A history of music for the imperial court “from a professor, choral director, and professional tenor who has studied Viennese cantatas for half a century” (Lowell Lindgren, Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Lawrence Bennett provides a comprehensive study of the rich repertoire of accompanied vocal chamber music that entertained the imperial family in Vienna and their guests throughout the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. The cantata became a form of elite entertainment composed to amuse listeners during banquets or pay homage to members of the royal family during special occasions. Concentrating on Baroque cantatas composed in the Habsburg court, Bennett draws extensively on primary source material to explore the stylistic changes that occurred within the genre in the generations before Haydn and Mozart. “An important book. It deserves to be warmly welcomed not only by scholars but also by performers of Baroque vocal chamber music.” —Early Music “Shed[s] light on an important yet seldom-discussed repertory, written by someone whose expertise is unquestionable.” —Music and Letters “By taking multiple analytical approaches, Bennett establishes an overall understanding while also demonstrating how individual composers approached the genre. . . . Recommended.” —Choice “An important tool for understanding the context in which cantatas were composed and performed, and in which the Hapsburgs’ important music collection . . . was created.” —Notes “A wealth of new information . . . from a scholar who writes clearly and perceptively, and who has devoted decades of attention to the material.” —Steven Saunders, Charles A. Dana Professor of Music, Colby College

Detailed survey of Vivaldi's unjustly neglected chamber cantatas, showing them to stand comparison with his more famous works. Vivaldi's chamber cantatas for solo voice, some forty in total, are steadily gaining in popularity: but because of their relatively small place in the oeuvre of a composer famed for his productivity, and also on account of the general scholarly neglect of their genre, they are little discussed in the literature. This book comprehensively explores their literary and musical background, their relation to the composer's biography, the chronology of their composition, and their musical qualities. Each cantata is discussed individually, but there is also a broader consideration of aspects concerning them collectively, such as performance practice, topical allusion, and the conventions of Italian verse. The author argues that while Vivalid's cantatas are not as innovative as his concertos and operas, he produced several masterpieces in the genre that rank with his best music. MICHAEL TALBOT is Emeritus Professor of Music at the University of Liverpool.

Reproduction of the original.

The contributors in this volume choose aspects of the cantata relevant to their special interests in order to say new things about the works, whether historical, analytical, bibliographical, discographical or performance-based. The prime focus is on Italian-born composers working between 1650 and 1750 and many key figures are considered, among them Tomaso Albinoni, Giovanni Bononcini, Giovanni Legrenzi, Benedetto Marcello, Alessandro Scarlatti, Alessandro Stradella, Leonardo Vinci and Antonio Vivaldi. The book aims to stimulate interest in, and to win converts to, this genre, which in its day equalled the instrumental sonata in importance, and in which more than a few composers invested a major part of their creativity.

Music history is nearly as old as human civilization itself, and while it has permeated the arts and popular culture for centuries, it still has this mystifying aura surrounding it. But fear not—it’s not as complicated as it seems, and anyone can learn the origins and history of Western art music. In addition to learning how better to understand (and enjoy!) classical music, The History of Classical Music For Beginners will help you will learn of some of the more interesting and sometimes comical stories behind the music and composers. Did you know that Jean-Baptiste Lully actually died from conducting one of his own compositions? You may have heard of Gregorian chant, but did you know there are many forms of chant, including Ambrosian and Byzantine chant? And did you also know that only a small portion of “classical music” is even technically Classical? These interesting, insightful facts and more are yours to discover in The History of Classical Music For Beginners.

In editing this collection, Hugh Taylor has brought together Dent's learned but always readable criticism.