Suites Théatrales
Born in Castelfranco in 1654, Agostino Steffani spent his childhood in Padua. 1667 the Prince Elector Ferdinand Maria of Bavaria took note of this talented young boy chorister and brought him to his court in Munich. From then on, Steffani took up a rapid career in the German-speaking countries. This career lead him to occupy the highest musical and political offices in three of the most important German courts: Munich (1667-1688), Hanover (1688-1703) and Düsseldorf (1703-1709). The Suites presented on this CD were all composed for the purposes of these courts: Henrico Leone (1698) and I Trifoni del Fato (1695) were composed at the court of Hannover for the Elector Ernst August. Niobe Regina di Tebe (1688) was composed in Munich and Amor vien dal Destino (1709) in Düsseldorf.
Steffani had undertaken a lengthy study trip to Paris and Turin in 1678/79, where he had become familiar with the operas and the orchestral performance style of Jean-Baptiste Lully. These Suites refer to this kind of music since they were mainly composed as entrance music and ballet inserts with an occasional demonstration of stage machinery (like e.g thunder).