The Oboe in the Venetian Republic, 1692-1797

Author(s): Alfredo Bernardini

Source: Early Music, Vol. 16, No. 3 (Aug., 1988), pp. 372-387
Published by: Oxford University Press
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Alfredo Bernardini
The oboe in the Venetian Republic, 1692-1797

The history of woodwind instruments in Italy in the It is commonly accepted that woodwindinstruments
18th century has received little attention. The remark- of the late Baroqueperiod were developed in the 1650s
able supremacy of Italian string playing and making, by French families of players, composers and makers
as well as the common preconception that the playing such as the Hotteterres and the Philidors. These
of woodwinds was more typical of France and instruments, namely the Baroquerecorder,transverse
Germany, has fuelled this neglect. A number of flute, oboe and bassoon, were actually introducedinto
criticisms made in the period in question have also the musical life of almost every part of Italy by 1700.
helped to encourage the idea that the Italians had no Shortly after this date, Italian woodwind players
aptitude for the woodwinds. In his satirical treatise II became famous all over Europe and were considered
teatroalla moda(c.1720), Benedetto Marcello wrote:1 to be among the best of the age. By the beginning of
Oboe,flauti, trombe,fagotti,etc.,sarannoscordati,cresceranno, the 18th century the repertoryof pieces produced in
etc. Italy for these instruments included a number of
Oboes,flutes,trumpets,bassoons,etc.,willalwaysbe out of incomparable masterpieces.
tune, too sharp,etc. Around 1700 the oboe took the place of primary
Alessandro Scarlatti was reported in Quantz's auto- importance among woodwind instruments in profes-
sional music playing. Its history in Italy in the 18th
biography to have said to his pupil J. A. Hasse in
1725:2 century is especially significant and can largely be
documented. Although recent studies have redis-
MeinSohn,. . . ihrwisset,dass ich die blaesendenInstrumentisten
covered such remarkable oboist-composers as
nicht leiden hann:dennsie blasen alle falsch.
Giuseppe Sammartini (1695-1750)4 and Alessandro
My son, ... you know that I cannot suffer the wind Besozzi (1702-1793),5 information about other im-
it is becausethey all play out of tune.
instrumentalists:
portant Italian personalities in the history of the oboe
Quantz himself wrote later:3 is often scarce or ambiguous.
Onse plait dans quelquepartiesd'Italieau ton haut... Carles This study will attemptto contribute to the subject,
instrumentscdventsont dans ce pays plus rarementemployesque choosing as its geographical limits the Venetian
dansd'autres,&legout qu'onen a, n'estparconsequentpas si bon Republic, a state that, after more than ten centuries of
queceluiqu'ona pourd'autreschosesdansla Musique... Unton flourishing political, social and cultural existence, in
plus hautferoit,que quoiquela Figuredes instrumentsrestat,la 1797 finally succumbed to the pressures of the
Flute traversieredeviendroitde nouveau une Flute de travers
Austrianand Napoleonic armies. Besides the flourish-
allemande,l'Hautboisune Chalemie,le Violonun ViolinoPiccoloet
le Basson un Bombardo. ing commercial and cultural centre of the city of
Venice itself, the republic included the majortowns of
In some partsof Italythey preferthe heighteningof the
Padua, Verona, Vicenza, Udine, Treviso, Brescia and
pitch... Fortherethe windinstrumentsareless used than
in othercountries,and in consequencethe inhabitantsdo Bergamo.Although the musical connection between
nothavesuchgoodtastewithregardto theseinstrumentsas all these centres is not always evident, it will be seen
theyhavefor otherthingsin music... Althoughthe shape that many are relevant to our subject, either as
of the instrumentwouldremain,the veryhighpitchwould importantcentres for the oboe or as the native towns
finally make a cross-pipeagainof the transverseflute, a of eminent oboists. Within these limits this study will
shawmof the oboe, a violino piccolo of the violin, and a pay attention to the origins of the oboe, its role in
bombardof the bassoon. musical life, its repertoryand its most importantper-
formers, and will make some organological comments
Yetthere is enough evidence availablefor us to be able about the instrument.
to conclude that these statements by Marcello,
Scarlatti and Quantz are the results of particular Originsand role of the oboe in the Venetian Republic
situations and tastes. The earliest mention of the oboe in Venice is to be

372 EARLY MUSIC AUGUST 1988

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 '-Fi

S!

it ?,

i:i

co,/. ~ nnvrrcnes
~ ~u$..
.ot? ....
4
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1 'Excellentoboeplayerwhoperformedat the Valletheatre[Rome]in carnival1751andat myaccademia.

Heis namedGioseppeandhe is
Venetian.'Caricatureby PierLeoneGhezzi(Rome,GabinettoNazionaledei disegnie delle stampe,vol.2606,F.N.4659)

EARLY MUSIC AUGUST 1988 373

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found in the scores of the operas Onorioin Romaby oboe and flute (something that was very common in
Carlo Francesco Pollarolo and Furio Camillo by the first half of the century, and to a lesser extent
Giacomo Perti, both performed there in 1692.6 The later), or whether two specialized in one instrument,
introduction of the oboe into the orchestra of the and two in the other. Among the four named-Piero
chapel of San Marco on 19 January 1698 markedthe Fruttel (called 'Chevalier', or 'Sevali6') Domenico
official admission of the instrument into Venetian Scolari, Piero Giaffoni and Fioravante Agostinelli-
musical life.7 only the first two are mentioned in the documents as
In contrast to what happened in most other places oboists. Fioravante Agostinelli (1741-1809) soon
in Europe, the oboe was not introduced to Venice by moved to Germany where he become a famous
way of popular or military-bandplaying. Afterits first flautist 12In addition,amongthe four playersappointed
mention the oboe appears alreadywell established in to occupy the same positions at the end of the
the cultured ambience of Venetian opera and chapel. republic, Giovanni Battista Delai (see below for his
No mention of oboes defined as such can be found in biography)was known only as a famous oboist, and
the Venetian bands of piffari,which included such Luigi Gianella(?1778-1817) as a distinguished flautist
wind instruments as trumpets, cornetts and drums, and composer for the flute. " However,the registration
and which were in decline at the beginning of the 18th of engagement of Delai, dated 10 November 1789,
century.8 One can believe therefore that the earliest records:14
players employed came from abroad and had learnt In luogodel defontosuonatord'obo' e flauto PieroFrutteldetto
their art before coming to Venice. This conjecture is Chevalierassunto al servizio della cappelladi S. Marcoli 20
supported by the foreign names of several of the febraia1765 [= 1766] elettoGio.BattistaDelai.
earliest oboists. Of these, Ludwig Erdmann was Insteadof the deceasedoboe andflute playerPieroFruttel
certainly German,Ignazio Siberprobablywas too, and namedChevalier,appointedat the serviceof the cappellaof
Ignazio Rion might have been of French origin (see San Marcoon 20 February1766, Gio. GattistaDelai is
their biographies below). elected.
Antonio Vivaldi wrote for all the late Baroque Stable places for oboe teaching in Venice were
woodwinds (including the clarinet, not a typically established very early in the century, namely in three
French instrument) that were built by his contem- of the ospedali,which provided for the education of
porary, the inaker Johann Christoph Denner (1655- orphan or poor girls, but later also for the daughtersof
1707) of Nuremberg.This, together with the intense aristocratic families.
level of commercial exchange between Venice and The Ospedale della Pieta, famous for its violin
Germany,lends support to the theory that woodwinds teacher Antonio Vivaldi, decided to take on an oboe
were introduced to Venice from Germany.However, teacher on 12 August 1703, probablyon the insistence
there are also connections in this regard between of Francesco Gasparini,who was maestrodi corothere
Venice and Milan: these will be discussed later. from 7 June 1701.15 All the majorVenetian oboists of
In the chapel of San Marco, the most significant the time taught at the Pieta in turn: Ignazio Rion,
centre of Venetian professional music, the oboe March1704-1705; OnofrioPenati,May 1704-February
became a stable element of the orchestra shortly 1706; LudwigErdmann,7 March 1707-1708; Ignazio
before the cornett left it.9 This is symptomatic of a Siber, 11 June 1713-28 May 1716; Penati again,
general change in musical taste that could be until 1722.16No more oboe tuition was provided at the
characterizedas the passage from the early to the late Pieta after 1722. Siber reappeared on 17 December
Baroque period. In the latter, the Venetian oboe had 1728 as a teacher of the transverse flute; he held this
inherited the role previously assumed by the cornett. position until his retirementon 23 September 1757.17
The chapel of San Marcoincluded only one oboe until Pelegrina dall'Oboe,named-as was customary for
about 1762. The arrival of Baldassare Galuppi as these orphan girls-after the instrument she played,
maestrodi cappellamarkedan importantreform in the was one of the most gifted pupils of the Pieta, who
orchestra and an increase in its staff. On 28 February were allowed to have private students from 5 June
1766 the two oboists Giovanni Brizzio and Marco 1707.18 In 1726 a certain Susanna was recorded as
Perosa were dismissed'0 and four players were placed most gifted oboist at the Pieta.19
in charge of the section of 'oboe e flauti'." It is not The Ospedale dei Mendicanti had provided oboe
certain whether they were all able to performon both teaching before 1700. In that year, in fact, the
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excellence of the oboe playing of a girl named Barbara
from that institution was remarked on.20 Oboe
teaching was provided from 1713 or shortly before at
the Ospedali dei Derelitti. From 1718 one of the girls
named Anna was entrusted with teaching the
instrument.21 ~So
Beside these stable positions, occasional engage-
ments in minor churches, academies, private palaces
and opera performances were quite importantfor the
oboists' subsistence. One unspecified oboist, for
example, is listed among a small ensemble that
provided the music at San Giacomo di Rialto on
Christmas Eve and at the mass on Christmas Day,
probablyin the laterpartof the 18th century.22In 1780
and 1781 the playbills of operas performedat the San
Samuele Theatre included unusually the principal
oboist Giuseppe Ferlendis beside the singers.23
Venetian players were often invited to perform in
the neighbouringtowns, which at the beginning of the 4Y )AOZL I ?O
century were particularlydependent on their services.
At the chapel of San Antonio, a major centre of
professional music in Padua, the oboist 'Onofrio da
Venezia' (very likely Penati) was invited to performat
the major feasts from 1705 to 1721.24A local player,
Luca Zabile (or Zabilli etc.), employed from 29
December 1701 as violinist, was also required to
performon the oboe at the majorfeasts until his death
in 1761.25 Other minor oboists were requested from
time to time to perform for the same occasions.26
Eventuallya stable place for an oboist was set up at the
San Antonio chapel: Matteo Bissoli (see below) was 2 'AGermancastrato who played at the beginning the oboe and all
elected unanimously on 28 December 1736.27 A place other wind instruments, drawnby me, Cav.[PierLeone]Ghezzi, on 8
for a second oboe was established only in 1791.28 October 1720.' (I-Rvat,Cod. Ottob. Latino 3113, p.40)

