a 16th-17th century composer of Piazza, Sicily, lived chiefly a t Palermo, and was a pupil of Pietro Vinci. He composed 15 books of madrigals for 3 to 6 v., published between 1594 and 1619 ; 1 book of motets, 3-6 v. (1606); 4 books of sacred songs, 2-4 v., book 4 with a dialogue, 6 v., and bass for the organ (1611); 1 book villanelle, 3 v. (1612) (Fetis; Q.-L.).
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VILA, PEDRO ALBERTO
(b. ? Barcelona, 1517 ; d. there, Nov. 16, 1582), Spanish madrigalist, organist and canon of tho Cathedral a t Barcelona, who published a sot entitled Odarum quas vulgo madrigales appellamus . . . lib. I. Barcelona, 1561. (Barcelona, Bibl. de la Diputaci6 ; alto only.) The words of this curious collection are in oSpanish, Catalan, Italian or French. A few pieces in MS. are preserved in the same library ; and in the library of the Orfeo Catala, Barcelona; while organ-works are printed in the tablature of V e n e q a s (q.v.). J. B. T.
VIOLINOPICCOLO
a violin of small size, usually tuned a fourth higher than the ordinary violin, its open strings being an octave above those of tho viola. Among the thirty-six musical instruments employed by Claudio Monteverdi in the orchestra of his opera ' Orfeo,' published in 1C09, and reissued in 1615, the score includes Piccoli Violini alia Francese. This title, written by an Italian, has caused a slight confusion as to the nationality of tho violin proper, and a t the same time given credence to a conjecture th a t the violin was a French invention. Naturally the correctness of the surmise rests upon the kind of instrument Monteverdi intended to designate by tho appellation Piccolo Violino. The directions given in the published score of ' Orfeo ' indicate th a t the composer introduced several instruments into the orchestra solely for the purpose of imparting greater dramatic power and contrast than had hitherto been attained. Bearing this in mind-also the facts th at Monteverdi was himself an Italian, th a t ! he lived in his native country where violins I were being made by Gasparo da Said more than forty years previous to the composition of | ' Orfeo,' and th a t no French violin-maker or violinist is on record a t this date-it is more j than probable th a t the Piccoli Violini alia ; Francese indicated were none other than the P o c h e t t e (q.v.) (see also K i t ) , which 17th- | century French dandies and dancing-masters I were accustomed to carry in their pockets to madrigal parties and lessons. Famous makers i of the French pochettes in the first half of the 17th century were Pierre Lo Due and Du Mesnil of Paris. Leopold Mozart says the Quart-geige is smaller than the ordinary violin, and is used by children. The ' Three-quarter Fiddle ' is still used by children, but is always abandoned as early as possible. In its more normal or violin shape J . S. Bach occasionally employed the violino piccolo in his church cantatas and also in the first Brandenburg Concerto (F major), sometimes treating it as a solo instrument. F. w. G. ; in c o rp o r a t in g m a te r ia l f rom E. J. p . a n d E. h .-a .
VOGL, (1)HEINRICH
(b. Au, near Munich, Jan. 15, 1845 ; d. Munich, Apr. 21,1900), began life as a schoolmaster, and received instruction in singing from Franz Lachner, and in acting from Jenk, stage manager of the Royal Theatre, Munich, where ho made his debut on Nov. 5, 1865, as Max, in ' Der Freischiitz.' His success wras immediate, and he remained a t Munich 1 W o rd s b y A d o lp b e B la n c , s u n e b y C h o lle t a t th e T h & t r e d e s N o u v e a u t6 " (P la c e d e l a B o u rs e , P a r is ) . throughout his career, making the usual tours in Germany and Austria in company with his wife, whom he married in 1868. He excelled pre-eminently in the operas of Wagner, and played Loge and Siegmund on the production respectively of ' Rheingold ' (Sept. 22,1869) and ' Walkiire ' (June 26, 1870) a t Munich. He sang a t the Beethoven Centenary Festival a t Bonn in 1871. He was the first Tristan (after the four jw-rformances by Schnorr von Carolsfeld), and for some years the only representative of the part. On the production of the trilogy a t Bayreuth in 1876 he again played the part of Loge, and made a great hit by his fine declamation and admirable acting. On May 5, 1882, he made his first appearance in England a t Her Majesty's in the same part, and subsequently in Siegfried, and on May 18 was heard with pleasure in Handel's ' Total Eclipse ' and songs bv Franz, etc., a t a symphony concert a t St. James's Hall. He composed many songs, and an opera, ' Der Fremdling,' was produced a t Munich, May 7, 1899, with himself and Ternina in the chief parts. A biographical sketch, by Baron Hermann von Pfordten, appeared in the same year. His wife, (2) T h e r e s e , whose maiden name was T h om a (b. Tutzing, Lake Starnberg, Bavaria, Nov. 12, 1845 ; d. Munich, Sept. 29, 1921), learnt singing from Hauser a t the Munich Conservatorium, and in 1865 first appeared in opera a t Carlsruhe. In Dec. 1866 she made her debut a t Munich as Casilda (Auber's ' Pa r t du Diable '), became very popular as a dramatic soprano, and remained there until her retirement in 1892. She was for some years the only Isolde, and was the original Sieglinde a t Munich. On May 6 , 1882, she made her first appearance in England a t Her Majesty's, as Briinnhilde, and played the part throughout the trilogy with great success. In the second 'cycle' of performances she played with equal success her old part of Sieglinde, having resigned Briinnhilde to Mme. Reicher- Kindermann (since deceased), who had been the Frieka in the first cycle. A. c.
