Pietro Antonio Locatelli

The tradition of musical duels harkens back to the days of ancient Greece. One of the earliest examples of musical rivalry is the myth of Marsyas and Apollo, which ends tragically for the satyr. Without doubt, the tournaments of the ancients served as an inspiration for later generations of musicians. In each epoch they took a different form, tailored to the current norms and customs. In the sixteenth century the singing contests of the Meistersingers became extremely popular. With the development of instrumental music in the seventeenth century, duels, in which the main subject of the dispute was the superiority of one of the performers in terms of interpretation and mastery of playing a given instrument, were increasingly growing in importance. The eighteenth century, in which public concert life flourished and demand for virtuoso instrumentalists consequently grew, brought a genuine boom in musical duels. During that era, musical duels were not only confrontations between individual musicians or their patrons, but also important contributions to the exchange of experiences between artists,

Treatises, reports and iconographic documents testify to the great variety of violin techniques coexisting in Corelli’s lifetime. Cristofor Schor’s famous engraving of Corelli leading an orchestra at the Piazza di Spagna in 1687 shows Corelli holding his instrument against the chest. This technique is also documented for the Italian violin virtuosi Matteis, Geminiani, Veracini, Locatelli and others and was, according to drawings by Pier Leone Ghezzi, widespread in the Roman milieu long after Corelli’s death. Taking sociological, functional, regional and chronological aspects into consideration, there is strong evidence for the credibility of Schor’s document.
Although a violin hold against the chest complicates shifting at first, virtuosi of the time were able to manage the most difficult passages very well with this particular violin technique. While anecdotes report Corelli’s failure as a violinist in the highest hand positions, it was certainly not because of this hold, nor was this the reason for the fairly modest technical requirements of Corelli’s Op. 5. In fact, it is not at all sure that Corelli intended to show his virtuosity with the sonatas of Op. 5. Corelli’s playing was in fact praised by his contemporaries; his skill as a violinist lay not in the high left-hand positions, but rather in his complete control of the bow. Robert Bremner reports that this was a criterion for Corelli’s choice of violinists in his orchestras. The ability of Roman orchestras to play with nuanced dynamic control, as described by contemporary observers, confirms this feature of Corelli’s violin school.
See also: https://www.academia.edu/36319446/Corelli_Op._5._Susanne_Scholz_Barockvioline_Michael_Hell_Cembalo_2018

The presence of 18th-century European and New Spanish instrumental music in the Mexican archives is relatively scant. Some examples still survive in various institutions, and scores that circulated in New Spain are described in a few inventories. Our identification of two violin sonatas, one by Locatelli and the other by Leclair, which are found in Mexico City Cathedral, not only helps to make known the reception and circulation of the work of these European composers in Mexico in the 18th century, but may also show us one of the aspects of musical practice in that institution through the repertoire used there, and shed light on the level of accomplishment reached by the New Spanish violinists of those times. This study allows a revision of the field of the violin in New Spain as well.

The contractual agreements about Corelli’s Op. 6 between the composer and Estienne Roger reveal above all that the former was a clever businessman. Because there are, as yet, no other documents known which could give insight into Corelli’s publication strategies, we must pursue an indirect path in order
to approach these issues. Tracing the former buyers, owners, and interpreters of his music allows us to identify somewhat more precisely the audience that Corelli was consciously targeting. Corelli’s reception in Switzerland deserves an inquiry of its own: because of the cultural and denominational diversity of the country, a variety of different milieus emerge in which Corelli’s music was received, such as the English circle in Geneva.

