Allesandro And Domenico Scarlatti: Two Lives in One (Lives in Music) [Hardcover]

Roberto Pagano (Author), Translated by Frederick Hammond (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Lives in Music | Publication Date: November 30, 2006

Alessandro Scarlatti is one of the most celebrated and least performed composers of the Baroque, and his son Domenico remains one of the most enigmatic figures of the period. Roberto Pagano's Two Lives examines the relationship between father and son, interpreted in the context of seventeenth-century Sicilian culture. This study in historical anthropology is filled with new documentation on the lives and careers of the two men, but the boundaries between documented and informed speculation are clearly marked.At the heart of the relation between the two Scarlattis lies Domenico's famous legal emancipation from his father, which has generally been viewed as a bold act of personal and artistic defiance. Pagano reveals, through a corrected text and translation of the crabbed Latin notarial document, that it was actually a renunciation of the ancient Roman patria potestas, a fathers' power of life and death over his children. Two Lives is the most important contribution to Scarlatti studies since Ralph Kirkpatrick's Domenico Scarlatti of 1953. Roberto Pagano is a leading authority on the lives and music of the Scarlattis and the author of their entries in the New Grove. He has written widely on Sicilian musical life and has served as Artistic Director of the Sicilian National Orchestra and the Teatro Massimo in Palermo. Translator Frederick Hammond is both performer and scholar. His scholarly works include Girolomo Frescobaldi(1984) and Music Spectacle in Baroque Rome(1994). He holds the Irma Brandeis Chair of Romance Studies at Bard College.

Editorial Reviews

Review

. . . the most important contribution to Scarlatti studies since Kirkpatrick's Domenico Scarlatti of 1953. SirReadalot.org, December 1, 2006. Ably translated into English by Frederick Hammond, Alessandro and Domenico Scarlatti: Two Lives In One is an inherently fascinating and impressively informative biography of Alessandro Scarlatti, one of the most celebrated and least performed composers of the Baroque, and his son Domenico. Biographer Roberto Pagano examines their lives within the context of seventeenth-century Sicilian culture and in doing so, draws upon new documentation concerning their lives and careers. A masterpiece of original bibliographic scholarship, there is clear distinction between authenticated sources and Pagano's own insightful speculation. Alessandro and Domenico Scarlatti is a seminal work and enthusiastically recommended for academic library European Music History and Biography collections. --The Biography Shelf, Internet Bookwatch 2007

Product Details

• Hardcover: 381 pages
• Publisher: Pendragon Pr (November 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157647108X
• ISBN-13: 978-1576471081
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,700,011 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful look at their lives, their times, and the scholarship about these composers, February 7, 2008

By 

Craig Matteson (Saline, MI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Allesandro And Domenico Scarlatti: Two Lives in One (Lives in Music) (Hardcover)

Telling the lives of Alessandro and Domenico Scarlatti in one biography makes a great deal of sense. Rarely do a father and son of similar genius appear in history. Roberto Pagano does a very fine job of telling us about the context of their lives, what the documentary evidence tells us, what the conjectures are, and a great deal about their royal patrons. We also get into some of the intimate details of the Scarlatti family and its messy behaviors. I also appreciated how Pagano talks about the Kirkpatrick biography of Domenico. He tells us where Kirkpatrick got some evidence wrong, where he speculated maybe a bit too much, and where he disagrees with Kirkpatrick's interpretations and findings. Of course, he is also unstinting in his praise of all Kirkpatrick achieved.

What I found somewhat disappointing was the lack of discussion of the music. Oh, various works are mentioned, how they were received, where and when they were performed, and so forth. However, there is no listing of their works, or even the least musicological consideration of style, development, or resources. But maybe that is because I am used to the British and American style of biographies of composers that almost focus more on the music than the life of the person that created the music. Of course this book is tremendously valuable, and it is always unfair to judge a book because the author didn't write the book you wanted. So, I will chastise myself on my disappointment. However, I do want to prevent you from being disappointed if you are looking for a journey through the music of these two brilliant musicians. It isn't that there is no talk of music here, it just isn't talked about in depth, in a systematic way, or in a way that a musician wanting to dig into the music would prefer.

While some see his using Alessandro's life as a way of explaining Domenico (because there is so little documentary evidence of Domenico's life) as fantasy rather than scholarship, I do think Pagano's putting their lives in social context valuable. If you want to know about their life, times, and the scholarship about the Scarlattis, this is a terrific resource.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A seminal work and enthusiastically recommended, January 5, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Allesandro And Domenico Scarlatti: Two Lives in One (Lives in Music) (Hardcover)

Ably translated into English by Frederick Hammond, "Alessandro and Domenico Scarlatti: Two Lives In One" is an inherently fascinating and impressively informative biography of Alessandro Scarlatti, one of the most celebrated and least performed composers of the Baroque, and his son Domenico. Biographer Roberto Pagano examines their lives within the context of seventeenth-century Sicilian culture and in doing so, draws upon new documentation concerning their lives and careers. A masterpiece of original bibliographic scholarship, there is clear distinction between authenticated sources and Pagano's own insightful speculation. "Alessandro and Domenico Scarlatti" is a seminal work and enthusiastically recommended for academic library European Music History and Biography collections.