This Week in Classical Music: August 21, 2023.Cavalieri, part II. Last week we began writing about the Italian composer Emilio de' Cavalieri and all we had time for were his illustrious parents.Emilio started his musical career in Rome – we know that he was an organist at the Oratorio del Santissimo Crocifisso and was responsible for the Lent music there.While in Rome, he made the acquaintance of CardinalFerdinando de' Medici. A historically important fact about the Cardinal is that soon after he became the Grand Duke of Tuscany, returned to Florence and brought Cavalieri with him.A minor, but curious, detail is that the Cardinal was an art lover and acquired the famous collection of Roman statues from Cardinal Andrea della Valle, the uncle of Emilio’s mother, Lavinia, thus connecting the families of Cavalieri, della Valle, and Medici.
In Florence Cavalieri became not just a court composer and overseer of crafts and music, but also a trusted personal diplomatic envoy to the Duke.Elections of the Pope were among the most important political events in Italy, and Cavalieri helped Ferdinando to elect popes predisposed toward the Medici family, often going on secret missions to buy cardinals’ votes.This was a turbulent time, with popes lasting no longer than the Politburo Secretaries General at the end of the Brezhnev era.Pope Urban VII, elected in September of 1590, died of malaria just 12 days after taking office, Pope Gregory XIV followed and ruled for 315 days, then Pope Innocent IX, who ruled for 62 days, and finally, Clement VIII, who would go on to rule for more than 13 years.The turmoil kept Cavalieri’s diplomatic career busy.
In Florence, Cavalieri was provided an apartment in the Palazzo Pitti, the main residence of the Duke of Tuscany, and a handsome salary.As the court administrator and composer, he was responsible for staging intermedi, theatrical performances with music and dance.The famous ones were set up in 1589 for the marriage of Duke Ferdinando to Christine of Lorraine.Cavalieri produced many of these intermedi in the following years, often to his own music.
He traveled to Rome often and maintained relations with major composers in the city.In 1600, his work titled Rappresentatione di anima et di corpo (Portrayal of the Soul and the Body) premiered in the Oratorio dei Filippini in Rome.Rappresentatione is considered the first oratorio in the history of music and, with the intermedi, a predecessor to opera.The significance of it becomes apparent if we consider how the oratorio, also developed by Cavalieri’s contemporaries Jacopo Peri and Giulio Caccini, has evolved since 1600: this was the musical form that Alessandro Scarlatti, Antonio Caldara, Johann Adolph Hasse, Heinrich Schütz, Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel used to create some of their most important compositions.
Cavalieri left Florence for Rome in 1600 under a cloud: the wedding of Henry IV of France and Maria de' Medici was lavishly celebrated, and the main event was the staging of the opera Il rapimento di Cefalo.Cavalieri expected to be in charge, but the staging was given to his rival, Caccini.Cavalieri died in Rome two years later and was buried in Cappella de' Cavalieri in Santa Maria in Aracoeli on the Capitoline Hill.
Together with Rappresentatione, Lamentations of Jeremiah for the Holy Week is Cavalieri’s major work.It consists of four parts, to be performed on consecutive days.Here’s the first section, Lectio prima, of the Lamentations for the first day.It’s performed by the Concerto Italiano under the direction of Rinaldo Alessandrini.
Emilio de' Cavalieri, part II, 2023
This Week in Classical Music: August 21, 2023. Cavalieri, part II. Last week we began writing about the Italian composer Emilio de' Cavalieri and all we had time for were his
illustrious parents. Emilio started his musical career in Rome – we know that he was an organist at the Oratorio del Santissimo Crocifisso and was responsible for the Lent music there. While in Rome, he made the acquaintance of Cardinal Ferdinando de' Medici. A historically important fact about the Cardinal is that soon after he became the Grand Duke of Tuscany, returned to Florence and brought Cavalieri with him. A minor, but curious, detail is that the Cardinal was an art lover and acquired the famous collection of Roman statues from Cardinal Andrea della Valle, the uncle of Emilio’s mother, Lavinia, thus connecting the families of Cavalieri, della Valle, and Medici.
In Florence Cavalieri became not just a court composer and overseer of crafts and music, but also a trusted personal diplomatic envoy to the Duke. Elections of the Pope were among the most important political events in Italy, and Cavalieri helped Ferdinando to elect popes predisposed toward the Medici family, often going on secret missions to buy cardinals’ votes. This was a turbulent time, with popes lasting no longer than the Politburo Secretaries General at the end of the Brezhnev era. Pope Urban VII, elected in September of 1590, died of malaria just 12 days after taking office, Pope Gregory XIV followed and ruled for 315 days, then Pope Innocent IX, who ruled for 62 days, and finally, Clement VIII, who would go on to rule for more than 13 years. The turmoil kept Cavalieri’s diplomatic career busy.
In Florence, Cavalieri was provided an apartment in the Palazzo Pitti, the main residence of the Duke of Tuscany, and a handsome salary. As the court administrator and composer, he was responsible for staging intermedi, theatrical performances with music and dance. The famous ones were set up in 1589 for the marriage of Duke Ferdinando to Christine of Lorraine. Cavalieri produced many of these intermedi in the following years, often to his own music.
He traveled to Rome often and maintained relations with major composers in the city. In 1600, his work titled Rappresentatione di anima et di corpo (Portrayal of the Soul and the Body) premiered in the Oratorio dei Filippini in Rome. Rappresentatione is considered the first oratorio in the history of music and, with the intermedi, a predecessor to opera. The significance of it becomes apparent if we consider how the oratorio, also developed by Cavalieri’s contemporaries Jacopo Peri and Giulio Caccini, has evolved since 1600: this was the musical form that Alessandro Scarlatti, Antonio Caldara, Johann Adolph Hasse, Heinrich Schütz, Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel used to create some of their most important compositions.
Cavalieri left Florence for Rome in 1600 under a cloud: the wedding of Henry IV of France and Maria de' Medici was lavishly celebrated, and the main event was the staging of the opera Il rapimento di Cefalo. Cavalieri expected to be in charge, but the staging was given to his rival, Caccini. Cavalieri died in Rome two years later and was buried in Cappella de' Cavalieri in Santa Maria in Aracoeli on the Capitoline Hill.
Together with Rappresentatione, Lamentations of Jeremiah for the Holy Week is Cavalieri’s major work. It consists of four parts, to be performed on consecutive days. Here’s the first section, Lectio prima, of the Lamentations for the first day. It’s performed by the Concerto Italiano under the direction of Rinaldo Alessandrini.