Vinaccesi,Vinacesi, Vinacese, Benedetto, *ca. 1666 Brescia, †25 December 1719 Venice, Italian composer. He probably studied music with Pietro Pelli, maestro di cappella of Brescia Cathedral. Between 1687 and 1691, he was maestro di cappella to Ferdinando Gonzaga, Duke of Castiglione delle Stiviere; between 1698 and 1715, he was maestro di cappella at Ospedaletto, and from 1704 until the end of his life, he was second organist at St Mark’s Basilica in Venice.
Vinaccesi was a highly regarded composer, as evidenced by the fact that he was often entrusted with directing the musical programme for important ceremonies in Venice. He composed in the most important musical genres of his era: operas, oratorios, cantatas, masses, motets, sacred concerts, suites and sonatas. Only a small part of his compositional legacy, estimated at over 450 compositions, has survived. In the pastorale Chi è causa del suo mal pianga, written for Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni, the composer skilfully varied the expression for the needs of the stage action; the solo cantatas are distinguished by their virtuosic elements and carefully balanced form. In his sacred concertos, often in da capo form, Vinaccesi employed elaborate counterpoint, and in his masses and completions, he used polyphonic techniques. His sonatas da camera are among his most original works. Unlike Corelli’s, these are extensive suite cycles with multiple movements, which include such exotic and unusual dances as taiheg, pira and arcicorrente.
Literature: V. Zacearia Benedetto Vinaccesi (Brescia 1670c.–Venezia 1719). Profilo bio-bibliografico, “Musica sacra” new series, VII, Milan 1962; M. Talbot Benedetto Vinaccesi. A Musician in Brescia and Venice in the Age of Corelli, Oxford 1994; M. Talbot The Taiheg, the Pira, and Other Curiosities of. Benedetto Vinaccesi’s “Suonate da camera a tre op. 1”, “Music and Letters” LXXV, 1994; M. Talbot The Marcian Motets of Benedetto Vinaccesi w: Giovanni Legrenzi e la Cappella ducale di San Marco, ed. F. Passadore, F. Rossi, Florence 1994; M. Talbot The Taiheg, the Pira, and Other Curiosities of Benedetto Vinaccesis “Suonate da camera a tre”, op. 1, “Music & Letters” LXXV, 1994.
Compositions:
Instrumental:
Suonate da camera a tre Op. 1, published in Venice 1687
Sfere armoniche overo sonate da chiesa [a tre] Op. 2, published in Venice 1692 (only the b.c. preserved)
Suonate da camera a tre Op. 4, lost
Vocal-instrumental:
Il consiglio degl’amanti, overo cantate amorose a voce sola Op. 3, published in Venice 1688, lost
Motetti a due e tre voci, published in Venice 1714
Preserved in manuscripts (mainly in the British Library in London, the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, Berlin, Staatsbibliothek zu Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Modena, Biblioteca Estense, Venice, Biblioteca Marciana):
mass, compline – for 8 voices and instruments
2 motets for solo alto with instruments
8 cantatas for solo voice (S, A, B) with b.c.
oratorios:
Susanna, libretto by G.B. Bettolino, premiered in Modena 1694
Gioseffo che interpreta i sogni, libretto by G.B. Neri, performed in Modena 1692, lost
Il cuor nello scrigno, libretto by F. Arisi, premiered in Cremona 1696, lost
Li diecimila martiri, libretto by A. Paolini, premiered in Brescia 1698, lost
Stage:
Chi è causa del suo maipianga, pastorale, libretto by G.B. Neri, premiered in Rome 1697
L’innocenza giustificata, dramma per musica, libretto by F. Sikani, premiered in Venice 1699
Gli amanti generosi, dramma per musica, libretto by G.R Candi, premiered in Venice 1703, lost
Sfoghi di giubilo, serenata, libretto by P. Robert, premiered in Venice 1704, lost
