The Galant Masters Project has just acquired a very exciting new manuscript: A Laudate pueri by Baldassare Galuppi (1706-1785) scored for SSA chorus, soloists, strings, and continuo. I am very excited to get this piece into our winter/spring 2014 schedule, but we need a commission partner (or group thereof) in order to make it happen!
In addition to serving at the Basilica of San Marco from 1748 until shortly before his death in 1785 (including maestro di coro beginning in 1762), Galuppi also held positions at two of the fabled Venetian Ospedali (Medicanti early in his career and later the Incurabili). We have not yet tracked down the origin of this piece, but it certainly came from his tenure at one of those two institutions. Although he is nearly forgotten today, Galuppi was among the more widely known and revered composers in his day, spending approximately eighteen months in London from 1741 to 1743 (during which he was Handel’s hand-chosen replacement while that composer traveled to Dublin for the premiere performance of Messiah), and also spending three years as a court composer to Catherine the Great in St. Petersburg. His music exemplifies the Neapolitan Galant style – beautiful, lyrical melodies and largely homophonic choral writing – making it accessible and rewarding to a very broad range of choirs.
The Galant Masters Project is intended to bring lost works of Galant-style sacred music to light. This project resurrects previously unavailable compositions of this genre by editing, publishing, and recording music of the eighteenth-century Neapolitan school. Funding for this research is provided through commissions, sales and subscriptions to our publications, and donations and grants. Our commissions work much the same way as those for new compositions from living composers: the commissioning entity will receive acknowledgement on the title page, as well as the right to the modern premiere performance. Our editions have recently been commissioned and successfully performed by university, church, and community ensembles.
The Laudate pueri is a multi-movement work, including three solo movements. It is approximately 20 minutes in length. If we are unable to find one single ensemble to commission this entire work, we will gladly assemble a “consortium” of choirs to share it.
This is a very exciting way to take part in the resurrection of great music that has been languishing in an archive for 250 years. If you’d like to be a part of it, please be in touch with me! I can be reached at t-tropp at GalantMusic.com or 224.649.6000.
Thank you!
Tom Tropp
Managing Editor
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