Tomaso Antonio Vitali
Tomaso Antonio Vitali | |
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Portrait of Vitali from the second half of the 18th century by an unknown Emilian painter | |
| Born | Tomaso Antonio Vitali 7 March 1663 |
| Died | 9 May 1745 (aged 82) Modena, Italy |
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Tomaso Antonio Vitali (7 March 1663 – 9 May 1745) was an Italian composer and violinist of the mid to late Baroque era. The eldest son of Giovanni Battista Vitali, he is chiefly known for a Chaconne in G minor for violin and continuo, to which he is traditionally attributed as the composer. The earliest known source for Vitali's Chaconne is a manuscript housed in the Sächsische Landesbibliothek Dresden with the shelfmark Mus. 2037/R/1. The work's wide-ranging modulations into distant keys have raised speculation that it could not be a genuine Baroque work, while the lack of similarities to other works by Vitali have made modern scholars cast serious doubts on the attribution.