Giovanni Battista Bassani

(ca. 1657 - 1716)

Italian composer and violinist, born in Padua. He studied in Venice, possibly with Legrenzi (composition) and Vitali (violin); also with Castrovillari. He was a member of the Accademia della morte in Ferrara (1667) and of the Accademia filarmonica in Bologna from 1677. Maestro di cappella at the Confraternità del finale in Modena from 1677; at the court of Duke Alessandro II from 1680; at the Accademia della morte in Ferrara from 1684; and at the cathedral in Ferrara from 1686. In 1712 he went to Bergamo, where he taught music and directed at S. Maria Maggiore. He composed at least nine operas (all lost except for ten arias from Gli amori alla moda, Ferrara, 1688); some fifteen oratorios; madrigals, ariette, cantatas; and instrumental works. His sacred works include thirteen whole Mass settings and numerous segments; and motets, Psalm settings, and antiphons.





A Partial Giovanni Battista Bassani Discography   |   VD: The Cantata | VG: Sacred Music in the Seicento | VH: Early Oratorio