Carlo Francesco Cesarini, (c.1666 – after 2 September 1741) was an Italian composer born in

San Martino al Cimino Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history. ...

near

Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early histor ...

and active in Rome from 1690. In 1690 he entered into the service of Cardinal Benedetto Pamphili as the director of his music academy and remained in his service until the cardinal's death in 1730. Cesarini also served as the ''

maestro di cappella (, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...

'' in the

Chiesa del Gesù Chiesa (Italian, 'church') may refer to: People with the surname *Andrea Chiesa (born 1966), Swiss Formula One racer *Anthony della Chiesa (1394–1459), Italian Dominican friar *Bruno della Chiesa (born 1962), European linguist *Carlo Alberto Dal ...

from 1704 until 31 August 1741. He composed numerous

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 mus ...

s and cantatas and was the joint composer of several operas. The opera ''Clearco in Negroponte'' which he composed with

Giovanni Lorenzo Lulier Giovanni Lorenzo Lulier, nicknamed Giovannino del Violone (''Little John of the Violone'') (c. 1662 – 29 March 1700) was a Baroque Italian composer, cellist and trombone player of Spanish descent. Life Lulier was born and died in Rome. He w ...

and Tommaso Bernardo Gaffi inaugurated the public opening of the

Teatro Capranica The Teatro Capranica is a theatre situated at 101 Piazza Capranica in the Colonna district of Rome. Originally constructed in 1679 by the Capranica family and housed in the early Renaissance Palazzo Capranica, it was the second public theatre to o ...

on 18 January 1695.
He also set to music many oratorios on

Benedetto Pamphilj Benedetto Pamphili (often with the final ''long i'' orthography, Pamphilj) (25 April 1653 – 22 March 1730) was an Italian cardinal, patron of the arts and librettist for many composers. Life Pamphili was born in Rome on 25 April 1653 int ...

's texts: ''San Vincislao'' (1704), ''Il figliol prodigo'' (1707), ''Oratorio per l'Assunzione della beatissima Vergine'' (1713), e ''Il trionfo del Tempo nella Bellezza ravveduta'' (1725).
The last known records of him date from early September 1741 and document his retirement as the ''maestro di cappella'' of the Chiesa del Gesù due to ill health. Some cantatas of him were recently published in modern edition.Carlo Francesco Cesarini, ''Le cantate da camera del ms. 2248 della Biblioteca Casanatense di Roma'', ed. by Giacomo Sciommeri, Rome 2014. Carlo Francesco Cesarini, ''Due cantate con strumenti'', ed. by Giacomo Sciommeri, Rome, 2017.

Bibliography

* Alexandra Nigito, "Le conversazioni in musica: Carlo Francesco Cesarini, virtuoso di Sua Eccellenza Padrone", in ''The Pamphilj and the Arts: Patronage and Consumption in Baroque Rome'', ed. by Stephanie C. Leone, Boston, 2011, pp. 161–188.

References

External links

* Iesuè, Alberto (1980)
"Cesarini, Carlo Francesco, detto Carlo del Violino"
''

Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani The ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'' ( en, Biographical Dictionary of the Italians) is a biographical dictionary published by the Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, started in 1925 and completed in 2020. It includes about 40,000 biogra ...

''. Vol. 24. Treccani. Online version retrieved 24 May 2019 .
Digitised manuscript scores by Cesarini
on internetculturale.it Italian male classical composers Italian Baroque composers Italian opera composers Male opera composers 1666 births 1741 deaths People from Urbino 18th-century Italian composers 18th-century Italian male musicians {{Italy-composer-stub