Composer
Antonio Lotti
Biography
Antonio Lotti (c.1666–1740) was an Italian composer and organist closely associated with Venice. He studied with Giovanni Legrenzi and served at the Basilica of San Marco as a singer and organist, becoming its maestro di cappella in 1736. Alongside sacred music for San Marco, he wrote motets, choral works and oratorios for Venetian institutions, including the Ospedale degli Incurabili.
His operatic career began in Venice in 1693. Between 1717 and 1719, he worked in Dresden, where his operas included Giove in Argo and Teofane. After returning to Venice, he concentrated on sacred music. His output combines contrapuntal writing with expressive harmonic and melodic invention; his settings of the Crucifixus remain particularly well known.