In Vicenza, the local oboist Domenico De Marchi

performed beside such famous players as Antonio Except for the above-mentioned activities at the
Vivaldi at a Baroque feast on 18 June 1713.29 ospedali in Venice, very little is known about oboe
In Brescia an unspecified oboist was already teaching in the republic, and about possible different
employed in 1703, performingfor a feast at the church schools. It is very likely that all majorperformershad
of San Nazaro.30In 1731 Matteo Bissoli, who was born private pupils. For example, in a letter from Giuseppe
in that town, performedat the church of Santa Maria Tartinito Padre Martinidated 23 June 1752 we learn
della Pace; the second oboe was 'Signor Luca' that:34
(possibly Luca Zabile).31Playbillsof operas performed ... in stanza delnostroI reMo Vallottisi e fatta la provadelterzo
at the theatre twice included the names of the suono con due oboesuonati uno dal nostrofamosoSig.r Bissolie
principal oboists: Pietro Ferlendis in 1789, and his l'altroda un di lui scolaro.
brother Giuseppe (also listed as a performeron the ... at the presence of our renowned master Vallotti,the test
english horn) in 1791.32 of the third sound has been done, with two oboes, one
In other minor places of the republic, the oboe played by our famous SignorBissoli and the other by a pupil
entered the official musical life only in the laterpartof of his.
the century. The cathedral in Udine, for example, en- One should not be surprised by the lack of
gaged stable oboists (and bassoonists) only in 1785.33 pedagogic writings for the oboe in this region and in
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other parts of Italy. The instrument was in fact not those innovations that became customary in the
successful enough in amateur circles to justify instrumental repertoire some 20 years later.40Sacred
publications of instruction for it. However, around music also employed an obbligato oboe from a very
1770 a treatise by a certain Vincenzo Paneraj from earlystage, as proved by a Confitebor for alto, oboe, two
Florence, including instruction for the harpsichord, violins and continuo written by Antonio Caldara
violin, viola, cello, double bass, oboe and flute, was around 1698, probably with Penati in mind.41
published in Venice by Antonio Zatta.The very small Among the earliest chamber instrumental pieces
amount of informationgiven, consisting mostly of one involving a solo oboe, Vivaldi's first concertos date
fingering chart, is far too scanty to be a satisfactory fromthe period 1709-12. He producedoboe concertos
method for any of these instruments.35 again in his post-Mantuaperiod (1720-23), and later,
The only existing evidence on amateuroboe playing in the 1730s, those derived from bassoon concertos.42
in Venice, is given by Francesco Caffi, who at the Twenty-two of Vivaldi's oboe concertos are still in
beginning of the 19th century referredto oboists like existence: this number includes some that are
Angelo Gaspariand Lovisello as 'insuperable,although incomplete and a few doubtful ones (such as some in
they toiled only for the honour of the applause'.36 op.7, which is rather hybrid in style).43
Beside the concertos for oboe and orchestra,
Repertoire Vivaldi'soutput includes many other chamber pieces
The large amount of Venetian instrumental chamber involving a solo oboe part. It is unnecessary to
music involving obbligato oboe that survives from the enumerate here all compositions for oboe by Vivaldi
first 20 years of the 18th century is rather surprising, or any other composer as this has been successfully
when it is comparedwith what is left from other Italian done in a recent publication.44 It should be pointed
musical centres. This is probablybecause the material out, however, that Vivaldi wrote not fewer than ten
has been carefully preserved.One can hardlybelieve, concertos for the chamberinstrumentationof recorder
in fact, that such famous oboist-composers as or flute, oboe, violin, bassoon and continuo: these
AlessandroBesozzi (1702-1793) from Turinor Matteo pieces are especially rich in timbre, considering that
Bissoli from Padua wrote only the few pieces in relatively few instruments are involved. The sonata in
existence today for their own instruments.37 C minor for oboe and continuo (RV53)is one of the
A cause of the poor preservation of music with most remarkable of its genre. Thematic similarities
obbligato oboe can be found in the lack of interest with the sinfonia of the opera L'incoronazione di Dario
from publishers of the time in printingit. As the oboe suggest a date of 1716; it was probably written for the
has never been very popular in the amateur musical Dresden virtuoso Johann Christian Richter (1689-
world, manuscripts of minor composers are easily 1744), who accompanied his prince to Venice in that
lost. year.45 The only one of Vivaldi'schamber pieces with
However, a remarkable amount of solo oboe an authentic dedication is the sonata for oboe, violin,
concertos by Venetian composers was published in obbligato organ and ad lib. salmoe (RV779): the name
the 18th century: these include Tomaso Albinoni's 'Pelegrina dall'Oboe'appears on the oboe part.46This
opp.7 and 9, Antonio Vivaldi's opp.7 and 8, and a
suggests dating around 1710. Thereis, unfortunately,
AlessandroMarcello'sconcerto in D minor.38Albinoni's no evidence as to whom all the other pieces were
eight concertos in his op.7 were probably-theearliest dedicated. However, a common conjecture is that at
published set of concertos for one or two oboes with least the earlier ones were meant to be performed at
orchestra, dating from 1715.39 All the other concertos the Pieta, and therefore by the girls, as was customary
mentioned above were printedby the same publishers, for most of Vivaldi's instrumental music.
Roger& LeC.ne before 1725. These works probably The most idiomaticwritingfor oboe amongVenetian
played an importantpartin instigating the production composers seems to be that of Giovanni Benedetto
of the oboe concerto in Europe as a whole, and the Platti, who was himself a virtuoso on the instrument.
genre soon occupied a prominent position in the Although nothing is known about his activity in his
repertoire of the instrument. native city of Venice before he moved to Wuirzburgin
Some soloistic pieces for woodwinds had begun to 1722, there are elements in his compositions that
be included in the operatic music of the last decade of show affinities with those by Vivaldi:the use of the
the 17th century. The opera in fact introduced all oboe in their respective C minor solo sonatas, Which

