Francesco Cavalli (born Pietro Francesco Caletti-Bruni; 14 February 1602 – 14 January 1676) was a Venetian composer, organist and singer of the early

Baroque period 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 ...

. He succeeded his teacher

Claudio Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is considered ...

as the dominant and leading opera composer of the mid 17th-century. A central figure of Venetian musical life, Cavalli wrote more than forty operas, almost all of which premiered in the city's theaters. His best known works include ''

Ormindo ''L'Ormindo'' is an opera in a prologue and three acts by Francesco Cavalli to an original Italian libretto by Giovanni Faustini. The manuscript score is held at the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice,The score has been digitized bIMSLP while a copy o ...

'' (1644), ''

Giasone ''Giasone'' (''Jason'') is an opera in three acts and a prologue with music by Francesco Cavalli and a libretto by Giacinto Andrea Cicognini. It was premiered at the Teatro San Cassiano, Venice on 5 January 1649, during carnival. The plot is loos ...

'' (1649) and ''

La Calisto ''La Calisto'' is an opera by Francesco Cavalli from a libretto by Giovanni Faustini based on the mythological story of Callisto. The opera received its first performance on 28 November 1651 at the Teatro Sant 'Apollinare, Venice, where it drew ...

'' (1651).

Life

Cavalli was born at

Crema Crema or Cremas may refer to: Crema * Crema, Lombardy, a ''comune'' in the northern Italian province of Cremona * Crema (coffee), a thin layer of foam at the top of a cup of espresso * Crema (dairy product) Crema is the Spanish word for cream. I ...

, then an inland province of the

Venetian Republic The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

. He became a singer (boy soprano) at

St Mark's Basilica The Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark ( it, Basilica Cattedrale Patriarcale di San Marco), commonly known as St Mark's Basilica ( it, Basilica di San Marco; vec, Baxéłega de San Marco), is the cathedral church of the Catholic Chu ...

in Venice in 1616, where he had the opportunity to work under the tutorship of

. He became second organist in 1639, first organist in 1665, and in 1668 ''

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 ...

''. He took the name "Cavalli" from his patron, Venetian nobleman Federico Cavalli. Though he wrote prolifically for the church, he is chiefly remembered for his

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

s. He began to write for the stage in 1639 (''

Le nozze di Teti e di Peleo ''Le nozze di Teti e di Peleo'' is an opera by Francesco Cavalli - specifically, an ''opera scenica'' or ''festa teatrale''. The work, set to a libretto by Orazio Persiani, was Cavalli's first opera, and was first performed at the Venetian ope ...

'') soon after the first public opera house opened in Venice, the

Teatro San Cassiano The Teatro San Cassiano (or Teatro di San Cassiano and other variants) in Venice was the world’s first public opera theatre, inaugurated as such in 1637. The first mention of its construction dates back to 1581. The name with which it is best know ...

. He established so great a reputation that he was summoned to Paris from 1660 (when he revived his opera ''

Xerse ''Il Xerse'' ( in its 1660 French version ''Xerxès'') is an opera by Francesco Cavalli (specifically, a ''dramma per musica'') about Xerxes I. The libretto was written by Nicolò Minato, and was later set by both Giovanni Bononcini (1694, ''Xer ...

'') until 1662, producing his ''

Ercole amante ''Ercole amante'' (''Hercules in Love'', French: ''Hercule amoureux'') is an opera in a prologue and five acts by Francesco Cavalli. Its Italian libretto is by Francesco Buti, based on Sophocles' ''The Trachiniae'' and on the ninth book of Ovid ...

''. He died in Venice at the age of 73.

Music and influence

Cavalli was the most influential composer in the rising genre of public opera in mid-17th-century Venice. Unlike Monteverdi's early operas, scored for the extravagant court orchestra of

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard language, Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture ...

, Cavalli's operas make use of a small orchestra of strings 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 ...

to meet the limitations of public

opera house An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically for o ...

s. Cavalli introduced melodious arias into his music and popular types into his

libretti A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...

