Classical Music | Ensemble Music

Alessandro Scarlatti

Concerto Grosso No. 1 Play Play

Ensemble

Recorded on 01/08/2008, uploaded on 10/14/2010

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Concerto Grosso No. 1 in f minor Alessandro Scarlatti

Grave, Allegro, Largo, Allemande [Allegro]

Pietro Alessandro Gaspare Scarlatti was born in Palermo, but was sent to Rome at the age of twelve with his two sisters. It is possible that he and his sisters were sent away in order to avoid political instability at home, but most likely he was sent to Rome in order to be educated in a more suitable environment than that of Palermo. While in Rome, he had the opportunity to experience a wide variety of musical experiences. The styles of the church, the theatre, and of the chamber easily took root in the young musician and gave him a keen sense of what a career in music might offer. He seems to have "run with the big dogs," as it were: one of his patrons in Rome was the exiled Queen of Sweden, Christina, who, since 1655, had wielded a strong influence in the arts in the Eternal City. (She had impulsively abdicated her throne, converted to Roman Catholicism and fled to Rome, dressed as a man).

In 1684, Scarlatti left Rome for Naples, where he became the maestro di capella to the Viceroy of Naples (Naples at this time was ruled by Spain). Why he left Rome remains a matter of speculation—one possible reason for his departure was the marriage of one of his sisters to a cleric, which had brought the family under papal displeasure. In any event, Scarlatti became the best-known composer of opera on the Italian peninsula. From 1684 until the early eighteenth century, over half of the newly-composed operas in Naples were by Scarlatti. In June of 1702, he obtained a leave of absence, during which he took his son, Domenico (the composer of 555 sonatas for the harpsichord among other works) to the city of Florence. Having found the musical taste of the Neapolitans a bit too frivolous, Florence proved to be a more advantageous nvironment for Scarlatti's personal esthetic. In spite of Scarlatti's reputation, he was unable to secure a viable patron in Florence. He returned to Rome in 1703, occupying various posts, until he was invited to return to Naples in 1708 by the now Austrian Viceroy of Naples. The concerto grosso heard at tonight's concert probably was composed in 1715 or after—Scarlatti did not seem to have the blazing interest in instrumental music that Vivaldi had. Nevertheless, his instrumental works are engaging and exceedingly well crafted, if rather conservative when compared with similar works by Corelli and Vivaldi. David Schrader