Veracini, Antonio (EN)

Veracini Antonio, *17 January 1659 Florence, †26 October 1733 Florence, Italian violinist and composer. He was probably taught by his father, Francesco Veracini (1638–1720); between 1677 and 1685, both played in the orchestra of Prince Ferdinando II de’ Medici’s opera theatre in Villa Pratolino. From 1682 to 1694, Veracini was a violinist at the court of Grand Duchess Vittoria della Rovere of Tuscany. In 1700, he became maestro di cappella at the church of San Michele in Florence. He conducted regular performances of oratorios for the Florentine confraternities: San Niccolò del Ceppo (1702–30), San Marco (1703–05) and San Jacopo del Nicchio (1720). Around 1708, he assumed his father’s duties of running a music school in the family home; in 1718, he was one of the founders of the musicians’’ company, in which he served as councillor for some time. In 1720, he made a short visit to Vienna.

Veracini was one of the most important 17th-century composers of violin sonatas and the most prominent representative of the Florentine instrumental school. He published sonatas for the most common instrument combinations: 1–3 instruments and basso continuo. These sonatas were highly regarded, as evidenced by Dutch reprints. Compared to other sonatas from the late 17th century, Veracini’s musical style appears to be entirely original and free from imitation of prevailing conventions. While the sonatas from Op. 1 and 3 generally adhere to the four-part form of the so-called sonata da chiesa developed by A. Corelli, they differ significantly from his works in many ways; in the slow movements, there is an intensification of the harmony and an emphasis on a single, broadly outlined melodic phrase. These movements, often titled Cantabile or Affettuoso, even outnumber the fast movements in some sonatas, as in those by Pietro degli Antonii. The fast movements are usually fugal and more elaborate than Corelli’s fugues, and in the finales, they take the form of dance-like fugatos in triple meter. Furthermore, in Op. 1 and 3, Veracini often used fast, fanfare-like sections in the trombetta style characteristic of the Modena school. The solo sonatas from Op. 2 present a completely different style; despite the designation “da camera” in the title, these works are not suites, but typical three-, four- and five-movement sonatas with an alternating sequence of slow and fast movements. In the slow movements, Veracini introduced passages in which improvisation is possible, as well as a tempo sections, in which the musical notation must be followed strictly. None of the fast movements are based on imitative technique; most often they are virtuoso figurations of the moto perpetuo-type or two-part, quasi-periodic dance structures reminiscent of a gigue or minuet. Unlike the sonatas of German violinists and Corelli, Veracini did not use multiple stops, placing particular emphasis on the ornamentation and liltingness of the melodic line and the clarity of the texture, thus heralding the style of the later sonatas of his nephew Francesco Maria Veracini, G. Tartini, and P. Locatelli. 

Literature: J.W. Hill Antonio Veracini in Context. New Perspectives from Documents, Analysis and Style, “Early Music” XVIII, 1990; W. Apel Die Italienische Violinmusik im 17. Jahrhundert, Wiesbaden 1983, English edition expanded Th. Binkley, titled The Italian Violin Music in the 17th Century, Bloomington (Indiana) 1990; A. D’Ovidio Patronage, sacrality and power at the court of Vittoria della Rovere: Antonio Veracinis op. 1 trio sonatas, “Journal of the Royal Musical Association” CXXXV, 2010; A. D’Ovidio “Il violino suo potrà parlar da sé”: Arcangelo Corelli maestro di Antonio Veracini in: Il giovane Corelli: Nuovi documenti e contesti, eds. F. Zimei, E. Gatti, Lucca 2024.