The Venetian-born composer Nicolò Pasquali (1717/18–1757), who spent most of his short career in England (London, Norfolk), Ireland (Dublin) and Scotland (Edinburgh), is today mostly known for his much-praised primers on continuo playing from figured bass and fingering on the harpsichord. He was, however, also a gifted and highly original composer in many instrumental and vocal genres, which ranged from harpsichord pieces and sonatas for solo violin and four-part strings to cantatas, masques and oratorios.
CELIA
Composer: Nicolò Pasquali
Editor: Michael Talbot
Publication date: September 2026
Instruments: Tenor, String orchestra & basso continuo
Format: Full score
Series: Baroque
Pages: xiv/8
ISMN: 979 0 708213 84 0
ISBN: 978 1 917997 12 6
Code: hh668.FSC
Price: £12.00
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 Music example: (pdf)
Tantalizingly, many of his compositions, especially the large-scale vocal ones, survive only in the form of extracted individual movements, but one particularly attractive orchestrally accompanied cantata for tenor, Celia, a free-standing composition, provides an excellent introduction to his writing for the voice. With its specially written English text, Celia proved a popular item in concerts from the 1750s onwards, becoming a ‘signature’ piece of John Beard, the leading tenor of his day. Modern audiences will respond to its vivacity and tunefulness.
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ed. Michael Talbot
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Music example (pdf)
