Antonio Francesco Tenaglia, also known as Tenaglino or Tanaglino (Florence, c. 1620 - Rome, October 1672), was an Italian composer, organist and harpsichordist.
He was probably born around 1620 in Florence or Siena. Although it is always referred to in documents as "Florentine", a Sienese origin was assumed, with the desire to identify a Francesco Tenaglia di Siena who renewed the license of a school teacher in Rome on November 5, 1645.
In September 1644 he was employed in the service of Cardinal Antonio Barberini.
In 1648 he was in Brussels in the service of Archduke Leopold Guglielmo of Austria and was not satisfied with this position.
He was praised by Severo Bonini as an excellent harpsichordist and described as the best "after Mr. Girolamo [Frescobaldi]".
He returned to Rome in 1651. During this time he had frequent contact with Abbot Elpidio Benedetti who was a representative of Cardinal Giulio Mazzarino in Rome and sent Italian musicians to the French court. In a letter to Mazzarino of November 1654, Abbot Benedetti wrote: "There is no equal to accompany on the harpsichord [Tenaglia]. ».
At that time he could have been in the company of the Pamphilj family. In 1656 he composed the "Drama in music, represented by three girls". The judgment of Paride on a libretto by Giovanni Lotti performed in honour of Queen Christina of Sweden at Palazzo Pamphilj. In 1660 he was in the service of Prince Camillo Pamphilj and later from October 1668 to January 1669 of his son Giovanni Battista.
In 1661 he composed the work Il Clearco, based on a libretto by Ludovico Cortesi, who was represented in Rome in honour of Prince Agostino Chigi, the nephew of Pope Alexander VII.
He was organist of the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano from June 1667 to October 1672 when he presumably died.
Tenaglia was already an esteemed cantata composer in his day. There are 67 unanimous compositions, 8 two part voices and one three part voice attributed to him. Although he achieved great fame as a harpsichordist his keyboard compositions are not known.
Source:
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Francesco_Tenaglia
Translation: Totuccio
Note: Translated from the German version of Wikipedia into English