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share the same tonality and form, and are similar in transposed its part down that far, making it more
their rhythmicpatterns and refined harmony.As Platti comfortable.
was still in Venice in 1716-the presumed date of the The question of transposition in Venice is often
Vivaldisonata-the influence of the lattercomposition raised, as the organ of San Marco was apparently a
seems very likely. Moreover, in his StabatMaterPlatti tone higher than those in the other churches of the
uses the oboe con sordino:Vivaldi was one of the few city; there were therefore different standards in
composers who had used this effect.47 force.50 Thereis evidence that oboes had to transpose
This first generation of music with obbligato oboe in Romebefore 1720 as the instrumentswere pitched a
alreadyseemed to require a remarkablemastery of the tone above the rest of the orchestra.." However, no
instrument, and served as model for the form in the evidence (such as instrumental parts of the same
late Baroqueperiod all over Europe.The oboe partsof concerto being writtenin different keys) is availableto
Albinoni's op.7 and Vivaldi'sop.7 are not particularly support the hypothesis that Venetian oboe parts were
complex or chromatic and the strings are not simply an transposed. In fact Albinoni's choice of tonalities
accompaniment to the oboe, but have a prominent argues against the hypothesis: these pieces, if trans-
role. These have therefore been considered more as posed in the way set out above, wouldibecome far less
concertos with oboe rather than for oboe.48 In all the comfortable for the solo instrument.52It is simpler to
other compositions by Vivaldiand others, the contrasts believe that the combination of reed and oboe in use
of character between brilliant allegros and gentle was especially advantageous for the high register at
largos, as well as dialogues with trumpets or recorders, the expense of the low one: this is supported by the
require the oboist to have extreme expressive very narrow bore of early oboes by makers such as
capacities, beside a remarkabletechnical ability. Johann Christoph Denner.53
Vivaldi,a violin virtuoso, has often been considered This use of the high register was ratherunusual in
to have paid little attention to idiomatic writingfor the comparison with that of the rest of Europe:German
solo instrument in his oboe concertos. However,some and English compositions for the oboe (for example,
evidence proves that his treatment of the oboe was sonatas, concertos and ariasby Telemann,Handel and
carefully planned. His concertos are certainly very Bach) rarely make use of notes above b" in their solo
difficult on the old two-keyed oboe, but always parts.54This peculiar writing, in addition to the very
possible and entirely playable, as recent performances high pitch, must have given the sound of the Venetian
by specialists on that instrument have proved.49 oboe a ratheroriginalcharacter,which was presumably
Compositions writtenby an oboist such as Plattiare no more brilliantand penetratingthan that of its relations
less exacting, and. show furthermore what a high in the rest of Europe.
standardof oboe playing had been achieved in Venice Antonio Lotti's music with obbligato oboe has the
at that time. peculiarityof employing the oboe d'amore.As this was
Their pieces for the oboe include the complete an instrument used only in Germanyat that time, and
chromatic scale from c' to d"', but avoiding c#', a note Lotti stayed in Dresden from 1717 to 1719, one can
that the instrument was unable to play at that time assume that his compositions of this kind date from
without resorting to mysterious tricks. Tonalities this period.55If that is so, he was among the earliest
preferreddo not exceed two sharps or flats, although composers to use the oboe d'amore at all: only a few
modulations often introduce more accidentals. A pieces of that period by ChristophGraupnerand Georg
peculiarity of most Venetian solo oboe parts of the Philipp Telemannare known today, and the date given
first half of the century is the frequent use of the high by Walther for the creation of the instrument is
register, up to the top note, d"'. This is especially 1720.56
evident in Albinoni's op.9, but also in several of It appears that no relevant pieces for the oboe
Vivaldi's concertos and the music of Platti. It is also composed in Venice during the preclassical or
noticeable that, while Platti constantly uses the entire classical eras are left today. It is difficult to judge
range of the instrument, Albinoni and many of whetherthis sudden dearthof music for the instrument
Vivaldi's works seem to avoid the low register. One is to be attributed to lack of interest on the part of
may assume, therefore, that these pieces could have composers-perhaps because there were no new
been writtenfor an instrumentthat was a semitone or a virtuosi-or to the loss of original material.
tone above the rest of the orchestra,and that therefore Nevertheless, music with prominent oboe parts

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survives from Padua, where the celebrated Matteo raised on 5 February1702 to 55 ducats, making him
Bissoli operated from 1736 to 1780. Beside all the the highest-paid memberof the orchestra(the average
charming (and unjustly neglected) arias by Padre salaryof the other membersof the orchestrawas about
Vallotti,7 it is surely worth mentioning the sonata by 20 ducats).68 Penati was the oboe teacher at the
Bissoli himself. This work is not only impressive on Ospedale della Piet' from 28 May 1716 to 1720.69He
account of the difficulty of the oboe part, but also had in fact been a teacher at the Pieta earlierthan this
historically interesting as it is probablythe earliest to (from May 1704 to February1706, with a salary of 5
include the note f"'.58 One might believe, therefore, ducats monthly)but which instrumenthe taught then
that the development of the classical oboe-that is, is not specified: this might have been the recorder,as
the narrow-bore,two-keyed instrument- happened in Ignazio Rionwas teaching the oboe at that time.70The
Italy earlier than elsewhere. Oboes by Italian makers Piet entrusted Penati with the purchase of two oboes
such as CarloPalanca, Giovanni Panormo and Grassi (2 August 1705) and a barter of four recorders made
may be cited as evidence of this.59 with Erdmann(26 February1706).71Beside his activity
Differences between styles of writing for the oboe in Venice, there is some evidence about Penati's
became less markedlater in the century. As there were playing elsewhere: he is listed in an occasional
many occasions then for all famous performers to orchestrathat performedmusic by Antonio Caldarain
travel throughout Europe the tendency towards Novara in 1711.72 He was the first of a group of four
standardizationon such issues as pitch, oboe making, oboists there: the others being Alexis Saint-Martin
technique etc. was increasingly pronounced, though ('Francese'),his son GiuseppeSammartiniand Giuseppe
still very far from what we are accustomed to in Appiano ('Milanesi'). Penati was also invited to
modern times. perform in Padua at the majorfeasts of the chapel of
Exemplary pieces for their period are the oboe San Antonio from 1705 to 1721.73He held his place in
concertos of Giuseppe Ferlendis (of whom more San Marco until 3 March 174874 and died in 1753 or
below).60 shortly before.75
Oboe virtuosi Ignazio Rion (fl.1704-1722) does not appear to have
This section will deal with the most prominent oboists resided in Venice for very long. However,his important
role in introducing the oboe to several parts of Italy,
who workedin the Venetian Republic,accordingto the
and a general neglect on the partof historians, call for
surviving documentation. Players who have been a short biography here.
excluded are:
He was probably related to a certain Luigi Rion,
1. Those who came to Venice for a short stay only: for oboist of a military band in Turin, the 'reggimento
example, Johann ChristianRichterfrom Dresden (see delle guardie di S.A.R.', in 1677.76 It is very probable
above); Giuseppe Sammartini (1695-1750) from that Luigi Rion was a Frenchman, like all his fellow
Milan;61the PIa brothers from Spain;62and Sante oboists in the band. In March 1704, Ignazio Rion
Aguilarfrom Naples or Bologna.63 became oboe teacher of the Pieta in Venice and held
2. Venetians who spent most of their lives abroad,andthis place until some time in 1705.77 The abbot
about whose activity in their native town nothing is Vincenzo Maria Coronelli wrote in 1706 that among
known: for example Giovanni Benedetto Platti (1697- the best performers on the oboe in Venice were
1763),64 who moved in 1722 to Wfirzburg; and 'Ignazio e Onofrio':it is probablethat he was referring
GiovanniBattistaFerrandini(c.1710-1791),65 who was to Rion and Penati.78Since in 1700 he had mentioned
in Munich from 1722. only Onofrio, it appears that Rion was not living in
3. Those about whom there is virtually no documen- Venice at that time.79Rion went to Rome in 1705 and
tation: for example a certain Gioseppe who performed took part in all major musical activities organized
in Romein 1751, as reportedunder a caricatureby Pier there by aristocraticfamilies such as the Ruspolis and
Leone Ghezzi (see illus.2).66 the Pamphilis and by such religious congregations as
St Louis des Franyaisand San Giacomodegli Spagnoli.80
Onofrio Penati (fl.1698-1748) is the earliest player On these occasions he performed, together with the
mentioned in documents. He became the only composers, music by Antonio Caldara and Handel,
permanent oboist of the chapel of San Marcofrom 19 whose Roman compositions include many virtuosic
January 1698.67 His initial salary of 40 ducats was solos for the oboe.81Rion'ssalary in Romewas always
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much higher than that of the rest of the orchestra, and In another letter to Perti (dated 30 September 1711)
often equal to that of the first violin. It is surprising another correspondent from Lucca mentions 'Sig.re
that Corelli,who towardsthe end of his life performed Lodovico Ertman oboe di S.A.R.il Gran Principe di
as a violinist several times with Rion in Rome, did not Toscana'.9oQuantz met Erdmannin Florence in 1725,
compose a single piece involving oboes. Claiming to and wrote:91
have based his account of notes made by 'a very LudwigErdmannein Deutscher,ein nichtschlechterHoboistund
intelligent friend' from a conversation held with Mann.
dabey,gegen seine Landsleute,sehrfreundschaftlicher
Geminiani some five or six years before the latter's Ludwig Erdmann a German, not a bad oboist, and also,
death, Charles Burney wrote:82 unlike the other people of his country, a very friendly
It was soon afterthis [Corelli'sreturnfromNaples]that a man.
hautboisplayer,whosenameGeminianicouldnotrecollect, The last record of Erdmannis as a 'virtuoso d'obo ' at
acquiredsuch applauseat Romethat Corelli,disgusted, the theatre at Lucca in 1730.92
wouldneverplay againin public.
If any regardshould be paid to this anecdote, it seems Ignazio Siber (fl. 1713-1761) was also a teacher at the
very likely that the oboist in question was Ignazio Pieta-from 11 June 1713 to 28 May 1716.93 On 17
Rion. December 1728 he again became a teacher there, but
After Rion had left Rome, around 1713, the oboe this time of the transverseflute, and was dismissed on
ceased to enjoy approval in that city, and its 23 September 1757.94 Siber replaced Penati in San
involvement in many musical enterprises diminished. Marcoon 3 March 1748.95 and held this place until 12
The last records of Rion's activities are in Naples, March 1760.96 Siber appears to be the only oboist
where he performed for the feast of San Gennaro in recordedin the lists of musicians' societies such as the
1721,83and as 'oboe e flauto' of the royal chapel in artedei sonadoriand the guild of Saint Cecilia. In the
1722.84 records of the latter it is recorded that Siber became
priorein 1743, that in 1757 he received a sickness
Ludwig Erdmann (Ludovico, Lodovico, Luigi; Ertd- benefit, and in 1761 his funeral expenses were
mann, Ertmann,Ortoman,etc.) (fl.1706-1730). In the paid.97
first years of the 18th century, an Erdmannfrom Berlin
was oboist at the Margraveof Brandenburg'scourt in Matteo Bissoli (Bissioli) (c. 17 11-1780) If we can hardly
Ansbach, which had a flourishing musical exchange find a prominent oboe virtuoso of the second
with Italy."8Ludwig Erdmann was appointed oboe generation in Venice, the neighbouringtown of Padua
,teacher at the Pieta on 20 March 1707. At the surely had one in Matteo Bissoli. He was born in
beginning of 1706 he was already employed there as Brescia and is recorded as being there for a perfor-
'MaestroProfessoredi Salamuri'(or'Salamoni','Salmo', mance in Santa Mariadella Pace in 1731.98
'Saltaron'),86 an instrumentthat has been identified as On 28 December 1736 Bissoli was appointed
a single reed woodwind. (Vivaldi called for a bass permanent oboist at the chapel of San Antonio in
instrument named as a 'salmoe' in several of his Padua. On that occasion it was written about him:99
compositions.)87 After his appointment as oboe ... virtuosoben noto e di molto merito... eccellentesuonator
teacher the mention of the 'salamuri'disappears. d'oboe,che rendessepii omataquestaillustrecappella,non meno
Erdmannheld his place at the Pieta until 1708. He per il giusto compimentode' Concertiche per la singolaritddel
later entered the service of the Prince of Tuscany, soggetto.
probably after a short stay in Bologna.88The prince ... well-known virtuoso of great worth ... excellent oboe
himself had Erdmannin mind when, in a letter dated player,who could furthermoreembellishthis renowned
18 June 1709, he requested Giacomo Antonio Pertito chapel, not only by the properaccomplishmentof the
compose a motet:89 concerts,but also by the singularityof his person.
... potraregolarsinel mododell'annopassato,essendocigli stessi He
was elected unanimously with an initial salary of
virtuosi, e rimettendomial suo buon gusto, bastandomidi 150 ducats, soon raised to 170 to equal that of the first
ricordarla,che ho un Obobdi abilitdda potersenevalere. . . violin, Giuseppe Tartini.100 Bissoli was a good friend of
... you can do similarlyto last year, the same virtuosi being Tartini and Padre Francesco Antonio Vallotti, the
here, and I rely on your good taste, and I remind you that I maestro di cappella. Vallotti, in a letter he wrote on 21
havean oboistof suchabilityto be ableto takeadvantageof August 1751, referredto Tartini,Bissoli and the cellist
it . .. Antonio Vandini:11o

