Bernardo Pasquini facts for kids
Bernardo Pasquini (born December 7, 1637, in Massa e Cozzile, Italy – died November 21, 1710, in Rome) was an Italian composer. He wrote many different kinds of music, including operas (musical plays), oratorios (religious musical stories), cantatas (vocal pieces), and music for keyboard instruments. He was a very skilled keyboard player, especially on the harpsichord. Many people consider him one of the most important Italian harpsichord composers between Girolamo Frescobaldi and Domenico Scarlatti.
Contents
His Life Story
Bernardo Pasquini was born in a town called Massa in Italy. When he was 13, he moved to Ferrara. By age 16, he became an organist at a music academy called Accademia della Morte. This was a very important job that helped other musicians start their careers.
Pasquini soon moved to Rome in 1657. There, he became an organist at several important churches, including Santa Maria in Vallicella and the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. After ten years in Rome, he began working for the powerful Borghese family. They supported his music, which is called "patronage." He worked for Prince Giovanni Battista Borghese and later for his son, Prince Marcantonio Borghese.
As a composer and keyboard player, Pasquini often worked with famous people in Rome. These included important cardinals like Flavio Chigi and Pietro Ottoboni.
Queen Christina of Sweden also played a big part in his career. Pasquini wrote two operas, L'Alcasta and Il Lisimaco, especially for her. His first opera for the Queen was about a woman seeking fair revenge. He even wrote a dedication that compared the Queen to Alexander the Great!
Between 1671 and 1692, Pasquini wrote many musical works. This included at least 16 operas, 15 oratorios, and about 70 cantatas. His operas were performed in Rome and in other Italian cities like Florence and Naples.
A Great Teacher
Pasquini was also a famous teacher of the harpsichord. Many important musicians of his time learned from him. One of his students was Georg Muffat, who said Pasquini taught him "the Italian way of playing the organ and harpsichord." Other notable students included Johann Philipp Krieger and Giuseppe Fabbrini.
In 1706, Pasquini became a member of the Academy of Arcadia. This was a famous group of poets, musicians, and artists. He is often mentioned alongside Alessandro Scarlatti when people talk about keyboard playing and composing styles.
Bernardo Pasquini died in Rome on November 21, 1710. He was buried in his local church, San Lorenzo in Lucina. His nephew and a student even put up a monument for him in the church.
Most of his keyboard music is kept in four special handwritten books. These books were put together by Pasquini and others between 1691 and 1708. Today, you can find them in Berlin and London.
One of his harpsichord pieces was later arranged for an orchestra by Ottorino Respighi. This piece is part of Respighi's famous musical suite called Gli uccelli.
His Music
Operas
- La sincerità con la sincerità ovvero il Tirinto (1672)
- L'amor per vendetta ovvero l'Alcasta (1673)
- La donna ancora è fedele (1676)
- Trespolo tutore (1677)
- La forza d'amore (before 1679)
- Dov'è amore è pietà (Ipermestra) (1679)
- L'Idalma, ovvero chi la dura la vince (1680)
- Il Sidonio ovvero il raro esempio di costanza e fede (1680)
- Il Lisimaco (1681)
- La Tessalonica (1683)
- Arianna (1685)
- Il silentio d'Arpocrate (1686)
- Santa Dimna figlia del re d'Irlanda (1687; only act 2. Act 1 by Alessandro Melani; Act 3 by Alessandro Scarlatti)
- I giochi troiani (1688)
- La caduta del regno delle Amazzoni (1690)
- Alessio (1690)
- Il Colombo overo l'India scoperta (1690)
- Eudossia (1692)
Oratorios
- Caino e Abele (1671)
- Agar (1675)
- Assuero (1675)
- Sant'Alessio (1675)
- Santa Agnese (1678)
- Divae Clarae triumphus (1682)
- L'idolatria di Salomone (1686)
- I fatti di Mosè nel deserto (1687)
- Il martirio dei santi Vito, Modesto e Crescenzia (1687)
- La purità trionfante overo Martiniano il santo (1688, with other composers)
- La sete di Cristo (1689)
- La caduta di Salomone (1693)
- Davide trionfante contro Goliath (1694)
- S. Maria di Soria (1694)
- S. Filippo Neri (cantata)
Pasquini wrote about sixty cantatas. Most of these were for one singer and a continuo (a group of instruments providing the bass line and harmony). Some were for two or three voices, with or without other instruments.
He even wrote a fun piece for keyboard called Toccata con lo Scherzo del Cucco (Toccata with the Cuckoo's Joke) in 1702. It sounds just like a cuckoo bird! This was a popular thing to do in music from that time.
See also
In Spanish: Bernardo Pasquini para niños