VREULS, VICTOR
(b. Verviers, Belgium, Feb. 4, 1876), viola-player, composer and conductor, studied music a t the ficole de Musique in his native town ; then a t the Conservatoire a t Liege; then in Paris with Vincent d 'Indy. For seven years he was professor of the viola and of harmony a t the Schola Cantorum in Paris. From 1906 he was director a t the Luxembourg l S c h u b a r t . Conservatoire. His production is already considerable, his chief works being :
VALENTINI, GIOVANNI
was from 1014 court organist to the Archduke Ferdinand at Grazi; after the latter 's enthronement as the Emperor Ferdinand II., Valentini was his Imperial court organist in Vienna.8 Books of masses were published in 1617,1621 2 T h u s R i e m a n n ; Q .-L . g iv e s 1617 in p la c e o f 1614. (2), some motets, and in 1618, madrigals with accompaniment in 1619, 1621 and 1625, and 4 Musiche a 2 voci ' in 1622. A four-part setting of the ' Vesperae integrae ' and other sacred compositions are in MS. The four sonatas ' a 5 e 4 ' for strings, a t Cassel, one of which was published as ' Enharmonische so n a te ' in Riemann's ' Alte Kammermusik,' are probably, as Eitner surmises, the work of Giuseppe V a l e n t i n i . m .
VASQUEZ, JUAN
(b. Badajoz, 16th cent.), Spanish composer, studied a t Seville, and is said to have been maestro de capilla a t Burgos, though he never describes himself as such in any of his works. His villancicos (3-5 v.) are compositions in which ' the chief singing part ' is often a folk-song, while the other voices supply a contrapuntal background. The melody is repeated over and over again in an unaltered form, as in some of the motets of Mora le s, while the other parts are constantly varied. He published Villancicos i Can c io n e s d e I u a n V a sq u e z , a 3 y a 4. O su n a , 1551. Pa r tb o o lia . (Mad r id , Bib l. Medinaceli.) Kecopilaciou d e so n e to s y villan c ico s a 4 y a 5 de I u a n Va sq u e z . Seville, 15G0 l 'a r tb o o k s . (M a d r id : B ib l. Medinaceli.) Transcriptions and other arrangements for the vihuela (Spanish lute) are found in the tablature-books of Daza, Enriquez, Fuenllana, Milan and Pisador. Ho also published : A g e n d a D e fu n c to rum . Sev ille , 1556. (B a rc e lo n a , B ib l . d e la D ip u ta c i6 .) J ^ T
VEPRESSICILIENNES, LES
opera in 5 acts ; libretto by Scribe and Duveyrier ; music by Verdi. Produced June 13, 1855, Opera, Paris ; in Italian as ' Giovanna de Guzman,' Scala, Milan, Feb. 4, 1856 ; Drury Lane, July 27, 1859; New York, Academy of Music, Nov. 7, 1859. o.
VIAGGIOAREIMS, IL
o s s i a l ' a l b e r g o d e l g i g l i o d ' o r a , opera in one a c t ; words by Balocchi; music by Rossini. Produced l Oeschichte der M u s ik , v o l. iv . p . 248, e tc . * G u id o t t i in h is e d i t io n o f Cav a lie r i'* * R&p p re a en ta z io n e ' (1600), use s th e te rm * baaao c o n t in u a to . ' Theatre - Italien, Paris, June 19, 1825. Tho music was afterwards adapted to the new libretto of ' l e Comte O ry ' {q.v.). o.
VINCENT
a family of English musicians who were all recognised composers and performers during tho early p a r t of the 18th century, and consisted of (1) R i c h a r d , (2) T h o m a s , (3) .Ta m e s , and (4) T h o m a s , junior. All these signed, in the order given, the trus t deed of the R o y a l So c i e t y o f M us ic i a n s in Aug. 1739. As the contemporary publications frequently merely gave the name of the composer of a piece of music as ' Mr. Vincent,' it is exceedingly difficult to separate these members of the family. (1) R i c h a r d was probably the uncle and (2) T h o m a s the father of Thomas, junior, the oboist, whose father was, according to Burney,8 a bassoon - player in the Guards. (3) Ja m e s (d. Oct. 6,1749