Giovanni Battista Draghi (ca. 1640 – buried 13 May 1708) was an Anglo-Italian

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and keyboard player. He may have been the brother of the composer

Antonio Draghi Antonio Draghi (17 January 1634 – 16 January 1700) was a Baroque composer. He possibly was the brother of Giovanni Battista Draghi. Draghi was born at Rimini in Italy, and was one of the most prolific composers of his time. His contribution t ...

. Draghi was brought to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in the 1660s by King Charles II who was trying, unsuccessfully, to establish Italian

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He remained in England for the rest of his life. In 1673 Draghi was made first organist of the queen's Catholic chapel in

Somerset House Somerset House is a large neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building complex situated on the south side of the Strand, London, Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadran ...

. In 1684 he took part in what became known as the ''Battle of the Organs''. He was hired by master organ maker

Renatus Harris Renatus Harris ( – 1724) was an English master organ maker in England in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. During the period of the Commonwealth, in the mid-seventeenth century, Puritans controlled the country and organ m ...

to demonstrate the superiority of his organ when Harris was trying to gain the contract to build the new organ for the

Temple Church The Temple Church, a royal peculiar in the Church of England, is a church in the Inner Temple, Inner and Middle Temple, Middle Temple, London, Temples located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built by the Knights Templar for their En ...

. Harris' rival "Father" Bernard Smith hired organists and composers

John Blow John Blow (baptised 23 February 1649 – 1 October 1708) was an English composer and organist of the Baroque period. Appointed organist of Westminster Abbey in late 1668,Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, Dido and Aeneas, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version o ...

to demonstrate his organ and won the contest. Draghi was awarded a pension by

King William III William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702), also known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 167 ...

in 1698.

References

*''The Oxford Dictionary of Opera'', by John Warrack and Ewan West (1992), 782 pages, * *

External links

* Italian Baroque composers 1640s births 1708 deaths Italian male classical composers 17th-century Italian composers 17th-century Italian male musicians {{Italy-composer-stub