Valentino Nicolay (fl. 1742-1802), a.k.a. Valentin Nicolai, was an Austrian (?) composer. Of the very few sources I found about him, most (including IMSLP where I found the scores) did not indicate a nationality, but I found one French source that claimed he was Austrian, so I'm going with that. One thing that no source had was information regarding the year of his birth, but one could guess that it was some time in the 1720's based on the years he was active.
IMSLP: imslp.org/wiki/Category:Nicol...
This is the first of two concertos of which I am aware, and I have now also done the second: • Valentino Nicolay; Pia... . He was evidently living in France for some time when composing them - the title page on his second concerto even lists his home address in Paris, which you can visit today, though I'm not sure if there's much of interest there.
Movements:
0:00 - I. Allegro non tropo
12:00 - II. Adagio
17:23 - III. Rondo. Allegretto
As is often the case with these older works, there are spots provided for cadenzas, but none are included in the manuscript, so the cadenzas in the first and second movements are my own work. This might not quite qualify as a concerto by modern standards, as there are only 6 parts in addition to the soloist - the usual 4 strings plus 2 flutes. I've made it 7 by interpreting "Bass" as both cellos and contrabass, doubling an octave below. And of course the typical orchestra would likely put multiple instruments on each part. The second concerto is less ambiguous, in that it also has 2 horn parts.
Disclaimer: Yes, it's synthesized. Obviously real musicians with real instruments would be vastly superior, but this simulated performance is better than nothing at all, which is what existed previously. My greatest wish is that these videos will inspire someone with the means to arrange a real performance and hopefully record and publish it so we can hear them in their full glory. If that someone is you, or you know of an existing recording of this, please let me know and I may add a link to this description.
7 июн 2024