EARLY MUSIC AUGUST 1988 379

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... tre soggettidi questafatta fanno spiccaretutta 1'orchestra.
... threefellows of this kindmakethe orchestraexcel.
Bissoli held his place in Paduauntil at the age of 68 he
died from asthma on 20 February1780, a month after
Vallotti's death.102
Only three times-in 1739, 1742 and 1744-did he
request permits to perform abroad-that is, in the
theatres of Genoa and Vicenza.'03But as he was not
requiredall the time at the chapel in Padua, it may be
assumed that he might have travelled more, including
times when he did not need a permit. He did in fact
perform in Bologna under the direction of Padre
Martini:this is recorded in a letter Bissoli wrote to
Martini on 17 July 1779.104 In his letter Bissoli
complains of his illness and advanced age, and
declines a request from Martini for his portrait.
Moreover, he refers to the prize given to him for his
playing in Bologna, consisting of a holy relic of St
Anthony. Made desperate by the theft of this relic,
Bissoli begged Martinito provide him with another.
Bissoli was often asked to performsolo concertos.'05
We do not know what pieces these were, whether of
his own composition or by other musicians.
Consideringhis friendship with Bissoli, it is curious P/a// /r,
to notice that no surviving work by Tartiniincludes a w/j, ./Jinr
solo oboe part.However,all arias with obbligato oboe
by PadreVallottiwere surely meant to be performedby 3 Matteo Bissoli (c.1711-1780). Printby Giuseppe Tirabosco(photo
Bissoli. Bissoli's only surviving piece for oboe has Pieter Boersma).By kind permission of Han de Vries, Amsterdam.
already been referred to with regardto its use of f"'.
Besides Padre Martini'srequest for his portrait to (the first was Sante Aguilar)for a performance of II
add to his collection of famous musicians we can find trionfodi Cleliaby Gluck in the spring of 1763.1"0He
more evidence of Bissoli's high reputation during his was appointed to the chapel of San Marco,Venice on
life. Charles Burney, during his visit to Padua in 28 February1766,"' and was dismissed in 1770.A112 He
August 1770, wrote that he was very keen to hear 'the was in Venice again on 7 July 1776 for a cantata
celebrated Metteo Bissioli, .. . first oboe in this select performedat the Ospedali dei Mendicanti."3 In 1787
band.'"06 Jer6me de Lalande, who visited Padua in Scolari was appointed first oboe of the San Pietro
1766, mentions him among the few famous musicians theatre in Trieste, and was replaced there in 1794 by
he had heard in Italy.'07The abbot Vincenzo Rota GerardoFerlendis(see below).1"4The last record of his
remembershim in his poem L'Incendio di San
del Temrnpio activities is of his replacing Pietro Ferlendis for two
Antonio,written in Padua in 1753:'08 months in 1802 at the chapel of San Antonio in
E allorafu che da pietademosso
Padua."'5It has not been determined whether he was
related to the opera composer Giuseppe Scolari
IIgran Matteo,che piuzche uman diletto
Prestanei cor col suo forutobosso (?1720-1774) and the oboist Giuseppe Scolari
Supplidi quellestaticodifetto (fl. 1796-1846). 16
Finchi dallo stuporei fu rimosso.
Ferlendis family. This was a dynasty of eminent
Domenico Scolari (fl.1763-1802), born in Padua,'09 oboists who distinguished themselves during the
was not apparentlya first-rate oboist, but his story is period about the end of the Venetian Republic, not
interesting as he was active in many different places. only throughout that region, but also in many other
He was second oboist at the public theatre in Bologna major Europeancentres. Most existing sources
,about
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members of the Ferlendis family are inconsistent and left his place on 2 August 1778, wishing to move to
contradictory.Some new details reportedhere should Vienna. Leopold also wrote that Ferlendishad learned
help clarify the subject. The readershould refer to the much from Carlo Besozzi, who visited Salzburg two
genealogical table (Table 1). months before his departure."'
The brothers Ferlendis performed again at the
Franco Ferlendis, according to a French dictionary of Carignanotheatre in Turinon 23 July 1779.132By 1780
music of 1810, was a violin and cello player and Giuseppe had settled in Venice, where he was often
teacher.117 employed as first oboist of the San Samuele, San
Benedetto and La Fenice theatres.1'• He was, though,
Pietro Ferlendis, born in Bergamo on 2 September
occasionally invited to perform in the neighbouring
1748,118replaced Bissoli as oboist of the San Antonio towns of Bologna (11 June 1781),134Vicenza (1787),135
chapel on 23 May 1780,119and founded the Padua Brescia(1791),136Trieste(September1792)and Treviso
branch of the family. He held this place continuously
(October 1792).137
for over 40 years.120 Beside his main occupation he In 1793 Giuseppe was in London, where in 1795 he
was often invited to perform in other churches in
performed his own concertos for oboe and english
Paduaand elsewhere.Around1789 he was occasionally horn during Haydn's last season, along with other
first oboe at the theatre of Brescia.121In April 1802 he famous virtuosi such as the double bass player
obtained a permit to performin Trieste at the Teatro
Dragonetti. In London he was apparentlythe lover of
Nuovo and was replaced for two months by Scolari.122 the famous singer Brigida Banti, with whom he was
In 1829 he was giubilatoemerito(emerituspensioner) of said to be sold in a 'package deal'. Among the
the chapel.123 It was he, probably,who performedwith comments on his English performances were:
his brotherGiuseppe at the Carignanotheatre in Turin
'astonishing fine command of the instrument, but
on 31 May 1776 and 23 July 1779.124 Pietro is often
degenerated into mere foolish trick';'Sig.r performed
overshadowedby his brother.Writingabout Giuseppe, on both the English horn and the Hautbois, with great
Gerberstated:'125
feeling and effect.' Haydnhimself wrote in a note that
Erhat auch einemVirtuoseauf derOboezum Bruder.Beydesind Ferlendis was a mediocre player.'38
es aberauch zugleichauf dem englischenHome. After his stay in England Giuseppe went back to
Hehas also anoboevirtuosoas a brother.Theyarealso both Venice, again operatingthroughoutthe region (in 1798
the same on the englishhorn. he is recorded as being in Veronaand Vicenza, in 1799
Pietro enjoyed a very high salary at the chapel, in Ravenna).l39
sometimes even higher than that of the first violin. He In 1801 he moved to Lisbon with his wife Anna, son
died in Padua on 4 April 1836.126 Alessandro and daughter Giuseppa (a Giuseppa
Ferlendis sang at the San Samuele theatre in Venice in
GiuseppeFerlendis,bornin Bergamoin 1755, identified 1797).140 There he was employed first at the royal
himself as a Venetian during a visit to Trieste in chapel and from 1804 to 1810 at the RealCamera(royal
1792.127 He was one of the most famous oboists of his chamber). His performance during a feast for the
time, largely owing to his extensive travels throughout 'restoration of Portugal' at Vila Nova de Gaia, near
Europe. Oporto,on 11 December 1808 is recordedas follows:141
In 1776 he went on tour with one of his brothers JoseFerlendis,Musicoquefoida CapellaReal,eItalianodeNacao,
(probablyPietro)and the mandolinist SignorZaniboni. ... tocoucomigual dos circumstantes,
prazer,queadmirapao
hum
They performed in Turinon 31 May,128Florence on 3 excellentesolo de trompaIngleza...
August'29and Bresciaat the beginning of 1777.130On 1 Jos6Ferlendis,whohadbeena musicianof theroyalchapel,
April 1777 Giuseppe joined Archbishop Colloredo's and Italian born, ... performed to the equal pleasure and
orchestra in Salzburg,where he became close to the admirationof those present,an excellentsolo for english
Mozarts, as witnessed by the many mentions they horn...
make of him in their correspondence, and the His employment in the royal chamber of Lisbon is
dedication to him of Wolfgang Amadeus's oboe recorded until the beginning of 1810, and later in the
concerto (probably K314/285d, later transposed for same year his wife, Anna, is mentioned as a widow.142
flute). According to a letter of Leopold Mozart, We must assume, therefore, that he died in Lisbon in
Giuseppe, 'Prim'hautbois'of the orchestrain Salzburg, the middle of 1810, and not in 1802 or 1833 as stated

