Antonia Bembo


Antonia Padoani Bembo was a Venetian composer and singer.

Life

Antonia Padoani Bembo was born in Venice around 1640 to Giacomo Padoani, a doctor, and Diana Paresco. She was their only daughter. In 1659, she married the Venetian noble Lorenzo Bembo with whom she had three children. Her husband left her and her children for five years on military duty without providing them any means to survive. She brought him to court over this and relocated to Paris in 1677, with the help of Francesco Corbetta. There she sang for Louis XIV. Louis granted her a pension and housing at the Petite Union Chrétienne des Dames de Saint Chaumont, a religious community. She died in Paris around 1720
She was a contemporary of Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre and Barbara Strozzi.

Oeuvre

Bembo was taught by Francesco Cavalli by 1654 and wrote in all the major genres of the time, including opera, secular and sacred cantatas, and petit and grand motets. Bembo wrote large-scale works: one opera and two Te Deum settings. Her work is a combination of French and Italian styles. She uses the virtuosic elements of Italian style of the period, as well as French dance forms. Much of her work is for soprano voice with continuo accompaniment. She wrote an opera called L'Ercole amante, to a libretto by Francesco Buti.
Six volumes of Bembo's music survive in manuscript at the Bibliothèque nationale de France. When she completed the first collection, she dedicated to Louis XIV and entitled Produzioni Armoniche della Dama Bembo, nobile veneta, consacrate al nome immortale di Luigi XIIII il grande, rè di Francia e di Navarra. Generally, most of them dedicated to Louis XIV. These contain a certain amount of autobiographical information, which has been corroborated through other sources.
In the first collection, there are five setting in sacred Latin texts, one to French words, and the other thirty-four are in Italian. Since she was a soprano, her vocal compositions are in higher register mostly which are suitable for her range. Thirty-two of them are supplied with simple figured-bass accompaniments. There are two other soprano airs have an accompaniment for two violins and figured bass ; one air requires only a single violin with the bass. There are two duets for sopranos ; one trio for two sopranos and tenor with two violins, basso continuo, and instrumental prelude; one duet for soprano and tenor ; and one duet for soprano and bass complete the collection.
The second collection is dedicated to Marie-Adélaïde of Savoy, Duchess of Burgundy, on the occasion of the birth of the first Duke of Brittany in 1704. It contains a three-voice Te Deum and a five-voice Italian serenata, which shows her compositional techniques of musical structure, melodic application and harmonic progression. The third book contains two motets, and the second Te Deum she wrote which is a five-voice setting,. The music in the third to sixth collection can prove that Bembo lived in France for many years.

Te Deum (3 voices)

The three-part Te Deum is written for three vocal parts: two sopranos and a bass, with two violin parts and figured bass. It stays in the key of E minor from the beginning and dominates until the end, but with long passages in neighboring keys: successively, C major, B minor, F-sharp minor, A major, E minor, G major, B-flat major, D minor, A minor, E minor.
The Te Deum is followed by a large five-part chorus orchestra. On the title-page of the collection Deum, it mentioned a little ''divertimento per la Nascità del medesimo Principe.''

Te Deum (5 voices)

The writing of the five-part Te Deum is skillful and represents a musician who should be trained in this type of techniques. It is not as same as Te Deum for three voices; instead, the musical language is complex and challenging.

List of works

Produzioni armoniche, 41 arias and cantatas in Italian, French, and Latin. Te Deum for 3 voices Serenata for 5 voices 2 mottetti Te Deum for 5 voices Salmo XIX, for 3 voices Ercole amante, opera set to a libretto by Francesco Buti
  • ''Les sept pseaumes de David''

Recordings

  • 12 soprano cantatas Clizia Amnate Del Sole, Habbi Pieta Di Me, Volgete Altrovi Il Guardo. Maria Jonas Convoce Coeln
  • 41 complete Produzioni Armoniche 3CD Armonia delle Sfere The Seven Psalms of David, Vol. I, Cleveland Voices Laury Gutierrez La Donna MusicaleThe Seven Psalms of David, Vol. II, La Donna Musicale
  • L'Ercole amante - Gusto Barocco, Halubek 2023