1600–1679 · Baroque
Giovanni Felice Sances was an Italian singer and composer of the Baroque era. He was born around 1600 in Rome and died in Vienna in 1679. From 1636 his whole life was tied to the Viennese court: first he sang in the court chapel, then he became its Kapellmeister. He wrote operas, oratorios, sacred music and cantatas.
Giovanni Felice Sances was born around 1600 in Rome into a musical family: his father was a singer, and the virtuoso singing of his brother was mentioned more than once in publications of the time.
From the age of nine he studied music and sang soprano at the Collegio Germanico in Rome, where he stayed from 1609 to 1614. In 1614 Sances appeared in Rome in the opera Amor pudico.
In 1618 Sances turned up in Padua, and his career then led him through Bologna and Venice. His patrons were Nicolò Sagredo, the future doge, and the Marquis Obizzi of Padua.
In 1636 his first opera, L’Ermiona, was staged in Padua, and the composer sang in it himself. The libretto was by Pio Enea degli Obizzi, and the piece was performed as an introduction to a tournament. The music of the opera is lost.
In December 1636, with the support of the chaplain and professor Valeriano Bonvicino, Sances took a post in Vienna as a tenor in the chapel of Emperor Ferdinand II. From then on his life and work were tied to the Viennese court.
By 1639 he was the highest-paid singer of the court chapel. On 27 March 1642 he married Anna Ludwig and received a personal wedding gift from the emperor. At least twelve children were born into the family.
In 1649, during the reign of Ferdinand III, Sances was appointed vice-Kapellmeister of the court under Antonio Bertali. Together they staged Italian operas in Vienna on a regular basis. Sances additionally wrote sepolcri, church pieces and chamber music.
In 1669, after Bertali died, Sances succeeded to the post of Imperial Kapellmeister. From 1673, because of poor health, many of his duties were taken over by his deputy, Johann Heinrich Schmelzer. Even so, Sances kept the post despite his illnesses until his death.
Giovanni Felice Sances died in Vienna on 24 November 1679. He was buried in the Augustinian Church by the royal palace.
Sances wrote both for the stage and for the church. His operas include I trionfi d’Amore (1649), La Roselmina fatte canora (1662), Apollo deluso (1669) and Aristomene Messenio (1670). Among his sacred works are six oratorios, including Lachrime di San Pietro (1666), Il trionfo della Croce (1671) and Il Paradiso aperto per la morte di Christo (1672).
His sacred works number: 54 masses, 3 requiems, 6 vespers, 37 liturgies, 166 psalms and 56 motets. Collections of motets appeared in 1638 and 1642, and a collection of psalms for eight voices in 1643. The year 1638 is also attached to the Stabat Mater, or Il pianto della Madonna.
His secular output includes 22 cantatas and 273 love compositions. Published collections include Capricci Poetici (Venice, 1649) and Trattenimenti musicali per camera (Venice, 1657). The site has two of his editions: Cantata. Non sia chi mi riprende (level: elementary-plus) and Dialogo a due. Pastor e Ninfa (level: intermediate). The first is a convenient place to begin.