Francesco Scarlatti (5 December 1666 – c.1741) 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 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 Defi ...

and musician and the younger brother of the better known

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. ...

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. However, Francesco himself was an accomplished musician and held a number of appointments.

Biography

Scarlatti was born in Palermo, Sicily. Due to the island being under the control of the Kingdom of Naples, Francesco went to study at the well-known Conservatorio in the city. His first appointment, following his studies, was as a violinist at the Chapel Royal in Naples. His appointment was controversial: a number of Neapolitan musicians resented the young provincial's influence at court. In 1690, he married Rosalina Albano who died in 1706 after having given birth to five common children. Francesco later travelled around Europe. He moved to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1719; some sources suggest that this was on the invitation of

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 concertos. Handel received his training i ...

, whom he had met some years before in Italy. Hardly anything is known of his time in London. It is thought that he probably worked in theatre orchestras. Scarlatti was recommended to

James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos, (6 January 16739 August 1744) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons from 1698 until 1714, when he succeeded to the peerage as Baron Chandos, and vacated ...

John Arbuthnot John Arbuthnot FRS (''baptised'' 29 April 1667 – 27 February 1735), often known simply as Dr Arbuthnot, was a Scottish physician, satirist and polymath in London. He is best remembered for his contributions to mathematics, his membersh ...

. Chandos, a patron of Handel, maintained a musical establishment at his main house,

Cannons A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder dur ...

in Middlesex, but Scarlatti appears not to have joined it. At some point between 1724 and 1733 Francesco Scarlatti moved to

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, where he may have remarried a woman by the first name of Jane. A notice in ''Faulkner's Dublin Journal'' of 11 August 1733 disclaims debts incurred by her: "Jane Scarlatti, wife of Francis Scarlatti, Master of Musick, hath eloped from her said husband. This is to desire that nobody may give any credit to the said Jane Scarlatti on account of her said husband; for he will not pay any debts that she shall contract; nor answer any bills she may draw on him." The last record of Francesco Scarlatti is in January 1741, when he was apparently unavailable for a concert due to ill-health. No further record remains of Scarlatti. It is believed that he died in Dublin shortly afterwards.Estelle Murphy: "Scarlatti, Francesco", in: ''The Encyclopaedia of Music in Ireland'', ed. by Harry White and Barra Boydell (Dublin: UCD Press, 2013), p. 919.

Selected works

* ''Laetatus sum'' (

Psalm 122 Psalm 122 is the 122nd psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "I was glad" and in Latin entitled Laetatus sum. It is attributed to King David and one of the fifteen psalms described as A song of ascents ( ...

) for SSATB with strings and continuo * ''Dixit dominus'' (

Psalm 110 Psalm 110 is the 110th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "The said unto my Lord". In Latin, it is known as Dixit Dominus ("The Lord Said"). It is considered both a royal psalm and a messianic psalm. C ...

) for sixteen singers with orchestra (1702) * Messa, Kyrie and Gloria mass for 16 singers with instruments (1703) * ''Miserere'' (

Psalm 51 Psalm 51, one of the penitential psalms, is the 51st psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Have mercy upon me, O God". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vu ...

) for SSATB chorus with instruments (1714) The autographed manuscripts for the "Messa" and "Dixit Dominus" are now at the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...

, Oxford. An authorized copy of the "Miserere" is kept in the

Österreichische Nationalbibliothek The Austrian National Library (german: Österreichische Nationalbibliothek) is the largest library in Austria, with more than 12 million items in its various collections. The library is located in the Neue Burg Wing of the Hofburg in center of Vi ...

, Vienna.

Selected recordings

* ''Dixit Dominus'', Mass, and ''Miserere'' (incomplete), performed by

Emma Kirkby Dame Carolyn Emma Kirkby, (; born 26 February 1949) is an English soprano and early music specialist. She has sung on over 100 recordings. Education and early career Kirkby was educated at Hanford School, Sherborne School for Girls in Dors ...

(soprano),

Armonico Consort Armonico Consort is a British company founded in 2001 by conductor and organist Christopher Monks, which specialises in producing performances of Renaissance and Baroque music. In 2002 the company oversaw the creation of a series of academies desi ...

, Concerto Gallese, the English Cornett and Sackbutt Ensemble, Christopher Monks (conductor); Deux-Elles DXL 1096 (CD, 2004). * ''Miserere mei, Deus'' (Psalm 50), performed by Ensemble Ex Tempore, Florian Heyerick (cond); Etcetera KTC 1298 (CD, 2005). * five Concerti grossi for violin and orchestra, performed by Martyna Pastuszka (violin, conductor), Małgorzata Malke (violin), Orkiestra Historyczna, Muso mu-030 (CD, 2019). * ''Dixit Dominus'', Mass, performed by Armonico Consort, Christopher Monks (conductor); Signum Classics SIGCD 740 (CD, 2023).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scarlatti, Francesco 1666 births 1741 deaths 18th-century Italian composers 18th-century Italian male musicians Italian Baroque composers Italian emigrants to Ireland Italian male classical composers Musicians from Palermo