Niccolò Jommelli (; 10 September 1714 – 25 August 1774) was an Italian composer of the

Neapolitan School In music history, the Neapolitan School is a group, associated with opera, of 17th and 18th-century composers who studied or worked in Naples, Italy,Don Michael Randel (2003). ''The Harvard Dictionary of Music'', p. 549. . the best known of whom ...

. Along with other composers mainly in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, he was responsible for certain operatic reforms including reducing ornateness of style and the primacy of star singers somewhat.

Biographical information

Niccolò Jommelli by Sperindio Maffei - Archivio Storico Ricordi ICON010619 B

Early life

Jommelli was born to Francesco Antonio Jommelli and Margarita Cristiano in Aversa, a town some north of

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. He had one brother, Ignazio, who became a Dominican

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ...

and was of some help to him in his elder years, and three sisters. His father was a prosperous linen merchant, who entrusted him for musical instruction to

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

Muzzillo, the director of the choir of Aversa Cathedral. When this proved successful, he was enrolled in 1725 at the Conservatorio di Santo Onofrio a Capuana in Naples, where he studied under Ignazio Prota alongside Tomaso Prota and

Francesco Feo Francesco Feo (1691 – 28 January 1761) was an Italian composer, known chiefly for his operas. He was born and died in Naples, where most of his operas were premièred. Life Feo studied music at the '' Conservatorio di Santa Maria della Pietà' ...

. Three years later he was transferred to the Conservatorio della Pietà dei Turchini, where he was trained under Niccolò Fago, with Don Giacomo Sarcuni and Andrea Basso, as second maestri (''maestri di canto''), or singing teachers. He was greatly influenced by

Johann Adolf Hasse Johann Adolph Hasse (baptised 25 March 1699 – 16 December 1783) was an 18th-century German composer, singer and teacher of music. Immensely popular in his time, Hasse was best known for his prolific operatic output, though he also composed a co ...

, who was in Naples during this period. After completing his studies he began work, and wrote two

opere buffe ''Opera buffa'' (; "comic opera", plural: ''opere buffe'') is a genre of opera. It was first used as an informal description of Italian comic operas variously classified by their authors as ''commedia in musica'', ''commedia per musica'', ''dramm ...

, ''L'errore amoroso'' in early 1737 and ''Odoardo'' in late 1738. His first opera seria, ''Ricimero re di Goti'', was such a success in Rome in 1740 that he immediately received a commission from

Henry Benedict Stuart Henry Benedict Thomas Edward Maria Clement Francis Xavier Stuart, Cardinal Duke of York (6 March 1725 – 13 July 1807) was a Roman Catholic cardinal, as well as the fourth and final Jacobite heir to publicly claim the thrones of Great Brita ...

, the Cardinal-Duke of York. When still studying at the conservatory, Jommelli was impressed with Hasse's use of ''obbligato'' recitative to increase the tension at certain dramatic moments in his operas. Speaking of obbligato recitative for ''Ricimero'',

Charles de Brosses Charles de Brosses (), comte de Tournay, baron de Montfalcon, seigneur de Vezins et de Prevessin (7 February 1709 – 7 May 1777), was a French writer of the 18th century. Life He was president of the parliament of his hometown Dijon from 1741, a ...

says that Jommelli's use of ''obbligato'' recitative was better than anything he had heard in France.

, ''L'Italie il y a cent ans, ou lettres écrites d'Italie à quelques amis en 1739 et 1740''

First operas

His first opera, the comedy ''L'errore amoroso'', was presented, with great success, under the protection of the Marquis del Vasto, Giovanni Battista d'Avalos, in the winter of 1737 at the Teatro Nuovo of Naples. It was followed the next year by a second comic opera, ''Odoardo'', in the Teatro dei Fiorentini. His first serious opera ''Ricimero rè de' Goti'', presented in the Roman Teatro Argentina in January 1740, brought him to the attention and then the protection of the Duke of York, Henry Benedict. The duke would later be raised to the rank of cardinal and procure Jommelli an appointment at the Vatican. During the 1740s, Jommelli wrote operas for many Italian cities: Bologna, Venice, Turin, Padua, Ferrara, Lucca, Parma, Naples and Rome.

