Alessandro Parisotti (24 July 1853 – 4 April 1913) was an 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 Defi ...

and music editor.

Life and career

Though also a composer, Alessandro Parisotti is better known today as the original editor of a collection of songs known as ''

Arie antiche Arie is a masculine given name. As a Dutch name, Arie (pronounced ) is generally a short form of Adrianus, but sometimes also of Arend or Arent, Arnout or Arnoud, or even Aaron. As a Hebrew, Jewish, or Israeli name, Arie (pronounced ) is a tra ...

'' (''Arie antiche: ad una voce per canto e pianoforte'', Milan, 1885–1888). The original collection comprises three volumes of songs or arias published as a primer to study classical singing, but the three volumes have since been reduced to single-volumed extracts known as the ''

24 Italian Songs and Arias 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

''. The original Arie Antiche are still available through Ricordi, Schirmer, and Kalmus. Parisotti collected these antique arias (''arie antiche'' is the Italian) in what was the 19th century vogue for discovering forgotten old or antique music from the classical and baroque eras. The most famous example of this practice of reclaiming forgotten music is

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositi ...

's revival of Bach's ''

St. Matthew Passion The ''St Matthew Passion'' (german: Matthäus-Passion, links=-no), BWV 244, is a '' Passion'', a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It sets ...

'' in Berlin (1829). The taste for rediscovered music was de rigueur among musicians and audiences of the nineteenth century, with composers lesser than Mendelssohn and Brahms participating as well. Parisotti found forgotten scores and arranged their arias (or duets) for solo singer and piano accompaniment. Parisotti romanticized the pieces by altering word placement, chordal structure and/or adding ornamentation to the vocal line. Others also did this type of editing, including the publications done by Oliver Ditson. These arrangements are still favorites for recital programming today. Notable students include pianist and composer

Lucia Contini Anselmi Lucia Contini Anselmi (15 October 1876 – after 1913) was an Italian pianist and composer. She was born in Vercelli and studied piano with Giovanni Sgambati and composition with Alessandro Parisotti at the Conservatory in Rome. After completin ...

. In his collection, Parisotti attributed the song "Se tu m'ami" to

Giovanni Battista Pergolesi Giovanni Battista Draghi (; 4 January 1710 – 16 or 17 March 1736), often referred to as Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (), was an Italian Baroque composer, violinist, and organist. His best-known works include his Stabat Mater and the opera ''L ...

, but owing to the fact that no early manuscripts of this song have been located, scholars now believe that Parisotti composed the piece himself. The text for the song was taken from a collection called "Di canzonette e di cantate librue due" by

Paolo Rolli Paolo Antonio Rolli (13 June 1687 – 20 March 1765) was an Italian Libretto, librettist, poet and translator. Biography Paolo Rolli was born in Rome, Italy and like Metastasio was trained by Gian Vincenzo Gravina. The Richard Boyle, 3rd ...

, published in London in 1727.Glenn Paton, John (1991). "26 Italian Songs and Arias: An Authoritative Edition Based on Authentic Sources". Alfred Publishing.

Notes

External links

Short biographySheet music for Parisotti's Anthology of Italian Song
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Biography
* * 1853 births 1913 deaths 19th-century Italian musicians 19th-century Italian male musicians Italian composers Italian male composers {{Italy-composer-stub