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Born: 2 May
1660, Palermo, Italy
Died: 22 October 1725, Napoli, Italy
Scarlatti,
Allesandro
Among the prominent opera
composers and probably the developer of 18th
century Neapolitan
opera. He made his principal career in Naples
and is the one who introduced the "accompanied"
recitative;
in this type of recitative, singers would recite their conversation, accentually
and with orchestral accompaniment. Thus, the composer gained the ability
to better transmit feelings, unlike the recitativo
secco,
which is essentially unaccompanied and lacks a definite meter.
Scarlatti also set the aria,
the opera, as a form with a reprise in an a-b-a
structure, and therefore called it "Aria
da-capo". He also turned opera overture
into a meaningful movement in the opera, rather than a mere secondary
section whose purpose is to silence the audience.
Scarlatti wrote about 115 operas,
including "Tigrane", most of them
were lost and so are not performed nowadays.
He shaped the homophonic
style (a solo of one performer, when the others accompany), unlike
polyphony
that had prevailed until then, in which all voices had an equal,
independent part. He wrote about 600 chamber cantatas,
that included arias in high levels of performance.
Alessandro Scarlatti on the WWW
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Description
He Was
He Lived in the
Baroque
In
Italy
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