Alessandro Scarlatti

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Alessandro Scarlatti
Born	Pietro Alessandro Gaspare Scarlatti[1] (1660-05-02)2 May 1660 Palermo or Trapani, Sicily[1]
Died	22 October 1725(1725-10-22) (aged 65) Naples[1]
Occupation	Composer
Works	List of operas
Style	Baroque

Pietro Alessandro Gaspare Scarlatti (2 May 1660 – 22 October 1725) was an Italian

of opera.

Nicknamed by his contemporaries "the Italian Orpheus", he divided his career between

, although he has only been its most illustrious representative: his contribution, his originality and his influence were essential, as well as lasting, both in Italy and in Europe.

Particularly known for his operas, he brought the Italian dramatic tradition to its maximum development, begun by

, the latter being a genre in which he was an undisputed master.

He was the father of two other composers, Domenico Scarlatti and Pietro Filippo Scarlatti.^[1]

Life

Scarlatti was born in

.

He is generally said to have been a pupil of

, perhaps through the influence of his sister, an opera singer, who might have been the mistress of an influential Neapolitan noble. Here he produced a long series of operas, remarkable chiefly for their fluency and expressiveness, as well as other music for state occasions.

In 1702 Scarlatti left Naples and did not return until the Spanish domination had been superseded by that of the Austrians. In the interval he enjoyed the patronage of

Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore

in Rome in 1703.

After visiting

.

Music

Scarlatti's music forms an important link between the early Baroque Italian vocal styles of the 17th century, with their centers in Florence, Venice and Rome, and the classical school of the 18th century. Scarlatti's style, however, is more than a transitional element in Western music; like most of his Naples colleagues he shows an almost modern understanding of the psychology of modulation and also frequently makes use of the ever-changing phrase lengths so typical of the Napoli school.

His early operas—Gli equivoci nel sembiante 1679;

), and Pirro e Demetrio (1694), in which occur the arias "Le Violette", and "Ben ti sta, traditor".

From about 1697 onwards (La caduta del Decemviri), influenced partly perhaps by the style of Giovanni Bononcini and probably more by the taste of the viceregal court, his opera arias become more conventional and commonplace in rhythm, while his scoring is hasty and crude, yet not without brilliance (L'Eraclea, 1700), the oboes and trumpets being frequently used, and the violins often playing in unison. The operas composed for Ferdinando de' Medici are lost; they might have given a more favourable idea of his style as his correspondence with the prince shows that they were composed with a very sincere sense of inspiration.

Griselda

Mitridate Eupatore, accounted his masterpiece, composed for Venice in 1707, contains music far in advance of anything that Scarlatti had written for Naples, both in technique and in intellectual power. The later Neapolitan operas (L'amor volubile e tiranno 1709; La principessa fedele 1710; Tigrane, 1714, &c.) are showy and effective rather than profoundly emotional; the instrumentation marks a great advance on previous work, since the main duty of accompanying the voice is thrown upon the string quartet, the harpsichord being reserved exclusively for the noisy instrumental ritornelli. In his opera Teodora (1697) he originated the use of the orchestral ritornello.

His last group of operas, composed for Rome, exhibit a deeper poetic feeling, a broad and dignified style of melody, a strong dramatic sense, especially in accompanied recitatives, a device which he himself had been the first to use as early as 1686 (Olimpia vendicata) and a much more modern style of orchestration, the horns appearing for the first time, and being treated with striking effect.

Besides the operas, oratorios (Agar et Ismaele esiliati, 1684; La Maddalena, 1685; La Giuditta, 1693; Humanita e Lucifero, 1704; Christmas Oratorio, c. 1705; Cain, 1707; S. Filippo Neri, 1714; and others) and serenatas, which all exhibit a similar style, Scarlatti composed upwards of five hundred chamber-cantatas for solo voice. These represent the most intellectual type of chamber-music of their period, and it is to be regretted that they have remained almost entirely in manuscript, since a careful study of them is indispensable to anyone who wishes to form an adequate idea of Scarlatti's development.

