Antonio Caldara (1670–1736)
"Sebben, crudele" – Canzonetta – arranged for Soprano, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Horn & Bassoon
Arrangement for soprano and wind quintet
arr. by Robert Ostermeyer
Antonio Caldara was born around 1670 in Venice, the son of a violinist; his exact date of birth is unknown. He became a chorister at St Mark's, where he was probably taught viola, cello and composition by Giovanni Legrenzi. He made his debut as an opera composer at just nineteen and, from 1693 to 1700, also worked as a cellist at St Mark's.
In 1700 Caldara became Kapellmeister at the court of Mantua, and in 1708/09 he travelled to Barcelona as chamber composer to the future Emperor Charles VI. By way of Venice and Rome — where he served as maestro di cappella to Prince Francesco Maria Ruspoli — he finally settled in Vienna in 1716, becoming Vice-Kapellmeister at the imperial court alongside Johann Joseph Fux, for whom he later also deputised as conductor. He held this position until his death in Vienna on 28 December 1736.
Caldara was one of the most prolific composers of his generation: his output includes more than seventy operas, around forty oratorios, and numerous cantatas, masses and instrumental works. He is regarded as an important representative of the late Venetian operatic tradition and played a key role in blending the Italian vocal style with the musical culture of the Viennese court.
The canzonetta "Sebben, crudele" comes from his opera La costanza in amor vince l'inganno, first performed in Macerata in 1710 (a reworking of his 1701 opera pastorale), where it is sung by the character Aminta in the third scene of the first act. Detached from its operatic context, it remains one of the best-known and best-loved arias of the Italian Baroque and — not least through its inclusion in Alessandro Parisotti's widely used anthology "Arie antiche" — has become a staple of classical vocal training.