Life
Trained at the height of Arcadia, his mature career was expressed in a context of great stylistic richness, in which the solid Arcadian structure confronted and merged with the elegance of Rococo and the new ideas of the Enlightenment.
Born in Venice in 1698, Bartolomeo Cordans entered the Order of Friars Minor at sixteen, which he left in 1724 to become a secular priest. He began as an organist and singing teacher at the parish of San Giacomo di Rialto, immediately distinguishing himself for his talent and dedication.
Between 1728 and 1732 he composed several melodramas performed in Venetian theaters, including Ormisda, La generosità di Tiberio, La Silvia, Romilda, and La Rodelinda. Unfortunately, only the librettos remain of the scores, along with a musical fragment of Romilda preserved at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris.
In 1733 he was a substitute choir master at the Ospedaletto in Venice. Two years later he obtained the position of chapel master at the Udine Cathedral, a post he held until his death. Here he committed himself to relaunching the musical chapel, composing a vast sacred repertoire including masses, hymns, motets, psalms, and litanies, enriching the ensemble with instruments such as oboes, flutes, trumpets, and horns.
In Udine, he left melodrama to devote himself entirely to sacred music. In addition to numerous vocal works, he wrote 24 sonatas for two violins and basso continuo, a sonata for violin and organ, and various organ pieces. He died in 1757, donating almost all of his sacred compositions to the Deputies of Udine, a sign of profound attachment to the city.
Aneddoto
A gift to the city
Shortly before dying, Cordans gave the Deputies of Udine his own portrait and almost all of his sacred compositions as a sign of gratitude toward the community.Works
He composed melodramas between 1728 and 1732, now lost except for a fragment of Romilda. His sacred production includes masses, hymns, motets, psalms, and litanies, in addition to the famous 1738 Requiem, donated to the Chapter of Cividale and today preserved in the State Archive of Udine.
In the instrumental field, he wrote 24 sonatas for two violins and basso continuo, a sonata for violin and organ, and pieces for solo organ. Some of his sacred works were rediscovered in the twentieth century and recorded, including the Requiem, recorded by the Coro Polifonico di Ruda in 1998.
Briciole di storia
The vices of Italians
In the heart of the eighteenth century, Pietro Calepio wrote a Letter on Italian Customs that was translated into French and published in 1728 in the prestigious Bibliothèque Italique. In this text, which became very well known, Calepio did not limit himself to describing Italy in general, but clearly and sincerely denounced various vices of Italian society. Among his sharpest criticisms was the poor functioning of schools and, in particular, the idleness in which most of the nobility lived, considered the cause of their dissoluteness. He also denounced the low regard given to the female role.
Pubblico dominio (Google Art Project)
