Francesco Manfredini

Manfredini was a student of the violin and his teachers included Torelli Perto who instructed him in the composition of counterpoint. The influence of the Bolognese school, and, particularly these two masters, is evident in Manfredini's music. As a violinist Manfredini served in Ferrara as first chair for the church of the Holy Spirit. In 1704 he was a member of the restructured orchestra in Bologna and he may have served as the master of the chapel in the court of Monaco betwen 1711 and 1718. This is not certain. In 1727 he became the master of the chapel for St Philip's Cathedral in Pistoia where he remained until his death. Though he did not compose a great number of pieces, Manfredini used the genres of sonatas, concertos, oratorios, and sinfonie. His scores were at best reminiscent of Torelli and Perti particularly in his use of unison writing. Six sonatas by Manfredini were published in London in 1764 and demonstrate a conflation of church and chamber arrangements. This sonata form had become the norm after 1700. ~ Keith Johnson