looking for. Perhaps the answer lies in the past?
When they still had the time, father and son together
studied the work of Corelli, Alessandro Scarlatti and Legrenzi, but
also many whose work Giambattista had copied over the years,
including such old masters as Girolamo Frescobaldi and Claudio
Monteverdi. Soon after beginning work as a scribe, Giambattista
had started a habit of keeping a copy of anything that interested
him. He enjoyed playing these compositions in his spare time and
later, when he saw that Antonio showed above average ability as a
violinist, used them as studies for his son.
The past offers Antonio no immediate way out of his
impasse. Indeed, it represent a road leading backwards and that is
the last thing he is looking for. Luckily his father will have time for
him over the coming weeks.
With summer in view, so too the Villeggiatura. The homes of the
patricians are bustling with preparations for the annual escape to
their summer villas, located at the loveliest spots to be found in the
terraferma Veneta. It’s a perfect moment for Antonio and his father to
set out upon their search for a musical style that will take all Venice
by surprise. But, alas, all plans are brought crashing down by the
sudden death of the Doge. Eighty-first birthday celebrations for
Alviso II Mocenigo are no sooner over than he expires, leaving the
Republic to elect a new leader and throwing into complete disarray
all normal social order. Receptions and large parties planned at
country mansions on the mainland have to be cancelled and newly
packed suitcases regretfully unpacked. Plainly, nobody looks
forward to spending summer on the lagoon. The combination of
heat, stink and malaria offers no pleasant prospect.
The election of a new Doge is a complicated and time-consuming
process. In the meantime, in the basilica of San Marco memorial
services are held in honour of Alviso II Mocenigo. Only after these
are over can the investiture of a newly elected Doge take place,
followed by Alviso’s funeral. Giambattista sees his planned free
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