His few remaining Masses (the story of his having composed two hundred is hardly credible) and church music in general are comparatively unimportant, except the great Saint Cecilia Mass (1721), which is one of the first attempts at the style which reached its height in the great Masses of Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven. His instrumental music, though not without interest, is curiously antiquated as compared with his vocal works.

Operas

Recordings

• Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Nicholas McGegan. (2016). La Gloria di Primavera. Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. Diana Moore, Suzana Ograjensek, Nicholas Phan, Clint van der Linde, Douglas Williams, Philharmonia Chorale.
• Akademie für alte Musik Berlin, René Jacobs. (2007). Griselda. Harmonia Mundi HMC 901805.07. Dorothea Röschmann, Lawrence Zazzo, Veronica Cangemi, Bernarda Fink, Silvia Tro Santafé, Kobie van Rensburg.
• Le Consert de l'Hostel Dieu. (2006). Il martirio di Sant'Orsola. Ligia digital: 0202176-07
• Le parlement de musique. (2005). La Giuditta. Ambronay editions: AMY004
• Ensemble Europa Galante. (2004). Oratorio per la Santissima Trinità. Virgin Classics: 5 45666 2
• Academia Bizantina. (2004). Il Giardino di Rose. Decca: 470 650-2 DSA.
• Orqestra barocca di Sevilla . (2003). Colpa, Pentimento e Grazia. Harmonia Mundi: HMI 987045.46
• Seattle Baroque. (2001). Agar et Ismaele Esiliati. Centaur: CRC 2664
• Sedecia, re di Gerusalemme. 2000 . Gérard Lesne, Philippe Jaroussky, Virginie Pouchon, Mark Padmore, Peter Harvey, Il Seminario musicale. Virgin veritas, Erato
• Capella Palatina. (2000). Davidis pugna et victoria. Agora: AG 249.1
• Akademie für alte Musik Berlin, René Jacobs. (1998). Il Primo Omicidio. Harmonia Mundi Fr. Dorothea Röschmann, Graciela Oddone, Richard Croft, René Jacobs, Bernarda Fink, Antonio Abete
• Ensemble Europa Galante. (1995). Humanita e Lucifero. Opus 111: OPS 30–129
• Ensemble Europa Galante. (1993). La Maddalena. Opus 111: OPS 30–96
• Allesandro Stradella Consort. (1992). Cantata natalizia Abramo, il tuo sembiante. Nuova era: 7117
• I Musici. (1991). Concerto Grosso. Philips Classics Productions: 434 160-2
• I Musici. William Bennett (Flute), Lenore Smith (Flute), Bernard Soustrot (Trumpet), Hans Elhorst (Oboe). (1961). 12 Sinfonie di concerto grosso Philips Box 6769 066 [9500 959 & 9500 960 – 2 vinyl discs]
• Emma Kirkby, soprano and Daniel Taylor, countertenor, with the Theatre of Early Music. (2005). Stabat Mater. ATMA Classique: ACD2 2237
• Francis Colpron, recorder, with Les Boréades. (2007). Concertos for flute. ATMA Classique: ACD2 2521
• Nederlands Kamerkoor, with Harry van der Kamp, conductor. (2008). Vespro della Beata Vergine for 5 voices and continuo. ATMA Classique: ACD2 2533

See also

• Messa di Santa Cecilia
• Il Martirio di Santa Cecilia

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alessandro Scarlatti.

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Scarlatti, Alessandro".

• Associazione Domenico Scarlatti. Italian language (some material in English).
• Free scores by Alessandro Scarlatti at the International Music Score Library Project
• Free scores by Alessandro Scarlatti in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
• The Madrigals of Alessandro Scarlatti: A lecture/recital by Garrick Comeaux and Consortium Carissimi, with Kelley Harness, 12 February 2009. University of Minnesota Institute for Advanced Studies. Audio and video available.
• The partimenti of Alessandro Scarlatti (D-Hs M/A 251)