TRINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN
9th Biennial Conference on Baroque Music
ABSTRACT
Giovanni Battista Lampugnani as a Composer of Trio Sonatas, or Symphonies?
Eleanor F. McCrickard
Giovanni Battista Lampugnani (1708-88) is known primarily for his operas,
but he also taught singing and was an excellent cembalist. He is
not so well known, however, for his contributions to instrumental music,
namely his sonatas and sinfonias. While most of his career took place
in his native Milan, he was a resident composer at the King's Theater in
London in 1743-44 where one of the operas he composed was a pasticcio containing
some of Handel's music. Not long after his arrival, John Walsh issued
the first of two sets of his sonatas. Another set soon followed as
did reprints. After problems of misattributions are addressed, about
a dozen sonatas appear to be by Lampugnani.
Unpublished in modern editions, these sonatas in three partbooks are
scored for two violins and a figured "Thorough Bass for Harpsicord [sic]
or Violoncello." These attractive three-movement sonatas reflect
a blending of the old and new styles of writing. They possess refreshing
melodic lines, a strong rhythmic drive, and moving bass lines, making them
exciting works and contributing to their popularity. In fact, a list
of works in the music library of Thomas Jefferson, himself an amateur violinist,
indicates that four Lampugnani sonata collections were among his select
holdings of Baroque instrumental music, along with works by Corelli and
Vivaldi. This paper describes these sonatas in context of the transitional
time inwhich they were composed.
Last updated on 22 March 2000 by Yo
Tomita