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TOC
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music; has made, by way of study, an
abridgment of the modulation of Palestri-
ni, which is well selected and digested;
and he shewed me a considerable part of
a musical treatise, in manuscript, written
by himself.
At Rome I also had frequent conver-
sations with Rinaldo di Capua, an old
and excellent Neapolitan composer. He
is the natural son of a person of very high
rank in that country, and at first only
studied music as an accomplishment; but
being left by his father with only a small
fortune, which was soon dissipated, he
was forced to make it his profession. He
was but seventeen when he composed his
first opera at Vienna. I have often re-
ceived great pleasure from his composi-
tions; he is not in great fashion at pre-
sent, those [sic] he composed an intermezzo
for the Capranica theatre at Rome, last
winter, which had great success. He is very
intelligent in conversation; but, though a
good-natured man, his opinions are ra-
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