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by some sources without foundation. in Padua in 1801. He became a pensioner in 1834 and
A legend claims that Giuseppe Ferlendis was the died on 29 December 1855.150
inventor of the english horn.143 This is very unlikely Among Faustino's seven children, two probably
since the instrument was certainly known by mid- followed their father's profession: a Girardo is
century, and before he was born.144 Many sources recorded in the archive of Padua as 'orefice e
consider him to be responsible for improvements to suonatore'(goldsmithand instrumentalist),a Francesco
the instrument; some of these state that when he (1802-1836) is recorded as 'Filarmonico'.Towardsthe
arrived in Salzburg, Giuseppe found an old and end of his life the grandfather Pietro lived with
imperfect english horn and devoted himself to Faustino's daughter Teresa.ls1
improving it.145 But he knew that instrument already
before going to Salzburg,as indicated by a review of an Antonio Ferlendis,Pietro'sother son, replacedFaustino
accademiagiven with the mandolinist Zaniboni at the in Padua on 30 July 1796.152 He was in Trieste on 16
Santa Mariatheatre in Florence on 3 August 1776:146 August 1800, and went to live there in 1801. In 1810 he
was still first oboe of the TeatroNuovo of Trieste;in
... riportaronoil maggiorapplauso,e particolarmente il corno
1816 he moved to Venice.153Most sources mistakenly
inglese,cheperla sua novita,e dolcezzarecdunagratasorpresaai
circostanti. give Antonio as the brother of Giuseppe, probably
unaware of the existence of the Padua branch of the
... they gained a large applause, and especially the english
154 There is no evidence for this in any original
horn,which for its noveltyand sweetnesswas a pleasant family.
source.
surprisefor the listeners.
What is certain in any event is that Giuseppe was a Angelo Ferlendis, Giuseppe's elder son, was born in
specialist on the english horn; it is conceivable that, Brescia in 1780.155As early as 1791 he toured with his
since the instrument was obsolete at the time, father in Brescia (16 September), Udine and Trieste
someone hearing him performon it might believe that (1792),performingon the oboe, the english horn or the
he was its inventor. His devotion to this instrument flute. 156
was also acknowledgedby composers such as Michael Dove la sua eccellenteriuscita alla sua piu felice e naturale
Haydn,who wrote for him a concerto for english horn disposizionepe' suddettistrumenti,alle ottimeistruzionich'ebbe
and string trio,147 Alessio Prati,who wrote an aria for da suo padreed al suo propriostraordinariotalento.
the castrato Gaspare Pacchiarotti which had an Thesuccess of his
happyandnaturaldispositionfor these
accompaniment of harp and english horn with instruments wasdueto the excellentinstructionhe received
Giuseppe in mind (1797),148 and probably also W. A. fromhis father,and his own extraordinary talent."15
Mozart, who wrote an adagio for english horn and Of their
performancein Trieste on 10 September 1792
three unspecified instruments (K580a). it was reported:158
As the brothers Pietro and Giuseppe Ferlendis are
di ed concertista,sugli
mentioned by the maker Andrea Fornari (discussed L'esitofu grandesoddisfazione; ilgiovanetto
stessi strumentitrattatidal padre,diedeprovetali di se, da fargli
below) as guarantorsof the quality of his instruments, preconizzare
it seems likely that they performedon them, or at least l'eccellenzain arte cui pervennedi poi.
The result wasof greatsatisfaction;andtheyoungperformer
that they appreciated them.
gave such proofof himselfon his father'sinstrumentthat
art that he later
GerardoFerlendis, Pietro'sson, replaced his father on one could foresee his excellence in the
attained.
several occasions over six years. In 1791 he was
in
appointed second oboist of the chapel of San Antonio Angelo toured Germanyand settled in St. Petersburg
in Padua, a position that was established with his 1801.159 In October 1823 he was recorded there as
engagement. During the spring of 1794 he moved to being a soloist on the english horn.'60
Trieste, where he became first oboe of the San Pietro
Alessandro Ferlendis, Giuseppe's younger son, was
theatre (later the TeatroNuovo). He died there on 21 born in Venice in 1783. In 1801 he went with his father
January 1802, aged 31.149 to Lisbon. There he married the contralto singer
Faustino Ferlendis, born in Brescia on 10 July 1771, Camilla Barberi, with whom he toured to Madrid
replaced his brother Gerardoin July 1794 as second (1803), Italy (1804), Paris (1805), Holland, again Paris
oboe of the chapel of San Antonio. He followed his (1807-1810) and Italy, Vienna and Frankfurt(1811),
brotherto Trieste in 1796 and came back to his place Russia and Stockholm (1812-1813), London (1815)

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and again Frankfurt (1816). Reviews of his per- The instrument
formances were not always enthusiastic.161According No evidence survives of any woodwind makers in
to Choron and Fayolle, Alessandro composed studies Venice at the beginning of the 18th century. This
and other pieces for the oboe. seems rather surprising, considering the picture that
has just been painted of the intense activity of these
Other references to members of the Ferlendis instruments in the city. However, too little organo-
family The presence of so many oboists in the logical research has been done to be certain that there
Ferlendis family has made identification difficult in really was no maker in Venice.170Some evidence
some cases. For example, there is a report of a supports the conjecture that Germanwoodwinds were
performance in Milan in October 1816:162 in use in Venice at the beginning of the century:some
Hr. Ferlendis,ein Venetianer,liess sich vor einigen Tagenim of the earliest oboists were German(LudwigErdmann
grossenSaale des Theatersalla Scala auf derHoboehdren,und and possibly Ignazio Siber);and all the instrumentsfor
gefielganz undgar nicht. which Vivaldi composed, including the clarinet,
MrFerlendis,a Venetian,was heardon the oboe a few days which, as has already been noted, is not a typically
ago at the large hall of the Scala theatre and was not French instrument, were made a little earlier by
appreciatedat all. Johann Christoph Denner at Nuremberg.
Andin 1826 there is a reportof anotherperformancein Nevertheless, the geographer abbot Vincenzo
Milan: 163 Coronelli (1650-1718) gives the only specific in-
Eine SdngerinGiovaninaFerlendisgab einmal in Gesellschaft dication on the subject, when he wrote in 1706:171
ihresVaters,Hoboistenin Triester
Theater, stattdes erstenAhtsder Perprovedersides Obois,e d'altristromentida fiato,non bisogna
Oper eine Accademia Musicale, von der aber Ref welchernicht partirsida Milano.
selbstzugegenwar,nichts16bliches gehdrthat DerHoboistsoll ein
Bruderdes verstobenesFerlendisseyn,dersich vormehrenJahren To provideoboes, and other woodwindinstruments,it is
im im hiesigen Redoutensaalebenfalls auf der Hoboe (mit necessaryto find them in Milan.
ungiistigemErfolge)h6renliess . . . In Milan, in fact, lived the only Italian woodwind
AsingerGiovaninaFerlendistogetherwithherfather,oboist makerthat we know of with certainty:Giovanni Maria
of the Triestetheatre,gavean accademia musicaleinsteadof Anciuti. His mark on recorders, oboes, double
the firstact of the opera.I was not present,but it was said recorders, a bass transverse flute and a double
thatnothingpraiseworthy washeard.Theoboistis saidto be bassoon often includes the
place of manufacture-in
the brotherof the deceasedFerlendiswhoperformedin this
all cases Milan-and a date-between 1709 and
theatreseveralyearsago (withunsuccessfulresults)...
1740.172 It is not possible to tell if Anciuti was the
Giovanni Battista Delai (c.1765-after 1805) was the maker referred to by Coronelli. It may be of some
last eminent oboist that the Venetian Republic significance that many of his instrumentsin existence
in
produced. Born Verona around 1765,165 In 1791 he today are marked with the lion of St Mark,the symbol
was invited to the Carignano theatre in Turin to of the city of Venice. The similarityof pitch between
performa concerto for oboe.166 In Venice he took part Milan and Venice at that time should have made the
in occasional performancessuch as a festa da ballofor exchange of woodwind instruments easier.
the guild of St Cecilia on 22 January1790, playing next By mid-centuryseveralwoodwind makersflourished
to the first oboist, 'Fierlandis' (that is, Giuseppe in Italy, among them Carlo Palanca (c.1688-1783) of
Ferlendis).167 Delai was mentioned by the maker Turin, Giovanni Panormo of Naples, Grassi of Milan
AndreaFornari(see below) as guarantorof the quality and I. Biglioni of Rome. It was only towardsthe end of
of his instruments. Delai appears to have worked in the century that two woodwind makers distinguished
Venice well into the 19th century; Francesco Caffi themselves in Venice-Andrea Fornariand Pellegrino
wrote in 1855:168 De'Azzi.173
Nonpochidevonoricordar oggidi. . quantosoavementesuonasse
Andrea Fornari (1753-1841) is the earliest Venetian
Gianellail flauto, Delai l'obod. oboe makerthat we know of for certain.174MOstof his
Many should remembertoday ... how gently Gianella surviving instruments are dated between 1791 and
performedon the flute and Delaion the oboe. 1832. Fornari'swoodwind making, beside being the
Caffi also described him as one of the most dis- most accurate seen in Italy up to that time, is
tinguished members of the orchestra of the chapel. 169 characteristic in several respects: he specialized in

