Giovanni L. Somis

Giovanni Lorenzo Somis, nicknamed Ardy or Ardito, was an Italian violinist, composer, and painter of the Baroque period. He was born on 11 November 1688 in Turin, then in the Duchy of Savoy, and died there on 29 November 1775, when the city belonged to the Kingdom of Sardinia. His nickname, meaning roughly “the hardy one,” may have arisen from participation in the war with France in 1690–1693.

Somis came from a family of court musicians serving the dukes of Savoy. He received his first musical lessons together with his brother Giovanni Battista Somis from their father, Francesco Lorenzo Somis. He later moved to Bologna, where he spent eight years, apparently studying painting with Giovanni Gioseffo dal Sole and music with Girolamo Nicolò Laurenti. In 1722 he was admitted to the Accademia Filarmonica of Bologna.

From 1724 Somis lived in Turin, where he obtained a position in the royal military orchestra. Beginning in 1732 he played second violin in the court chapel, and in 1763, after the death of his brother, he took over his brother’s place. Among his pupils was Felice Giardini. He retired from service in 1770.

As a composer, Somis wrote instrumental music including violin sonatas, trio sonatas, violin concertos, and an overture in G major for two violins, viola, and bass. His published works include Op. 1, eight sonatas for violin and basso continuo issued in Rome in 1722; Op. 2, twelve sonatas for violin and basso continuo published in Paris in 1740; and Op. 3, six trio sonatas, also published in Paris in 1740. Some of his compositions have been attributed to his brother because they were signed only with the family surname.

Somis was also active as a painter and art collector. He owned violins by Nicolò and Girolamo Amati and by Georg Klotz, and he assembled a collection of more than seventy paintings. He is also known for portraits of his brother Giovanni Battista Somis, Antonio Lotti, Giovanni Porta, Giacomo Perti, the cellist Salvatore Lanzetti, and others.

Connections

This figure has 1 connection in the Music Lineage catalog.