Studies with Padre Martini

When in Bologna in 1741 for the production of his ''Ezio'', Jommelli (in a situation blurred by anecdotes) met Padre Martini. Saverio Mattei said that Jommelli studied with Martini, and claimed to have learned with him "the art of escaping any anguish or aridity". Nonetheless, his constant travelling to produce his many operas seems to have prevented him from ever taking composition lessons on a regular basis. Moreover, his relationship with Martini was not without mutual criticism. The main result of his stay in Bologna and his association with Martini was to present to the Accademia Filarmonica of that city, as application for admission, his first known sacred composition, a five-voice fugue a cappella on the final words of the small doxology, "Sicut erat". Musicologist Karl Gustav Fellerer, who examined several such works, testifies that Jommelli's piece, though being just "a rigid school work", could well rank among the best admission pieces now stored in the Bolognese Accademia Filarmonica. During the early 1740s he wrote an increasing amount of religious music, mainly oratorios, and his first liturgical piece still extant, a very simple "Lætatus sum" in F major dated 1743, is part of the Santini collection in

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state di ...

. Shortly after his time in Bologna, Jommelli moved to Venice and composed ''Merope'', which was the forerunner for French operatic style later in the century. In the years immediately after this, he wrote operas for Venice, Turin, Bologna, Ferrara and Padua, and two popular oratorios, ''Isacco figura del Redentore'' and ''Betulia liberata''.

Venice

Some time around 1745, Hasse recommended Jommelli for a position as the Director of Music at the Ospedale degli Incurabili in Venice, one of that city's colleges for female musicians. This full-time employment required him to compose sacred music (mostly settings of the

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

and the Divine Office), but the financial security it gave him also allowed him to compose several other dramatic works. Hasse's recommended appointment of Jommelli as ''maestro di cappella'' to the Ospedale degl' Incurabili in Venice is not definitively documented. But in 1745, he did start writing religious works for the women's choir of the church of the Incurabili, San Salvatore, as part of his obligations as chapel master along with teaching the more advanced students of the institution. There are no manuscripts of Jommelli's music composed for the Incurabili, but there are many copies of different versions of several of his works that may, with some certainty, be attributed to his period as maestro there. Among the music Helmut Hochstein lists as being composed for Venice are to be found four oratorios: "Isacco figura del Redentore", "La Betulia liberata", "Joas" and "Juda proditor"; some numbers in a collection of solo motets called "Modulamina Sacra"; one Missa breve in F major with a Credo in D major, probably a second Mass in G major, one Te Deum and five psalms. Opera Garnier Jomelli

Although two of his earliest biographers, Mattei and Villarosa, give 1748 as the year when Jommelli gave up his employment in Venice, his last compositions for the Incurabili are from 1746. He must have left Venice at the very end of 1746 or at the beginning of the following year, because on 28 January 1747 Jommelli was staging at the Argentina theatre in Rome his first version of "Didone abbandonata", and in May at San Carlo in Naples a second version of "Eumene".

Rome

It was the need of an active chapel master for the basilica of St. Peter's in preparing for the Jubilee festival year that brought both Jommelli and Davide Perez to Rome in 1749, a year-long commemoration celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church every fifty years, so this was an important occasion for the Roman aristocracy to show off. Jommelli was summoned by the Cardinal Duke of York, Henry Benedict, to compose for him a setting of

Metastasio Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi (3 January 1698 – 12 April 1782), better known by his pseudonym of Pietro Metastasio (), was an Italian poet and librettist, considered the most important writer of ''opera seria'' libretti. Early life Me ...

's oratorio ''

La passione di Gesù Cristo LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

'' still played annually in Rome, and who presented him to Cardinal

Alessandro Albani Alessandro Albani (15 October 1692 – 11 December 1779) was a Roman Catholic cardinal, but should be best remembered as a leading collector of antiquities, dealer and art patron in Rome. He supported the art historian, Johann Joachim Winckelmann ...

, an intimate of

Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV ( la, Benedictus XIV; it, Benedetto XIV; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope Be ...

