Was Girolamo Bon a Composer?

I found several sources that mentioned a set of six violin sonatas published by Girolamo Bon (Anna’s father) in 1752. They are held at the Leipziger Städtische Bibliotheken (Leipzig City Library). I contacted them and had a pdf of the sonatas emailed to me. Below is a timeline of Girolamo’s life I have pieced together from various newspapers and dissertations to shed some light on my belief that he was not a composer/musician and did not actually write these sonatas.

• 1735-1740  Russia - Her Imperial Highness’ Theater Designer for Zarina Anna Ivanovna

• 1741-1742  Pressburg (border town on the Danube between Austria and Hungary, now called Bratislava) - Impressario der Wellichen Opera

• 1742-1746  Russia - Elizabeth the Great newly built Opera House decorated and painted by Girolamo Bon

• 1748-1751  Berlin, Germany - Frederick the Great of Prussia, Stadtschloss Theater with “glamorous decorations and stage machinery” by Girolamo Bon

• 1752   Nuremberg, Germany - Published Six Violin Sonatas

• 1752   Antwerp, Belgium - wrote libretto and staged the first Italian Opera in Belgium

• 1753-1755  Regensburg, Germany - Girolamo Bon was given financial support from Prince Alexander Ferdinand von Thurn und Taxis to perform.

Side Note: One source suggested that Gerolamo Bon might have been asked to spy for Count Johann Anton von Pergen’s infamous secret police. As an artist, Bon would have been able to move in all circles without being questioned. A letter from Bon to Pergen in 1755 states that it is ‘cold’ in Regensberg and he will be moving to Frankfurt where he is hoping for a warmer reception. 

• 1756-1761  Bayreuth, Germany - Professor of Architecture and Perspective at Bayreuth Academy of Fine Arts

• 1759-1760  Directed several operas in Pressburg

• 1762-1773 (death)  Esterhazy Court, Austria - Principal stage designer, painter and responsible for the Italian texts of Haydn’s cantatas and operas

I have three possible theories as to why these sonatas were published under Girolamo’s name and not Anna’s:

1. In 1752 Anna was still enrolled at the Ospedale della Pietà in Venice. The Pietà had very strict rules about what the girls could and couldn’t do. They also frowned upon the idea of girls composing. She may not have had very much support composing while she was there. 

2. Girolamo Bon was pretty well known in the music world and would have had name recognition. He and his wife were freelancing in Germany at the time. They might have seen this as an additional income stream.

3. I have transcribed two of the Violin Sonatas from 1752 and two of the Flute Sonatas from 1756 for solo viola. There are many structural similarities. If anything, the Violin Sonatas seem a little less mature with some technical and engraving mistakes. 

Anna Bon after Bayreuth

When Wilhelmine died in 1758, all Bayreuth concerts were cancelled. Girolamo Bon still had obligations teaching at the Bayreuth Academy but his name appears in several productions in Pressburg (now Bratislava) between 1759 and 1761. Anna and her mother Rosa also appear as leading cast members for operas in Vienna and Pressburg.

Around this time Prince Esterhazy was put in charge of Burg Theater, the National Theater of Austria, in Vienna. He would have been familiar with the Bon family since they frequently performed there. Haydn was well know in Vienna at this time as well.

In 1761 Esterhazy hired Haydn to be in charge of chamber music at his court. Gregor Joseph Werner was also employed at the Esterhazy court, in charge of chorus and church music.

In 1762 all three members of the Bon family were hired by the Esterhazy court. Anna and Rosa as singers, were involved with both chamber music with Haydn and chorus/church music with Werner. Anna and Rosa’s names are handwritten into the score of Haydn’s C Major Cantata. Girolamo was hired as a painter. He decorated Haydn’s early stage works. He also helped Haydn translate libretti into Italian.

Little is know about the rest of Anna’s life. Although it has not been verified, it is believed she married a singer named Mongeri and moved to the town of Hildburghausen, Germany. Hildburghausen was know as a cultural center at the time.

Another possible link between Anna and Hildburghausen was the Duchess of Hildburghausen. Duchess Ernestine Auguste Sophie of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach was orphaned at the age of eight and went to live with her aunt and uncle - Frederick and Wilhelmine of Bayreuth! Anna and Ernestine were about the same age and would have spent several years together in Bayreuth. Anna’s Op. 2 collection of Six Harpsichord Sonatas, published in 1757, were dedicated to Ernestine.

