Blind Composers History has a way of minimizing certain details from the lives of composers. But when we move in for closer inspection, we find things that often give us a much greater appreciation for a composer who we know little about. There is a small fraternity of composers from the Renaissance and Baroque periods who were blind from an early age. These men, who lived and worked in Spain, Italy, England, and the Netherlands, share a common experience beyond the inability to see. They were all successful keyboardists, with one exception, who mastered their chosen instrument and came to have their compositions published. In late Renaissance Spain was the blind organist Antonio de Cabezón. In the Netherlands we meet Jacob van Eyck: recorder player, carilloneur, and expert in bells. His most famous published work Der Fluyten Lust-hof consists of nearly 150 pieces for recorder, a good many which have become part of the instrument’s standard repertoire. Our next stop is late Renaissance Italy where Antonio Valente lived and worked in the Spanish dominion of Naples, a city where he published the first book of solo music for the harpsichord titled Intavolatura di cimbalo. Decades later in Venice and well into the early baroque, Martino Pesenti also achieved publishing success by composing collections of madrigals, arie, instrumental music and even a mass. Our final composer has the distinction of having been admired by George Frideric Handel, who would make his way down to Temple Church in order to hear Dr. John Stanley improvise at the organ. Stanley’s catalog of works is large and includes compositions for the stage, court, church, and home. httpvh://youtube/watch?v=NSe6vhox6bg
Posted on: Mon, 29 Sep 2014 06:46:05 +0000
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