Francesco Bartolomeo Conti

Together with Johann Joseph Fux and Antonio Caldara, Francesco Conti was one of the three most important figures at the Habsburg court, responsible for positioning Vienna at the forefront of eighteenth-century musical life. In contrast to his two contemporaries, Conti has received relatively little attention from music historians. Hermine Weigel Williams's study draws on more than thirty years of research to fill this noticeable lacuna, and presents here the first full scale life and...
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Together with Johann Joseph Fux and Antonio Caldara, Francesco Conti was one of the three most important figures at the Habsburg court, responsible for positioning Vienna at the forefront of eighteenth-century musical life. In contrast to his two contemporaries, Conti has received relatively little attention from music historians. Hermine Weigel Williams's study draws on more than thirty years of research to fill this noticeable lacuna, and presents here the first full scale life and works of the composer for over ninety years.Part One of the book surveys the biographical aspects of Conti's career. Appointed court theorbist at the age of nineteen, Conti was promoted to court composer in 1713-14. Williams examines Conti's creative collaborations with some of the leading poet-librettists of the day, and the influence of his music that can be identified in works by Telemann, Bach and Handel.Part Two comprises close analyses of Conti's compositions: his instrumental music, cantatas, operas, intermezzos, oratorios and sacred music. Williams reveals Conti as a composer who constantly experimented with a wide range of French, German and Italian ideas and techniques to create his own diverse musico-dramatic style.