Marco Uccellini (Forlimpopoli,Forlì 1603 or 1610 - 10 December 1680) was an ItalianBaroqueviolinist andcomposer. His output of mainly secular music for solo violin is considered to have been important in the rise of independent instrumentalclassical music, and in development of violin technique.
Uccellini's life, like many composers of the 17th century, is not well documented; however, enough information exists to create a rough biography. He was born into a reasonably affluent noble family inForlimpopoli,Forlì, who had owned land in the area since the early 14th century. Many members of the family held ecclesiastical posts locally, including Uccellini's father Pietro Maria, and it is likely that Marco went to study at the seminary inAssisi sometime in the early 1630s. Evidence from his will suggests that Uccellini began his formal musical education there, possibly under another notable early violinist-composer,Giovanni Battista Buonamente, who was then serving as music director (maestro di cappella) at theBasilica of Saint Francis of Assisi.[1]
He becameCapo degl’instrumentisti of theEste court inModena from 1641 to 1662, and was themaestro di cappella of the Modena cathedral from 1647 to 1665. According to payroll records and remnants of Uccellini's correspondence, it is clear that he was a valued advisor and confidant to the d'Este family, paid almost eight times more than the other court violinists. Following the devolution of the Estense Chapel upon the accession of DukeAlfonso IV d'Este, Uccellini was let go from his position. However, he was soon re-employed as themaestro di cappella at theFarnese court inParma until his death; he received this job mainly through the assistance ofIsabella d'Este, who recently married into the Farnese family. At the Farnese court, he composed operas and ballets, but none of this music survives; thus, he is mainly known today for his instrumental music.[2]
Uccellini was one of a line of distinguished Italian violinist-composers in the first half of the 17th century. His sonatas for violin and continuo contributed to the development of an idiomatic style of writing for the violin (including virtuosic runs, leaps, and forays into high positions), expanding the instrument's technical capabilities and expressive range. Like other 17th-century Italian sonatas, Uccellini's consist of short contrasting sections (frequently dances) that flow one into another. Uccellini's innovations influenced a generation of Austro-German violinist-composers includingJohann Heinrich Schmelzer,Heinrich Ignaz Biber, andJohann Jakob Walther.
Uccellini mainly composed instrumental music, of which seven collections were published.[3] Some examples are:
He also composed oneopera,Gli eventi di Filandro ad Edessa, which premiered inParma in 1675.[4]
It can be assumed from the highly idiomatic and virtuosic nature of Uccellini's violin compositions that he was himself a brilliant violinist. Besides introducing several technical innovations necessary to play his difficult music, he was an early popularizer of music written explicitly for solo violin and continuo; at the time, it was common for composers not to specify instruments in their works, preferring to write parts adaptable between instruments of similar ranges.[5]
