Sales, de Sala, Pietro Pompeo, *1729 Brescia, †21 November 1797 Hanau, Italian composer. He studied at the University of Innsbruck; commissioned by the Jesuits, he wrote the school play Massanissa (performed in 1752). In 1754, he became conductor of an Italian opera company, with which he went on tour, giving performances in Cologne, Brussels and Lille, amongst other places. Between 1756 and 1768, he was Kapellmeister at the court of Prince Joseph I, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and Bishop of Augsburg. In 1758 he became a member of the Accademia Filarmonica in Bologna. He travelled extensively, conducting his own works, including in Mannheim (1762) and Padua (Antigona in Tebe, premiered in 1767, now lost). In 1768, he went to Ehrenbreitstein near Koblenz to the electoral court of Prince Clemens Wenzeslaus, Archbishop of Trier and Bishop of Augsburg (the successor to Joseph I), where he led the court orchestra, although he was not officially appointed Kapellmeister until 1787. He also composed operas for the court in Munich (Le nozze di Amore e di Norizia, Antigono, Achille in Sciro). In 1776 he performed as a gambist in London, and in 1777 he conducted the Passion Heu quid egisti in Frankfurt. In 1786, he moved to Koblenz with the electoral court, leaving his residence on three occasions (1792, 1794 and 1797) during the turmoil of war associated with the French Revolution.
Sales was a highly regarded composer; German music lovers detected echoes of their own native music in his Italian style. Many of Sales’s works have been lost, and the lack of published editions has prevented their wider dissemination. Sales’s oratorios frequently featured in concert programmes, amongst which La Betulia liberata was regarded as one of the most outstanding compositions in the genre.
Literature: K. Böhmer “Lichter Ideenwurf und Wärme des Herzens”. Pietro Pompeo Sales (1729–1797) zum 200. Todestag, “Concerto” No. 124, 1997.
Compositions:
Instrumental:
5 symphonies
concertos: 1 for flute, 3 for harpsichord, 1 for 2 harpsichords
harpsichord sonata, published in: J.U. Haffner Raccolta musicale, vol. 4, Nuremberg 1762
Trio G for harpsichord, violin and cello
Notturno for 2 violins and cello
Vocal-instrumental:
4 masses, including 2 Missa solemnis
2 Litaniae lauretanae
2 ofertorios
other sacred works
oratorios, including:
Heu quid egisti, performed in Munich 1774
to texts by P. Metastasio:
Oratorio per la festa del Santo Natale, performed in Augsburg 1756, lost
Isacco figura del Redentore, performed in Ehrenbreitstein 1778
Gioas, re di Giuda, performed in Ehrenbreitstein 1781
Giuseppe riconosciuto, performed in Ehrenbreitstein 1780
La Betulia liberata, performed in Ehrenbreitstein 1783, lost
Stage:
Massanissa oder Die obsiegende Treu, staged in Innsbruck 1752, lost
Le nozze di Amore e di Norizia, libretto by Giunti, staged in Munich 1765
Antigono, opera seria, libretto by P. Metastasio, staged in Munich 1769
Achille in Sciro, opera seria, libretto by P. Metastasio, staged in Munich 1774
Il re pastore, opera seria, libretto by P. Metastasio
Editions:
harpsichord sonata, ed. G. Benvenuti in: Cembalisti italiani del Settecento X, Milan 1926
Organ concerto in G major, ed. J. Schatkin Hettrick, Pullman (Washington) 1996
Missa solemnis in C major, ed. H.P. Reiners, Sankt Augustin 1997
Harpsichord Concerto in C major and Harpsichord Concerto in F major, ed. P. Dicke, Cologne 2002
