4 Romanze

Born in Modena in 1806, Luigi Gordigiani grew up in a family of musicians; his father, Antonio Gordigiani, was a baritone who had won some renown for having sung in Rossini’s Aureliano in Palmira; his mother, Sofia Cruvelli, was also a singer. His elder brother, Giovanni Battista, was a baritone like his father, as well as a composer and respected singing teacher (in Prague).

Despite his lack of success with opera, Luigi’s fame gradually grew, in Italy and abroad, but solely thanks to his vocal chamber compositions: he was acclaimed in Paris, London, Florence, while his romanze were published by the most important Italian and foreign publishers, and there was even a reviewer who went so far as to declare that “this Italian composer of songs is the equal of the German Schubert”.