. His operas have a remarkably strong sense of dramatic effect as well as a great musical facility, and a grotesque humour which was characteristic of Italian opera down to the death of

Alessandro Scarlatti Pietro Alessandro Gaspare Scarlatti (2 May 1660 – 22 October 1725) was an Italian Baroque composer, known especially for his operas and chamber cantatas. He is considered the most important representative of the Neapolitan school of opera. ...

. Cavalli's operas provide the only example of a continuous musical development of a single composer in a single genre from the early to the late 17th century in Venice — only a few operas by others (e.g., Monteverdi and

Antonio Cesti Pietro Marc'Antonio Cesti () (baptism 5 August 162314 October 1669), known today primarily as an Italian composer of the Baroque era, was also a singer (tenor), and organist. He was "the most celebrated Italian musician of his generation". Biogra ...

) survive. The development is particularly interesting to scholars because opera was still quite a new medium when Cavalli began working, and had matured into a popular public spectacle by the end of his career. Cavalli wrote forty-one operas, twenty-seven of which are extant, being preserved in the

Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana The Marciana Library or Library of Saint Mark ( it, italic=no, Biblioteca Marciana, but in historical documents commonly referred to as ) is a public library in Venice, Italy. It is one of the earliest surviving public libraries and repositorie ...

(Library of St Mark) in Venice. Copies of some of the operas also exist in other locations. In addition, two last operas (''Coriolano'' and ''Masenzio''), which are clearly attributed to him, are lost, as well as twelve other operas that have been attributed to him, though the music is lost and attribution impossible to prove. In addition to operas, Cavalli wrote settings of the ''

Magnificat The Magnificat (Latin for "

y soul Y, or y, is the twenty-fifth and penultimate letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. According to some authorities, it is the sixth (or sevent ...

magnifies

he Lord He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary, the Canticle of Mary and, in the Eastern Christianity, Byzantine tradition, the Ode of the Theotokos (). It is traditionally incorporated ...

'' in the grand

Venetian polychoral style The Venetian polychoral style was a type of music of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras which involved spatially separate choirs singing in alternation. It represented a major stylistic shift from the prevailing polyphonic writing of the ...

, settings of the

Marian Marian may refer to: People * Mari people, a Finno-Ugric ethnic group in Russia * Marian (given name), a list of people with the given name * Marian (surname), a list of people so named Places * Marian, Iran (disambiguation) * Marian, Queenslan ...

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 the Psalms. Their form was favored by St Ambrose and they feature prominently ...

s, other sacred music in a more conservative manner – notably

a Requiem Mass The Music for the Requiem Mass is any music that accompanies the Requiem, a Mass in the Catholic Church for the deceased. It has inspired a large number of compositions, including settings by Mozart, Berlioz, Donizetti, Verdi, Bruckner, Dvořák ...

in eight parts ( SSAATTBB), probably intended for his own funeral – and some instrumental music.

Sacred works

* ''Musiche sacre concernenti messa, e salmi concertati con istromenti, imni, antifone et sonate'' (Venecia, 1656). * ''Messa, ''8vv, 2 vn, vc, otros instrumentos ''

ad libitum In music and other performing arts, the phrase (; from Latin for 'at one's pleasure' or 'as you desire'), often shortened to "ad lib" (as an adjective or adverb) or "ad-lib" (as a verb or noun), refers to various forms of improvisation. The r ...

