Books › The violin and its music, 1881 › scan 208
Scan 208
The violin and its music, 1881
6 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 182. See the scan on archive.org.
1vested a l'antique,"* one fifth the number over which Corelli is said to have been placed in Guidi's opera, but the same as he led at the Church of St. Lorenzo. Anyhow, it would be interesting to know what was the character of the music allotted to this army of Fiddles and Viols. This entertainment took place at the Palace of Christina, the daughter of the great Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, who, Macaulay says, "had finally taken up her abode in Rome, where she busied herself with astrological calculations and with the intrigues of the conclave, and amused herself with pictures, gems, manuscripts, and medals. A splendid assembly met in her palace; her verses, set to music, were sung with universal applause."
3Returning again to the music of Corelli, we find that the second set of sonatas, called Balletti da Camera, published in the year 1685, were dedicated to Cardinal Panfilio or Pamphili, from which we infer the composer received some attention from his Eminence, who was a great lover of music and the arts. It was Cardinal Panfilio who became one of
5* "To the Palais Cardinal, where ye master of ceremonies plac'd me to see ye royal masque or opera. The first scene represented a chariot of singers composed of the rarest voices that could be procur'd, representing Cornaro and Temperance; this was overthrown by Bacchus and his Revellers; the rest consisted of several entries and pageants of excess by all the Elements. The conclusion was an Heaven whither all ascended. But the glory of the Masque was the greate persons performing in it, the French King (Louis XIV., age 13), his brother the Duke of Anjou, and others."
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.