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oboes and english horns, which is not common for the dating from the beginning of the 19th century.
period; he used ivory for the keys, which had a The impoverishment of the later instruments is
distinctive shape; most of his instruments are dated; symbolic of the disastrous economic decline that
he continued to make the traditional two-keyed followed the fall of the Republic of Venice. This was
instrument at a time when most other makers had probably also the reason why so many eminent
applied more advanced systems; his earliest in- musicians, among them Giuseppe Ferlendis and his
struments are more original and rich than his later sons, sought their fortune elsewhere. The economic
ones, which make less use of ivory and are more decline signalled the end of a golden age for culture
traditional. and art;it was a turn of events that saw the conclusion
A typicallyoriginalfeatureof his earliestinstruments of an important chapter in the history of the oboe.
is the lack of an'onion', that common turning-workof
the upper joint. A similar kind of oboe is shown in Theauthorgratefullyacknowledgesthe assistanceof the
pictorial sources of a generation earlier (portraitsof following in the preparationof this study: the late Prof
Bissoli and Gioseppe):although these pictures are not Denis Arnold:MrsRaffaellaTursini,from the Archiviodi
very accurate one might infer the existence of an Stato,Padua*Mr SergioBarizza,Directorof the Archivio
earlierVenetian oboe makerwho inspired Fornari,and Municipale, Venice;Padre LeonardoFrasson, Archivio
of whose work no specimens have been found. anticodell'Arcadel Santo,Padua
Although Fornari'sstyle is unique in some respects,
in others it shows more affinities with the German Born in Rome in 1961, Alfredo Bernardinilives in
instruments such as those by the Grensersthan with Amsterdamwhere he specializes in performanceon old
the Italian ones of a generation earlier:single fourth oboes.Besides his activityas a memberof severalmajor
hole, refinement of turning,ivory for the keys, etc. All Europeanensembles,he researchesthehistoryof woodwind
instrumentsin Italy, and makes copies of 18th-century
specimens of his english horns are curved and covered
in dark leather. oboes.
In his request for subsidy dated 28 February1792,
Fornari mentions four oboists as guarantors of the 'Benedetto Marcello, Il teatroalla moda (Venice, c.1720, Milan,
1956), p.54. Notice that the Italian spelling of the name of the
quality of his work. These are 'Pietro e Giuseppe instrument was oboe (plural oboe)until the beginning of the 20th
fratelli Ferlendis,Gio. BattistaDelai and Luigi Vittorio century, when it became oboe(pluraloboi).The earlierspelling came
directly from the Frenchhautbois(until the 19th century the French
Hughelot'.i"7The first three of these players have diphthong oi was pronounced like the Italian u? or ok).The spelling
already been discussed. Luigi Vittorio Hughelot (or found in 18th-centurydocuments can be quite fantastic:
obbo, oboe
Huzelot)was (as recorded on the back of a manuscript abue, boe,obboe,obbov, obbue,obu&,etc.
2J.J. Quantz,'HerrnJohann Joachim Quantzens Lebenslauf von
fingering chart for the oboe dating from c.1790) a ihm selbst entworfen',in F. W. Marpurg,Historisch-hritischeBeytrdge
teacher of nine instruments at the collegioof Latisana zur AufnahmederMusih (Berlin, 1755/R1972), p.228. Quantz asked
(between Venice and Trieste).On another paper from Hasse to introduce him to Scarlatti.
the same collection, Hughelot stated that he had been 3J. J. Quantz,Essai d'unemethodepourapprendred jouerde la flute
traversibre,avec plusiers remarquespour servir au bon gout dans la
a pupil of Pietro and Giuseppe Ferlendis, Domenico musique (Berlin, 1752/R Paris, 1975), p.246; English translation
Scolari and Gio. Batta Delai among others. EdwardR. Reilly, OnPlayingthe Flute(London, 1966), p.268
4BathiaChurgin,'Sammartini,Giuseppe', New Grove
De'Azzi (c.1772-1835), born in was
Ferrara, 5Thiemo Wind, 'Alessandro Besozzi: Portrit eines Virtuosen',
Pellegrino Tibia,i (1986), pp.13-22
the founder of a large dynasty of woodwind makers.176 6EleanorSelfridge-Field,VenetianInstrumentalMusicfrom Gabrieli
AlthoughDe'Azziand Fornarilived in the same quarter to Vivaldi(Oxford, 1975), p.40. The Venetian composer Agostino
of the city, very little similaritycan be found between Steffani had included obbligato oboe parts in his operas and
cantatas some ten years earlier. However, since these works were
their instruments. In contrast to Fornari's work, composed during his stay in Germanythey are not relevant to the
De'Azzi's only extant english horn is angular, the present subject.
7Ibid,p.19. The Venetian year began on 1 March:all dates derived
shape of his oboe is more conventional and so is the from archival sources in this study are given in the new style.
shape of its keys. Some of his instruments also made 8Ibid,p.14
use of more advanced systems of keys. 9Ibid,appendix
No traces of woodwind makingin other parts of the busta 10I-Vas,Procuratoridi San Marco de Supra,chiesa, terminazioni,
19, fasc.77. Transcriptionin the catalogue of the exhibition
republic have been found. One of the earliest Omaggioa Venezia:i fiati (Venice, 1986).
examples known is that of Ignazio Mirazfrom Udine, "Ibid; also Francesco Caffi, Storia della musica sacra nella gid

