This recording enriches Pandolfi Mealli's compositions with traditional southern Italian sounds like the Jew's harp, triple flute, castanets, and triangle to reinforce the rhythmic structure.
Compositional Technique
The 1669 collection of sonatas by Pandolfi Mealli includes six three-part capriccios, a sarabande, five balletti, a trombetta, a two-part passacaglio with basso continuo, and four sonatas for solo violin and basso continuo.
Historical Context
Messina, where Pandolfi Mealli worked in 1669, was a rich and powerful city with political autonomy, despite being formally under Spanish rule.
Composer Biography
In 1675, Pandolfi Mealli fled Messina after murdering a colleague, the castrato singer Giovannino Marquett, in the Cathedral.
Composer Biography
Pandolfi Mealli changed his name from Domenico Pandolfi to Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi Mealli for religious and possibly hereditary reasons while working at the court of Innsbruck in 1660.
Composer Biography
Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi Mealli, the composer, received his training at the musical chapel of San Marco in Venice, where his step-brother Giovan Battista Mealli performed as a castrato.
Historical Context
Messina in the 17th century was a hub for scientific research, attracting leading minds who followed Galilei's experimental method to teach at its university.
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