Quattro duetti italiani for two flutes

Domenico Mancinelli (Bologna, 23 June 1724 - Bologna, 16 October 1804) was an Italian oboist and composer. Mancinelli was an oboist at the chapel of the Basilica of San Petronio in Bologna from 1760 until his death. Despite this he lived for some years in London, the city where he published most of his compositions. He wrote a large quantity of duets for two flutes to be played by his students (all members of the English aristocracy). His easy and elegant compositional style belongs to the gallant era. In their work the use of short-term movement prevails and are characterized by a predictable harmonic progression and a rhythmic vitality.

Niccolò Dôthel, an excellent flutist born in Lunéville, France, carries out his entire career in Italy, in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, both in the court orchestra and in the military band; through his work as a musician and teacher, and with his publications, he makes a substantial contribution to the diffusion of the transverse flute.
Niccolò Dôthel, son of an oboist serving in Nancy at the Court of Lorraine, arrives with his father in Florence following Francesco Stefano, named Grand Duke of Tuscany. From 1736 he played in the military band and in the Cappella di Corte, here his presence is documented until 1807, moreover, from 1765 to 1798, he is part of the Teatro della Pergola orchestra.
In Florence Dothel gives life to a flute school; among his students we remember Mattias Stabingher, author of the first known works (Opera 6) written for four flutes without a bass part.
Niccolò Dôthel leaves many compositions for flute, all published in Paris, London and Amsterdam, except the Six Quartets for flute or two violins, viola and cello, printed in Florence by Ranieri del Vivo.

Pietro Nardini (Livorno, 1722 - Florence, 1793).
A pupil of Tartini's violin in Padua between 1734 and 1740, he had a brilliant career both as a violinist and as a composer. As a teacher and virtuoso he lived in his native city, Livorno, until the marriage of Emperor Joseph II took him to Vienna in 1760. During his travels as a virtuoso he obtained a writing for the court of Stuttgart where he remained from 1762 to 1765 The archives of the Music of the Royal Chamber and Chapel mention it as the first violin from 1768 onwards. Leopold Mozart wrote words of admiration towards him, while Burney said: He seems the most complete violinist of Italy, his style is delicate, balanced and very refined. Together with Manfredini, Boccherini and his pupil Cambini, Nardini was a pioneer of the string quartet having played together in this training for about six months. In 1782 a collection of six string quartets was published in Florence. His production also included concerts, sonatas (including the famous Sonates avec les Adagios brodes) and duets for violin. For the flute he composed two concerts, two sonatas with basso continuo, two duets and more than a dozen of triosonate for two flutes (or flute and violin) and basso continuo.
The tonality of the sonata presented in this edition, B flat major, was not widely used in 18th century flute writing.

He has been flutist of the Concertgebouw Orchestra for over thirty years and professor of flute and chamber music at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague.
He has played in various chamber ensembles such as the Viotta Ensemble of the Concertgebouw and the Amsterdam Quartet (flute and strings). He has been a member of the famous Netherlands Wind Ensemble for more than ten years. Some of the greatest Dutch composers (Rudolf Escher, Theo Loevendie and Tristan Keuris) wrote and dedicated to him new works for flute, and so also foreign composers of the name of Ysang Yun, Jean Françaix, Gottfried Michael Koenig and Per Nørgård. He recorded a large number of CDs and recorded the concerts of Vivaldi, Mozart and Jolivet for Dutch television.
For some years he has been teaching privately in his studio in Tuscany, and in Amsterdam. He is regularly invited for master classes in Germany, England, Portugal, and Italy and in recent years also in Australia, Japan and the United States. In recent years he has intensified his activity as director and instructor of music for wind instruments and has been called to take care of the wind instruments section of the European Youth Orchestra.
As a curator and reviewer of critical editions he works permanently with Amadeus (Switzerland), Broekmans & Van Poppel and Knuf (The Netherlands), and for the Italian publishing house Riverberi Sonori.

Tommaso Giordani (Naples, 1740 / Dublin, 1806).
He began his English career in 1762 at the Haymarket Theater in London, where he sang in a comic opera. After earning a living teaching music in the English capital, he tried to found an opera company in Dublin around 1783. This venture was unsuccessful and had to fail. Giordani remained in Ireland for the rest of his life and was known as a teacher and composer. His production included about twenty operas, lyrics, sung, various chamber music, as well as some piano or flute concerts. The fact that three collections of duets were published means that Giordani enjoyed great popularity in this field. The sonata published here requires a certain virtuosity, especially in the passages that use a typically violinist writing.