- In full:
- Pietro Alessandro Gaspare Scarlatti
- Born:
- May 2, 1660, Palermo, Sicily, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies [now in Italy]
- Died:
- Oct. 22, 1725, Naples (aged 65)
- Movement / Style:
- Baroque music
- Notable Family Members:
- son Domenico Scarlatti
Alessandro Scarlatti
-
Who was Alessandro Scarlatti?
Alessandro Scarlatti (1660–1725) was an Italian composer of operas and religious works. At around the age of 12, Scarlatti went to Rome where he met Bernardo Pasquini, who greatly influenced him. Gli equivoci nel sembiante, the first of his 115 operas, secured him the patronage of Queen Christina of Sweden, in whose service he remained until 1684.
In 1684, Scarlatti became maestro di cappella in Naples, composing over 40 operas and musical entertainments for the court until 1702. He later served Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni in Rome and Santa Maria Maggiore. His opera Il Mitridate Eupatore is considered one of his finest. Scarlatti is known for his thematic development, chromatic harmony, and operas, where he established the Italian overture form.
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What kind of music did Alessandro Scarlatti compose?
Alessandro Scarlatti was an Italian composer known for his operas and religious works. He composed 115 operas, including Gli equivoci nel sembiante (1679), and L’honestà negli amori (1680). He also wrote serenades, masses, and his first opera buffa, Il trionfo dell’onore (1718).
Scarlatti is noted for thematic development, chromatic harmony, and establishing the Italian overture form, which is a three-section opera overture (allegro-adagio-allegro) that was a forerunner of the classical symphony. Additionally, more than 600 of his chamber cantatas are still around today.
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When did Alessandro Scarlatti live and work?
Alessandro Scarlatti was born in Palermo, Sicily, on May 2, 1660, and died in Naples on October 22, 1725.
Scarlatti was an Italian composer of operas and religious works. He composed his first opera, Gli equivoci nel sembiante, in 1679. In 1684, he became maestro di cappella in Naples, composing over 40 operas and musical entertainments there until 1702. From 1707 to 1708, he served as maestro di cappella in Rome, and in 1709, he returned to his position in Naples, where he continued to compose operas, serenades, and masses.
Scarlatti's works contributed to the development of the opera orchestra and established the Italian overture form, which was a precursor to the classical symphony. By 1700, his work and influence had made Naples a rival to Venice as a center of Italian opera.
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What is Alessandro Scarlatti known for in the history of music?
Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) was an Italian composer known for his operas and religious works. He composed 115 operas, the first being Gli equivoci nel sembiante (1679). From 1684 to 1702, Scarlatti wrote over 40 operas and musical entertainments as maestro di cappella in Naples. He is remembered for his operas, establishing the Italian overture form that was a forerunner to the classical symphony. Scarlatti's chamber music is equally characteristic, and he wrote over 600 chamber cantatas. He contributed to the development of the opera orchestra, emphasizing orchestral accompaniment and using wind instruments for particular effects.
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How did Alessandro Scarlatti influence opera and baroque music?
Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) significantly shaped both opera and Baroque music. As an early and influential figure in Neapolitan opera, he composed 115 operas and established the Italian overture form (allegro-adagio-allegro), a precursor to the classical symphony.
Scarlatti's innovative use of thematic development and chromatic harmony foreshadowed later composers like Mozart and Schubert. He also expanded the opera orchestra, emphasizing string accompaniment and incorporating wind instruments for specific effects, moving beyond the traditional use of strings for introductions and interludes.
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What are some famous works by Alessandro Scarlatti, and why are they important?
Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) was a prolific Italian composer known for his operas and religious works. Some of his famous works include:
- Gli equivoci nel sembiante (1679)
- L’honestà negli amori (1680)
- Gli equivoci in amore (1690)
- Il Mitridate Eupatore (1707)
- La principessa fedele (1710)
- Scipione nelle Spagne (1714)
- Il Tigrane (1715)
- Il trionfo dell’onore (1718)
Scarlatti is remembered for his operas, in which he established the Italian overture form (allegro-adagio-allegro), a forerunner of the classical symphony. He contributed to the development of the opera orchestra, emphasizing the orchestral accompaniment and using wind instruments for particular effects. He is noted for his thematic development and chromatic harmony, which anticipated later composers like Mozart and Schubert. He was the most influential of the early Neapolitan operatic composers.
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Alessandro Scarlatti (born May 2, 1660, Palermo, Sicily, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies [now in Italy]—died Oct. 22, 1725, Naples) was an Italian composer of operas and religious works.
Scarlatti was sent to Rome at about the age of 12; there he met Bernardo Pasquini, by whom he was greatly influenced. The first of his 115 operas, Gli equivoci nel sembiante (1679) won him the protection of Queen Christina of Sweden, for whom he wrote L’honestà negli amori (1680) and in whose service he remained until 1684. These works brought him commissions for operas from Naples, where in 1684 he became maestro di cappella in the royal service. He remained there until 1702, writing more than 40 operas and musical entertainments for the court and its circle. Gli equivoci in amore (1690) is a typical example of his work during that period.
In 1702 Scarlatti went to Florence, where, over the next two years, he wrote four operas for the theatre of Prince Ferdinando III de’ Medici; the scores of these works have disappeared. In 1707 he was appointed maestro di cappella to Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni in Rome and was also elected to the Arcadian Academy there. The following year he held a like post at Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome and also wrote two operas on a larger scale, Il trionfo della libertà and Il Mitridate Eupatore, for production during the carnival in Venice. The latter is considered one of his finest works. Scarlatti traveled to Venice to supervise the performances; in 1709 he returned to his old post at Naples. There followed a period of intense activity during which he wrote serenades and masses as well as operas. La principessa fedele (1710), Scipione nelle Spagne (1714), and Il Tigrane (1715) are among his principal operatic successes of this period. The ternary aria form is developed in these works, which are also noted for a bolder use of the orchestral stringed instruments. In 1716 he wrote a mass for Pope Clement XI and in the same year completed his first opera buffa, Il trionfo dell’onore (Naples, 1718). Between 1718 and 1721 he wrote more operas and religious works. On his return to Naples in 1723 he seems to have gone into retirement.
Scarlatti is noted for his thematic development and chromatic harmony, which he used with great mastery and in a way that anticipates the work of much later composers, among them W.A. Mozart and Franz Schubert. He is chiefly remembered for his operas, in which he established the form of the Italian overture (i.e., the opera overture in three sections, allegro-adagio-allegro), which was a forerunner of the classical symphony. His chamber music is equally characteristic and shows him to have had a commanding conception of form. More than 600 chamber cantatas from all periods of his life are extant. He wrote little orchestral music, but he contributed to the development of the opera orchestra. Whereas in his youth the strings were used mainly to play introductions and ritornelli (instrumental interludes), Scarlatti placed more emphasis on the orchestral accompaniment to the voices. His use of wind instruments was similarly novel: trumpets, flutes, oboes, and bassoons were used for particular effects, and horns were introduced into the orchestra.