Giovanni De Santis, virtuoso di violino e compositore «napolitano» nella prima metà del Settecento

Nowadays Giovanni De Santis is a completely forgotten figure in the history of music. Violin virtuoso and «neapolitan» composer who lived in the first half of the eighteenth century, before disappearing into oblivion De Santis became known in Europe thanks to some collections of sonatas and concertos published in Venice and Amsterdam in the 1730s. Nothing is known about the life and activity of this mysterious musician whose fascinating works – the only concrete trace of his presence – is placed in the transition phase that leads to the new ‘galant’ style, reflecting the changes and transformations taking place in society, and in the culture of the time. Between the roots in the Neapolitan tradition on the one hand and the relations with the instrumental music of the masters of northern Italy such as Antonio Vivaldi on the other, the sonatas and concertos of De Santis display an aesthetic of sensitivity that from the writing, chiseled and precious in the ornamentation, is reflected on the appropriate performance practice to render it in all its details and nuances. The study of De Santis’ music also touches on issues such as the characteristics and international diffusion of Neapolitan instrumental music and the fortune of Vivaldi’s concertos among the following Italian composers, the history of the violin techcnique and an interwining with the history of art: the title page of the Divertimenti op. I was made by the famous engraver Marco Pitteri.