Today’s Obscure Baroque Composer? Marco Uccellini. (Toldja he was obscure…)

Well, this certainly woke me up.

That’s Marco Uccellini, a composer described by Wikipedia (with the sparseness typical of countless unknown musical creators from that era) as “an Italian Baroque violinist and composer.” And I was immediately reminded of Praetorius’ “Dances from Terpsichore.” (Also really fun stuff, and also sure to get your toes a-tappin’.)

Here’s a more complete (and more restrained) interpretation from Il Giardino Armonico. Yes, indeed. I just used the word “restrained” in reference to an Il Giardino Armonico recording. I don’t even know what’s going on any more. (To be fair, it’s not as though they’re Europa Galante. “Restrained” was always possible, if a bit unlikely.)

BONUS: A whole mess of violin works, courtesy of YouTube. Pleasant enough, to be sure. But not particularly memorable when compared to his “Aria Sopra la Bergamasca.” I’m beginning to see why it’s his most frequently performed and recorded work.