Agostino Steffani was born on July 25, 1654, and died on February 12, 1728. He was an Italian bishop, someone who knew a lot about many subjects, a diplomat, and a composer.

Education

Steffani was born in Castelfranco Veneto on July 25, 1654. As a young boy, he was allowed to join as a choirboy at San Marco in Venice.

Steffani performed well in the choir and was invited to sing at important events. At ages 11 and 12, he sang in operas in Venice. At age 13, he received support from a wealthy person and moved to Munich. His education was paid for by Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria, who gave him the title of Churfürstlicher Kammer- und Hofmusikus and provided him with a generous salary. After studying with Johann Kaspar Kerll, who was his teacher, Steffani was sent to Rome in 1673 to study under Ercole Bernabei. During this time, he composed six motets, the original copies of which are now in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.

When Steffani returned to Munich with Bernabei in 1674, he published his first work, Psalmodia vespertina. A part of this work was later reprinted in Giovanni Battista Martini’s Saggio di contrappunto in 1774. In 1675, Steffani was appointed court organist.

Royal appointments

The exact date when he was ordained a priest and given the title of abbot of Lepsing is unknown. His religious position did not stop him from working on plays, for which he wrote music that had a strong influence on the operas of his time. His first opera, Marco Aurelio, was written for a festival and performed in Munich in 1681. The only known copy of this work is a handwritten musical score stored in the royal library at Buckingham Palace. He later wrote Solone in 1685, Audacia e rispetto, Prerogative d’amore, and Servio Tullio in 1686, Alarico in 1687, and Niobe, regina di Tebe in 1688.

Despite being favored by Elector Maximilian Emanuel, Steffani accepted the position of Kapellmeister at the court of Hanover in 1688. There, he strengthened a relationship he had begun in 1681 with Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (later Elector of Hanover), and gained the favor of Ernest Augustus’s daughter, Sophia Charlotte (later Electress of Brandenburg and Queen of Prussia), the philosopher Leibniz, the abbot Ortensio Mauro, and many other scholars. In 1710, he showed kindness to Handel, who was just starting his career. Steffani began a long series of successes in Hanover by writing an opera called Henrico Leone for the opening of a new opera house in 1689. For the same theater, he composed La Lotta d’Ercole con Achilleo in 1689, La Superbia d’Alessandro in 1690, Orlando generoso in 1691, Le Rivali concordi in 1692, La Liberia contenta in 1693, I trionfi del fato and I Baccanali in 1695, and Briseide (with Pietro Torri) in 1696. The libretto for Briseide was written by Francesco Palmieri. Most, if not all, of the other operas had libretti by the abbot Mauro.

The musical scores are kept at Buckingham Palace, where they are part of a collection brought to England by the Elector of Hanover in 1714 when he became King George I of Great Britain. Steffani also distinguished himself in his new home not only as a musician. The elevation of Ernest Augustus to the position of elector in 1692 created challenges that required an ambassador to visit German courts with significant diplomatic authority.

Diplomacy

Steffani was chosen for a special mission in 1696, with the title of envoy extraordinary. Later, Pope Innocent XI honored him by making him bishop of Spiga, located on the Sea of Marmora (now called Biga in Turkey), because of the rights Steffani had helped Hanoverian Catholics gain. From 1709 to 1723, Steffani served as the Vicar Apostolic of Upper and Lower Saxony, a new area under the Roman Catholic Church’s care that included parts of Saxony.

In 1698, Steffani was sent as an ambassador to Brussels. After the death of Ernest Augustus that same year, he began working for the Elector Palatine, John William, in Düsseldorf. There, he held positions such as privy councillor and protonotary of the Holy See. To avoid problems that might arise from continuing to write dramatic works, Steffani composed two operas, Enea in Hanover and Tassilone in Düsseldorf, in the name of his secretary, Gregorio Piva. Piva’s name appears on the scores stored at Buckingham Palace. Another score, Arminio, also in that collection and dated 1707, is likely Steffani’s work but does not list a composer.

Steffani did not travel with the elector George to England. However, in 1724, the Academy of Vocal Music in London honored him as its lifetime president. In return, Steffani sent the academy a musical piece called Stabat Mater for six voices and orchestra, as well as three madrigals. Copies of these compositions still exist, and the British Library holds a Confitebor for three voices and orchestra from the same time period. These works were ahead of their time, and Steffani’s operas showed a strong understanding of how to create music that worked well on stage, a skill that was highly valued during a time when operas were becoming more like formal concerts with scenery and costumes. Without the manuscripts stored at Buckingham Palace, these operas would not be known today.

Steffani is also remembered for his chamber duets, which were often written as cantatas for two voices and a figured bass. The British Library (Add MS 5055-5056) holds more than 100 of these compositions, some of which were published in Munich in 1679. In 1727, Steffani visited Italy for the last time. That year, he met again with Handel, who had previously been kind to him in Hanover, at the palace of Cardinal Ottoboni in Rome. This was their final meeting. Steffani returned to Hanover soon after and died on February 12, 1728, while handling diplomatic tasks in Frankfurt.

Compositions

Steffani is different from other Italian composers, such as Alessandro Scarlatti, because he is highly skilled in creating instrumental music. His works, such as opera overtures, blend the smooth style of Italian music with the clear and organized structure that comes from French influence.

In popular culture

Donna Leon's 2012 thriller novel, The Jewels of Paradise, uses the life and works of Steffani as its setting.

External sources and further reading

• Charles Herbermann, editor (1913). "Agostino Steffani" in the Catholic Encyclopedia. Published by Robert Appleton Company in New York.
• Waltraut Anna Kautz-Lach, editor: Agostino Steffani. Musiker, Politiker und Kirchenfürst. Works by Gerhard Croll. Published by Hollitzer in Vienna, 2018. ISBN 978-3-99012-491-8.
• Waltraut Anna Lach: The One-Act Operas "La Lotta d'Hercole con Acheloo" and "Baccanali" by Agostino Steffani. Published by Hollitzer in Vienna, 2019. ISBN 978-3-99012-599-1.
• Carl Wilhelm Julius Hugo Riemann, editor. Selected Works by A. Steffani, etc. (Second (Third) Part… Edited by H. Riemann.) 1911, 12. Series: Monuments of German Music. Twelfth Year. Volume II. 1900, etc. ASIN B0000D28HE.
• Colin Timms (2003). Polymath of the Baroque: Agostino Steffani and His Music. Published by Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195154738.

• Free music scores by Agostino Steffani are available in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki).
• Free music scores by Agostino Steffani are also available at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP).
• Musical manuscripts related to Agostino Steffani are housed at the Harry Ransom Center.

• This article includes text from a publication now in the public domain: Hugh Chisholm, editor (1911). "Steffani, Agostino" in Encyclopædia Britannica. Volume 25 (11th edition). Published by Cambridge University Press. Pages 869–870.