Life
Trained at the beginning of the Arcadian period, his long career led him to reach full maturity in an era of great stylistic richness, where Arcadian solidity fused with the elegance of Rococo and the new ideas of the Enlightenment.
Born in Parma in 1690, Fortunato Chelleri received a solid musical training in Italy before embarking on an international career. He worked in Barcelona, Venice, and Würzburg, distinguishing himself as a composer of operas and cantatas. His music soon became appreciated in the courts of Northern Europe as well.
From 1725, he moved to Germany, serving in Würzburg as chapel master. Subsequently, from 1727 to 1731, he was active in Stockholm, where he wrote theatrical works for the Swedish court. In his later years, he was called to Kassel, a city where he remained until his death in 1757, leaving behind a broad and varied corpus of theatrical and instrumental music.
Aneddoto
An Italian in Stockholm
During his stay in Sweden, Chelleri's works enjoyed great success, contributing to the spread of Italian taste in court music.Works
He composed operas such as Tamar moglie di Amnone (1715), Catone in Utica (1716), and Antioco (1717), and others performed in Italy. In Würzburg, he wrote cantatas and sacred works, while in Stockholm, he composed theatrical operas for the royal court. His orchestral and chamber music includes symphonies, concertos, and sonatas, distributed in manuscripts and prints across various European libraries.
Briciole di storia
The vices of Italians
In the heart of the eighteenth century, Pietro Calepio wrote a Letter on Italian Customs that 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 schools and, in particular, the idleness in which most of the nobility lived, considered the cause of their dissoluteness. He also denounced the low regard given to the female role.
Pubblico dominio (Commons)
