Niccolò Jommelli (1714 – 1774) was an Italian
composer of the Neapolitan School. Along with other
composers mainly in the Holy Roman Empire and France,
he was responsible for certain operatic reforms
including reducing ornateness of style and the primacy
of star singers somewhat. He was born to Francesco
Antonio Jommelli and Margarita Cristiano in Aversa, a
town some 24 kilometres (15 mi) north of Naples. He had
one brother, Ignazio, who became a Dominican friar and
was of some help to him in...(+)
Niccolò Jommelli (1714 – 1774) was an Italian
composer of the Neapolitan School. Along with other
composers mainly in the Holy Roman Empire and France,
he was responsible for certain operatic reforms
including reducing ornateness of style and the primacy
of star singers somewhat. He was born to Francesco
Antonio Jommelli and Margarita Cristiano in Aversa, a
town some 24 kilometres (15 mi) north of Naples. He had
one brother, Ignazio, who became a Dominican friar and
was of some help to him in his elder years, and three
sisters. His father was a prosperous linen merchant,
who entrusted him for musical instruction to Canon
Muzzillo, the director of the choir of Aversa
Cathedral.
When this proved successful, he was enrolled in 1725 at
the Conservatorio di Santo Onofrio a Capuana in Naples,
where he studied under Ignazio Prota alongside Tomaso
Prota and Francesco Feo. Three years later he was
transferred to the Conservatorio della Pietà dei
Turchini, where he was trained under Niccolò Fago,
with Don Giacomo Sarcuni and Andrea Basso, as second
maestri (maestri di canto), or singing teachers. He was
greatly influenced by Johann Adolf Hasse, who was in
Naples during this period. After completing his studies
he began work, and wrote two opere buffe, L'errore
amoroso in early 1737 and Odoardo in late 1738. His
first opera seria, Ricimero re di Goti, was such a
success in Rome in 1740 that he immediately received a
commission from Henry Benedict Stuart, the
Cardinal-Duke of York.
When still studying at the conservatory, Jommelli was
impressed with Hasse's use of obbligato recitative to
increase the tension at certain dramatic moments in his
operas. Speaking of obbligato recitative for Ricimero,
Charles de Brosses says that Jommelli's use of
obbligato recitative was better than anything he had
heard in France.
Jommelli wrote cantatas, oratorios and other sacred
works, but by far the most important part of his output
were his operas, particularly his opere serie of which
he composed around sixty, several with libretti by
Metastasio. These tended to concentrate more on the
story and drama of the opera than on flashy technical
displays by the singers, as was the norm in Italian
opera at that time. He wrote more ensemble numbers and
choruses, and, influenced by French opera composers
such as Jean-Philippe Rameau, introduced ballets into
his work. He used the orchestra (particularly the wind
instruments) in a much more prominent way to depict
what was going on in the story, including passages for
orchestra alone, rather than consigning it to merely
support for the singers. From Hasse, he learned to
write orchestrally accompanied recitatives rather than
just "secco" recitatives for voice and continuo (mainly
harpsichord). His reforms are sometimes regarded as
equal in importance to Christoph Willibald Gluck's.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niccol%C3%B2_Jommelli)
Although originally composed for Chorus (SATB) & Organ,
I created this arrangement of the Missa Defunctorum
(Requiem) for Winds (Flute, Oboe, English Horn, French
Horn & Bassoon) & Strings (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).
PARTITION