Giovanni Lorenzo Lulier

Biography

Born in Rome around 1622, Giovanni Lorenzo Lulier was more commonly known by his nickname Giovannino del Violone (Little John of the Violone). He was a Baroque cellist, composer, and trombonist of Spanish descent, though spent the majority of his lifetime in and around Rome. He was a student of composer and violinist Pietro Simone Agostini, who was in service to the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States, Pietro Ottoboni. Throughout the mid to late 17th century Lulier played in a number of orchestras throughout Rome, including the church of San Luigi dei Francesi, and the Congregazione di Santa Cecilia. From 1681 he was employed in the service of the cardinal Benedetto Pamphili, a great patron of the arts at this time, and from the 1690s he worked for the Borghese family, a noble family of great social standing in Rome. It is likely that he knew the famous violinist and composer Arcangelo Corelli, and the two probably played together in orchestras in the 1690s. Lulier died in 1700, leaving behind a number of works featuring the solo cello, in addition to a number of cantatas and oratorios.