
Benedetto Giacomo Marcello (; 31 July or 1 August 1686 – 24 July 1739) was an Italian composer, writer, advocate, magistrate, and teacher.
Life
Born in
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
, Benedetto Marcello was a member of the noble
Marcello family and in his compositions, he is frequently referred to anonymously as ''Patrizio Veneto'' (Venetian patrician, i.e. aristocrat). Although he was a music student of
Antonio Lotti
Antonio Lotti (5 January 1667 – 5 January 1740) was an Italian composer of the Baroque era.
Biography
Lotti was born in Venice, although his father Matteo was ''Kapellmeister'' at Hanover at the time. Oral tradition says that in 1682, Lotti be ...
and
Francesco Gasparini, his father wanted Benedetto to devote himself to law. Benedetto managed to combine a life in law and public service with one in music. In 1711 he was appointed a member of the Council of Forty (in Venice's central government), and in 1730 he went to
Pola as ''
Provveditore'' (district governor). Due to his health having been "impaired by the climate" of
Istria
Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...
, Marcello retired after eight years in the capacity of ''Camerlengo'' (
chamberlain) to
Brescia
Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...
where he died of tuberculosis in 1739.
Benedetto Marcello was the brother of
Alessandro Marcello, also a notable composer. On 20 May 1728 Benedetto Marcello married his singing student
Rosanna Scalfi in a secret ceremony. However, as a nobleman, his marriage to a commoner was unlawful; after his death, the marriage was declared null by the state. Rosanna was unable to inherit his estate and filed suit in 1742 against Benedetto's brother Alessandro, seeking financial support.
Music
Marcello composed a variety of music including considerable church music,
oratorio
An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble.
Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...
s, hundreds of solo
cantata
A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...
s,
duet
A duet (italian language, Italian: ''duo'') is a musical composition for two Performing arts, performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a har ...
s,
sonata
In music a sonata (; pl. ''sonate'') literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cantare'', "to sing"), a piece ''sung''. The term evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms until th ...
s,
concerto
A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The ...
s and
sinfonia
Sinfonia (; plural ''sinfonie'') is the Italian word for symphony, from the Latin ''symphonia'', in turn derived from Ancient Greek συμφωνία ''symphōnia'' (agreement or concord of sound), from the prefix σύν (together) and Φωνή (s ...
s. Marcello was a younger contemporary of
Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist, impresario of Baroque music and Roman Catholic priest. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lif ...
in Venice and his instrumental music enjoys a Vivaldian flavour.
As a composer, Marcello was best known in his lifetime and is now still best remembered for his ''Estro poetico-armonico'' (
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
, 1724–27), a musical setting for voices,
figured bass
Figured bass is musical notation in which numerals and symbols appear above or below (or next to) a bass note. The numerals and symbols (often accidental (music), accidentals) indicate interval (music), intervals, chord (music), chords, and non- ...
(a continuo notation), and occasional solo instruments, of the first fifty Psalms, as paraphrased in Italian by his friend G. Giustiniani. They were much admired by
Charles Avison, who with
John Garth brought out an edition with English words (London, 1757). ''Estro poetico-armonico'' also represents an important contribution to the history of Jewish liturgical music. Eleven of the Psalms are set to melodies that Marcello apparently transcribed while attending services at several Venetian synagogues. The eleven melodies – six from the
Ashkenazic tradition, and five from the
Sephardic
Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...
tradition – are among the earliest notated sources of Jewish liturgy, preceded only by
Salamone Rossi
Salamone Rossi or Salomone Rossi () (Salamon, Schlomo; de' Rossi) (ca. 1570 – 1630) was an Italian Jewish violinist and composer. He was a transitional figure between the late Italian Renaissance period and early Baroque.
Life
As a young ...
's ''Hashirim Asher L’Shlomo''. Perhaps the best known of these melodies is an Ashkenazic melody for
Ma'oz Tzur
"Ma'oz Tzur" () is a Jewish liturgical poem or ''piyyut''. It is written in Hebrew, and is sung on the holiday of Hanukkah, after lighting the festival lights. The hymn is named for its Hebrew incipit, which means "Strong Rock (of my Salvation)" ...
.
The library of the Brussels Conservatoire possesses some interesting volumes of chamber cantatas composed by Marcello for his mistress. Although Benedetto Marcello wrote an opera called ''La Fede riconosciuta'' and produced it in
Vicenza
Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...
in 1702, he had little sympathy with this form of composition, as evidenced in his writings (see below).
Benedetto Marcello's music is "characterized by imagination and a fine technique and includes both counterpoint and progressive, galant features"..
