Fortunato Chelleri (originally: Keller, also: Kelleri, Kellery, Cheler) (May or June 1690 in

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

– 11 December 1757 in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

) was a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

Kapellmeister ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (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 has evolved considerably in i ...

and composer.

Biography

Chelleri's father had emigrated from Germany to Italy; his mother was from the Italian family of musicians Bazzani (or Bassani, see also Giovanni Battista Bassani). After the early death of his parents, he grew up with his uncle Francesco Maria Bazzani in

Piacenza Piacenza (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Piacenza, eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with more ...

, who trained him as a musician. Chelleri started to compose operas for different opera companies in

Northern Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...

in 1708. He served in noble families in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

and

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 ...

, among others, including a post as ''maestro di capella'' of

Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici (11 August 1667 – 18 February 1743) was an Italian noblewoman who was the last lineal descendant of the main branch of the House of Medici. A patron of the arts, she bequeathed the Medicis' large art collection, in ...

. In 1722 Fürstbischof Johann Philipp Franz von Schönborn engaged him as ''Hofkapellmeister'' in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

, together with Giovanni Benedetto Platti. After the death of the Fürstbischof in 1724, Chelleri was in

Hofkapellmeister of the Landgraf Karl von Hessen-Kassel. Between 1732 and 1734, he followed Karl's son and successor Frederick of Sweden to the royal court of

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. He returned to Germany with the title and fund of ''Hofrat'' (Court Councillor) and directed the private orchestra of Friedrich's brother Wilhelm VIII, von Hessen-Kassel until his death.

Works

During his activity in Italy he composed mostly operas, such as ''L'Innocenza giustificata'', premiered in Venice in 1711, ''La caccia in Etolia'', premiered in

Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...

in 1715, on a libretto of Belisario Valeriano which was used by

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

for ''Atalanta'', and ''Amalasunta''. During his time in Germany and Sweden Chelleri composed instrumental and church music, including oratorios in Italian. Compositions for keyboard instruments, such as six ''Sonate di galanteria'' (Kassel), and six ''Sinfonie'' for strings were published. His oratorio in two parts ''Beatæ Mariæ Virginis'' (Würzburg, 1723) was reprinted by Garri Editions, Mühlheim, in 2003.

Recordings

* ''Don Quixote'' (L’attage du moulin, La Doulcinée, La galop de Rosinante, Sanco Panche, Le couche de Don Quixote), organist Kalevi Kiviniemi on the Las Piñas Bamboo Organ in 2003. * ''Six Simphonies Nouvelles'' Orchestra Atalanta Fugiens, dir. Vanni Moretto. Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 2009

Literature

* Arrey von Dommer: ''Chellery, Fortunato''. In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Band 4. Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1876, p. 114 (in German). *A.Della Cortenel e G.M.Gatti: ''Dizionario di musica'', ed. Paravia & C., Torino, 1956, p. 130 (in Italian)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chelleri, Fortunato 1690 births 1757 deaths German male classical composers Italian conductors (music) Italian male conductors (music) German conductors (music) German male conductors (music) Italian Baroque composers German opera composers Italian male opera composers 18th-century Italian composers 18th-century German composers 18th-century Italian male musicians