Cristofaro or Cristoforo Caresana (ca. 1640–1709) was an Italian
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
composer, organist and
tenor. He was an early representative of the Neapolitan operatic school.
Born in
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
, his precise birthday is not known. After studying under
Pietro Andrea Ziani (uncle of
Marc'Antonio Ziani
Marc'Antonio Ziani (c. 1653 – 22 January 1715) was an Italian composer living in Vienna.
Ziani was born in Venice. He probably studied with his uncle, the organist Pietro Andrea Ziani. From 1686 to 1691 Ziani was ''maestro di cappella'' to Duk ...
) in Venice, he moved to Naples late in his teens, where he joined the theatre company of Febi Armonici which produced early examples of
melodrama
A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...
. Later, in 1667, he became an organist and singer in the Chapel Royal and director of the Neapolitan
Conservatorio di Sant'Onofrio a Porta Capuana, one of the famed orphanage-music schools of Naples, until 1690. In 1699 he succeeded
Francesco Provenzale
Francesco Provenzale (25 September 1632 – 6 September 1704) was an Italian Baroque composer and teacher. He is considered the founder of the Neapolitan school of opera. Notably Provenzale was the teacher of famed castrato 'il cavaliere N ...
as Master of the Treasury of San Gennaro. He wrote music for a number of other Neapolitan institutions until his death in Naples in 1709. Amongst others, the Spanish guitarist and composer
Gaspar Sanz studied music theory under his tutelage.
He is remembered for his
cantata
A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir.
The meaning of ...
s, especially for the
nativity season as well as instrumental interludes sometimes featuring spatially separated ensembles. His music continues to be played and recorded to the present day and stands as a testament to the quality of this Neapolitan baroque composer.
Works
*Missa defunctorum for double choir.
[ Dinko Fabris ''Music in seventeenth-century Naples: Francesco Provenzale (1624-1704)'' 2007 p. 97 "Provenzale's colleague Cristoforo Caresana left at least one Missa defunctorum for double choir and instruments ... Auctore Christoforo Caresana 1667' (Di Giacomo 1918, 41)."]
Selected recordings
*''L’Adoratione de’ Maggi''
Christmas cantata for 6 voices (1676) with ''La Veglia'' Christmas cantata for 6 voices (1674), ''Demonio, Angelo e Tre Pastori'' cantata for 5 voices (1676), Partenope Leggiadra – secular cantata (1703).
Cappella della Pietà de' Turchini Cappella Neapolitana is an early music ensemble based in Naples and dedicated to the recovery of Neapolitan musical heritage, primarily from the baroque era.
The Cappella Neapolitana was founded in 2016 by the musicologist and conductor Antonio F ...
dir. Florio, Glossa 2010.
Sources
Cristofaro Caresanahoasm.org
musicweb-international.com
*''
Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians''
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caresana, Cristofaro
Italian male classical composers
Italian Baroque composers
1640s births
1709 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
Classical composers of church music