The book attempts to provide a comprehensive outline of the concerto music written in a region that was the most fertile center credited with the most impressive and outstanding results in this regard. The Venetian instrumental concerto from Vivaldi’s time is portrayed here through an extensive and thorough survey of the most complete and representative musical material that allowed for the making of conclusions as to its typology, form, style and technique. Such an approach not only gives an exhaustive, but also more objective view on the history of the Baroque concerto in its Venetian variant. It provides enough details to identify composers of lesser and greater stature, as well as pinpoint relationships, similarities and stylistic differences between various authors and localities. In musicological literature, this book is the first monograph tackling this issue in such a way.
The concertos discussed here include not only those written in the city of Venice, but also in other centers of the Republic of Venice. Every composer from the Serenissima whose works have survived to our day is examined. The material investigated includes also the concertos of Florence-born F. M. Veracini, who started writing them during his several-year-long stay in Venice. Likewise, Locatelli’s L’Arte del Violino, Op. 3 that he wrote in Venice where he spent few years is among the works that have been thoroughly explored. Given the indisputable Venetian traits revealed not only in the collection’s title, Pensieri Adriarmonici, Op. 1, by Facco, a Padua-born composer in the service of the Spanish Crown, has also been closely looked at. The book covers the period spanning the years 1695 to 1740.
While taking up such a broad and complex issue that involved surveying such a large number of mostly unpublished music, it was necessary to limit the scope of the subjects covered. Therefore, the issues concerning the biographical data of the composers, the purpose of the works discussed, their reception and the area of influence, as well as the intricacies of authorship, variants, pasticcios, hybrids, sketches and transcriptions are not central to this publication and have only been briefly touched upon in the Introduction and the Appendices.

The tradition of musical duels harkens back to the days of the ancient
Greece. One of the earliest examples of a musical rivalry is the myth of
Marsyas and Apollo, which ends tragically for the satyr. Without doubt, the
battles of the ancients served as an inspiration for the next generations of
musicians. In each era, they took a different form, tailored to the prevailing
norms and customs. In the 16th century the singing competitions of
the Meistersingers became extremely popular, and along with the development of instrumental music in 17th century, duels, in which the main subject-matter of the dispute was the superiority of one of the performers
in terms of interpretation and fluidity in playing a given instrument, gained
increased importance.
A real boom of musical duels did not came along until 18th century, in
which public concerts bloomed and along with it, the demand for virtuoso
instrumentalists increased. During that era, musical duels were not only confrontations between specific musicians or their patrons, but also
contributed to the exchange of experiences between the artists and the
spread of musical news and the works themselves. Additionally, the battles
symbolised a confrontation of musical styles, in particular the Italian
and French styles.
Jean-Marie Leclair, known as the French Corelli, is considered by many researches as the founder of the French violin school. Pietro Antonio Locatelli, an heir to the legacy of Arcangelo Corelli is justifiably considered the Paganini of the 18th century. Their music has shared roots in the tradition
of the Italian violin school, yet it differs both in terms of its formality
as well as expressiveness. At first glance the French music of J.M. Leclair
bears the imprint of standards of the violin concerts of Antonio Vivaldi,
whereas the typically Italian works of P.A. Locatelli significantly transcend
the norms accepted at that time in terms of requirements imposed on
violinists. We know that the first confrontation of the violinists took place
on 22 December 1728 at the manor in Kassel. However, some speculate that
it was not the only meeting of the musicians. The preserved information
suggest that both of them stirred strong emotions among the audiences
with their playing.
The profiles of the aforementioned composers, despite their immense
importance on the development of violin music, still remain underrated.
This article outlines the short story of musical duels and sheds light on
violin concerts in the first half of the 18th century. Additionally, the author
made an attempt of a comparative analysis of selected violin concerts,
i.e. Locatelli’s Violin Concerto in G major, Op. 3, No. 9 and Violin Concerto in
A minor Op. 7, No. 5 by Jean-Marie Leclair’s from a similar artistic period of
both composers and close in terms of the time of their creation to their
famous duel.

This article reviews Corelli’s life, the effect of his philosophy also his works on classical music; mainly due to composing style, technics and playing aspects. The study of history of sonata, common forms of classical music of the time also his leaders are pointed here.
در این گفتار گوشه‌هایی از زند‌گی آرکانجلو کورلی، تاثیر تفکر و آثارش بر موسیقی قرن هفدهم از نقطه نظر تصنيف، تكنيك و نوازند‌گی ویلن بررسی و تحلیل شده است. تاريخِ سونات، فرم‌های رایج در موسيقی قرن هفدهم و شخصيت‌های موثر در زندگی كورلی از دیگر رویکردهای این یادداشت است.