In a time when national affiliation was necessarily written in stone, Henricus Albicastro was a genuine multi-national. Born in Bavaria to Swiss parents, Albicastro was what was then called a dilettante, not an unfocused dabbler but a musician whose day job was in another field, and in Albicastro's case that living was made astride a horse; he was a captain of the cavalry in the Dutch Republican Army in the War of the Spanish Succession. He also served as an orchestra leader at the University of Leiden in the 1680s, and as ...
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In a time when national affiliation was necessarily written in stone, Henricus Albicastro was a genuine multi-national. Born in Bavaria to Swiss parents, Albicastro was what was then called a dilettante, not an unfocused dabbler but a musician whose day job was in another field, and in Albicastro's case that living was made astride a horse; he was a captain of the cavalry in the Dutch Republican Army in the War of the Spanish Succession. He also served as an orchestra leader at the University of Leiden in the 1680s, and as such, he is identified as "Viennensis Musicus adcademiae" in contemporary documents, suggesting his musical education occurred in Vienna. A tendency toward the use of oddball harmonic devices and especially florid violin writing indicates possible contact with the school of Biber and Muffat, but that element is miniscule compared to the influence of Arcangelo Corelli and the Italian model. Nevertheless, there are ways in which these concerti do not behave typically; there is an...
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