With the poet
Antonio Schinella Conti he wrote a series of experimental long cantatas – a duet, ''Il Timoteo'', then five monologues, ''Cantone,'' ''Lucrezia,'' ''Andromaca,'' ''Arianna abandonnata,'' and finally ''Cassandra''.
Writing
Marcello vented his opinions on the state of musical drama at the time in the satirical pamphlet ''
Il teatro alla moda
''Il teatro alla moda'' (The Fashionable Theater) is a satirical pamphlet in which its author, the Venetian composer Benedetto Marcello (1686–1739), vents his critical opinions on the ''milieu'' of the Italian ''opera seria'' in the first deca ...
'', published anonymously in Venice in 1720. This little work, which was frequently reprinted, is not only extremely amusing, but is most valuable as a contribution to the history of opera.
Legacy
The composer
Joachim Raff
Joseph Joachim Raff (27 May 182224 or 25 June 1882) was a German-Swiss composer, pedagogue and pianist.James Deaville'Raff, (Joseph) Joachim' in ''Grove Music Online'' (2001)
Biography
Raff was born in Lachen, Switzerland, Lachen in Switzerland. ...
wrote an opera entitled ''Benedetto Marcello'', based loosely on the life of Marcello and Scalfi.
The
Conservatorio di Musica Benedetto Marcello di Venezia was named after him.
A street in Rome, ''Largo Benedetto Marcello'', is named after him.
Works
Vocal music
Oratorios
* ''La Giuditta'' (premiered in Venice 1709?)
* ''Joaz'' (premiered in Venice 1727?, Florence 1729)
* ''Il pianto e il riso delle quattro stagioni dell’anno per la morte, esultazione e coronazione di
Maria Assunta in Cielo'' (premiered in
Macerata
Macerata () is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy, the county seat of the province of Macerata in the Marche region. It has a population of about 41,564.
History
The historical city centre is on a hill between the Chienti and Potenza (ri ...
1731)
* ''Il trionfo della poesia e della musica nel celebrarsi la morte, e la esultazione, e la incoronazione di Maria sempre Vergine Assunta in Cielo'' (1733, production unknown)
Sacred works
* ''Estro poetico-armonico: parafrasi sopra li primi
secondiventicinque salmi'' (translation: G.A. Giustiniani), 8 volumes (Venice 1724–26)
* 9 Masses for 3–8 voices, including a
Requiem
A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is ...
in G minor
* 30 religious works: 4
Antiphon
An antiphon ( Greek ἀντίφωνον, ἀντί "opposite" and φωνή "voice") is a short chant in Christian ritual, sung as a refrain. The texts of antiphons are usually taken from the Psalms or Scripture, but may also be freely compo ...
s, 3
Gradual
The gradual ( or ) is a certain chant or hymn in liturgical Christian worship. It is practiced in the Catholic Mass, Lutheran Divine Service, Anglican service and other traditions. It gets its name from the Latin (meaning "step") because i ...
s, 1 Hymn, 1 setting of the
Lamentations of Jeremiah the Prophet (lost), 1 Lesson for the
Holy Week
Holy Week () commemorates the seven days leading up to Easter. It begins with the commemoration of Triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, marks the betrayal of Jesus on Spy Wednesday (Holy Wednes ...
(lost), 2
Magnificat
The Magnificat (Latin for "y soulmagnifies he Lord) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary or Canticle of Mary, and in the Byzantine Rite as the Ode of the Theotokos (). Its Western name derives from the incipit of its Latin text. This ...
s for 3–4 voices, 5
Misereres, 8
motet
In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the preeminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to the Eng ...
s, 3
Offertories, 2
vespers
Vespers /ˈvɛspərz/ () is a Christian liturgy, liturgy of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Catholic (both Latin liturgical rites, Latin and Eastern Catholic liturgy, Eastern Catholic liturgical rites), Eastern Orthodox, Oriental O ...
Theater works
* ''La morte d’Adone'' (Serenata, premiered in Venice 1710 or 1729)
* ''La gara amorosa'' (Serenata, premiered in Venice ca. 1710–12?)
* ''Psiché'' (intreccio scenico musicale, Libretto:
Vincenzo Cassani, premiered in Venice 1711/12?)
* ''Spago e Filetta'' (
Intermezzi for the tragedy ''Lucio Commodo'', premiered in Venice 1719?)
* ''Le nozze di Giove e Giunone'' (Serenata), 2 versions: ''Nasce per viver'' (premiered in Vienna 1725 for
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles VI (; ; 1 October 1685 – 20 October 1740) was Holy Roman Emperor and ruler of the Austrian Habsburg monarchy from 1711 until his death, succeeding his elder brother, Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor, Joseph I. He unsuccessfully War of ...