Stuttgart and last years

He subsequently visited Vienna before taking a post as Kapellmeister to Duke Karl Eugen of Württemberg in Stuttgart in 1753. This period saw some of his greatest successes, including the composition of what are regarded as some of his best works. Many were staged at the Duke's private theatres in the Palace of

Ludwigsburg Ludwigsburg (; Swabian: ''Ludisburg'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg district with about 88,000 inhabitants. It is s ...

, outside Stuttgart. Mozart and his father Leopold passed through Ludwigsburg in 1763 on their "

grand tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tut ...

" and met the composer. Jommelli returned to Naples in 1768, by which time ''

opera buffa ''Opera buffa'' (; "comic opera", plural: ''opere buffe'') is a genre of opera. It was first used as an informal description of Italian comic operas variously classified by their authors as ''commedia in musica'', ''commedia per musica'', ''dramm ...

'' was more popular than Jommelli's '' opera seria'', and his last works were not so well received. He suffered a stroke in 1771 which partially paralyzed him, but continued to work until his death three years later, in Naples.

Works

Jommelli wrote cantatas,

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...

s and other sacred works, but by far the most important part of his output were his operas, particularly his ''

opere serie ''Opera seria'' (; plural: ''opere serie''; usually called ''dramma per musica'' or ''melodramma serio'') is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to ab ...

'' of which he composed around sixty, several with

libretti A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major l ...

by Metastasio. These tended to concentrate more on the story and drama of the opera than on flashy technical displays by the singers, as was the norm in Italian opera at that time. He wrote more ensemble numbers and choruses, and, influenced by French opera composers such as Jean-Philippe Rameau, introduced

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

s into his work. He used the orchestra (particularly the

wind instrument A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator (usually a tube) in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into (or over) a mouthpiece set at or near the end of the resonator. The pitc ...

s) in a much more prominent way to depict what was going on in the story, including passages for orchestra alone, rather than consigning it to merely support for the singers. From Hasse, he learned to write orchestrally accompanied

recitative Recitative (, also known by its Italian name "''recitativo''" ()) is a style of delivery (much used in operas, oratorios, and cantatas) in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms and delivery of ordinary speech. Recitative does not repeat ...

s rather than just "secco" recitatives for voice and continuo (mainly harpsichord). His reforms are sometimes regarded as equal in importance to Christoph Willibald Gluck's.

Chamber music

*Sonata in C for Organ 4-Hands (c. 1750) *Trio Sonata in D for 2 Flutes and Cello (c. 1750)

Instrumental music

*''Ciaccona'' in Eb for Organ, Op. 5/13 (c. 1764)

Masses

*''Missa pro defunctis'' (Requiem) in Eb (1756) *''Missa solemnis'' in D for Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass, Choir and Orchestra (1766)

Psalms

*''Beatus vir'' (c. 1750) *''Laetatus sum'' (Psalm 122) in F (1743) *''Miserere'' (Psalm 51) in G a 4 concertato (1749) *''Miserere'' in G minor for 5 voices (SSATB), choir and continuo, HC1.23 (1750) *''Miserere'' in D for 2 sopranos, alto and tenor (1751, for Rome) *''Miserere'' in E minor for 8 voices (1753, for Stuttgart) *''Pietà, pietà, Signore (Miserere)'' in G minor for 2 sopranos, strings and continuo (1774)

Oratorios

*''Isacco, figura del Redentore'' (1742) *'' Betulia liberata'' per 4 voci, coro e strumenti (Rome, 1743) – libretto by Metastasio *'' Gioas re di Giuda'' (Venice, 1745) – libretto by Metastasio *''

La Passione di Gesù Cristo LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

'' per 4 voci (Venice, 1749) – libretto by Metastasio

Operas

*''L'errore amoroso'' (Naples, 1737) – libretto by

Antonio Palomba Antonio Palomba (20 December 1705 – 1769) was an Italian opera librettist, poet, harpsichordist, and music educator. He also worked as a notary. Born in Naples, he became a teacher of the harpsichord at the Teatro della Pace in 1749. Most of his ...

