The Sacred Music of Antonio Lotti: Idiom and Influence of a Venetian Master

This thesis surveys the surviving manuscript sources of Antonio Lotti’s works to produce a complete catalogue of his extant sacred music. It also collates the known biographical details of Lotti (including proof of his birth in Venice) and those of his wife, Santa Stella. It defines the extent to which Lotti’s compositions can be dated and the extent to which institutions for which they were written can be identified. It documents idiomatic patterns in his compositions, in terms of structure, scoring, rhythmic, melodic and harmonic devices and the reuse of material. Having identified key components of Lotti’s style, it argues that the attribution of some works to Lotti is spurious. The thesis goes on to investigate the shared musical heritage of Lotti’s contemporaries, such as Vivaldi, Biffi and Caldara, and the ways in which their music differs. It also accounts for Lotti’s influence on Handel, Bach, Vivaldi and his own students, such as Galuppi, Saratelli and Alberti. Particularly, it argues that Lotti’s setting of <i>Dixit Dominus</i> in A was the model for Handel’s setting of the same text; it also suggests some influence from Lotti’s works on Bach, principally in his setting of the B minor mass. <br></br><br></br> Above all, this thesis aims to address the dearth of scholarship on this composer, and to provide evidence for his inclusion in the ranks of significant musical figures of his day.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

phd

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

The Open University

Year dc:date.issued

2016

Author dc:creator

• Byram-Wigfield, Benjamin

Language dc:language

en