- Carlo Farina
Carlo Farina (* c. 1600,
Mantova ; † July, 1639,Vienna ) was an Italiancomposer ,conductor andviolinist of the Baroque era.Life
Farina got his first lessons presumably by his father, who was "sonatore di viola" at the court of the Gonzaga in Mantova. Later he got further education probably by
Salomone Rossi andGiovanni Battista Buonamente . From 1626 to 1629, he worked as concertmaster inDresden . In Dresden he worked withHeinrich Schütz , who interested him in composing. From 1629 to 1631, he was a prominent member of the electoral court orchestra inBonn , until he returned to Italy, where he worked inParma and later inLucca until 1635. In 1635 he held position at the court of the Prince ofMassa and between 1636 and 1637 inDantzig . From 1638 he lived inVienna , where he also died of plague probably a year later.He is considered to be one of the earliest violin virtuosos and he had many contributions to violin technique. For example, in his work "Capriccio Stravagante" (1627) he used violin to imitate animal sounds like dogs barking or cats fighting.
Work
During his stay in Dresden he published five volumes with various pieces, among them sonatas for 2, 3, 4 instruments and basso continuo. The pieces have often the same program as the title. Thus he uses Polish dance rhythms in the Sonata "La Polaca" or Hungarian motifs in "La Cingara".
Compositions
*Capriccio Stravagante 1627
*Sonata detta la Polaca (à 3)
*Sonata detta la Capriola (à 3)
*Sonata detta la Moretta (à 3)
*Sonata detta la Franzosina (à 2)
*Sonata detta la Farina (à 2)
*Sonata detta la Greca (à 3)
*Sonata detta la Cingara (à 3)
*Sonata detta la Fiama (à 2)
*Sonata detta la Semplisa (à 3)
*Sonata detta la Desperata (à 2)
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