*''Odoardo'' (Naples, 1738) *''Ricimero re de' Goti'' (Rome, 1740) *''Astianatte'' (Rome, 1741) – libretto by

Antonio Salvi Antonio Salvi (17 January 1664 – 21 May 1724) was an Italian physician, court poet and librettist, active mainly in Florence, Italy. He was in the service of the grand-ducal court of Tuscany and the favourite librettist of Prince Ferdinando de ...

*''Ezio'' (Bologna, 1741) – libretto by

*''Semiramide riconosciuta'' (Turin, 1741) – libretto by Metastasio *''Merope'' (Venice, 1741) – libretto by Apostolo Zeno *''Don Chichibio'' (Rome, 1742) *''Eumene'' (Bologna, 1742) – libretto by Apostolo Zeno *''Semiramide'' (Venice, 1742) – libretto by Francesco Silvani *''Tito Manlio'' (Turin, 1743) – libretto by Gaetano Roccaforte *''Demofoonte'' (Padua, 1743) – libretto by Metastasio *'' Alessandro nell'Indie'' ( Ferrara, 1744) – libretto by Metastasio *''Ciro riconosciuto'' (Ferrara, 1744; later in Bologna and Venice) – libretto by Metastasio *''Sofonisba'' (Venice, 1746) – libretto by Antonio Zanetti e Girolamo Zanetti *'' Cajo Mario'' (Rome, 1746) – libretto by Gaetano Roccaforte *''Antigono'' (

Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one ...

, 1746) – libretto by Metastasio *''Tito Manlio'' (Venice, 1746) – libretto by Jacopo Antonio Sanvitale *''Didone abbandonata'' (Rome, 1747; later in Stuttgart) – libretto by Metastasio *''L'amore in maschera'' (Naples, 1748) – libretto by Antonio Palomba *''Achille in Sciro'' (Vienna, 1749; much later in Rome) – libretto by Metastasio *''Artaserse'' (Rome, 1749) – libretto by Metastasio *''Demetrio'' (Parma, 1749) – libretto by Metastasio *Intermezzo ''Don Trastullo'' (Rome, 1749) *Intermezzo ''L’uccelatrice e il Don Narciso'' (Venice, 1751) – libretto by

Carlo Goldoni Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to: * Carlo (name) * Monte Carlo * Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia *A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince ...

*''Cesare in Egitto'' (Rome, 1751) – libretto by Giacomo Francesco Bussani *''Ifigenia in Aulide'' (Rome, 1751) – libretto by Mattia Verazi *''La villana nobile'' (Palermo, 1751) – libretto by Antonio Palomba *''Ipermestra'' (Spoleto, 1751) – libretto by Metastasio *''Talestri'' (Rome, 1751) – libretto by Gaetano Roccaforte *''I rivali delusi'' (Rome, 1752) *''Attilio Regolo'' (Rome, 1753) *''Bajazette'' (Turin, 1753) – libretto by Agostino Piovene *''Fetonte'' (Stuttgart, 1753) – libretto by Leopoldo de Villati *''La clemenza di Tito'' (Stuttgart, 1753) – libretto by Metastasio *''Il paratajo'' (Paris, 1753) – revision of ''L’uccelatrice e il Don Narciso'' *''Don Falcone'' (Bologna, 1754) *''

Catone in Utica ''Catone in Utica'' (; ) is an opera libretto by Metastasio, that was originally written for Leonardo Vinci's 1727 opera. Following Vinci's success, Metastasio's text was used by numerous composers of the baroque and classical eras for thei ...

