Giacomo Carissimi facts for kids
Giacomo Carissimi (born around 1605 – died 1674) was an Italian composer and music teacher. He was one of the most famous musicians of the early Baroque period. Carissimi helped create the style of Latin oratorios, which are like musical stories without acting. He also wrote many masses, motets, and cantatas. His music and his students, like Johann Kaspar Kerll and Marc-Antoine Charpentier, had a big influence on music in northern Europe.
Life Story
Giacomo Carissimi was probably born in 1604 or 1605 in Marino, a town near Rome, Italy. We don't know much about his early life or how he learned music.
His first known jobs were at Tivoli Cathedral. From 1623, he sang in the choir. From 1624 to 1627, he was the organist there. In 1628, Carissimi moved to Assisi to become the music director (maestro di cappella) at the Cathedral of San Rufino.
Later in 1628, he got the same important job at the Church of Sant'Apollinare in Rome. This church belonged to a German college. He stayed in this job for the rest of his life, even though he received offers from other famous places, like to take over from Claudio Monteverdi in Venice. In 1637, he became a priest.
In 1656, Christina of Sweden, who was living in Rome, chose Carissimi to be her special music director for her private concerts. Some historians think that Christina's interest in Carissimi's music was part of her journey from being a Lutheran queen to becoming a Catholic queen.
Carissimi never left Italy during his life. He passed away in Rome in 1674. Someone who took over his job in 1686 described him as tall and thin. He was also said to be careful with his money and very polite to his friends.
His Music
Carissimi made several important contributions to music. He helped develop the recitative, which is a style of singing that sounds like talking. This was very important for dramatic music. He also improved the chamber cantata, which is a piece of music for one or more singers and instruments, usually for a small group.
He is also known as one of the first important composers of oratorios. An oratorio is a large musical work for voices and orchestra, usually based on a religious story, but it's performed without costumes, scenery, or acting. His most famous oratorio is probably Jephte, along with Jonas. These works helped set the standard for oratorios for many years. The name "oratorio" comes from the Oratory of Santissimo Crocifisso in Rome, where these works were first performed.
Carissimi also made the music played by instruments more interesting in his vocal pieces. Many of his works are kept in famous libraries today, like the British Museum and the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris.
Carissimi lived at a time when non-religious music was becoming more popular in Italy. When he started composing, the older, religious styles were still strong. But by the end of his career, opera and other non-religious instrumental music were very popular. Carissimi was also a great teacher. His musical style influenced many composers in Germany and France, like Johann Caspar Kerll and Marc-Antoine Charpentier.
Selected Works
Oratorios
- Baltazar, an oratorio for 5 voices, 2 violins & continuo
- Dives Malus (The wicked rich man), also known as Historia Divitis, for 2 sopranos, tenor, bass (around 1640), about the story of the Rich man and Lazarus.
- Ezechia, an oratorio for 5 voices, 2 violins & continuo
- Jephte, an oratorio for 6 voices & continuo (1648)
- Jonas, an oratorio for soloists, double chorus, 2 violins & continuo
- Judicium Extremum, an oratorio for soloists, chorus & continuo
- Judicium Salomonis, an oratorio for 4 voices, 2 violins & continuo
- Vanitas Vanitatum, an oratorio for 5 voices, 2 violins & continuo
- Oratorio Della Santissima Vergine
Cantatas
- Piangete, aure, piangete, cantata for soprano & continuo
- Così volete, così sarà, cantata for soprano & continuo (1640)
- Vittoria, mio core (Amante sciolto d'amore), cantata for soprano & continuo (1646)
- Ferma Lascia Ch'Io Parli (Lamento della Regina Maria Stuarda), cantata for soprano & continuo (1650)
- Sciolto havean dall'alte sponde (I naviganti), cantata for 2 sopranos, baritone & continuo (1653)
- Apritevi inferni (Peccator penitente), cantata for soprano & continuo (1663)
Motets
- Lamentationes Jeremiae Prophetae, motet for mezzo-soprano, soprano & continuo
- Exulta, gaude, filia Sion, motet for 2 sopranos & continuo (1675)
- Exurge, cor meum, in cithara, motet for soprano, 2 violins, viole & continuo (1670)
- Ardens est cor nostrum [meum], motet for soprano, alto, tenor, bass & continuo (1664)
- Desiderata nobis, motet for alto, tenor, bass & continuo (1667)
Masses
- Missa "Sciolto havean dall'alte sponde," mass for 5 voices & continuo
See also
In Spanish: Giacomo Carissimi para niños
