Francesco Bartolomeo Conti is a well-known unknown. Amongst cognoscenti he is regarded as one of the most exciting and important composers of his period – the Viennese Baroque. But he is far more than an insiders’ tip.

With a strong, individual, extensive output and a tremendous theatrical instinct, Francesco Bartolomeo Conti (1682–1732), who came from Florence, held one of the most sought-after positions from 1713 – a lifetime post as Viennese court composer. He thereby had the exclusive privilege of composing the operas for the carnival season from 1714 to 1725. He became internationally known with his tragi-comedy “Don Chisciotte in Sierra Morena”, which was performed over 25 times between 1720 and 1737, including beyond Vienna.

His works have not been available in reliable editions until now, and have therefore been absent from the musical repertoire. This situation motivated the conductor and musicologist Marco Comin to prepare a scholarly-critical edition. This publishing project begins with the 1724 opera “Penelope”. In an interview Comin explained where his passion comes from.

[t]akte: Just so we can briefly characterise Conti, what distinguishes his music? What attracts you in particular about this composer?

Comin: First of all, his imagination and his very strong musical personality. These are expressed, for example, through the harmony. Conti’s music is firstly very Italian – lyrical, sensuous, lively – and shows a great deal of humour. Secondly it is characterised by masterly counterpoint; by this I do not only mean his church music and his oratorios, but also his stage works, in which fugal arias are frequently found. Conti’s recitatives are also unusually original: their harmonies are much more varied and less predictable than in most recitatives of this period.

How did you go about researching his works?

A while ago I heard the Offertorium “Languet anima mea” by Conti on the radio, and was greatly impressed. Johann Sebastian Bach, who evidently held this work in high regard, copied it in his own hand so he could perform it in Leipzig and even before then, in Köthen (where he was not responsible for church music). If Bach, who was very discriminating in his choice of other composers, admired this music, it must have been significant. I therefore tried to track down scores – modern editions – of Conti’s works, and just couldn’t find any. Researching further, I came across a book by Hermine Weigel Williams, to my knowledge the only one devoted to Conti’s life and work. In this, I learned that most of Conti’s compositions are held in the Austrian National Library in Vienna. Then I found an article by Lawrence Bennett about the music collection of Duke Anton-Ulrich von Meiningen, which contained copies of some of these works. Finally, I took a sabbatical from my work as a conductor in order to devote myself to Conti’s music. Like a child in a toy shop, I thumbed through his operas and oratorios and thought to myself: “The world has to get to know this wonderful music!”

For the edition of a work, I naturally tried to consult as many sources as possible. In his lifetime, Conti was not only known throughout Europe as a phenomenal theorbo virtuoso, but also as a highly-gifted composer, some of whose works even circulated further afield than Vienna. Therefore, I am constantly on the search for copies and copyist’s manuscripts which can help me to create editions which are based on the soundest philological research as possible. This is often difficult, because there is very little musicological literature devoted to Conti, and none at all on the sources of his works.

Your publishing project begins with the tragicommedia “Penelope”, and the familiar, well-known events surrounding the return of Odysseus, complemented by the addition of sub-plots. As it says in the argomento, the plot narrative in the opening legend, “all these and other similar events have been invented, and held to be sufficiently plausible and appropriate to lend the plot of the composition more charm”. It is therefore about musico-dramatic effectiveness. What is special about this work?

Certainly its balance, its brilliant dramaturgical timing and the skilled variety of witty and serious scenes; you almost have the impression of standing on the threshold of the classical period. Here I must of course also mention the brilliant libretto by Pietro Pariati. And yes, the sheer beauty and variety of this music! This is not only beautiful and rousing, but it supports the action on the stage in all its facets through a wide palette of emotions, colours, etc. Conti shows his highly developed sense of staged effects. Good examples of this are not only Penelope’s arias, but also those of Odysseus; the whole opera is based on his jealousy and the desire to test his wife’s faithfulness, likewise that of his son Telemachus and of the two suitors, etc. Simply brilliant!

“Penelope” also calls for the use of a very special instrument: the pantaleon, a large more extensive dulcimer in a low register. In his earlier stage works Conti used special instruments, such as the mandolin, the chalumeau and the baryton several times, but by the beginning of the 1720s he dispensed with these. He made an exception in 1724 for “Penelope”, and even the libretto explicitly requires the sound of a psaltery, or dulcimer, for the final scene of the second act. This undoubtedly has something to do with the fact that the previous year, the dulcimer virtuoso Maximilian Hellmann moved to Vienna and was admitted into the court ensemble. Evidently Conti and Pariati did not want to miss this opportunity!

Your edition is planned as the beginning of the publishing project. Can you give an overview of the next steps?

After “Penelope”, “Galatea vendicata” and “Il finto Policare” follow in the series. I am particularly fond of the first of these works, a “Festa teatrale”, practically a one-act small opera. The myth of Acis, Galatea and Polyphemus matches Conti’s musical temperament perfectly: here we find both tender, moving and irresistible rhythmic arias, the powerful chorus of the Cyclops, an extremely sensuous strophic aria with mandolin … that is, a very broad palette! Then I want to tackle Conti’s sacred oratorios. The first will be the wonderful “La colpa originale”. My plan is to prepare editions of stage works and oratorios in parallel as far as possible, so that not only opera houses, but other musical institutions also have the opportunity to perform the music of this brilliant composer.

Interview by Marie Luise Maintz
(translation: Elizabeth Robinson, from [t]akte 1/2025)