'' (Stuttgart, 1754) – libretto by Metastasio *''Lucio Vero'' (Milan, 1754) *''Il giardino incantato'' (Stuttgart, 1755) *''Enea nel Lazio'' (Stuttgart, 1755) – libretto by Mattia Verazi *''Penelope'' (Stuttgart, 1755) – libretto by Mattia Verazi *''Il Creso'' (Rome, 1757) – libretto by Giovacchino Pizzi *''Temistocle ''(Naples, 1757) – libretto by Metastasio *''Tito Manlio'' (Stuttgart, 1758) *''Ezio'' (Stuttgart, 1758) *''L'asilo d'amore'' (Stuttgart, 1758) *''Endimione'' (Stuttgart, 1759) *''Nitteti'' (Stuttgart, 1759) – libretto by Metastasio *''Alessandro nell'Indie'' (Stuttgart, 1760) *''Cajo Fabrizio'' (Mannheim, 1760) – libretto by Mattia Verazi *''L'Olimpiade'' (Stuttgart, 1761) – libretto by Metastasio *''L'isola disabitata'' (Ludwigsburg, 1761) – libretto by Metastasio *''Semiramide riconosciuta'' (Stuttgart, 1762) *''Il trionfo d'amore'' (Ludwigsburg, 1763) – libretto by Giampiero Tagliazucchi *''Demofoonte'' (Stuttgart, 1764) *''Il re pastore'' (Ludwigsburg, 1764) – libretto by Metastasio *''La pastorella illustre'' (Stuttgart, 1764) – libretto by Giampiero Tagliazucchi *''Temistocle'' (Ludwigsburg, 1765) *''Imeneo in Atene'' (Ludwigsburg, 1765) *''Il matrimonio per concorso'' (Ludwigsburg, 1766) – libretto by Gaetano Martinelli *''La critica'' (Ludwigsburg, 1766) *'' Il Vologeso'' (Ludwigsburg, 1766) – libretto by Mattia Verazi *''Il matrimonio per concorso'' (Ludwigsburg, 1766) *''Il cacciatore deluso'' (Tübingen, 1767) – libretto by Gaetano Martinelli *''Fetonte'' (Ludwigsburg, 1768) *''L'unione coronata'' (Solitude, 1768) *''La schiava liberata'' (Ludwigsburg, 1768) – libretto by Gaetano Martinelli *''

Armida abbandonata ''Armida Abbandonata'' (''Armida Abandoned'') is an opera in three acts by the Italian composer Niccolò Jommelli. The libretto, by Francesco Saverio De Rogatis, is based on the epic poem ''Jerusalem Delivered'' by Torquato Tasso. The opera was ...

'' (Naples, 1770) – libretto by Francesco Saverio de' Rogati *''Demofoonte'' (Naples, 1770) *'' Ifigenia in Tauride'' (Naples, 1771) – libretto by Mattia Verazi *''L'amante cacciatore'' (Rome, 1771) *''Le avventure di Cleomede'' (1771) – libretto by Gaetano Martinelli *''Cerere placata'' (Naples, 1772) *''Il trionfo di Clelia'' (Naples, 1774) – libretto by Metastasio

Recordings

*One concerto in ''Neapolitan Flute Concertos'',

Auser Musici Auser Musici is a period instrument ensemble centered in Pisa that specializes in early music repertory from the Tuscan region of Italy. History, Mission, and Activities The ensemble was founded in 1997 by the flautist Carlo Ipata and has perform ...

, Carlo Ipata (2010), Hyperion CDA 67784 *Six trio sonatas, played by the Accademia Farnese (Oct. 20, 1997), Mondo Musica label *''Armida abbandonata'', conducted by Rousset (Maison de la Radio, Paris, July 24 to Aug. 2, 1994), FNAC label *''Didone abbandonata'', conducted by Bernius (1994), Orfeo label *''Il Vologeso'', conducted by Bernius (1997), Orfeo label *''L'uccelatrice e il Don Narciso'', conducted by Fracassi (live in Piacenza, 2000), Bongiovanni label *''L'uccelatrice e il Don Narciso'', conducted by Moretto (live in Milan, 2003), Dynamic label *Requiem, Coro e Orchestra Ghislieri conducted by Giulio Prandi (studio recording, 2019), Arcana Label *''Il Vologeso'', The Mozartists, conducted by Ian Page (2021), Signum Records

References

Citations

Sources

* Maurício Dottori. ''The Church Music of Davide Perez and Niccolò Jommelli''. Curitiba: DeArtes-UFPR, 2008
(via Google Books)

External links

Don Trastullo
*
Istituto Internazionale per lo studio del '700 musicale napoletano
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jommelli, Niccolo 1714 births 1774 deaths 18th-century Italian male musicians 18th-century Italian composers Italian Classical-period composers Italian male classical composers Italian opera composers Male opera composers Neapolitan school composers People from Aversa