384 EARLY MUSIC AUGUST 1988

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cappelladucaledi San Marcoa Venezia(Venice, 1855), pp.64-5 44Ibid
12Agostinelliwas replaced in 1767 by Alvise Rosetti. Charles 45MichaelTalbot,Vivaldi(London, 1978),pp. 131-2. I do not know
Burneyheard him in Ludwigsburgin 1772: ThePresentStateof Music on what evidence Michael Stegemann bases his claim that the
in Germany,the Netherlands,and UnitedProvinces(London, 1775). sonata and concerto in F were written for Antonio Besozzi: Vivaldi
Eventuallyhe was in the service of the Prince of Thurnand Taxisin (Reinbeck bei Hamburg, 1985), p.109
Regensburgfor 32 years:Hugo Angererand GertrautHaberkamp,Die 46Talbot,Vivaldi,p.136
Musikhandschriften der FiirstThurnund TaxisHofbibliothek(Munich, 47Theautograph score of the Stabat Mater,for bass, recorder,
1981), p.xi. There is some ambiguity about Agostinelli's first name: muted oboe, two muted violas and continuo, together with other
sometimes he appears as Francesco Saverio, at others as Fioravante autographs of chamber music by Platti, is in the libraryof Count
or Florante.Thereis evidence to suggest that the names indicate one Sch6nborn in Wiesentheid, near Wfirzburg.
and the same person ('Fioravante'is probably a nickname). 48Talbot,Vivaldi,p.154; Talbot,Albinoni,p.137
13RogerCotte, 'Gianella, Louis', New Grove 49I do not know on what evidence modern writers often refer to
14I-Vas,San Marco,Proc.de Supra,reg.158. The authoris indebted the rough and primitive qualities of the Baroque oboe. We can
to the late Prof.Denis Arnoldfor his helpful information given from hardlybelieve that Vivaldiwrote his concertos with a modern oboe
this source. in mind.
15GastoneVio,'Precisazionisui documenti della Pieta in relazione 50BruceHaynes, 'J. S. Bach's Pitch Standards: the Woodwind
alle "figlie del coro"', Vivaldiveneziano europeo,ed. F. Degrada Perspective',Journalof the AmericanMusicalInstrumentsSociety,xi
(]Florence,1980), p.104 (1985), p.109
16Ibid,pp.105, 109; Selfridge-Field,op cit, p.43 51Quantz,Essai, p.247, trans. Reilly, op cit, pp.268-9:
17Vio,op cit, p.109. Siber'sreplacement as flute teacher was Carlo Onexilaunefoisa Romeles instrumentsd ventde I'Eglise.Si cetoit d cause
Chevalier. de la hauteurdisagrdabledu ton dontils se servoientou de la manierede
IsMichael Talbot, Vivaldi(London, 1978), p.136 les jouer,cest ce queje ne veuxpas discuter Carquoiqu'alorsle ton de
19Marie-Ther6se Bouquet-Boyer,Vivaldiet le concerto(Paris,1985), Romefut bas & avantageuxpour l'Hautbois,les joueurs avoient des
p. 14, quoting Johann Christoph Nemeitz instruments,qui etoientun ton entierplus haut; de sorte qu'ils6toient
20VincenzoMaria Coronelli, Guidade'forestierisacro profanaper
obligesde transposer&ces instrumentshautfaisoientcontreles autresqui
osservareil piti ragguardevolenellacittddi Venezia(Venice, 1700), p.27; etoientbas, le memeeffet que s'ils eussent6tWdes Chalemies.
(2/1706), p.20
21Artee musicaall'Ospedaletto: scheded'archiviosull'attivitdmusicale In Rome at one time the wind instruments were banned from the
church. Whetherthe unpleasant high pitch or the mannerof playing
degliospedalidei Derelittie dei Mendicanti,ed. G. Ellero and J. Scarpa
the instruments was the reason for this, I must leave undecided. For
(Venice, 1978)
22DenisArnold, 'Orchestrasin Eighteenth-century Venice', GSJ, although the Romanpitch was low, and advantageous for the oboe,
xix (1966), p.12 the oboists then played on instruments that were a whole tone
23TaddeoWiel, I teatri musicali veneziani del Settecento(Venice, higher, so that they were obliged to transpose. And these high
instruments produced an effect like that of Germanshawms against
1897/R Bologna, 1978), pp.352, 359
the others that were tuned low.
24Padua,Archivio antico dell'Arcadel Santo [AASP],busta 1078,
filza 154, n.57 etc. (courtesy of Padre Leonardo Frasson) This statement is confirmed by the original oboe parts of Handel's
25PadreLeonardo Frasson, 'Francescantonio Vallotti maestro di Carmelite Vespers, composed in Rome in 1707. These are indeed
cappella nella Basilica del Santo', Il santo, xx, series ii (1980), written a tone lower than the other parts:Watkins Shaw, 'Handel's
p.297 Vesper Music', MT(July 1985), p.392. The reason why high-pitched
26Thesewere Sig. Baroni(1713-1714), Antonio Semenzato (1715- oboes were used in Rome might be because they were introduced
1719), Domenico de Marchi from Vicenza (1715-1718), Michele from Venice by Ignazio Rion.
Ruzini (or Ruzzini, Rosini) (1718-1719): AASP,buste 1079-81 52Thekeys of Albinoni's op.9 oboe concertos are d, F, C, G, g, C,
27Frasson,op cit, p.297 Bb, D; if they were transposed a tone lowerthe oboe would play in e,
28AASP,Atti e Parti, vv.33-6 (1780-1803) G, D, A, a, D, C, E.
29BrunoBrizi, 'Vivaldi a Vicenza, una festa barocca del 1713', 53Anoboe by Denner, owned by the Museo Correr,Venice (no.34)
Informazionie studi vivaldiani,no.7 (1986) but located at the ConservatorioBenedetto Marcello, is ratherhigh
30M.T. R.Barezzaniet al, Lamusicaa BrescianelSettecento(Brescia, in pitch (only 53.9 cm long), and therefore probably suitable for
1981), p.79 Venice, has a bore of just 5.3 mm. at the narrowest point. The
31Ibid,p.90 average size of the narrowestpoint for other oboes of the period is
32Ibid,schede 195, 201 about 6.0 mm. That of classical oboes is about 4.8 mm.
33GiuseppeVale, 'La cappella musicale del duomo di Udine',Note 541tis possible, however, to find compositions using the oboe in
d'archivio,vii (1930), p. 163 its uppermost register from other parts of Italy. The six SonateDa
34I-Bc,1.17.45 Cameraa OboeSolocolsuo Bassoby Domenico MariaDreyer(MSin F-
35Thomas E. Warner, An AnnotatedBibliographyof Woodwind Pn, Vm76489), writtenbefore 1727, make frequent use of d '" as well
InstructionBooks,1600-1830 (Detroit, 1967), entry 122 as c'. Thereis also one e"'. Dreyerwas from Florence, and from 1731
36FrancescoCaffi,'Appuntiper aggiunte a musica sacra', MSin I- to 1734 was at the service of the Russian court at St. Petersburg:R.
Vnm,cod.It, iv-762 (10467), p.8 Aloys Mooser, Annalesde la musiqueet des musiciensen Russie au
37Bruce Haynes, Music for Oboe, 1650-1800: a Bibliography XVIIIesiecle, (Geneva, 1948), i, p.90.
(Berkeley, California, 1986) 55However,an oboe d'amoreby J. H. Eichentopf is owned by the
38Ibid Museo Correr, Venice (no.35). It is possible that the instrument has
39Michael Talbot, Albinoni (Lottstetten, 1980), pp.135-9 remained in Venice since it was made, though there is no direct
4oSelfridge-Field, op cit, p.40 evidence to prove it. It does not seem to be pitched higher than any
41Ibid, p.183 other specimen by the same maker (a' = c.415 Hz).
42Jean Pierre Demoulin, 'Apropos de la chronologie des oeuvres 56Johann Gottfried Walther, Musihalisches Lexicon (Leipzig,
de Vivaldi', Vivaldi veneziano europeo, pp.28-9 1732)
43Haynes, op cit 57These are all preserved in Padua, Biblioteca Antoniana.

