DICTIONARY OF MUSIC - El Atril

252 GUADAGNINI GUARDUCCI
he acquired great reputation in all the principal
theatres of Italy. Tliere he sang the part of
'Telemacco,' written for him by Gluck, who
procured his engagement in 1766 at Vienna, as
' Orfeo. ' Having excited both admiration and
disturbance in that capital, he retui'ned to
London in 1769. ' As an actor he seems to
have had no e(|nal on any operatic stage in
Enrope : his figure was uncommonly elegant
and noble ;
his countenance replete with beauty,
intelligence, and dignity ; and his attitudes
and gestures were so full of grace and propriety,
that they would have been excellent studies for
a statuary. But, though his manner of singing
was perfectly delicate, polished, and refined, his
voice seemed, at first, to disappoint every hearer,
for he had now changed it to a soprano, and
extended its compass from six or seven notes to
fourteen or fifteen ' (Burney). The same writer
gives a curious criticism of his style, too long to
quote here, from which it appears that he produced
his best effects by singing unaccompanied
and by fining off his notes to a thread. He
had strong resentments and high notions of his
own importance, which made him many enemies.
He sang under J. C. Bach in the Lent of 17 70,
and later in the same year was heard at Yerona
by the Electress of Saxe, who brought him to
Munich, where he remained in great favour with
the Elector till the death of that prince. In
1766 he sang at Potsdam before Frederick II.,
who gave him a handsome gold snuffbox studded
with brilliants,— the finest he had ever given.
In 1777 he returned to Padua. There Lord
Mount-Edgcumbe heard him (1784) in a motetto,
and found his voice still full and well-toned,
and his style excellent. He insisted on Lord
Ilount-Edgcumbe going to his house, wdiere he
entertained him with fantoccini, which he exhibited
on a little stage, and in which he took
great delight. This writer puts his death in the
next year, 1785 ; but Fetis fixes it much later, in
1797. He amassed considerable wealth, which
he spent liberally and charitably. J. M.
GUADAGNINI, a numerous family of Italian
violin-makers, of theCremonaschool, though probably
originating from Piacenza. The first generation
consists of Lorenzo and Joh>;-B.a.?ti.st the
;
latter seems always to have been a family name.
Their exact kinship is uncertain. They worked
from about 1690 to 1740. Both claimed to be
pupils of Stradivarius. The violins of ,Tohn-
Baptist fuUy justify this claim. They are finely
designed, and coveredwith arich dark-red varnish,
easily distinguishable from the glaring scarlet
varnish used by the second John-Baptist, and
are in all respects worthy of the Stradivarian
school. John-BaptistdatedfromMilan, Piacenza,
and Turin ; he sometimes describes himself as
' Cremonemsis,' sometimes as ' Placentinus.' The
violins of Lorenzo are of high sterling merit,
despite their divergence from the Stradivarian
model. The design is often bold to the verge of
uneouthness ; thecornersareheavyandobtrusive ;
the scroll is quite unlike that of Stradivarius :
the varnish, thoughrichandgood, is less brilliant.
Both of these makers are highly esteemed, and
good sjiecimens command prices varying from
£40 to £100. In the second generation a marked
decadence is observable. The second John-
Baptist (probably a son of Lorenzo) made a large
number of useful violins of the commoner sort.
They are mostly of the Stradivarian pattern.
He introduced that unpleasantly high-coloured
varnish which is often supposed to be the special
characteristic of a ' Guadagnini. ' He
used excellent
wood, and his instruments are in good
repute among orchestral players. He usually
dates from Piacenza. To the same generation
belongs Jo.seph (1740-60), who usually dates
from JMilan, and claims to be from Cremona.
He was probably a brother of the second John-
Baptist. His work is massive and full of
character, but distinguished by a certain rudeness,
in which he probablj' imitated Joseph
Guarnerius. His brownish-yellow varnish contrasts
oddly with that of his contemporary
John-Baptist and those used in the earlier generation.
The third and following generations of the
Guadagnini family exhibit a lamentable falling
ofi'. Now and then they did their best to imitate
the work of their predecessors : more often they
seem to have worked at haphazard. The third
generation had quite lost the art of varnishing.
Sometimes the varnish is a hard and cold imitation
of that of John-Baptist the second : sometimes
it is a thick, dull, opaque mass, resembling
paint :
sometimesmerely athin albuminous wash.
In the make little often remains of the Creraonese
character at all. They nevertheless made a certain
number of useful instruments. Members of
the family are believed to be still engaged in the
violin trade at Turin. E. J. P.
GUALANDI. SeeC.«ipiOLl.
GUARDUCCI, To.MM.^sso, Toscano, born at
Montefiascone about 1720, was a pupil of the
famous Bernacchi at Bologna, and became one
of the best singers of his time. He appeared
at most of the chief theatres of Italy with success
from 1745 to 1770. In the autumn of 1766 he
was brought over by Mr. Gordon, one of the
managers, to the London Opera as 'first man,'
with Grassi. In the spring of 1767, two serious
operas, ' Caratacco ' by J. C. Bach and Vento's
' Conquista del Messico,' were produced ; and in
these the two new singers excited more atten-
tion, and acquired more applause, than before.
Guarducci was, according to Burney, ' tall and
awkward in figure, inanimate as an actor, and m
countenance ill-favoured and morbid ; but a man
of great probity and worth in his private character,
and one of the most correct singers. His voice was
clear, sweet, and flexible. His shake and intona-
tions were perfect, and by long study and prac-
tice he had vanquished all the difliculties of his
art, and possessed himself of every refinement.'