Philip Trajetta
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Philip Trajetta (Filippo Traetta) (January 8, 1777 – January 9, 1854) was an
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
-born
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composer and music teacher. The son of Italian composer
Tommaso Traetta Tommaso Michele Francesco Saverio Traetta (30 March 1727 – 6 April 1779) was an Italian composer of the Neapolitan School. Along with other composers mainly in the Holy Roman Empire and France, he was responsible for certain operatic ref ...
, in 1800 he moved as a political refugee to the United States, where he had a successful musical career as a composer and one of the founders of music conservatories in Boston (1801), New York (1812), and Philadelphia (1828).


Biography

Filippo Traetta was 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  ...
, Italy, on January 8, 1777. He was the son of opera composer
Tommaso Traetta Tommaso Michele Francesco Saverio Traetta (30 March 1727 – 6 April 1779) was an Italian composer of the Neapolitan School. Along with other composers mainly in the Holy Roman Empire and France, he was responsible for certain operatic ref ...
and Elizabeth Sund from Russian Finland. The couple met at
St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
when Tommaso was serving at the invitation of
Catherine II of Russia , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...
as singing instructor and musical director of the opera there. Upon the death of his father, Filippo was about three years of age, placing Elizabeth in charge of his education in Venice. He attended a Jesuit school until the age of 13 and then studied with music teachers
Fedele Fenaroli Fedele Fenaroli (25 April 1730, in Lanciano – 1 January 1818, in Naples) was an Italian composer and teacher. Fenaroli entered the Conservatorio di Santa Maria di Loreto, one of the Music conservatories of Naples, becoming a pupil of Francesc ...
and Salvatore Perillo, from whom he learned counterpoint, the art of the fugue and composition. He was next sent to
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
to study with composer
Niccolò Piccinni Niccolò Piccinni (; 16 January 1728 – 7 May 1800) was an Italian composer of symphonies, sacred music, chamber music, and opera. Although he is somewhat obscure today, Piccinni was one of the most popular composers of opera—particularly the ...
. In 1799, Traetta was involved in a failed revolution against King
Ferdinand IV of Naples Ferdinand I (12 January 1751 – 4 January 1825) was the King of the Two Sicilies from 1816, after his restoration following victory in the Napoleonic Wars. Before that he had been, since 1759, Ferdinand IV of the Kingdom of Naples and Ferdinand ...
. He was arrested for authoring several patriotic, anti-monarchy hymns. He served eight months in prison before he was given a German passport and smuggled into the United States, arriving aboard ''Mount Vernon'', a vessel that belonged to the Derby family of
Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...
, on July 3, 1800. Now known as ''Philip Trajetta'', he settled in Boston, Massachusetts. There he and two partners, François Delochaire Mallet of France and
Gottlieb Graupner __NOTOC__ Johann Christian Gottlieb Graupner (6 October 1767 – 16 April 1836) was a musician, composer, conductor, educator and publisher. Born in Hanover, Germany, he played oboe in Joseph Haydn's orchestra in London. After moving to the Unit ...
of Germany, announced in an advertisement in the ''
Boston Gazette The ''Boston Gazette'' (1719–1798) was a newspaper published in Boston, in the British North American colonies. It was a weekly newspaper established by William Brooker, who was just appointed Postmaster of Boston, with its first issue release ...
'' on November 24, 1800, the founding of a music academy called the American Conservatorio of Boston. It was the first such institution in the United States and lasted just two years. Two of his orchestral works were performed in Boston in that year, a sinfonia and a violin concerto. There he also wrote some of his early works, including "Washington's Dead March", a patriotic work marking the death of
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
in December 1799, which remained popular for decades. In the same year he moved to New York, where he completed ''The Venetian Maskers'', which can be described as the first opera ''composed'' in the United States, though it was never staged. In the following two decades he divided his time between New York and Charleston. He relocated to New York City about 1809 and by 1812 founded the American Conservatorio of New York. Advertisements for the Conservatorio's concerts at its home on Fulton Street appeared in local newspapers until 1817. He composed a cantata, ''Jubilate, Peace'', to celebrate the
Treaty of Ghent The Treaty of Ghent () was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom. It took effect in February 1815. Both sides signed it on December 24, 1814, in the city of Ghent, United Netherlands (now in ...
, signed on December 24, 1814, that concluded the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
. He conducted its premiere in New York on February 21, 1815. In the first half of the 1820s, Trajetta settled in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, which became his permanent home. By 1828, he founded the American Conservatory in Philadelphia. There he composed two oratorios, ''Jerusalem in Affliction'' and ''Daughter of Zion'', which had their premieres in Philadelphia in 1828 and 1829 respectively. A comprehensive history of the oratorio form describes them as " esumably the earliest oratorios composed in America". Trajetta continued to give music lessons at the conservatory and to direct musical performances until his death. Trajetta died in Philadelphia on January 9, 1854, and was buried in the Odd Fellows Burial Ground.


Works


Cantatas

* ''The Christian's Joy: Prophecy'' * ''The Nativity'' * ''The Day of Rest'' * ''Jubilate, Peace''


Operas

* ''The Venetian Maskers''


Oratorios

* ''Jerusalem in Affliction'' (Philadelphia, 1828; then
Germantown Germantown or German Town may refer to: Places Australia * Germantown, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region United States * Germantown, California, the former name of Artois, a census-designated place in Glenn County * Ge ...
, 1854) * ''Daughter of Zion'' (Philadelphia, 1829; then Germantown, 1854)


Other musical works

*''Washington's Dead March'' *"The Sailor, An Elegy", for piano and voice (February 1801) *"Lovely Maid the Fields Invite You", piano and voice(s)


Essays

*''An Introduction to the Art and Science of Music'' (Philadelphia, 1829) *''Rudiments of the Art of Singing, Written and Composed for the American Conservatorio'' (Philadelphia, 1841-3) *''A Primer of Music'' (Philadelphia, 1843) *''Traetta's Preludes for the Piano Forte...Introductory to his System of Thorough Bass'' (Philadelphia, 1857)


Notes


References

;Sources * Sciannameo, Franco, and Michael J. Budds (2010). ''Phil Trajetta (1777-1854), Patriot, Musician, Immigrant: Commentary on His Life and Work in Context''. Hillsdale, N.Y: Pendragon Press. * Cantrell, Byron (2001). "Trajetta, Filippo." ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians''. Vol. 25, 2nd ed. Ed. Stanley Sadie. New York: Grove. * Slonimsky, Nicolas, Laura Kuhn, and Dennis McIntire (2001). "Traetta, Filippo". ''Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians''. 6 vols. Eds. Nicolas Slonimsky and Laura Kuhn. New York: Schirmer Books. *Richard J. Wolfe, ed. (1964) "Traetta, Philip". ''Secular Music in America, 1801-1825: A Bibliography''. 3 vols. New York: New York Public Library.


External links


"Traetta, Filippo"
The Pennsylvania Center for the Book {{DEFAULTSORT:Trajetta, Philip 1777 births 1854 deaths 18th-century American musicians 18th-century classical composers 18th-century Italian male musicians 19th-century American composers 19th-century classical composers 19th-century Italian male musicians American Romantic composers American male classical composers American opera composers Male opera composers United States military musicians Oratorio composers Musicians from Venice Classical musicians from Pennsylvania Musicians from Philadelphia Italian emigrants to the United States