Francesco Barsanti, born in Lucca in 1690, moved to London in 1714 at age 24 with fellow Lucchese Francesco Geminiani, where he initially earned a living as a flautist and oboist.
Recording & Production
This recording of Francesco Barsanti's Concerti Grossi was made possible through a collaboration between two early music ensembles: Il Banchetto Musicale (Italy) and Il Piacere (Austria).
Performer Biography
The ensemble Il Piacere was founded in Vienna in 1995 by Maria Paola Cavallini, Francisco José Montenero, and Daniele Boccaccio, focusing on performing early music on original instruments.
Historical Context
In the early 18th century, London was becoming a major European music center, hosting an important Italian opera theatre, public concerts, and flourishing music publishers.
Instruments
The ensemble Il Banchetto Musicale actively promotes and uses early plucked instruments, including lute, chitarrone, Renaissance and Baroque guitar, 19th-century guitar, and harp.
Compositional Technique
These Concerti Grossi by Barsanti/Sammartini are considered modern for their time, leaning towards the 'galant style' rather than the traditional counterpoint and solemn pathos of earlier concerti grossi.
Composition History
Barsanti's Six Concerti Grossi are arrangements of Giovanni Battista Sammartini's Sonate notturne, published in London in 1757 to satisfy the English audience's taste for varied forms of popular works.
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