Life
Trained at the height of Arcadia, his artistic maturity was expressed in a context of great stylistic richness, in which the solid Arcadian structure confronted and merged with the elegance of Rococo and the new ideas of the Enlightenment.
Giuseppe Maria Carretti was born in Bologna in 1704. He studied music in his city and soon became known as an organist and composer of sacred works. After moving to Modena, he obtained the prestigious position of chapel master, a role he held for over thirty years, directing the music for major religious and civil functions.
He composed masses, oratorios, and cantatas that circulated throughout Northern Italy, praised for their melodic taste and solid contrapuntal structure. He died in Bologna in 1766, leaving a significant corpus that contributed to the Emilian sacred school of the eighteenth century.
Aneddoto
Respected Master
His fame was such that many musical chapels in Northern Italy were inspired by his models, taking his sacred compositions as examples.Works
Among his principal works are several solemn masses, sacred cantatas, and oratorios, many of which were dedicated to saints and liturgical festivities. His compositions, preserved in the archives of Bologna and Modena, reflect the taste and devotion of Italian sacred music of the time.
Briciole di storia
The Vices of Italians
In the heart of the eighteenth century, Pietro Calepio wrote a Letter on Italian Customs which was translated into French and published in 1728 in the prestigious Bibliothèque Italique. In this text, which became very well known, Calepio did not limit himself to describing Italy in general, but clearly and sincerely denounced various vices of Italian society. Among his sharpest criticisms was the poor functioning of educational institutions and, in particular, the idleness in which most of the nobility lived, considered the cause of their dissoluteness. He also denounced the low consideration given to the female role.
Pubblico dominio (Commons)
