Alessandro Poglietti (c. 1641 - 1683) was a Baroque
organist and composer of unknown origin. In the second
half of the 17th century Poglietti settled in Vienna,
where he attained an extremely high reputation,
becoming one of Leopold I's favorite composers.
Poglietti held the post of court organist for 22 years
from 1661 until his death during the Turkish siege that
led into the Battle of Vienna.
Poglietti is primarily important for his keyboard
music, particularly Rossignolo (1677), a c...(+)
Alessandro Poglietti (c. 1641 - 1683) was a Baroque
organist and composer of unknown origin. In the second
half of the 17th century Poglietti settled in Vienna,
where he attained an extremely high reputation,
becoming one of Leopold I's favorite composers.
Poglietti held the post of court organist for 22 years
from 1661 until his death during the Turkish siege that
led into the Battle of Vienna.
Poglietti is primarily important for his keyboard
music, particularly Rossignolo (1677), a collection of
diverse pieces for harpsichord that includes a large
number of imitations of natural sounds, and a
collection of 12 ricercares, which was widely copied
during his lifetime.
Contents.
Nothing is known of Poglietti's origins and early life.
Tuscany and Bohemia have been suggested as his possible
birthplace. He may have received musical training in
Rome or Bologna. Towards the 1660s Poglietti settled in
Vienna: in early 1661 he became organist and
Kapellmeister at the Jesuit church Zu den neun Chören
der Engel (Nine Choirs of Angels), and on 1 July 1661
he was appointed organist of the court Kapelle under
Leopold I (a post previously held by none other than
Johann Jakob Froberger).
Poglietti held the court position until his death and
apparently enjoyed a high reputation. The Emperor (who
was a composer himself) was particularly fond of
Poglietti, ennobling him and bestowing upon him the
title Comes palatinus Caesareus, and the composer was
also favored by the Pope, who made him a Knight of the
Golden Spur, i.e., a member of the second highest Order
of Papal Orders of Chivalry. Poglietti also had friends
among Austrian nobility, among them Count Anton Franz
von Collalto and Karl II von Liechtenstein-Kastelkorn,
Prince-Bishop of Olomouc—in 1672 Poglietti inherited
estates near their residences. Another important
connection of Poglietti's was with the Göttweig
Benedictine Abbey, where he stayed as a guest a number
of times, and where his only known opera was performed,
in 1677. Composer Johann Kaspar Kerll was a personal
friend of Poglietti's, and he may have known Johann
Pachelbel, who visited Vienna in the mid-1670s.
Poglietti died in Vienna in July 1683, during the
Turkish siege that eventually led into the Battle of
Vienna. His death was lamented by Kerll in Missa in
fletu solatium, published in Munich in 1689 as part of
a collection of masses, Missae sex. Kerll's work
includes continuo parts that specifically order the
performer to "avoid consonances".
Poglietti's importance lies primarily in his keyboard
music. Together with Johann Kaspar Kerll, he represents
the transitional period between the time of Frescobaldi
and the late Baroque period. Particularly important
are two large sets of pieces: an unpublished collection
of twelve keyboard ricercares and Rossignolo (1677), a
collection of harpsichord music. The ricercares belong
to the tradition of Frescobaldi's Fiori musicali and
Bach's The Art of Fugue. Models of the strict
contrapuntal style, they were most probably intended
for the organ, and were widely copied in the Vienna
area. The Rossignolo pieces, on the other hand, are
quite different.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alessandro_Poglietti).
Although originally composed for Recorder, Cornetto,
Bassoon & Continuo, I created this interpretation of
the Sonata in C Major for Winds (Flute, Oboe, English
Horn & Bassoon) & Strings (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).