G.F. Sances

Giovanni Felice Sances was a brilliant and prolific composer, one whose importance in music history should not be under-estimated. He composed works in all the vocal forms of his time with great success and his music clearly deserves greater attention than it has received until now. Giovanni Felice Sances was born in Rome at the start of the 17th century. His father Orazio and his brother Lorenzo were both singers, as was Giovanni Felice, who entered the Collegium Germanicum in  Rome in 1609. He sang the role of Marotta in a production of Amor pudico mounted by Cardinal Montalto in the Palazzo della Cancelleria in 1614. Sances left the College prematurely two months later, an act that was to result in his father being imprisoned for a short time. Sances continued his career in Padua and in Venice, most likely entering the service of Nicolò Segredo, the future Venetian ambassador to the imperial court in Vienna. He presented his opera L’Ermiona to the Venetians in 1636, setting a libretto by the Marquis Pio Enea Obizzi; the composer himself sang the role of Cadmo. He then joined the imperial Chapel in Vienna as a tenor during the following year, serving the two emperors Ferdinand ii and iii as well as Leopold i later. Sances seems to have taken full advantage of his privileges almost immediately: he received board and lodgings at the imperial court, whilst his salary, supplemented by teaching fees (he included his own children amongst his pupils) and regular increases made him the best-paid singer in the entire institution. He wasappointed vice-kapellmeister in 1649 and succeeded Antonio Bertali as kapellmeister another twenty years later. Once in charge of the imperial Chapel, he brought in new regulations and also ensured the engagement of his son Adam Felice as a bass there. He also made certain that he was ennobled and that he would receive the same salary as his predecessor Bertali had received, in addition to his teaching salary. Sances’ health began to decline in his later years and he arranged matters in 1673 so that his sons would continue to receive a salary from the emperor Leopold I and that his daughter would keep her lodgings at court. His health then declined further, with his professional obligations being more and more often fulfilled by Heinrich Schmeltzer, his vice-kapellmeister. Sances died in 1679 and was buried in the Augustinekirche. He left behind a large body of work, first presenting himself as a composer of secular music (arias and songs as well as several operas) and later of sacred music (motets, Masses, oratorios or Sepolcri). A considerable quantity of his sacred music continued to be performed at the imperial Chapel for several decades. His works also enjoyed a remarkable success outside the court; they were included in various anthologies and were the object of widespread copying.

 

Giovanni Felice Sances est un compositeur, brillant et prolifique, dont l’importance dans l’histoire de la musique n’est pas à sous-estimer. il s’est illustré avec succès dans tous les genres vocaux de son époque, et sa musique mérite sans nul doute qu’on s’y intéresse davantage. Giovanni Felice Sances est né à Rome vers 1600. Son père Orazio et son frère Lorenzo étaient tous deux chanteurs. Giovanni Felice intègre en 1609 le Collegium Germanicum à Rome. En février 1614, il chante le rôle de Marotta dans l’Amor pudico monté par le Cardinal Montalto au Palazzo della Cancelleria. Deux mois plus tard, Sances est retiré prématurément du Collège, acte qui vaudra d’ailleurs à son père un bref séjour derrière les barreaux. C’est à Padoue et Venise que Sances continue son parcours, travaillant probablement au service de Nicolò Segredo, futur ambassadeur de Venise à la Cour impériale de Vienne. En 1636, il offre à la Sérénissime son premier opéra dont l’accès est ouvert au public : L’Ermiona, mis en musique sur un livret du Marquis Pio Enea Obizzi, et dans lequel le compositeur tient lui-même le rôle de Cadmo. L’année suivante, Sances intègre la Chapelle impériale de Vienne comme ténor, au service des empereurs Ferdinand ii et Ferdinand iii et plus tard Léopold ier. Sances semble très vite avoir bénéficié d’une situation assez privilégiée. il reçoit un logement à la Cour impériale, et son salaire, agrémenté de rétributions comme pédagogue (il compte parmi ses élèves sespropres fils) et de régulières augmentations, font de lui le chanteur le mieux payé de l’institution musicale. En 1649, il devient vice-kapellmeister, puis kapellmeister vingt ans plus tard, succédant à Antonio Bertali. A la tête de la Chapelle impériale, il instaure de nouvelles règlementations, assurant dans la foulée l’engagement de son fils Adam Felice comme basse. En outre, il prend soin d’être anobli et de percevoir le même salaire que Antonio Bertali, cumulé à la rétribution de son activité pédagogique. Sances, dont la santé décline, veille en 1673 à ce que ses fils continuent à percevoir une rémunération de l’Empereur Léopold Ier, et que sa fille conserve un logement à la Cour. Peu à peu, l’infirmité gagne le compositeur, dont les obligations professionnelles aux offices sont progressivement assurées par son vice-kapellmeister, Heinrich Schmelzer. Sances meurt en 1679 et est enterré dans la Augustinekirkche. il laisse derrière lui une œuvre abondante, s’illustrant d’abord comme compositeur de musique profane (airs et chansons, quelques opéras), puis de musique sacrée (motets, messes, oratorios ou Sepolcri…). De plus, une partie considérable de sa musique sacrée continue d’être jouée à la Chapelle impériale durant plusieurs décennies. Elle connaît aussi un succès notoire en dehors de la cour, figurant dans diverses anthologies contemporaines et étant largement copiée.