In music, a ''pasticcio'' or ''pastiche'' is an opera or other musical work composed of works by different composers who may or may not have been working together, or an adaptation or localization of an existing work that is loose, unauthorized, or inauthentic.

Etymology

The term is first attested in the 16th century referring both to a kind of pie containing meat and pasta (''see

pastitsio Pastitsio ( el, παστίτσιο, ''pastítsio'') is a Greek baked pasta dish with ground meat and béchamel sauce, with variations of the dish found in other countries of the Mediterranean Sea. Name and origin Pastitsio takes its name from t ...

'') and to a literary mixture; for music, the earliest attestation is 1795 in Italian and 1742 in English. It derives from the post-classical

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''pasticium'' (13th century), a pie or pasty.''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...

'', March 2008 revision, ''s.v.'' pasticcio

In opera

In the 18th century,

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 ...

''pasticcios'' were frequently made by composers such as

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 ...

, for example ''

Oreste ''Oreste'' ("Orestes", HWV A11, HG 48/102) is an opera by George Frideric Handel in three acts. The libretto was anonymously adapted from Giangualberto Barlocci’s ''L’Oreste'' (1723, Rome), which was in turn adapted from Euripides' '' Iphi ...

'' (1734), ''

Alessandro Severo (Alexander Severus, HWV A13) is an opera by George Frideric Handel composed in 1738. It is one of Handel's three pasticcio works, made up of the music and arias of his previous operas '' Giustino'', '' Berenice'' and '' Arminio''. Only the o ...

'' (1738) and ''

Giove in Argo (''Jupiter in Argos'', HWV A14) is an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel. It is one of Handel's three pasticcio works made up of music and arias from his previous operas. The libretto was written by Antonio Maria Lucchini. The opera was f ...

'' (1739), as well as

Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period (music), classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the ...

, and

Johann Christian Bach Johann Christian Bach (September 5, 1735 – January 1, 1782) was a German composer of the Classical period (music), Classical era, the eighteenth child of Johann Sebastian Bach, and the youngest of his eleven sons. After living in Italy for ...

. These composite works would consist mainly of portions of other composers' work, although they could also include original composition. The portions borrowed from other composers would be more or less freely adapted, especially in the case of

aria In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

s in ''pasticcio'' operas by substituting a new text for the original one. In late 18th-century English ''pasticcios'', for instance by

Samuel Arnold Samuel Arnold may refer to: *Samuel Arnold (composer) (1740–1802), English composer and organist * Samuel Arnold (Connecticut politician) (1806–1869), U.S. Representative from Connecticut * Samuel Arnold (conspirator) (1834–1906), co-conspira ...

William Shield William Shield (5 March 1748 – 25 January 1829) was an English composer, violinist and viola, violist. His music earned the respect of Haydn and Beethoven. Life and musical career Shield was born in Swalwell near Gateshead, County Durham, th ...

, the "borrowed" music could be Irish or British folksongs.

In instrumental music

Instrumental works would also sometimes be assembled from pre-existing compositions, a notable instance of this being the first four

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typi ...

s of

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

. These concertos ( K. 37, 39–41) were assembled almost entirely from keyboard

sonata Sonata (; Italian: , pl. ''sonate''; from Latin and Italian: ''sonare'' rchaic Italian; replaced in the modern language by ''suonare'' "to sound"), in music, literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cant ...

movements by contemporary composers, to which the boy Mozart added

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

l parts supporting the keyboard soloist.

Notes

References

*"Pasticcio" in Don Michael Randel, ed., ''The New Harvard Dictionary of Music.'' Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...

, 1986 (), p. 614. *Warrack, John and West, Ewan (1992), ''The Oxford Dictionary of Opera'', 782 pages, {{Authority control Opera genres Opera terminology Italian words and phrases

Etymology

In opera

In instrumental music

See also

Notes

References