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Pasquale Anfossi (1727-1797), compositor from Taggia, takes place in a troubled moment in building his own space since there was Mozart with his successes and prestige he has achieved over time.
The critics has always underlined the Anfossi production, his peculiar ability in developing comical works and succeeding in combining skillfully comic and pathetic, getting to a new vision of the musical theatre that in Italy had a good success. The importance of Anfossi is attested in the originality of the finals, following the eighteenth century taste for the double meaning and of the witticism typically Italian. Further, the versatility of language lies on the revolution of the traditional schemes, as the "accompanied recitative" and the instrumentation highlighted by the thorough orchestration, and a deep attention for the symphonic world. Deepening furthermore the analysis of the Anfossi's scores, we find undisputable features framing Anfossi within the music design of the XVIII century. Indeed many innovations found later in the scores of other compositors are present in advanced in his pieces. For example, the arias having inside sophisticate harmonic processes, besides the different articulation of the pieces.
In the arias we do not find the "bel canto" form and many of them are divide into two parts, with a first part (A) that is an Andante, while the second one (B) is an Allegro playing a contrast. Further, beyond the form of the aria, Anfossi tries the "sentimental" style, that later will lead to that nineteenth century theatre where we will find the top of the development of the combination of parts, figures and where the several aspects of feelings will cross at the same time.
Between Anfossi and Mozart there has been an effective "collaboration", that led to an exact sign that has featured their works.
Mozart wrote for Anfossi four arias for the "Curioso indiscreto" and one for "Le gelosie fortunate"; without forgetting a "Contredance" (K 607) written making use of themes present in "La forza delle donne". So it cannot be set apart the name of Anfossi when quoting the Mozart's composition and vice versa.
The Ligurian compositor achieved a good success both in Italy and abroad mainly for his peculiar taste for the melody of great Mediterranean register, sided by a perfect vision of the orchestra. This purpose, it can be reminded the common use of the division of the first violins from violins. The choice in renew the employ of violins was due to the taste of Galluppi memory, related to the beginnings of the Neapolitan and Venetian schools. He lived his own music inside the orchestra giving it a certain peculiarity in composition that still nowadays it's evident at an attentive analysis. The fact to pause upon the symphonic production is due to the organic structure that instead many compositors of his times lacked of. Piero Santi, in a work of his outlines the general features of the compositional going on underlining that the Anfossi's method can be divided into two great modes: on a side he employed schemes and rigid models, on the other he applied extemporary ideas.
Here it is the arousing of the improvisation, suggested by the moment and leaving space to mood.
Finally you get, by going on this brief analysis, to the well-known "La finta giardiniera", coming out a year before than that of Mozart. The compositor from Salzburg possibly got the idea from the Anfossi score and the studies of De Wyzewa and Saint-Fox, leading to the result that Mozart, besides using the same draft, followed the musical architecture too, the structure of the arias and some aspects concerning accompaniment.
On the other side the Mozartian introspections made over the Anfossi texts and in detail over the "Il curioso indiscreto" make foretell a stylistic training that, rising from the study of the Italian taste, must later lead to the genial score of the "Nozze di Figaro".
For its ductility and the reasons above mentioned about the Anfossi stylistic revolutions, another critic, Sergio Martinetti, finds matches with other compositors that had a role of 'modernization in this sector as Paisiello. So we can state that our compositor turned to a point reference in the eighteenth-century musical map.
In this brief analysis we cannot forget an umpteenth link with another Italian compositor of great importance: Niccolò Piccinni. Their relationship was a happy collaboration. They wrote together the comic piece "Fiammetta generosa", staged at the de' Fiorentini theatre of Naples in 1766.
Further, in different works, there are analogies concerning the orchestral organic, or the concertatos that are dived into many parts, applying different tonalities and tempos. Elements to quote would still be several, but the analysis would become too complex for this occasion. We hope that with the performance of the "La maga Circe" the name of Anfossi enters the opera playbill, without having to make a picture to make him known by everybody as it happens for Salieri.
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