Alessandro
Scarlatti was born on 2nd May 1660 at Palermo on the island of
Sicily. He was the eldest son of Pietro Scarlatti and Eleonora D’Amato.
Very little
is known about his early life, apart from an entry in a church archive in Rome,
dated 27th January 1679, that refers to an oratorio being
commissioned from “Scarlattino, alias the Sicilian”.
Alessandro
married Anatonio Anzalone, a native of Rome, in April 1678 and they were to
have a large family that included Domenico, born in 1685, who was destined to
become even more celebrated as a composer than his father.
Some of
Alessandro’s earliest compositions were operas that were well received when
first performed and which led to his appointment as maestro di capella at the chapel
of the royal palace in Naples.
In 1702 he
travelled to Florence and then to Rome, where he became firstly assistant
maestro di capella and later maestro at the church of Santa Maria Maggiore. Some
of his best chamber cantatas and operas date from this time.
In the autumn
of 1707 he returned to Naples where in 1709 he resumed his old job at the royal
palace, at an increased salary. His large-scale opera “Tigrone” was composed at
this time. He was honoured by the King of Naples with a knighthood.
In 1717 he
was granted leave of absence to visit Rome, where his final series of operas
was produced, this period marking his full artistic maturity. His last
full-scale opera, his 114th, was “Griselda”, produced in 1721. He
also wrote a large amount of church music including an orchestral mass for St
Cecilia’s Day and, in 1721, a pastoral to mark the accession of Pope Innocent
XIII. He returned to Naples either in late 1722 or early 1723.
During his
last years Scarlatti was noted as a teacher of younger musicians and a music theorist,
for example expounding his ideas on accompaniment in a treatise entitled
“Regole per Principianti”.
Alessandro
Scarlatti died in Naples on 24th October 1725, aged 65, and was
buried in the church of Montesanto.
As well as
his operas, Scarlatti composed nearly 700 cantatas that are known today, and
many more might have been composed but have since been lost. It is for his
operas and cantatas, both sacred and secular, that he is best known, although
he did also write some purely orchestral and instrumental pieces that are of
lesser importance. His keyboard pieces are of far less consequence and quality
than those of his son Domenico.
Alessandro
Scarlatti is an important figure in the development of European opera, being
the leading figure of the Neapolitan Opera School which influenced composers
including Handel. He was a master of melody and developed a more modern style
in which the orchestra assumed a greater importance. His later operas also show
a greater degree of emotional content than had been apparent in operas prior to
this time.
His cantatas,
which were written for a variety of instruments and soloists, were widely
regarded for their beauty and originality. Many later composers were influenced
by them and were not averse to stealing whole passages for inclusion in their
own works.
Alessandro
Scarlatti is therefore an important figure in the history of music, not only
for his prolific output but also because he was an innovator who developed the
art of composition along new lines and moved away from the formulaic rigidity
that marked the works of his predecessors. He can therefore be seen as a
transitional figure between the Baroque and Classical periods of musical
composition.
© John
Welford
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