoleonic Wars. The films plot and characters are adapted from three novels in author Patrick OBrians Aubrey–Maturin series, which includes 20 completed novels of Jack Aubreys naval career, the film stars Russell Crowe as Jack Aubrey, captain in the Royal Navy, and Paul Bettany as Dr. Stephen Maturin. The film, which cost $150 million to make, was a co-production of 20th Century Fox, Miramax Films, Universal Pictures, and Samuel Goldwyn Films, the film grossed $212 million worldwide. The film received acclaim upon release. At the 76th Academy Awards, the film was nominated for 10 Oscars and it won in two categories, Best Cinematography and Best Sound Editing and lost in all other categories to The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King. In May 1805, during the Napoleonic Wars, Captain Jack Aubrey of HMS Surprise is ordered to pursue the French privateer Acheron, the British warship is ambushed by Acheron, Surprise is heavily damaged, while its own cannon fire does not penetrate the enemy ships hull. Using smaller boats, the crew of Surprise tow the ship into a fog bank, meanwhile, Aubrey learns from a crewman who saw Acheron being built that it is heavier as well as faster than Surprise. The senior officers conclude that the Surprise is no match for Acheron, Aubrey, however, notes that the Acheron could tip the balance of power in Napoleons favour if allowed to plunder the British whaling fleet at will. He orders the mission resumed and the Surprise refitted at sea, shortly afterwards, Acheron again ambushes Surprise, but Aubrey slips away in the night by using a clever decoy buoy and ships lamps. Following the privateer south, Surprise rounds Cape Horn and heads to the Galapagos Islands, the ships doctor, Maturin, is interested in the islands unique flora and fauna, and Aubrey promises his friend several days exploration time. When Surprise reaches the Galapagos, however, they recover the survivors of a ship destroyed by Acheron. Realizing the ship is close, Aubrey hastily pursues the privateer, Maturin feels that Aubrey is going back on his word, and is following Acheron more out of pride rather than duty. Aubrey flatly rejects these accusations, however, he concedes to Maturin that he has exceeded his orders in this mission. Still in pursuit, Surprise is stranded without wind for several days, due to the extreme heat, lack of rain and overconsumption of grog, the crew becomes restless and disorderly. Midshipman Hollum, already unpopular with the crew, is named a Jonah, as the tension rises, crew member Nagel refuses to salute Hollum on the deck, and is flogged for his insubordination. That night, Hollum experiences a breakdown, convinced he is cursed. The next morning, Aubrey holds a service, asking on behalf of the crew for God, the wind picks up again, and Surprise resumes the chase. The next day, Marine officer Captain Howard attempts to shoot an albatross, the surgeons mate informs Aubrey that the bullet and a piece of cloth it took with it must be removed soon, otherwise they will fester
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Michael Tippett
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Sir Michael Kemp Tippett OM CH CBE was an English composer who rose to prominence during and immediately after the Second World War. In his lifetime he was ranked with his contemporary Benjamin Britten as one of the leading British composers of the 20th century. Among his best-known works are the oratorio A Child of Our Time, the orchestral Fantasia Concertante on a Theme of Corelli, and he withdrew or destroyed his earliest compositions, and was 30 before any of his works were published. Until the mid-to-late 1950s his music was broadly lyrical in character, before changing to a more astringent, New influences, including those of jazz and blues after his first visit to America in 1965, became increasingly evident in his compositions. While Tippetts stature with the continued to grow, not all critics approved of these changes in style. From around 1976 Tippetts late works began to reflect the works of his youth through a return to lyricism, although he was much honoured in his lifetime, critical judgement on Tippetts legacy has been uneven, the greatest praise being generally reserved for his earlier works. His centenary in 2005 was an affair, apart from the few best-known works. Having briefly embraced communism in the 1930s, Tippett avoided identifying with any political party, a pacifist after 1940, he was imprisoned in 1943 for refusing to carry out war-related duties required by his military exemption. His initial difficulties in accepting his homosexuality led him in 1939 to Jungian psychoanalysis and he was a strong advocate of music education, and was active for much of his life as a radio broadcaster and writer on music. The Tippett family originated in Cornwall, Michael Tippetts grandfather, George Tippett, left the county in 1854 to make his fortune in London through property speculation and other business schemes. A flamboyant character, he had a tenor voice that was a popular feature at Christian revivalist meetings. In later life his business faltered, leading to debts, prosecution for fraud. His son Henry, born in 1858, was Michaels father, a lawyer by training, he was successful in business and was independently wealthy by the time of his marriage in April 1903. Unusually for his background and upbringing, Henry Tippett was a progressive liberal, Henry Tippetts bride was Isabel Kemp, from a large upper-middle class family based in Kent. Among her mothers cousins was Charlotte Despard, a campaigner for womens rights, suffragism. Despard was an influence on the young Isabel, who was herself briefly imprisoned after participating in an illegal suffragette protest in Trafalgar Square. Although neither she nor Henry was musical, she had inherited an artistic talent from her mother, after their marriage the couple settled outside London in Eastcote where two sons were born, the second, Michael, on 2 January 1905. Shortly after Michaels birth, the moved to Wetherden in Suffolk
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Corelli, Arcangelo". Encyclopædia Britannica. 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 143.
