Giacobbe Basevi, known as Giacobbe Cervetto (1682 – 14 January 1783)Speare, Marija Đurić (2001)
"Cervetto, Giacobbe Basevi"
''New Grove Dictionary of Musicians''. Retrieved 11 September 2018 (subscription required for full access). was an

Anglo-Italian Italians in the United Kingdom, also known as Italian Brits () are citizens and/or residents of the United Kingdom who are fully or partially of Italian descent, whose ancestors were Italians who emigrated to the United Kingdom during the It ...

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish musician, who was a leading

cellist The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

and composer for cello in 18th century

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Life

According to the ''

Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani The ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'' () is a biographical dictionary published in 100 volumes by the Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, started in 1960 and completed in 2020. It includes about 40,000 biographies of distinguished Italia ...

'', little is known about his early life but he is thought to have been born in northern Italy. s.n. (1970)
"Basevi, Giacobbe, detto Cervetto"
''

'', Vol. 7. Treccani. Online version Retrieved 11 September 2018 Burney referred to him as "a Venetian". ''The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History'' states his birthplace as

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

.Rubinstein, W. and Jolles, Michael A. (eds.) (2011)
"Cervetto, Jacob Basevi"
''The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History'', p. 312. Springer. He first arrived in England in 1728, originally as a vendor of fine stringed instruments including violins of

Stradivarius A Stradivarius is one of the string instruments, such as violins, violas, cellos, and guitars, crafted by members of the Stradivari family, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), in Cremona, Italy, during the late 17th ...

.Conway (2012), pp. 71-2 In 1739/40, he settled in England and became solo cellist at the

Drury Lane Theatre The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dru ...

, where the musician and music historian

Charles Burney Charles Burney (7 April 1726 – 12 April 1814) was an English music historian, composer and musician. He was the father of the writers Frances Burney and Sarah Burney, of the explorer James Burney, and of Charles Burney, a classicis ...

met him when he joined the theatre's orchestra in the season of 1744/45. He reported that Cervetto had "brought the violoncello into favour, and made us nice judges of that instrument." Burney further wrote of Cervetto "He was an honest Hebrew, had the largest nose, and wore the finest diamond ring on the forefinger of his bow hand", but considered him an indifferent performer. The ''

Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1907, ceasing publication altogether in 1922. It was the first to use the term '' ...

'', in an obituary of his son

James Cervetto James Cervetto (8 January 1748 – 5 February 1837) was an English cellist, playing in aristocratic venues and in important concerts of the day. He was the soloist for the premiere of Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 2 (Haydn), second cello concerto. ...

(1747–1837, also a cellist and composer for his instrument), noted that the audience in Covent Garden would often shout to the elder Cervetto " 'play up, Nosey'....Hence the origin of a phrase not infrequently heard at the theatre even to the present day".Gentleman's Magazine, April 1837, p. 437. Cervetto maintained links with others of the Basevi family in England, whose members included the architect

George Basevi Elias George Basevi FRS (1 April 1794 – 16 October 1845) was a British architect who worked in both Neoclassical and Gothic Revival styles. A pupil of Sir John Soane, his designs included Belgrave Square in London, and the Fitzwilliam Muse ...

and Maria D'Israeli (née Basevi), the mother of

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a ...

. He died at the age of 101 in the Friborg snuff shop in the

Haymarket, London Haymarket is a street in the St James's area of the City of Westminster, London. It runs from Piccadilly Circus in the north to Pall Mall at the southern end. Located on the street are the Theatre Royal, His Majesty's Theatre, New Zealand H ...

. His will, in which he left his son the substantial fortune of £20,000, stipulated that he should be buried according to the rites of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

Selected works

* Six sonatas or trios Op. 1 (1741) * Twelve Sonatas for Cello and B.c., Op.2 (self-published in London by subscription, n.d., ''ca'' 1750) * Eight Solos for a German Flute and B.c. Op. 3 (1757) * VI Trios for 2 Violins and Violoncello/Cembalo (1758) * Six Lessons or Divertimenti for 2 Violins und B.c. Op. 4 (1761)

References

Notes

Sources

* Conway, David (2012). ''Jewry in Music: Entry to the Profession from the Enlightenment to Richard Wagner''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cervetto, Giacobbe 1680 births 1783 deaths English Baroque composers English classical cellists Italian emigrants to the Kingdom of Great Britain Italian classical cellists Converts to Anglicanism from Judaism 18th-century Italian classical composers 18th-century Italian male musicians English male classical composers 18th-century English musicians Italian men centenarians British people of Italian-Jewish descent