'' ed. R. Leppard (Londres, 1966). * ''Alma redemptoris mater'', 2 S, A, T, B, ed. B. Stäblein, Musica divina, iv (Regensburg, 1950). * ''Ave maris stella'', A, T, B. * ''Ave regina caelorum'', T, B, ed. B. Stäblein, Musica divina, i (Regensburg, 1950). * ''Beatus vir'', A, T, B, 2 vn, vc. * ''Confitebor tibi Domine'', 8vv, 2 vn, vc * ''Credidi'', 2 S, A, T, B, 2 vn, vc * ''Deus tuorum militum'', A, T, B, 2 vn, vc * ''Dixit Dominus'', 8vv, 2 vn, vc, other insts ad lib * ''Domine probasti'', S, A, B, 2 vn, vc * ''Exultet orbis'', 4vv, 2 vn, vc * ''In convertendo'', 2 S, A, T, B * ''Iste confessor'', 2 S, 2 vn, vc * ''Jesu corona virginum'', A, T, B, 2 vn, vc * ''Laetatus sum'', A, T, B, 2 vn, 3 va, ed. R. Leppard (London, 1969) * ''Lauda Jerusalem'', 8vv, 2 vn, vc, other insts ad lib * ''

Laudate Dominum Psalm 117 is the 117th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people." In Latin, it is known as ''Laudate Dominum''. Consisting of only two verses, Psalm ...

'', 8vv, 2 vn, vc, ed. R. Leppard (London, 1969) * '' Laudate pueri'', 2 S, A, T, B, 2 vn, vc * ''Magnificat'', 8vv, 2 vn, vc, other insts ad lib, ed. R. Leppard (London, 1969) * ''Nisi Dominus'', 4vv, 2 vn, vc * ''Regina caeli'', A, T, B, ed. B. Stäblein, Musica divina, ii (Regensburg, 1950) * ''Salve regina'', A, 2 T, B, ed. B. Stäblein, Musica divina, iii (Regensburg, 1950) * ''Canzoni onate' a 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12; a 6 y a 12 ed. R. Nielsen (Bologna, 1955) * ''Vesperi'', 8vv, bc (Venice, 1675) * ''Vespero della B.V. Maria: Dixit Dominus; Laudate pueri; Laetatus sum; Nisi Dominus; Lauda Jerusalem; Magnificat''. ed. G. Piccioli (Milan, 1960); ed. F. Bussi (Milan, 1995) * ''Vespero delle domeniche: Dixit Dominus; Confitebor; Beatus vir; Laudate pueri; In exitu Israel; Laudate Dominum; Credidi; In convertendo; Domine probasti; Beati omnes; De profundis; Memento; Confitebor angelorum; Magnificat'', ed. G. Piccioli (Milan, 1960); all ed. F. Bussi (Milan, 1995) * ''Vespero delle cinque Laudate ad uso della cappella di S Marco: Laudate pueri; Laudate Dominum laudate eum; Lauda anima mea; Laudate Dominum quoniam bonus; Lauda Jerusalem; Magnificat'', ed. G. Piccioli (Milan, 1960); all ed. F. Bussi (Milan, 1995) * ''Cantate Domino'', 1v, bc, 16252; ed. F. Vatielli, Antiche cantate spirituali (Turin, 1922) * ''O quam suavis'', 1v, bc, 16453 * ''Magnificat'', 6vv, 2 vn, bc, 16505; ed. F. Bussi (Milan, 1988) * ''In virtute tua'', 3vv, bc, 16561 * ''O bone Jesu'', 2vv, bc, 16561 * ''Plaudite, cantate'', 3vv, bc, 16561 * ''Missa pro defunctis equiem', 8vv, bc, D-Bsb, Dlb; ed. F. Bussi (Milan, 1978)

Operas

Modern performances

Cavalli's music was revived in the twentieth century. The Glyndebourne production of ''La Calisto'' is an example. More recently, ''Hipermestra'' was performed at Glyndebourne in 2017. The discography is extensive and Cavalli has featured in BBC Radio 3's ''Composer of the Week'' series.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cavalli, Francesco 1602 births 1676 deaths 17th-century Italian composers Catholic liturgical composers Italian Baroque composers Italian male classical composers Italian opera composers Male opera composers People from Crema, Lombardy Musicians from the Province of Cremona 17th-century male musicians