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Antonio Veracini was born in Florence in 1659 from Francesco di Niccolò, who was an esteemed violinist that initiated his son into the practice of the instrument and the study of composition. Then Antonio probably continued his studies with a period of specialization, but we do not have reliable information. In march 1682 he obtained an appointment by the Grand Duchy Vittoria della Rovere, because of the good relationship his father had with the Medicean Court. For this work he received a monthly pay that he continued to get as a life annuity - although reduced to a half - after the death of the countess in 1694. in 1700 he succeeded Pietro Sammartini as Chapel Master of the church of San Michele in Florence - with the duty of occasionally writing for others churches of the city. But his permanent commitment with a religious institution did not prevent him from writing - as a "freelance" - some oratories for the companies of S. Marco, S. Jacopo del Nicchio and S. Niccolò del Ceppo. In fact we can find his name in 1718 among the members of the musical company in Florence. In the meantime he was working as director in the school of music founded by his father (around 1708), that he guided with devotion and energy until his death in Florence in 1733. Among his compositions, only the printed editions of the music for violin remain: the Sonatas op. 1, 2, 3, which are very original in comparison with the conventions of that age, most of all in the structure of the phrases. These phrases are unusually lengthened through unexpected delays connected with the cadences in the outline and in the sweetness of the melodies, that often are of the highest order, although the author already has resorted here and there to the use of powerful rhythms of fanfare - that are based on the breaking of the chord. This explains the remark that Giovanni Maria Casini - the organist of the Cathedral of Florence - made about the art of violin of Antonio Veracini and of his most famous nephew Francesco Maria: «the heart, besides the talent, guided and accompanied the fingers and the bow of those virtuosi».
