Included in this zip archive there are the score and the solo partzs
of the eighteenth string quartet by Gaetano Donizetti (Bergamo, 1797 -
Bergamo, 1848).

The source text used for this edition was [1].  This seems to be a
very rare edition; I found only a microfilm at the Public Library of
Bergamo "Angelo Maj".

The original autograph is likely to be kept in one of the libraries in
Bergamo (either the "Angelo Maj" Public Library or into the
Conservatorio "G. Donizetti").  However, I have been not able to
determine where it is now.  The Public Library and the Library of the
Conservatorio "G. Donizetti" are reorganizing their archives, and such
an information is difficult to find at the moment (Spring 2003).

In the preface of [1], the editor states that the autograph of quartet
nr. 18 was reproduced unabrigedly ("non ho potuto che attenermi
scrupolosamente ai manoscritti autografi lasciando al criterio e al
buon gusto degli esecutori la cura di segnare legature, staccati e
segni dinamici").  This explains the many errors in the score.  If you
look at the .ly files in the zip archive you will find some comments
starting with [R] which suggest some corrections.

An unknown hand already corrected most of these errors in the source
text used to prepare the microfilm.  In the majority of cases I
reported these corrections in the comments, excluding only those which
"pushed too far".


* Note * 

The score was reproduced unabrigedly, except for a few minor details.
These are: stem/slur/tie directions (determined algorithmically by
Lilypond), number of bars per staff, number of staves per page.  Also,
note that Donizetti noted tremoli in the last movement (e.g. bar 163
Violin II) using empty note heads, while in such cases (a pair of
eighth notes repeated three times) Lilypond prints filled note heads
by default.


 HISTORICAL NOTES
==================

Gaetano Donizetti (Bergamo, 1797 - id., 1848) is one of the greatest
italian operists of the first half of XIX century.  His most
successful works are "L'elisir d'amore", "Lucia di Lammermoor" (after
"The Bride of Lammermoor" by W. Scott), "Linda di Chamounix" and "Don
Pasquale".  

Donizetti studied composition with Johann Simon Mayr (Mendorf, 1763 -
Bergamo, 1845), a german composer which settled in Bergamo in 1789
[2].  Mayr was the founder of a musical association which aimed to
publicize the works by the most important Viennese composers, namely
Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven.  He also wrote musical essays about these
subjects, like "Brevi notizie istoriche della vita e delle opere di
G. Haydn" ("Brief historical facts about life and works by
J. Haydn"). The "Angelo Maj" Library in Bergamo keep a collection of
manuscripts owned by Mayr which casts some light on his musical taste:
among the others, symphonies nn. 1,2,3,4,8 by Beethoven, Médée by
Cherubini, Haydn's string quartets op. 64, Mozart's string quintets
KV. 515, 516, 593 and 614.

Thanks to the so-called "lezioni caritatevoli" ("charitable lessons")
held for free by Mayr for musically gifted children with no means,
Donizetti began to study music at the age of 9.  In 1815 Mayr, having
sought the spark of genious in his pupil, sent Donizetti to the Liceo
Musicale in Bologna, where he studied counterpoint for two years with
father Stanislao Mattei (1757-1825).  In 1817 Donizetti, having
achieved firm basis in counterpoint, returned to Bergamo and began to
write his first operas, helped by Mayr's suggestions.  Even through
long separations, Donizetti and Mayr remained friends for their whole
life.

Donizetti composed the first sixteen quartets between 1817 and 1821,
when he returned to Bergamo after his studies in Bologna.  Donizetti
wrote these works with no aim to publish them; they were used for
domestic soirées whom Mayr often joined too.  These quartets are
generally considered to be scholastic works, and clearly show the
influence of Haydn and Mozart.  Only the fifth string quartet in E
minor has gained some popularity, since today it is Donizetti's most
performed quartet.  The seventeenth and eighteenth string quartets
were composed in 1825 and 1836 respectively.

Apart from the eighteen "official" string quartets, Donizetti wrote
another quartet in C major which is partially lost and it is therefore
not counted in the catalogue of his works.  Another string quartet in
A minor was left unfinished after 122 bars.

The eighteenth string quartet was composed in 1836, when Donizetti was
in Napoli to organize the premiere of the "Campanello" (1st June), the
"Betly" (August) and the "Assedio di Calais" (19th November), all to
be performed at the S. Carlo Theatre.  Because of repeated cholera
epidemics, the public autorithies disposed various quarantines which
forced impresari to close theaters.  Donizetti probably wrote the
quartet in E minor during these periods of forced rest.

These were particularly hard times for Donizetti, which faced the
death of many relatives in less than two years [3]: his father, Andrea
(9th December 1836), his mother Domenica Nava, (10th February, 1837),
and his beloved wife, Virginia Vaselli (30th July 1837), which died in
childbirth at the age of 28.  Some of his grief might be found in the
first movement of this quartet.

Since no autograph of the single parts survive (unlike the majority of
the other quartets), it is likely that this piece was never played
during Donizetti's life.  However, he reused the first movement in the
ouverture of "Linda di Chamounix".

It is interesting to search for similarities between this quartet and
the great Viennese string quartets by F. J. Haydn and Mozart.  Worth
of mention is the beginning of the Adagio: the first three chords are
equal, with respect to notes, tempo marking and key, to the first bars
of the "Adagio Cantabile", from the string quartet op. 76 n. 1 in C
major by Haydn.


Maurizio Tomasi, July 2003


 BIBLIOGRAPHY
==============

[1] "Gaetano Donizetti - Diciotto Quartetti", a cura dell'Istituto
    Italiano per la Storia della Musica.  Francisco Prati, Roma -
    Buenos Aires 1948.

[2] "Enciclopedia della musica", Garzanti 1996

[3] Silvana Milesi: "Gaetano Donizetti - Una vita di romantiche
    armonie".  Corponove Editrice, 2002.
