Vivaldi or Not Vivaldi? The Unreliable Attribution of the Sonata RV 34
Keywords:
Antonio Vivaldi, Johann Georg Pisendel, Diogenio Bigaglia, solo sonata, ‘multipurpose’ sonataAbstract
Ever since Johann Georg Pisendel copied, and took back to Dresden in 1717, the solo sonata in B flat for violin (or perhaps oboe) attributed by him to Antonio Vivaldi, the authorship of this work has been uncontested. Designated RV 34 in the standard Vivaldi catalogue, it is a popular piece among performers. But there are persuasive external and internal features establishing almost beyond doubt that its true author was the Venetian amateur composer Diogenio Bigaglia (1678–1745). Pisendel’s incorrect attribution may have been an error inherited from a non-autograph source. The article takes the opportunity to add details about Bigaglia’s life and describe his musical style.
Downloads
References
“Bicaio” [= Bigaglia, Diogenio]. Manuscript concerto in G minor for violin, organ and strings. Dresden, Sächsische Landesbibliothek – Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek (SLUB), Mus. 2679-U-1.
Bigaglia, Diogenio. Manuscript sonata in C major for violin and basso continuo. Bergamo, Civica Biblioteca “Angelo Mai”, N.C. 16.18/5.
[Bigaglia, Diogenio]. Manuscript sonatas in G major, C major and G minor for treble instrument and basso continuo. Dresden, Sächsische Landesbibliothek – Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek (SLUB), Mus. 2456-R-20, Mus. 2-R-8,36 and Mus, 2-R-8,89.
Bigaglia, Diogenio. Sonate g-Moll für Altblockflöte (Querflöte, Oboe, Violine) und Basso continuo. Edited by Hugo Ruf. Mainz: Schott, 1965.
Bigaglia, Diogenio. Sonate a-Moll für Sopranblockflöte und Basso continuo. Edited by Hugo Ruf. Mainz: Schott, 1966/1982.
Bigaglia, Diogenio. Three ‘Dresden’ Sonatas for Violin (or Alternative Treble Instrument) and Basso Continuo. Edited by Michael Talbot. Launton: Edition HH, 2020.
Bigaglia, Diogenio. “Oboe Concerto in B-Flat Major”. Tracks 19–21 on Concerti ven- eziani per oboe. Recorded by Zefiro, directed by Alfredo Bernardini. Arcana A 380 (released 2014).
Vivaldi, Antonio. Sonata in Si♭maggiore per Violino e Basso Continuo F.XIII, n.16 (Opere strumentali, Tomo 374). Edited by Gian Francesco Malipiero. Milan: Ricordi, 1962.
Vivaldi, Antonio. Sonata RV 810. Edited by Federico Maria Sardelli. Milan: Ricordi, 1962.
Ambrosiano, Aurelia. “I Mauro e Antonio Vivaldi: nuove informazioni e spunti di rifles- sione”. Studi vivaldiani 18 (2018): 3–39.
Everett, Paul. “Vivaldi’s Italian Copyists”. Informazioni e studi vivaldiani 11 (1990): 27–88.
Fertonani, Cesare. La musica strumentale di Antonio Vivaldi. Studi di musica veneta, Quaderni vivaldiani 9. Florence: Olschki, 1998.
Heller, Karl. Die deutsche Überlieferung der Instrumentalwerke Vivaldis. Beiträge zur Musikwissenschaftlichen Forschung in der DDR 2. Leipzig: Deutsche Verlag für Musik, 1971.
Hutchings, Arthur. The Baroque Concerto. London: Faber and Faber, 1961.
Köpp, Kai. Johann Georg Pisendel (1687–1755) und die Anfänge der neuzeitlichen Orchesterleitung. Tutzing: Hans Schneider, 2005.
Pincherle, Marc. Antonio Vivaldi et la musique instrumentale. 2 vols. Paris: Floury, 1948.
Rigoli, Paolo. “Il virtuoso in gabbia: musicisti in quarantena al Lazzaretto di Verona (1655–1740)”. In Musica, scienza e idee nella Serenissima durante il Seicento, edited by Francesco Passadore and Franco Rossi, 139–150. Venice: Fondazione Levi, 1996.
Rinaldi, Mario. Catalogo numerico tematico delle composizioni di Vivaldi con definizione delle tonalità l’indicazione dei movimenti e varie tabelle illustrative. Rome: Cultura Moderna, 1945.
Ryom, Peter, and Federico Maria Sardelli. Antonio Vivaldi: Thematisch-systematisches Verzeichnis seiner Werke (RV). 2nd ed. Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Härtel, 2018.
Talbot, Michael. “On the Cusps of Stylistic Change: Vivaldi’s Sonata RV 820 for Violin, Cello and Continuo and its Seventeenth-Century Roots”. In Transitions in Mid-Baroque Music: Style, Genre and Performance, edited by Carrie Churnside. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, forthcoming.
Talbot, Michael. “Vivaldi, Bigaglia, Tartini and the Curious Case of the ‘Introdutione’ RV Anh. 70”. Studi vivaldiani 20 (forthcoming).
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors guarantee that the work is their own original creation and does not infringe any statutory or common-law copyright or any proprietary right of any third party. In case of claims by third parties, authors commit their self to defend the interests of the publisher, and shall cover any potential costs.
More in: Submission chapter
