Vincenzo Manfredini (22 October 1737 – 5 or 16 August 1799) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

harpsichordist A harpsichordist is a person who plays the harpsichord. Harpsichordists may play as soloists, as accompanists, as chamber musicians, or as members of an orchestra, or some combination of these roles. Solo harpsichordists may play unaccompanied son ...

and a

music theorist Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. '' The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the " rudiments", that ...

Biography

Manfredini was born in

Pistoia Pistoia (; ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about north-west of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typic ...

, in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

. He studied music with his father, Francesco Onofrio Manfredini. Then he studied with Perti in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

and Fioroni in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. In 1758 his older brother Giuseppe, a

castrato A castrato (Italian; : castrati) is a male singer who underwent castration before puberty in order to retain a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice can also occur in one who, due to an endocrino ...

, went to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

with Locatelli's opera troupe, and Vincenzo went with him, possibly as one of the troupe. Moving to

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

, he became ''

maestro di cappella ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in i ...

'' to Peter Fedorovich, who on becoming Emperor in 1762 made him maestro of the court's Italian opera company. Confirmed in this post by

Catherine II Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III ...

, he composed operas and occasional works, but on Galuppi's arrival in 1765 he was relegated to composing the ballets performed with Galuppi's operas and to serving as harpsichord teacher to Pavel Petrovich, heir to the throne. In 1769 he returned with a pension to

. He would meet

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

along with his

father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fat ...

a year later in 1770. After two attempts at opera, Manfredini devoted himself mainly to writing and teaching, also publishing a set of symphonies (1776) and string quartets (?1781). When Pavel Petrovich became Emperor in 1796, he invited his former teacher, who arrived in September 1798, but took up no post and died in St. Petersburg the next year. Manfredini's theoretical research ' (

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, 1775) has two parts, an introduction to the elements of music and to keyboard accompaniment. It was translated into Russian by Stepan Degtyaryov, a Russian composer, conductor and singer. The observations of Manfredini on the proper method of teaching singing aroused vigorous opposition from Giovanni Battista Mancini. The second edition (

, 1797) was much revised and enlarged with new sections on

singing Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

and

counterpoint In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. The term originates from the Latin ...

. Manfredini composed numerous operas, as well as ballets,

cantatas A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning ...

, sacred music (including a

requiem A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is ...

), symphonies,

string quartets The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists, a ...

concertos A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The ty ...

, and chamber works. Vincenzo Manfredini died on 16 August 1799 in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Operas written for Russian imperial court

*''Semiramide'' (''Узнанная Семирамида'', 1760,

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

) *''L'Olimpiade'' (''Олимпиада'', 24 November 1762 Moscow) *''La pupilla'' (1763,

) *''La finta ammalata'' (1763,

) *''Carlo Magno'' (''Карл Великий'', 24 November 1763

, revised 1764,

)

References

* Jean Grundy Fanelli, ''The Manfredini Family of Musicians of Pistoia, 1684-1803'', in : ''Studi musicali'', 26 (1997), pp. 187–232. * David J. Buch, ''Magic flutes and enchanted forests : The supernatural in eighteenth-century musical theatre'', The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2008, 450 pp. * Julianne Baird, ''An 18th-Century Controversy About the Trill: Mancini vs. Manfredini'', in : ''Early Music'', xxv (1987), pp. 36–45. * Reinhard Strohm (ed.), ''The eighteenth-century diaspora of Italian music and musicians'', Brepols Publishers, Turnhout (BE), 2001, 356 pp. * Marina Ritzarev (Rytsareva), Anna Porfireva, ''The Italian diaspora in eighteenth-century Russia'', in : « ''The eighteenth-century diaspora of Italian music and musicians'' », (cf. supra). * Oscar George Theodore Sonneck, ''Catalogue of Opera Librettos printed before 1800'', 2 vol., * Michael Talbot, ''Manfredini, Vincenzo'', in : ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', Macmillan, London, 1980, vol. XI, p. 615. * Dennis Libby, ''Manfredini, Vincenzo'', in : ''The Grove Dictionary of Opera'', Macmillan, London, vol. 3, p. 182.

External links

*
YouTube
''Harpsichord Concerto in B flat major'', Irini Shneyerova, harpsichord, Musica Petropolitana, on period instruments.
YouTube
''Piano Concerto in B flat major'', Felicja Blumental, piano, Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg, Michiyoshi Inoue, conductor.
YouTube
''Sonata III in d minor'', Falerno Ducande, harpsichord.
YouTube
''Sonata IV in C major'', Falerno Ducande, harpsichord.
YouTube
''Quartetto n. 5 in Sol Maggiore: II. Adagio'', Quartetto Eleusi. {{DEFAULTSORT:Manfredini, Vincenzo Italian opera composers Italian male opera composers Italian harpsichordists Italian music theorists 18th-century Italian composers 18th-century Italian male musicians People from Pistoia 1737 births 1799 deaths 18th-century keyboardists