), ''Questo é ’l giorno'' (shortened version, premiered in Vienna 1716?)
* ''Calisto in orsa'' (Pastorale, Libretto: Carminati?, premiered in 1725?)
* ''Arianna'' (intreccio scenico musicale, Libretto: Cassani, premiered in Venice ca. 1727)
Other vocal works
*
2''Canzoni madrigalesche et''
''arie per camera'' for 2–4 voices op. 4 (Bologna 1717)
* 380 Cantatas (with Texte often by Marcello himself) for 1 voice and
basso continuo
Basso continuo parts, almost universal in the Baroque era (1600–1750), provided the harmonic structure of the music by supplying a bassline and a chord progression. The phrase is often shortened to continuo, and the instrumentalists playing th ...
, 22 with strings (including ''Carissima figlia'', ''Didone'', ''Gran tiranno è l’amore'', ''Percorelle che pascete'', ''Senza gran pena'')
* 81 duets for 2 voices and basso continuo, 2 with strings (including ''Timoteo'', ''Clori e Daliso'', ''Clori e Tirsi'')
* 7 Trios for 3 voices and basso continuo
* 5
Madrigal
A madrigal is a form of secular vocal music most typical of the Renaissance (15th–16th centuries) and early Baroque (1580–1650) periods, although revisited by some later European composers. The polyphonic madrigal is unaccompanied, and the ...
s for 4–5 voices
Instrumental music
Concerti and sinfonie
* 12 ''Concerti a cinque'' op. 1 (Venice 1708)
* 5 Concerti for violins, strings and basso continuo (D major, D major, D major, E-flat major, F major)
* Concerto in F major for 2 violins, strings and harpsichord (1716/17)
* Concerto in D major for flute, strings and harpsichord
* 7 sinfonias (D major, F major, G major, G major, A major, A major, B-flat major)
Sonatas
* 12 Sonatas for flute and basso continuo op. 2 (Venice 1712); incomplete reprint as op. 1 (London 1732)
* 6 sonatas for cello and basso continuo „op. 1“ (Amsterdam ca. 1732); also as op. 2 (London 1732)
* 6 sonatas for 2 cellos or viole da gamba and basso continuo „op. 2“ (Amsterdam ca. 1734)
* Sonata in G minor for violin and basso continuo
* Sonata in B-flat major for cello and basso continuo
* 4 sonatas for
flautino (soprano recorder) and basso continuo (C major, G major, G major, G minor; authenticity questioned)
Harpsichord works
* 12 sonatas for harpsichord op. 3? (Venice ca. 1712–17)
* 35 sonatas and sonata movements for harpsichord
* 4
minuet
A minuet (; also spelled menuet) is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually written in time. The English word was adapted from the Italian ''minuetto'' and the French ''menuet''.
The term also describes the musical form tha ...
s; Suite with 30 Minuets
Selected publications
* ''Fantasia ditirambiva eroicomica'' (or ''Volo Pindarico'', 1708)
* ''Lettera famigliare d’un accademico filarmonico et arcade'' (1716)
* ''Sonetti: pianger cercai non già dal pianto onore'' (Venice 1718)
* ''Il teatro alla moda'' (Venice 1720)
* ''A. Dio: Sonetti ... con altre rime, d’argomento sacro e morale'' (Venice 1731)
* ''Il divino Verbo fatto Uomo, o sia L’universale redenzione'' (at least 21
Canti)
Selected recordings
*
"Il mio bel foco" (song), with Frederica von Stade (mezzo-soprano) and Martin Katz (piano), CBS, 1982
* Solo
cantata
A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...
''Cassandra''
Kai Wessel (countertenor), David Blunden (harpsichord), Aeon Classics 2010.
* Opera ''
Arianna'' Chandos 2000
* Requiem in the Venetian Manner. Academia de li Musici, dir.
Filippo Maria Bressan,
Chandos 1999
* Sonatas for Harpsichord (premiere recording; 2×CD), (harpsichord), "Reconstruction and critical edition" by
Alessandro Borin, Chandos 2001
Notes
References
* Eleanor Selfridge-Field: ''The Music of Benedetto and Alessandro Marcello. A Thematic Catalogue, with Commentary on the Composers, Repertory and Sources''. Clarendon Press, Oxford 1990,
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Marcello, Benedetto
Composers from Venice
Italian Baroque composers
Italian opera composers
Italian male opera composers
18th-century Italian composers
18th-century Italian male musicians
18th-century deaths from tuberculosis
1686 births
1739 deaths
Tuberculosis deaths in Italy
Infectious disease deaths in Lombardy
18th-century Venetian writers
Members of the Academy of Arcadians
Benedetto