Ernestine married Duke Ernst Fredrich III on July 1, 1758. Wilhelmine died just 3 months later. A contemporary of Ernestine described her as being passionate about music. She played french horn, flute, piano and violin. She also hunted on horseback and on foot ‘like a man’ in close-fitting trousers.

When her husband died in 1780, Ernestine withdrew completely and was mainly occupied with music. Perhaps Ernestine and Anna were still friends and played music together.

Anna Bon in Bayreuth

Anna published her six Flute Sonatas, Op. 1 in 1756. At this time she had left the Pieta and joined her parents in Germany. All three were employed by the Margrave Frederick III of Bayreuth and his wife, Wilhelmine. [Wilhelmine was the older sister of Frederick the Great.]

Records show the Bon family performed at the Margrave’s birthday party in 1756. One of the works performed for the Margrave was Festa Teatrale. This was a collaboration between Wilhelmine, who wrote the text, and Andrea Bernasconi, who wrote the music. Bernasconi was the Maestro di coro at the Pieta while Anna was there. They left the Pieta at the same time. It is speculated that Bernasconi may have been entrusted with safely delivering Anna to her parents.

Frederick and Wilhelmine where great supporters of the arts. In 1754 and 1755 they had taken a ten month trip to France and Italy. A direct result of this trip was the newly established Academy of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The goal of the school was to discover local talent and send promising students on to Paris and Rome. Rosa, Anna’s mother taught music at the Academy. Anna’s father, Girolamo, taught architecture and perspective.

Frederick was an amature flute player. He was a student of Johann Joachim Quantz, author of the still famous treatise On Playing the Flute. It is very likely that Quantz was a frequent guest at the Margrave Court and that Anna would have known him. Her Op. 1 Flute Sonatas are dedicated to the Margrave.

Wilhelmine died in 1758. All concerts and operas were cancelled. Playbills show Anna and Rosa performing in other parts of Bravaria soon after her death.

Anna Bon’s Childhood

Before she was born, Anna’s parents were employed by Zarina Anna Ivanovna of Russia. Anna Ivanovna sent a scout to Venice to recruit musicians. Rosa, Anna Bon’s mother, was a well-known singer and her father, Girolamo, was an opera/theater designer and painter. They were involved with the premier of Italian Opera in Russia. Newspaper articles from the time praise both Rosa and Girolamo for their work in the Royal Theater productions in St. Petersburg.

When Anna Ivanovna died in February 1738, the Italian troupe of musicians, actors and designers traveled back to Italy. This would have been a long, bumpy, three-month trip by stagecoach - and Rosa was pregnant. Anna was born on August 10, 1738 in Bologna, Italy.

There are records as early as 1740 of Rosa and Girolamo being back in Russia, employed by the new Zarina - Elisabeth the Great, at the Russian Royal Opera. It is unclear if Anna went with them to Russia or remained in Italy with extended family.

Anna was just four years old when she was enrolled by her father at the Ospedale della Pieta in Venice. Although most paying or scholarship students were older, an exception was probably made because her parents were musicians. She was put under the care of Maestra Cadida dalla Viola, who had been a student of Vivaldi. Vivaldi had left the Pieta by the time Anna arrived, but his students were now teachers. Anna was taught viola, harpsichord and counterpoint.

The Ospedali of Venice (there were 4 of them) had gained a reputation for musical excellence. Although they incorporated similar structures and practices of the Catholic Church, the Ospedali were governed by committees of wealthy Venetian nobility. There was a clear connection between the institution’s revenue and the quality of their performances. Because of this, there was incentive to maintain very high musical standards. It was also somewhat of a novelty. In a time when a woman’s life was very restricted, the most famous choir and orchestra in Europe was made up of young women.

In 1746 or 1747 Anna left the Pieta to join her parents who were now performing in Dresden. Over the next several years the family gave performances in Potsdam, Antwerp, Regensburg and Frankfurt. This included several performances at the court of Fredrick the Great. Fredrick’s sister, Wilhelmine, surely heard them perform on one or more of these occasions. She references Rosa in particular in a letter to Frederick. The entire family was employed by Wilhelmine in 1756, who is now the Margravine of Bayreuth, Germany.