Antonio Caldara, c. 1670-1736

Caldara-1

Selected Recordings

Trio Sonata in E minor

Cello Sonata in A Minor

Sinfonia No.6 in G minor

Selected Sheet Music

Vola il tempo
Caldara-2

Source: IMSLP.org

Showcase Piece

Gioseffo Aria: Libertà cara e gradita

Notes and Commentary

Antonio Caldara was an Italian Baroque composer mostly known for operas, cantatas, and oratorios. Several of his works have libretti by Metastasio. He was born in Venice, the son of a violinist. He became a chorister at St Mark’s in Venice, where he learned several instruments, probably under the instruction of Giovanni Legrenzi. In 1699 he relocated to Mantua, where he became maestro di cappella to the inept Charles IV, Duke of Mantua, a pensionary of France with a French wife, who took the French side in the War of the Spanish Succession. Caldara removed from Mantua in 1707, after the French were expelled from Italy, then moved on to Barcelona as chamber composer to Charles VI of Austria, the pretender to the Spanish throne who kept a royal court at Barcelona. There, he wrote some operas that are the first Italian operas performed in Spain. He moved on to Rome, becoming maestro di cappella to Francesco Maria Marescotti Ruspoli, 1st Prince of Cerveteri. While there he wrote in 1710 La costanza in amor vince l’inganno (Faithfulness in Love Defeats Treachery) for the public theatre at Macerata. In 1716, he obtained a similar post in Vienna to serve the Imperial Court, and there he remained until his death. He lived from 1670 to December 28, 1736.—Excerpted from Wikipedia

Books and Music

Selected Books

Antonio Caldara: Essays on His Life and Times
Scolar Pr, 1987
Brian W. Pritchard (ed.)
Limited availability

Caldara-6

Antonio Caldara. Life and Venetian-Roman Oratorios
Olschiki, 2007
Ursula Kirkendale
$75 on Amazon

Caldara-7

Selected Music

Caldara-3 Maddalena ai piedi di Cristo (1996), 2-CD set

Caldara-4 Trio Sonatas – Cello Sonatas (2002), 1 CD

Caldara-5 Cantate, Sonate ed Arie (2005), 1 CD

More Antonio Caldara music

Complete Works

Note: The following is a partial list of Caldara’s works. Access a more complete list.

Oratorios
Maddalena ai piedi di Cristo
Santo Stefano, primo Re d’Ungheria
La Conversione di Clodoveo Re di Francia
La passione di Gesù Cristo
Il Re del dolore
Stabat Mater

Others
“Sebben, crudele” (Aria from La costanza in amor vince l’inganno)
L’Olimpiade
D’improvviso
“Alma del core” (Aria)
“Selve amiche” (Aria)
Missa Dolorosa
Crucifixus

Back to home page

Advertisement

Comments are closed.