The Perti Era, 1696-1730

Abstract The death of Colonna in November 1695 gave the Fabbriceria in San Petronio a breathing-space in which to review the organization of the cappella. Constrained by the urgent need to repair the roof of the basilica, the senators decided to disband the regular cappella and hire musicians on an occasional basis. The only salaried musicians employed from 1696 to 1700 were the organist, Domenico Scabazzi (at L20 per month), and the newly elected maestro, Giacomo Perti (at L50 per month). During these years of austerity Perti continued to hire as many as fifty musicians for the patronal festival, but he had to wait until 1701 for the reinstatement of a regular cappella. Twenty four musicians (i.e. fourteen singers and ten instrumentalists) were appointed or reappointed. Salaries were greatly reduced from those enjoyed by musicians under Colonna, cutting total monthly expenditure on the cappella from L458 (1695) to L200 (1701).