Alessandro Scarlatti, whose biography will bepresented in this article, is a great Italian composer who created in the Baroque era in the late 17th - early 18th century. It is he who is considered the founding father of the Neapolitan opera school. His brother and sons were also famous composers.
Biography of the composer
Alessandro Scarlatti was born in Palermo in 1660year. His teacher was supposedly Giacomo Carissima. A. Scarlatti wrote his first opera at the age of 19. In the same year, it was staged in Rome.
In 1684 Alessandro enters the service tovice-king of Naples as a conductor. This assignment was promoted by his sister-singer, who had an influential lover. Most of his works by A. Scarlatti wrote exactly in Naples.
In 1702, the composer left for Florence, then - for Rome, where Cardinal Ottoboni arranged for him as a conductor for the church of Santa Maria Maggiore.
In 1708, Alessandro Scarlatti returned to Naples.
The last work of the composer was a serenade dedicated to the wedding of Prince Stigliano. Alessandro did not have time to finish work on it. In 1725 the composer passed away.
Works of the great Italian
Alessandro Scarlatti was the creator of hisown musical form. In his operas the manner of singing was average between the classical and the school of the early Italian Baroque. Forms of constructing melodies in arias he made three-part instead of two-part ones. And also carefully studied the accompaniment to them. Over time, A. Scarlatti's operas became more traditional, he began to use the rhythm for them, and the orchestrations became rude.
Later his works were written by more vivid and effective Alessandro Scarlatti. Operas of the composer:
- "Honesty in love."
- "An innocent mistake."
- Rosaura.
- "Pompey."
- "Pyrrhus and Demetrius."
- "From evil is good."
- "Mithridates Evpator."
- Theodore Augusta.
- "A faithful princess."
- "Revenge of Olympia."
- The Tigran.
And others.
In addition to the operas, Alessandro Scarlatti wrote aboutforty oratorios, a large number of serenades, more than five chamber cantatas, several masses, eighteen symphonies, fourteen sonatas, tokaty, suites and variations.
A son
Sons Alessandro Scarlatti, like his father, have becomecomposers. The most famous of them is Domenico. He was born in 1685 in Naples. Domeniko composed music and played the harpsichord. He spent most of his life in Spain. The full name of the composer is Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti. It is for certain unknown who was his teacher, but it is logical to assume that his first teacher was a father.
В 1701 году Доменико Скарлатти стал органистом и composer at the court of the viceroy of Naples. He then served in Venice, later in Rome. Domenico was a wonderful harpsichord and once even won the competition, which Cardinal Ottoboni arranged in his Roman palace. Domenico on this match in the harpsichord game surpassed Frederick Handel himself.
The composer wrote his first operas for Queen Casimir’s private theater at the time when he served in Rome.
In 1720-1721 D. Scarlatti lived in Lisbon. There he taught music to Princess Mary Magdalene Barbara. In 1725 he returned to Naples.
In 1729 the composer moved to Spain.Since 1733, Domenico lives in Madrid at the court of Mary Magdalena Barbara, who became the Spanish queen. His close friend was the famous sopranist singer Farinelli.
The composer died at the age of 71 in Madrid.
Domenico's creativity
Domenico Scarlatti is less known than hisgreat father. Quite a small part of the works of this composer was published during his lifetime. The rest of the works were published in print after his death, and even that is irregular and very rare.
Nevertheless, the works of Domenico attracted such musicians as Bela Bartok, Frédéric Chopin, Vladimir Horowitz, Heinrich Schenker and others.
D.During his life Scarlatti wrote more than five hundred sonatas, ten oratorios, fifteen operas (the most famous of which is Thetis on Skyros), a large number of pieces for orchestras, and church music.
For the works of this composer is characteristicuse of syncopated rhythm, frequent modulations, Phrygian fret, dissonant sound, quotation of folk melodies. Domenico Scarlatti became the ancestor of the style of music, which would later be given the name "Classicism".
