Polymath of the Baroque: Agostino Steffani and His Music

This is the first book to consider all aspects of the life of Agostino Steffani (1654-1728), a composer, diplomat, and bishop. A remarkable figure of the late 17th and early 18th century Europe, Steffani began his career as a composer, musician, and courtier, but his accomplishments brought him high-level positions in the courts of Germany and the Catholic Church. Throughout his diplomatic and ecclesiatical career, Steffani continued to compose chamber music, vocal chamber music, operas, and sacred music—works which inspired Handel and other Baroque composers.