Marco Uccellini

Marco Uccellini (Forlimpopoli, Forlì 1603 or 1610 - 10 December 1680) was an Italian Baroque violinist and composer. His output of mainly secular music for solo violin is considered to have been important in the rise of independent instrumental classical music, and in development of violin technique. Life Uccellini’s life, like many composers of the 17th century, is not well documented; however, enough information exists to create a rough biography. He was born into a reasonably affluent noble family in Forlimpopoli, Forlì, who had owned land in the area since the early 14th century. Many members of the family held ecclesiastical posts locally, including Uccellini’s father Pietro Maria, and it is likely that Marco went to study at the seminary in Assisi sometime in the early 1630s. Evidence from his will suggests that Uccellini began his formal musical education there, possibly under another notable early violinist-composer, Giovanni Battista Buonamente, who was then serving as music director (maestro di cappella) at the Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi. He became Capo degl’instrumentisti of the Este court in Modena from 1641 to 1662, and was the maestro di cappella of the Moden