Who is alessandro scarlatti

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 Olimpia vendicata and a much more modern style of orchestration, the horns appearing for the first time, and being treated with striking effect. Filippo Neri , ; and others and serenatas, which all exhibit a similar style, Alessandro 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 St Cecilia Mass , which is one of the first attempts at the style which reached its height in the great masses of J. Bach and L. His instrumental music, though not without interest, is curiously antiquated as compared with his vocal works. Bach Connection It has been suggested that J. Bach was aware of the arias for solo soprano, trumpet and continuo by Alessandro Scarlatti and that these works influenced BWV Bach was responsible.

Pertinent performing materials from the 's are extremely sparse; among the traceable compositions are four orchestral overtures by Johann Bernhard Bach ; the cantata Armida abbandonata by Georg Frideric Handel ; the Concerto Grosso in F minor, Op.

Additionally, "Mr. Bach de Leipzig " is found among the subscribers to Georg Philipp Telemann 's Nouveaux Quatuors flute quartets , published in Paris in , which suggests that he wanted the pieces for the Collegium series. Although these few works and composers cannot be considered representative at all, they confirm that the repertoire was both instrumental and vocal, that Italian solo cantatas played a role, and that the newest kind of music such as the N.

Porpora cantatas and the G. Maria Maggiore, but the salary was so meager that he was ultimately forced to return to his posts in Naples in During the next decade he produced 11 operas employing greater instrumental resources, of which Il Tigrane was his Neapolitan masterpiece.

His 'commedia in musica', Il trionfo dell'onore , was also very successful. He maintained his connections in Rome, returning there in to oversee his opera Telemaco at the Teatro Capranica, in Marco Attilio Regolo, and finally in for La Griselda his last opera. He produced a lavish Messa di S Cecilia for soloists, chorus and strings, performed there in October Meanwhile Scarlatti ventured into orchestral writing, expanding the Sinfonia concept with his twelve Sinfonie di concerto grosso.

Of these six Concerti, numbers 1, 2, 4, and 5 were composed so that they could also be performed as string quartets. Scarlatti called them specifically Sonate a quattro, and as such they represent some of the earliest forms of chamber music in this genre.

The fact that these Six Concertos were published some fifteen years after the composer's death was quite unusual for that time; it may be suggested that Benjamin Cooke was "cashing in" on the popularity of the Scarlatti name.

Thomas Roseingrave had published in London the first edition of Alessandro's son Domenico's Essercizzi per gravicembalo a couple of years before, and Domenico's work was also being popularized in London by Thomas Kelway and Thomas Arne. That Domenico's popularity continued is witnessed by the publication in by Charles Avison of his twelve Concerto Grosso arrangements of Domenico's harpsichord sonatas.

Alessandro's last years were spent in Naples, teaching Hasse was his pupil from , composing cantatas which ultimately numbered over , mostly for soprano and continuo , a Serenata and a set of Sonatas for Flute and Strings, probably composed for Quantz, who visited him in late or early Quantz describes the visit thus: " I heard Scarlatti play on the harpsichord, which he knew how to play in a learned style although he did not possess as much finesse as his son.

He left Naples in , for reasons having to do with what can best be described as political miscalculations, and spent several years in Rome and Venice before returning in to his old post as master of the royal chapel. He continued to crank out operas, his pace slower than before, his works less successful, and his debts still deep.

He died famous, but in penury. Scarlatti as a young man. An autograph manuscript of Scarlatti's Griselda. Concerto No. Concerto for flute, strings and basso continuo in A major.

Allegro - II. Fuga - III. Adagio - IV. Allegro - Concerto for flute, strings and basso continuo in D major. Allegro, adagio - II. Largo - IV. Concerto for recorder, strings and basso continuo in A minor. Largo - III. Fuga - IV. Piano - V. Concerto for recorder, strings and basso continuo in C minor. Moderato - II.

Allegro - V.