Marco Uccellini
Marco Uccellini wrote idiomatic Baroque sonatas and arias for solo violin and continuo: short contrasting sections that flow into one another, with virtuosic runs, leaps and writing that pushes the instrument into high positions.
His printed collections put the violin in the foreground rather than as an adaptable part, helping instrumental music stand apart from church and vocal support. Pieces such as the Aria sopra la Bergamasca and the solo sonatas belong to the experimental Italian line that later groups set beside Corelli: sectional, rhetorical writing that asks for brilliance and clear shape. Court work in Modena and Parma framed that output; the operas and ballets from Parma do not survive, so the sonatas and arias carry his name.
Compositions by Marco Uccellini appear on
Venice to Versailles
Venice and Versailles stand for the two dominant Baroque styles in Europe: Venice for the robust, joyous exuberance and barocco character of the Italian manner, and Versailles for the refinement, delicacy, elegance and douceur of the French.
La Prima Stravaganza
Sonatas of 17th-century Italy from Capella Corelli: a window on instrumental music as it found its own voice, from the experimental works of Cima, Castello, Montalbano, Fontana, Frescobaldi, Marini and Uccellini through to Corelli.