Antonio Biffi

Antonio Biffi was an Italian composer and singer, born in Venice around 1666. He passed away in early 1733 in the same city. A manuscript note concerning his death indicates he was 66 years old at the time. While it is widely speculated that he studied under Giovanni Legrenzi, there is no concrete evidence to support this claim.

On July 6, 1692, Biffi joined the choir of St. Mark's Basilica in Venice as a countertenor. Within a week, the procurators assigned him to assist the maestro di cappella, Giovanni Domenico Partenio. Following Partenio's death in 1701, Biffi competed for the vacant position against notable musicians such as Vice-Maestro Carlo Francesco Pollarolo and organists Antonio Lotti and Benedetto Vinaccesi. He was appointed on February 5, 1702, and held the post until his death, though Antonio Lotti may have assisted him during his final year due to failing health.

Biffi also succeeded Partenio as director and choirmaster at the Conservatorio dei Mendicanti, where his students included Giovanni Ferrandini and possibly David Gottfried Treu. His musical style was largely influenced by the lively, colorful, and expressive characteristics of the Venetian school, though tempered by the restraint typical of the stricter Roman school. He generally favored the concertato style, and while his output was predominantly sacred, his textures—where counterpoint played a minor role—often reflected the influence of secular music.

His body of work includes masses, motets, cantatas, and psalms such as "Ecce quam bonus" and "Miserere." He wrote oratorios like "Il figliuol prodigo" and "La manna in deserto," though these are lost. A few secular works survive, including the cantata "Amante moribondo."

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