Giacomo Facco facts for kids

Giacomo Facco (born February 4, 1676 – died February 16, 1753) was a talented Italian musician from the Baroque period. He was a violin player, a conductor (who leads an orchestra), and a composer (who writes music). Even though he was very famous in his time, people forgot about him for a long time. His music was rediscovered in 1962 by a composer named Uberto Zanolli.

Biography

Giacomo Facco was born in Marsango, a small town near Padua and Venice in Italy. For many years, he worked as a conductor in Italy.

In 1705, he got a job in Palermo, Sicily. He was the choirmaster (who leads a choir), a teacher, and a skilled violin player for Carlo Antonio Spinola. Spinola was the Viceroy of Sicily, which means he was like a governor for the King of Spain.

In 1708, the viceroy moved to Messina, and Facco went with him. While in Messina, Facco wrote a piece of music called The Fight between Mercy and Incredulity. In 1710, he presented another work, The Augury of Victories, in Messina Cathedral. This music was dedicated to King Felipe V of Spain.

By 1720, Facco was considered one of the best composers around. He was offered a good salary to work for the King of Spain's court. He even turned down a similar offer from the Portuguese court!

On February 9, 1720, Facco became the clavichord (a type of keyboard instrument) master for Prince Luis. This prince later became King Luis I of Spain. Facco also taught the future King Fernando VI and, later, the future King Carlos III of Spain.

In 1720, the city of Madrid asked Facco to write an opera. An opera is a play where the words are sung to music. This opera was called Love is all Invention, or, Jupiter y Amphitrion. It was performed in a special theater at the Buen Retiro Palace. The opera celebrated the marriage of Prince Luis to Isabel of Orleans in 1721. Facco also wrote music for the celebration when Luis I became king in 1724.

Sadly, Facco's career took a turn for the worse. He slowly lost his important jobs. By the end of his life, he was just a violinist in the Royal Chapel orchestra. He passed away in Madrid on February 16, 1753.

Works

Facco wrote a series of twelve concertos for violin, strings, and organ. A concerto is a piece of music for a solo instrument and an orchestra. These works were called Pensieri Adriarmonici (which means Adriaharmonic Thoughts). They were published in Amsterdam, with the first book coming out in 1716 and the second in 1718.

He also wrote solo cantatas, which are pieces for a singer and instruments. Facco even wrote the words for these songs himself, as he was a skilled poet! These cantatas were found at the National Library of Paris. They were performed for the first time in 1962 by a singer named Betty Fabila, led by Uberto Zanolli, in Mexico City.

Facco likely composed many religious works for the Royal Chapel in Madrid. However, much of this music was probably lost or destroyed in a big fire in 1734.

Most of what we know about Facco today was discovered by Uberto Zanolli. He was an Italian-Mexican composer who found Facco's Pensieri Adriarmonici in a library in Mexico City in 1962. Since then, Zanolli has worked hard to learn more about Facco's life and bring his music back to life. He even found Facco's birth certificate!

List of Works

Operas

• Le regine di Macedonia (1710)
• I rivali generosi (1712)
• Penelope la casta, Act 3 only (1713; rest by P. Pizzolo)
• Amor es todo imbención: Júpiter y Amphitrión (1721)
• Fieras afemina amor (1724)
• Amor aumenta el valor, loa and Act 1 only (1728; Act 2 by José de Nebra, Act 3 by Philipo Falconi)

Solo Cantatas on Italian Texts

• Bella leggiadra Armida
• Clori pur troppo bella
• Emireno d'Egitto
• In grembo ai fiori
• Menzognere speranze
• Or che spunta
• Perchè dici ch'io t'amo
• Sentimi amor
• Vidi su molli erbette

Solo Cantatas on Spanish Texts

• Bella rosa
• El trinar
• O qué brillar, cantata a la Virgen Maria
• Si el ave, si la fiera y si la planta

Dialogues and Serenades

• Il convito fatto da Giuseppe ai fratelli in Egitto, dialogo for 4 voices and instruments (1705)
• Augurio di vittorie alla Sacra Real Cattolica Maestà di Filippo V, serenata (1710)
• La contesa tra la pietà e l’incredulità decisa da Maria Vergine, dialogo (1710)
• Festejo para los días de la reyna, serenata for 4 voices and instruments (1722)
• Serenata (Cañizares) for Philip V of Portugal, for 6 voices and instruments (1728)

Instrumental Music

• Pensieri adriarmonici, o vero Concerti a 5, 12 concertos for 3 violins, viola, cello and harpsichord, op. 1 (1720–1721)
• A Select Concerto [...] chose from the Works of Giacomo Facco (1 concerto published in London, 1734)
• a piece published in L'art de se perfectionner dans le violin (Paris, 1782)
• 5 suites and a sinfonia for 2 cellos
• 9 sinfonias and 2 sonatas for 2 cellos (attribution doubtful)

Recordings

• "Pensieri Adriarmonici", 6 Violin Concertos Op.1 no.1-6 / Federico Guglielmo, solo violin - L'Arte dell'Arco / Sony BMG - Deutsche Harmonia Mundi
• "Pensieri Adriarmonici", 6 Violin Concertos Op.1 no.7-12 / Federico Guglielmo, solo violin - Ensemble Albalonga / Pavane Records
• Las Amazonas de España Los Músicos del Buen Retiro
• "Quando en el Oriente" Cantada humana de dos arias con violón - on Venetian composers in Guatemala and Bolivia, with Baldassare Galuppi "De Dios esposa amante", Antonio Pampani "Oy gustoso el corazón" Roberta Pozzer, soprano Sylva Posser, soprano Vincenzo Di Donato, tenor. Albalonga director Aníbal E. Cetrangolo

See also

In Spanish: Giacomo Facco para niños