Biography
Francesco Antonio Pistocchi was an Italian composer and singer (b Palermo, 1659; d Bologna, 13 May 1726). He was a child prodigy, singing in public at the age of three and publishing his first work, Capricci puerili, at the age of eight. His father Giovanni was a violinist in the cappella musicale at S Petronio, Bologna, from 9 September 1661.
In May 1670 Francesco was employed there occasionally as a singer and in 1674 he was given a regular position as a soprano. However, because of their frequent absences both he and his father were dismissed in May 1675. Within ten years he had embarked on a brilliant career as a contralto, performing on various Italian and German stages. From 1 May 1686 to 15 February 1695 he was in the service of the court at Parma. In 1696 he became Kapellmeister at Ansbach to the Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (some of his letters to whom are in D-BAa 2006). In May 1697 he went with Giuseppe Torelli to Berlin at the request of the Electress Sophia Charlotte but returned to Ansbach early in 1698.
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At the end of 1699 he and Torelli moved to Vienna, and in the autumn of 1700 he was in Bologna, where he performed in several churches. Between 1701 and 1708 he was occasionally engaged to sing at S Petronio, Bologna, in the newly reconstituted cappella musicale. In 1702 he was named virtuoso di camera e di cappella to Prince Ferdinando de' Medici of Tuscany. As a contralto Pistocchi was active in the principal Italian theatres. In 1675 he was the subject of a sonnet, Ai numi dell'Adria, published in Ferrara.
Although Pistocchi’s operatic career ended about 1705, he continued to sing for several years at functions in various Bolognese churches. He was famous as a singing teacher, and Antonio Bernacchi, A.P. Fabri, Antonio Pasi, Gaetano Berenstadt and G.B. Martini were among his pupils. In 1708 and 1710 he served as principe of the Accademia Filarmonica, of which he had been a member since 1687. In 1709 he took holy orders and in 1714 was named honorary chaplain to the Elector Palatine Johann Wilhelm. In November 1715 he became a member of the Congregation of the Oratory at Forlì.
Pistocchi's art of singing probably centred on his ability to ornament, both melodically and rhythmically. Tosi thought him the best singer of all time, with impeccable taste and the ability to teach the beauties of the art of singing without departing from the established tempo. Burney related the story (perhaps legendary) that he ruined his soprano voice by dissolute living, was reduced to being a copyist and while thus employed learnt counterpoint and became a proficient composer. Several years later, according to Burney and others, he recovered his voice, which had by then changed to contralto.
As a composer Pistocchi is notable for melodic elegance and colourful harmony, especially in his treatment of chromaticism. Burney singled out his dramatic recitative in the oratorio Maria Vergine addolorata and noted his use of a wide dynamic range in which ‘all degrees of the diminution of sound’ are used. His letters to Perti (I-Bc K.44, P.143–6) also reveal him as an astute critic of music.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.