- Giacomo Carissimi
Giacomo Carissimi (baptized April 18, 1605 – January 12, 1674), was an Italian
composer , one of the most celebrated masters of the early Baroque, or, more accurately, theRoman School of music.Biography
His exact birthdate is not known, but it was probably in 1604 or 1605 in Marino, near
Rome .Of his early life almost nothing is known. His father was a
barrel maker, and at the age of twenty Giacomo became chapel-master atAssisi . In 1628 he obtained the same position at the church of Sant'Apollinare belonging to theCollegium Germanicum in Rome, which he held until his death. This was despite him receiving several offers to work in very prominent establishments, including an offer to take over fromClaudio Monteverdi at Saint Mark's inVenice . In 1637 he was ordained apriest . He seems never to have left Italy.He died in Rome in 1674.
The great achievements generally ascribed to him are the further development of the
recitative , later introduced by Monteverdi, and of infinite importance in the history of dramatic music; the further development of thechamber -cantata , by which Carissimi superseded theconcertato madrigals which had themselves replaced the madrigals of the late Renaissance; and the development of theoratorio , of which he was the first significant composer.His position in the history of
church music andvocal chamber music is somewhat similar to that of Cavalli in the history ofopera . While Luigi Rossi was his predecessor in developing the chamber-cantata, Carissimi was the composer who first made this form thevehicle for the most intellectual style of chamber-music, a function which it continued to perform until the death ofAlessandro Scarlatti , Astorga and Marcello.Carissimi is also noted as one of the first composers of
oratorio s, with "Jephte " probably the best known, as well as "Jonas "; this work and others are important as definitely establishing the form of oratorio unaccompanied by dramatic action, which maintained its hold for two hundred years. The name comes from their presentation at theOratory of Santissimo Crocifisso in Rome. He also may claim the merit of having given greater variety and interest to the instrumental accompaniments of vocal compositions. Dr Burney and SirJohn Hawkins published specimens of his compositions in their works on the history of music; and Dr Aldrich collected an almost complete set of his compositions, at present in the library of Christ Church, Oxford. TheBritish Museum also possesses numerous works by Carissimi. Most of his oratorios are in theBibliothèque Nationale atParis .Carissimi was active at the time when
secular music was about to usurp the dominance of sacred music in Italy; the change was decisive, and permanent. When he began composing, the influence of the previous generations of Roman composers was still heavy (for instance, the style of Palestrina); and when his career came to a close theopera tic forms, as well as the instrumentalsecular forms, were predominant. In addition Carissimi was important as a teacher, and his influence spread far intoGermany andFrance : much of the musical style of Charpentier, for example, is dependent on the earlier composer.External links
*ChoralWiki
*IckingArchive|idx=Carissimi|name=Giacomo Carissimi
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