binding of the movements into a balanced whole, and advanced the plan of scenes and acts toward its later completeness. The chorus he used sparingly, but with ability. His accompaniments and instrumental numbers were carefully and freshly conceived, though without special increase in orchestral resources. In mere number of works he falls much behind Cavalli, but he did more to set forth the opera as a permanent type of musical art, thus rounding out the first stage of progress that had been begun by the Florentines almost a century before.
Francesco Cavalli (d. 1676) was born at Crema about 1600, and was
trained at Venice, probably under Monteverdi. His real name was Caletti-Bruni,
but he owed his education to a noble, whose name he took in return.
His whole career was spent at St. Mark's, as singer from 1617, second organist
from 1640, first from 1665, and choirmaster from 1668. He married into a
wealthy family and enjoyed much esteem. His operas numbered about 40
(1639-67), two-thirds of them crowded into the years 1642-55. Nearly all
were first given at Venice. The most famous was Giasone (1649), which was
widely reproduced elsewhere, but only one, Xerse (1654), was published. In
1660 he was called to Paris to assist in the festivities at the marriage of Louis
XIV., giving Xerse (with incidental music by Lully), and again in 1662, giving
Ercole amante. He was likewise called upon to grace other occasions, as to
Milan in 1653 and to Innsbruck in 1662. Besides operas, he wrote some
church music (from 1645), including an 8-voice Requiem.
For Carissimi, see sec. 82.
Marc' Antonio Cesti (d. 1669) was born at Florence about 1620 and studied with Carissimi at Rome. In 1646 he became ducal choirmaster at Florence, in 1660 returned to Rome as tenor in the Papal Chapel, and from 1666 was second choirmaster of the Imperial Chapel at Vienna, dying at Venice while bringing out his last opera, Genserico (finished by Partenio). He wrote some 12 operas (from 1649, all but two after 1663). One, La schiava fortunata (1667), was written jointly with P.A. Ziani, and, with about half the others, was first produced at Vienna, the rest appearing mostly at Venice. The most noted were La Dori (1663), Il pomo d'oro (for the marriage of Leopold I. at Vienna, 1666), and the comic Le disgrazie d'amore (1667), while the initial work, Orontea (1649), held the stage at Venice till 1683. He left, besides, some solo cantatas, but almost no church music.
80. The Early Operas as Dramas.—The first blossoming of the opera at Venice involved more than the opening of a new method of musical expression. It fixed a type of musical drama that for almost two centuries was extremely popular, and hence determinative of all progress in secular music. A special word should therefore be said about the dramatic treatment adopted.
