toldi, and was followed three years later by Weelkes, with 'Ballets and Madrigals to 5 voices.' 'Balletto' is used by Bach for an allegro in common time. See Catalogue, Anh. 1. Ser. 3. Inv. 2 & 6.
BALLO IN MASCHERA, IL. Opera in four acts, libretto by Somma, music by Verdi. Produced at Rome in 1859 [App. p.530 "Feb. 17"]; at Paris, Théâtre des Italiens, Jan. 13, 1861; and in London, Lyceum, June 15, 61.
BALTAZARINI (or Baltagerini), an Italian musician; the best violinist of his day. He was brought from Piedmont in 1577 by Marshal de Brissac to Catherine de' Medicis, who made him intendant of her music and her first valet de chambre, and changed his name to M. de Beaujoyeulx, which he himself adopted. He seems to have been the first to introduce the Italian dances into Paris, and thus to have been the founder of the ballet, and, through the ballet, of the opera. He associated the best musicians of Paris with him in his undertaking. Thus in the entertainment of 'Circe,' produced by him at the marriage of the Duc de Joyeuse and Mlle. de Vaudemont, on Sunday Oct. 15, 1581, known under the title of 'Ballet comique de la royne,' etc. (Paris, 1582), he states in the preface that the music was by Beaulieu and Maistre Salmon. Several numbers from it are given by Burney (Hist. iii. 279–283); and the Ballet in all its details and its connexion with the opera has been made the subject of a work 'Les origines de l'Opéra, etc.; par L. Cellier' (Paris, 1868).[1] The MSS. of others of Baltzarini's ballets are in the Bibliothèque Nationale.
BALTZAR, Thomas, born at Lübeck about 1630; the finest violinist of his time, and the first really great performer heard in England. He came to this country in 1656, and stayed for some time with Sir Anthony Cope, of Hanwell, Oxon. Evelyn heard him play March 4, 1656, and has left an account which may be read in his Diary under that date. Anthony Wood met him on July 24, 1658, and 'did then and there to his very great astonishment, heare him play on the violin. He then saw him run up his fingers to the end of the Fingerboard of the Violin, and run them back insensibly, and all with alacrity, and in very good tune, which he nor any in England saw the like before … Wilson thereupon, the public Professor, … did, after his humoursome way, stoop downe to Baltzar's Feet, to see whether he had a Huff on; that is to say, to see whether he was a Devill or not, because he acted beyond the parts of a man. ….Being much admired by all lovers of musick, his company was therefore desired; and company, especially musicall company, delighting in drinking, made him drink more than ordinary, which brought him to his grave.' At the Restoration [App. p.530 "Soon after"] Baltzar was appointed leader of the King's celebrated band of twenty-four violins, but died soon after, and was buried in the cloister of Westminster Abbey. He is entered on the Register as 'Mr. Thomas Balsart, one of the violins in the King's Service July 27, 1663.'
Baltzar did much towards placing the violin in England in its present position, at the head of all stringed instruments. He appears from Wood's account to have introduced the practice of the shift, till then unknown, and the use of the upper part of the finger-board. Playford's 'Division Violin' contains all that appear to have been printed of his compositions, but Burney speaks in high terms of some MS. solos in his possession; and a set of sonatas for a 'lyra violin, treble violin, and bass viol,' were sold at the auction of Thomas Britton the 'musical small-coal man.'
BANCHIERI, Adriano, born at Bologna, 1567, pupil of Gerami the organist of the cathedral of Lucca and afterwards of S. Marco in Venice. He was first organist at Imola, of S. Maria in Regola; then in 1603 we find him at S. Michele in Bosco near Bologna. Gerber's statement that he was chosen abbot of Bosco is unsupported, and appears to be contradicted by the fact that on his works he is uniformly described as 'Monaco olivetano.' His first work, 'Conclusioni per organo,' appeared at Lucca in 1591; and Zuchelli gives the date of his death as 1634. He was great in all departments, theory, the church, and the theatre. His most important theoretical work is probably his 'L'Organo suonarino' (Amadius, Venice, 1605), which was often reprinted. It contains the first precise rules for accompanying from a figured bass—afterwards published separately by Lomazzo at Milan. In a later work, 'Moderna practica musicale' (Venice, 1613), he treats of the influence of the basso continuo on the ornaments in singing, and the alterations necessary in consequence thereof. At the same time he mentions the changes in harmony and tonality which were at that time beginning to prevail, as incomprehensible. In addition to his many compositions for the church, Banchieri wrote what were then called 'intermedi' for comedies. In his 'La Pazzia senile, raggionamenti vaghi e dilettevole, composti e dati in luce colla musica a tre voci,' published at Venice in 1598 and reprinted at Cologne—itself a kind of imitation of the 'Antiparnasso' of Orazio Vecchi—the transition from the madrigal to the new form of the intermedio is very obvious; the work may be almost called the first comic opera. He afterwards composed a pendant to it under the name of 'La prudenza giovenile,' to which he boldly affixed the title of 'Comedia in musica,' and which was published at Milan by Tini in 1607. Another analogous work is 'La barca di Venezia a Padua' (Venice, 1623), and still more so 'La fida fanciulia, comedia esemplare, con musicall intermedi apparente ed inapparenti,' Bologna, 1628 and 1629. Banchicri was a poet as well as a musician, and wrote comedies under the name of Camillo Scaligeri
- ↑ The air which of late years has been somewhat in vogue abroad and at home, under the title of 'Gavotte de Louis XIII,' is taken from this Ballet, where the first strain appears as 'Le son de la Clochette auquel Circé sortit de son jardin'—'un son fort gay.' The trio to the 'Gavotte' has been added by the modern arranger.
