Cimarosa, Domenico

Domenico Cimarosa

Sinfonia con Oboe, e Corni di ripieno in B-flat major

(b Aversa, 17 Dec 1749 – d Venice, 11 Jan 1801)

Domenica Cimarosa was best known for his more than sixty operatic compositions. His works were performed in all the major music centers across Europe including Naples, Rome, Vienna, London, Paris and more. He spent eleven years studying at the Conservatorio di S Maria di Loreto in Naples, and though he was a talented violinist and known as a good vocalist, he established himself as a composer early in his life, particularly of comic intermezzos. Cimarosa also composed instrumental music, both sacred and secular, though much of this music has been lost.

The Sinfonia con Oboe, e Corni di ripieno in B-flat major is a superb example of a sinfonia in the galant style. Cimarosa’s compositional style exemplifies the noble charm of galant music in its simple melodies and steady accompaniment. The original parts used for this publication do not come from a written manuscript, but are instead a set of printed parts currently preserved in the Zentralbibliothken in Solothurn, Switzerland. This particular collection contains several instrumental parts including oboe primo/secundo, corno primo/secundo, violino primo, violino secundo, viola, contrabasso. The printed cover page reads: “Sinfonia con Oboe, e Corni di ripieno del Signore Domenico Cimarosa Eseguita nel Teatro alla Valle in Roma.”

Though the premiere date for these particular parts in unknown, the music found here is nearly identical to a sinfonia used in the opening of Cimarosa’s opera L’Italiana in Londra, an intermezzo composed for 5 male voices, since women were not allowed to perform on stage in Rome according to papal law. L’italiana in Londra was premiered in Rome on December 28, 1779, in the Teatro Valle. It is not surprising to find that the Sinfonia con oboe parts are nearly identical to those of Cimarosa’s opera sinfonia, as it was common in this time period for selections from complete works to be copied, published, and distributed throughout Europe. Only two years after the premiere of L’italiana in Londra, the intermezzo had been performed in nearly ten different cities, and was even produced by Joseph Haydn at Esterháza in 1783. This opera was Cimarosa’s first international success—another set of parts for this particular sinfonia is located in a music collection of the famous sculptor Bertel Thorvaldensen. His version of the sinfonia is orchestrated for solo flute and strings, instead of two oboes and two horns with strings. This unique orchestration indicates the overture’s popularity for private music making in which performers were typically less acquainted with oboes and horns than the performers in court or civic orchestras.

Read full preface / Komplettes Vorwort lesen > HERE