Domenico Dragonetti

Domenico Dragonetti (April 7, 1763 - April 16, 1846), was an Italian double bass player.

Dragonetti's Bass

Dragonetti speculated widely in basses - the major source of his considerable wealth was through the sale of fine instruments. There are various stories of how Dragonetti came into possession of the famous Gasparo da Salo bass. The fascinating and highly commendable biography Domenico Dragonetti In England by Fiona M. Palmer (Clarendon Press Oxford 1997) seems to offer the most plausible account. Because of Dragonetti's unprecedented virtuosity as a soloist, attractive offers of work were made from both London and Moscow. As remuneration for renouncing the offers and remaining as principal bassist with the orchestra of the Ducal Chapel of St Mark's in Venice (an orchestra of considerable importance), a decree made in 1791 gave Dragonetti a financial gratuity.

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Similarly, it is reputed that Dragonetti was presented with an instrument made by Gasparo da Salo (1542-1609) by the Benedictine nuns who occupied St Peter's monastery in Vicenza where Dragonetti lived and played in the Grand Opera. In the Palmer biography, a footnote refers to a 1906 account by C. P. A. Berenzi, who suggests that the instrument may have been made for the monks of St Peter's, Vicenza, by Gasparo da Salo, and acquired by the procurators of St Mark's to entice Dragonetti to remain in their employ.

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Today, the bass is on display in an upper room in San Marco, Venice, where it was sent after his death, as Dragonetti had wished. It stands in a cabinet between a narwhal tusk and an antique Turkish crossbow. No one, not even a renowned bass scholar, is allowed to touch it; Bottesini himself once asked if he could sample its power and was refused. For 150 years, this fine bass has stood as a museum curiosity, tucked away where the only people who will see it are those who know to ask chapel personnel, "Dov'e il contrabasso?" This is perhaps a fitting end to Dragonetti's enigmatic legacy.

Related Topics:
Narwhal - Tusk - Crossbow

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