Emanuele D'Astorga
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Emanuele Gioacchino Cesare Rincon, baron of Astorga (20 March 16801757, by one report) 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 def ...
known mainly for his ''Stabat Mater''.


Biography

He was born on 20 March 1680Hans Volkmann, ''Emanuele d'Astorga'', Leipzig 1911, p. 44 in
Augusta, Sicily Augusta (, archaically ''Agosta''; ; Ancient Greek, Greek and , Medieval: ''Augusta'') is a town and in the province of Syracuse, Italy, Syracuse, located on the eastern coast of Sicily (southern Italy). The city is one of the main harbours in ...
. No authentic account of Astorga's life can be successfully constructed from the obscure and confusing evidence that has been until now handed down, although historians have not failed to indulge many pleasant conjectures. According to Volkmann his father, a baron of
Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
, took an active part in the attempt to throw off the Spanish yoke, but was betrayed by his own soldiers and publicly executed. His wife and son were compelled to be spectators of his fate; and such was the effect upon them that his mother died on the spot, and Emanuele fell into a state of gloomy despondency, which threatened to deprive him of reason. By the kindness of the Princess of Ursini, the unfortunate young man was placed in a convent at Astorga, in León, where he completed a musical education which is said to have been begun in
Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
under
Francesco Scarlatti Francesco Scarlatti (5 December 1666 – c.1741) was an Italian Baroque composer and musician and the younger brother of the better known Alessandro Scarlatti.D booklet">Hair, Christopher (2003): "Francesco Scarlatti". Francesco Scarlatti: Dixit ...
. Here he recovered his health, and his admirable musical talents were cultivated under the best masters. On the details of this account no reliance can safely be placed, nor is there any certainty that in 1703, he entered the service of the
Duke of Parma The Duke of Parma and Piacenza () was the ruler of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza, a List of historic states of Italy, historical state of Northern Italy. It was created by Pope Paul III (Alessandro Farnese) for his son Pier Luigi Farnese, Du ...
. Equally untrustworthy is the story that the duke, suspecting an attachment between his niece
Elizabeth Farnese Elisabeth Farnese (Italian: ''Elisabetta Farnese'', Spanish: ''Isabel de Farnesio''; 25 October 169211 July 1766) was Queen of Spain by marriage to King Philip V. She was the '' de facto'' ruler of Spain from 1714 until 1746, since she managed ...
and Astorga, dismissed the musician. The established facts concerning Astorga are indeed few enough. They are: that the opera ''Dafne'' was written and conducted by the composer in
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
in 1709; that he visited
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, where he wrote his ''
Stabat Mater The Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Christian hymn to the Virgin Mary that portrays her suffering as mother during the crucifixion of her son Jesus Christ. Its author may be either the Franciscan friar Jacopone da Todi or Pope Innocent III.Saba ...
'', possibly for the society of "Antient Musick"; that it was performed in
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
in 1713; that in 1712, he was in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
. Around 1723 he was in
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
, where in 1726 he published ''Cantate da camera'', his only published piece, and that he retired at an uncertain date to
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
. According to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition, he died on 21 August 1736, in a castle which had been given to him in the domains of Prince
Lobkowicz The House of Lobkowicz (''Lobkovicové'' in modern Czech, sg. ''z Lobkovic''; ''Lobkowitz'' in German) is an important Bohemian noble family that dates back to the 14th century and is one of the oldest noble families of the region. Over the ce ...
, in
Roudnice Roudnice is a municipality and village in Hradec Králové District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 800 inhabitants. Etymology The name is derived from the red shades of colour (in Czech ''rudá'') of the water ...
. However, according to a manuscript in the Santini collection in Münster he died in 1757 in Madrid. Astorga deserves remembrance for his dignified and poignant ''Stabat Mater'', and for his numerous chamber-cantatas for one or two voices. He was probably the last composer to carry on the traditions of this form of
chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...
as perfected by
Alessandro Scarlatti Pietro Alessandro Gaspare Scarlatti (2 May 1660 – 22 October 1725) was an Italian Baroque music, Baroque composer, known especially for his operas and chamber cantatas. He is considered the most important representative of the Neapolitan sch ...
.


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External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Astorga, Emanuele d 1680 births 1757 deaths People from Augusta, Sicily Italian male classical composers Italian Baroque composers 18th-century Italian composers 18th-century Italian male musicians Musicians from the Kingdom of Sicily Monastery prisoners