EARLY MUSIC AUGUST 1988 385

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 58Thissonata by Bissoli is in the library of the Liceo Musicale tesorodi San Gennaronei secoli XVIIe XVIII(Naples, 1720)
Nicol6 Paganini, Genoa, and is published by Nova Music (London, 84UlisseProta Giurleo, II teatrodi cortenel PalazzoRealedi Napoli
1983) and Suvini Zerboni (Milan, 1983). (Naples, 1952), p.92
59AlfredoBernardini,'CarloPalanca e la costruzione di strumenti 85G.Schmidt, Die Musiham HofederMarkgrafen von Brandenburg-
a fiato a Torino nel Settecento', II flauto dolce, xiii (October 1985), Ansbach,Kassel 1956, p.74
pp.22-6 86Vio,op cit., pp.105-106
60Haynes,op cit, p.131 87Michael Talbot, 'Vivaldi e lo chalumeau', Rivista italiana di
61Quantzmet Sammartiniin Venice in 1726, as he wrote in his musicologia,xv (1980), pp.155-81
'Lebenslauf, p.232: 88AnneSchnoebelen, 'PerformancePracticeat San Petronioin the
Baroque',Acta musicologica,xli (1969), p.52
Voninstrumentisten fand ichausserdemVivaldiundMadonis,Violinisten, 89Ibid
unddemHoboistenSanMartinoaus Mailandebennichtviel besondersin
90Ibid
Venedig.
91Quantz,'Lebenslauf, p.231
Among the instrumentalists, I did not find anybody special in 92LuigiNerici, Storiadella musicain Lucca(Bologna, 1879/R1969),
Venice, excepting Vivaldi and Madonis, violinists, and the oboist p.339
San Martino from Milan. 93Vio,op cit, p.109
62Aletter of Giuseppe Tartinito PadreMartiniof 7 May 1762 (I-Bc, 94Ibid
1.17.74)proves that the Pla brothers (Jos6, Juan Batista or Manuel) 95Selfridge-Field,op cit, p.308
were in Padua. 96I-Vas,San Marco, Proc. de Supra, Chiesa, busta 19, fasc.72,
63Aguilarwrote to PadreMartinifrom Venice on 17 March 1764 (1- transcribedin Omaggioa Venezia:i fiati. Siberwas apparentlyunable
Bc, 1.8.193). to play after 1757 because of his illness.
64EvaBadura-Skoda,'Platti, Giovanni Benedetto', New Grove 971-Vas,Scuole piccole, reg.273
65RobertMfinster,'Ferrandini,Giovanni Battista',New Grove 98Seenote 31
66Rome, Gabinetto Nazionale dei Disegni e delle Stampe, 99Frasson,op cit, p.297
vol.2606, F.N. 4659 1oolbid
67Selfridge-Field,op cit, p.19 10'lbid,p.142
68Ibid,p.305 102AASP, Atti e Parti,vol.33, cc216v, 217rv, 221r
69Vio,op cit, p.109 103AASP (following Frasson)
701bid,p.105 104Locatedin I-Bc(I.18.65)
71Ibid 105Frasson, op cit, pp.132, 138, 142, 143
72UrsulaKirkendale,AntonioCaldara(Graz and Cologne, 1966), 106Charles Burney, ThePresentState of Music in Franceand Italy
p.62 (London, 1773/R1959),p.103
73Seenote 24. 107Jer6mede Lalande, Voyageen Italie (Paris, 1789), ix, p.12
74Selfridge-Field,op cit, p.305 108p.Guerrini,'Perla storia della musica a Brescia',NotedArchivio,
751753 is the date of his widow's inventory of goods: I-Vas, giudici xi (1934), p.11
-di Petizion, busta 477/142, n. 1. 109FollowingFrasson
76Marie-Th6reseBouquet, Musiqueet musiciensd Turinde 1648 d o10Corrado storia
Ricci, I teatridi Bolognanei secoli XVIIe XVIIII,
1775 (Turinand Paris, 1969), p.25 aneddotica(Bologna, 1888), p.614
"7Vio,op cit, p.105 111Caffi,Storiadella musica, p.64
78Coronelli,op cit (2/1706), p.20 San Marco, Proc. de Supra, reg.156
112I-Vas,
79Ibid,i, p.28 113-Vas, Savio Casciere, busta 585
o8Asthe documentation on Romaninstrumentalistsalmost always 114CarloLeone Curiel, Il teatroSan Pietro a Trieste,1690-1801
mentions only their first names, an identification of the 'Ignatio' (Milan, 1937), pp.191, 197, 200, 206 etc.
engaged in all the main Roman activities is made very difficult, "'Following Frasson
especially since there were at least six 18th-centuryItalian oboists "6Theformerwas born in Vicenza, operatedin Venice and laterin
named Ignazio (Rion,Siber,Prover,Ciceri,D'Albertoand Maneschi). Barcelona and Lisbon (where he died): Piero Weiss, 'Scolari,
At first it appeared that the Roman Ignatio was Siber, since six Giuseppe', New Grove.The latter replaced Faustino Ferlendis in
sonatas for recorder and continuo by a certain 'Monsieur Sieber Padua in 1834, and was second oboe of the chapel until his death:
demeurant ia Rome' were published in about 1717 by Roger and Almanaccodiocesianodi Padova(1829-1847).
Walsh (GB-Lbm,Hirsch 111.211). Eventually the identification 117A.Choron and F. Fayolle, Dictionnairehistoriquedes musiciens
problem was solved by the discovery of a bill of payment dated 7 (Paris,1810),i, p.222. The first name, Franco,is given in a document
May 1713 for performingat San Ildefonso, and signed 'IgnatioRion': concerning Pietro'sfamily:Archiviodi Stato di Padova[ASP],reg.76,
Rome,Archiviodi San Giacomo degli Spagnoli, contabilita 1713, C- San Nicol6, 272, 2 (I am indebted to Raffaella Tursini, for all
111-259. information kindly supplied from this archive.)
81Kirkendale,op cit, p.355; Ursula Kirkendale, 'The Ruspoli "18ASP,as preceding note
Documents on Handel',JAMS,xx (1967), p.257. Ignatio was first of 19AASP,Atti e Parti,vol.33 (1780)
the four oboes employed for Handel's oratorio La resurrezione(14 following Frasson
'120AASP,
April 1708). More on Ignatio's activities in Rome can be found in 121Barezzaniet al, op cit, scheda 195
Hans Joachim Marx, 'Die Giustificazioni della casa Pamphili als 122AASP,Atti e Parti,vol.36
musikgeschichtlisches Quelle', Studi musicali, xii (1983), p.171; Jean 123AASP,following Frasson
Lionnet, 'La musique a Saint-Louis des Frangais de Rome au 124S. Cordero di Pamparato, 'Gaetano Pugnani violinista torinese',
XVIIeme siecle', Note d'archivio, iv (1986), supplement, pp.195, 198- Rivista musicale italiana, xxvii (1930), p.551
200, 203; F. Piperno, 'Anfione in Campidoglio, Nuovissimi studi '25Ernst Ludwig Gerber, 'Ferlendis, Giuseppe', Neues historisch-
corelliani (Florence, 1982), p.205. biographisches Lexicon der Tonhidnstler(Leipzig, 1812-1814/Ri1966)
82Charles Burney, A General History of Music, iii (London, 1789), 126ASP,following Tursini
pp.553-4 127Curiel, op cit, p.270, n.115.
83Salvatore Di Giacomo, Maestri di Cappella, musici e istromenti al 130G.M. Gatti and A. Basso, La musica: dizionario (Turin, 1968-

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 1971), i, p.664 152AASP,
supra
131Mozart BriefeundAufzeichnungen, ii (Kassel, 1962), pp.282, 431, 153Curiel, op cit, p.257
435 154See, for example, MGGsupplement and New Grove.
132Cordero di Pamparato,op cit, p.551 155Gervasoni, op cit, p. 136. Othersources give 1781 as his date of
133Wiel, op cit. The appointment of Giuseppe Ferlendis as first birth, which appears very unlikely.
oboe of La Fenice (built in 1792) is recorded in an autograph 156Ibid;Curiel, op cit, p.257
composition by him in I-Gi(1). 157Gervasoni,op cit, p.136
134Ricci,op cit, p.501 158Curiel,op cit, p.257
135Gerber, op cit 159F6tis,op cit
136CarloGervasoni,Nuova teoriadi musica (Parma,1812), p.136 160Allgemeine musihalischeZeitung,xxv (October 1823), p.655
137Curiel,op cit, pD.257, 270 161Choron and Fayolle,op cit;Gervasoni,op cit;F6tis,op cit, Robert
138H. C. Robbins Landon, Haydnin England,1791-1795 (London, Eitner,Biographisch-bibliographisches Quellen-Lexicon(Leipzig, 1891),
1976), pp.278, 307, 311 AllgemeinemusikalischesZeitung,xiii (1811), pp.146, 796; xiv (1812),
139Lamusica p.867; xv (1813), p.98; xviii (1816), p.716
"1Carl Israel Ruders, Viagemem Portugal 1798-1802 (Lisbon, 162Allgemeine musikalischesZeitung,xviii (October 1816), p.747
1981), p.210 163Ibid,xxxix (1826), p.635
141Statementby Jodo Ant6nio Monteiro e Azevedo reported by 164ArchivioMunicipale Venezia, registro anagrafi 1805, De,
Mario de Sampayo Ribeiro,A mtisicaem Portugalnos seculosXVIIIe p. 170v:'Delai Gio Batta.,fu Giulio, etA40, Religione Cattolica,Patria
XIX(Lisbon, 1938), p.127 Verona, Sestiere S. Marco, Contrada San Mois6, Calle Ortolani
142joseph Scherpereel. A orquesta e os instrumentistasda Real n.1816, Nubile, Civile, Professor d'Obo?.'
Cdmarade Lisboade 1764 a 1834 [text in Portuguese and French] 165I-Vas,San Marco, Proc. de Supra, reg.158
(Lisbon, 1985), pp.181, 254-5 166Cordero di Pamparato,op cit, p.70
143Theearliest source to put this forwardis Pietro Lichtenthal, 1671-Vas,Scuole Piccole, reg.273 (1791)
Dizionarioe bibliografiadellamusica(Milan 1826/RBologna, 1970), ii, 168Caffi,Storiadella musica, p.70
p.72 169Ibid,p.69
144ReineDahlqvist, 'Taille, Oboe da Caccia and Corno Inglese', 1701tis not yet known where such makers as N. Castel (whose
GSJ,xxvi (1973) name could indicate that he came from southern Franceor northern
145Choronand Fayolle, op cit, p.223; Fran;ois Joseph F6tis, Italy) and D. Perosa lived.
Biographieuniverselledes musiciens(Paris, 1864), iii, p.207 171Coronelli,op cit (2/1706), p.21
1~Curiel, op cit, p.270, quoting the Gazzettatoscana (10 August 172Lindsay G. Langwill,AnIndexof MusicalWindInstrumentMakers
1776), p.125 (Edinburgh,5/1977); Phillip T. Young, Twenty-five HundredHistorical
147JohnWarrack,'Ferlendis, Giuseppe', New Grove WoodwindInstruments(New York, 1982)
148Giuseppe Barblan,'Giuseppe Ferlendis virtuoso bergamasco e '73Langwill,op cit, Bernardini,op cit
il suo concerto per oboe in fa maggiore' Chigiana,xix (1962), 174AlfredoBernardini,'AndreaFornari(1753--1841) fabricator di
p.267 strumentia Venezia',Ilflautodolce,nos. 14-15 (April-October1986),
149AASP,Atti e Parti, vols.33-6 (1780-1803); Curiel, op cit, pp.31-6
p.394 175Stefano Toffolo, 'La costruzione degli strumenti musicali a
150AASP, supra;ASP,reg.61, San Benedetto 173, 2, reg.36, Carmine Venezia dal XVI al XIX secolo', La flauto dolce, nos. 14-15 (1986),
365 (there are small discrepancies between these two registers) pp.24-30
151ASP, supra, also reg.40, Duomo 524, reg.76, S. Nicol6 272, 2 "'6Bernardini,'AndreaFornari'

Table 1. The Ferlendis family

All oboists appear in bold type; other musicians in italic.

Franco
= Lucia Pasini

Pietro Giuseppe
(1748-1836) (1755-1810)
= Teresa Giapponi = Anna

Gerardo Faustino Antonio Giuseppa Angelo Alessandro

(1770-1802) (1771-1855) (fl.1796-1816) (fl.1797-1810) (1780-after 1823) (1783-after 1826)
= Giustina Gagliardi = Camilla Barberi
I
Girardo I-- Francesco
(1802-1836)

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