“However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you if you do not act on upon them?” – Buddha
Giacomo Carissimi (baptised 18 April 1605 – 12 January 1674) was an Italian composer and music teacher. He is one of the most celebrated masters of the early Baroque or, more accurately, the Roman School of music. Carissimi established the characteristic features of the Latin oratorio and was a prolific composer of motets and cantatas. He was highly influential in musical developments in north European countries through his pupils and the wide dissemination of his music.
Carissimi’s exact birthdate is not known, but it was probably in 1604 or 1605 in Marino near Rome, Italy. Of his early life almost nothing is known. Giacomo’s parents, Amico (1548–1633, a cooper by trade) and Livia (1565–1622), were married on 14 May 1595 and had four daughters and two sons; Giacomo was the youngest. Nothing is known of his early musical training.
His first known appointments were at Tivoli Cathedral, under the maestri di cappella Aurelio Briganti Colonna, Alessandro Capece and Francesco Manelli; from October 1623 he sang in the choir, and from October 1624 to October 1627 he was the organist. In 1628 Carissimi moved north to Assisi, as maestro di cappella (chapel master) at the Cathedral of San Rufino. In 1628 he obtained the same position at the church of Sant’Apollinare belonging to the Collegium Germanicum in Rome, which he held until his death. This was despite him receiving several offers to work in very prominent establishments, including an offer to take over from Claudio Monteverdi at San Marco di Venezia in Venice.
In 1637 he was ordained a priest. He seems to have never left Italy at all during his entire lifetime. He died in 1674 in Rome. Carissimi's successor as maestro di cappella at the Collegium Germanicum in 1686 described him as tall, thin, very frugal in his domestic affairs, with very noble manners towards his friends and acquaintances, and prone to melancholy.
The great achievements generally ascribed to Carissimi are the further development of the recitative, introduced by Monteverdi, which is highly important to the history of dramatic music; the further development of the chamber cantata, by which Carissimi superseded the concertato madrigals which had themselves replaced the madrigals of the late Renaissance; and the development of the oratorio, of which he was the first significant composer.
Carissimi is noted as one of the first composers of oratorios, with “Jephte” as probably his best known work, along with “Jonas”. These works and others are important for establishing the form of oratorio unaccompanied by dramatic action, which maintained its hold for 200 years. The name comes from their presentation at the Oratory of Santissimo Crocifisso in Rome. He may also be credited for having given greater variety and interest to the instrumental accompaniments of vocal compositions.
Carissimi was active at the time when secular music was about to usurp the dominance of sacred music in Italy. The change was decisive and permanent. When Carissimi began composing, the influence of the previous generations of Roman composers was still heavy (for instance, the style of Palestrina) and when his career came to a close the operatic forms, as well as the instrumental secular forms, were predominant. In addition, Carissimi was important as a teacher, and his influence spread far into Germany and France. Much of the musical style of Marc-Antoine Charpentier, for instance, was influenced by Carissimi.
Here are ten motets by Carissimi, performed by Consortium Carissimi
1. Surgamus, eamus, properemus, motet for alto, tenor, bass & continuo 5:27
2. Quis est hic vir, motet for alto, bass & continuo 6:58
3. O vos populi, motet for alto, tenor, bass, 2 violins, viola, cello & continuo (attributed to Carissimi) 4:32
4. In te, Domine, speravi, motet for alto, tenor, bass, 2 violins, viola da gamba & continuo (doubtful) 9:07
5. Lucifero, caelestis olim, motet for bass, soprano & continuo 5:08
6. O vulnera doloris, motet for bass (or 2 sopranos & bass) & continuo 4:43
7. Quasi aquila, motet for tenor, 2 violins, bassoon & continuo 10:43
8. Lamentationes Jeremiae Prophetae (“Feriae Quintae in Coena Domini”), motet for mezzo-soprano, soprano & continuo 6:22
9. Quid tandem sunt mundi deliciae, motet for alto, tenor, bass & continuo 4:14
10. Suscitavit Dominus, motet for alto, tenor, bass & continuo 6:43
Giacomo Carissimi (baptised 18 April 1605 – 12 January 1674) was an Italian composer and music teacher. He is one of the most celebrated masters of the early Baroque or, more accurately, the Roman School of music. Carissimi established the characteristic features of the Latin oratorio and was a prolific composer of motets and cantatas. He was highly influential in musical developments in north European countries through his pupils and the wide dissemination of his music.
Carissimi’s exact birthdate is not known, but it was probably in 1604 or 1605 in Marino near Rome, Italy. Of his early life almost nothing is known. Giacomo’s parents, Amico (1548–1633, a cooper by trade) and Livia (1565–1622), were married on 14 May 1595 and had four daughters and two sons; Giacomo was the youngest. Nothing is known of his early musical training.
His first known appointments were at Tivoli Cathedral, under the maestri di cappella Aurelio Briganti Colonna, Alessandro Capece and Francesco Manelli; from October 1623 he sang in the choir, and from October 1624 to October 1627 he was the organist. In 1628 Carissimi moved north to Assisi, as maestro di cappella (chapel master) at the Cathedral of San Rufino. In 1628 he obtained the same position at the church of Sant’Apollinare belonging to the Collegium Germanicum in Rome, which he held until his death. This was despite him receiving several offers to work in very prominent establishments, including an offer to take over from Claudio Monteverdi at San Marco di Venezia in Venice.
In 1637 he was ordained a priest. He seems to have never left Italy at all during his entire lifetime. He died in 1674 in Rome. Carissimi's successor as maestro di cappella at the Collegium Germanicum in 1686 described him as tall, thin, very frugal in his domestic affairs, with very noble manners towards his friends and acquaintances, and prone to melancholy.
The great achievements generally ascribed to Carissimi are the further development of the recitative, introduced by Monteverdi, which is highly important to the history of dramatic music; the further development of the chamber cantata, by which Carissimi superseded the concertato madrigals which had themselves replaced the madrigals of the late Renaissance; and the development of the oratorio, of which he was the first significant composer.
Carissimi is noted as one of the first composers of oratorios, with “Jephte” as probably his best known work, along with “Jonas”. These works and others are important for establishing the form of oratorio unaccompanied by dramatic action, which maintained its hold for 200 years. The name comes from their presentation at the Oratory of Santissimo Crocifisso in Rome. He may also be credited for having given greater variety and interest to the instrumental accompaniments of vocal compositions.
Carissimi was active at the time when secular music was about to usurp the dominance of sacred music in Italy. The change was decisive and permanent. When Carissimi began composing, the influence of the previous generations of Roman composers was still heavy (for instance, the style of Palestrina) and when his career came to a close the operatic forms, as well as the instrumental secular forms, were predominant. In addition, Carissimi was important as a teacher, and his influence spread far into Germany and France. Much of the musical style of Marc-Antoine Charpentier, for instance, was influenced by Carissimi.
Here are ten motets by Carissimi, performed by Consortium Carissimi
1. Surgamus, eamus, properemus, motet for alto, tenor, bass & continuo 5:27
2. Quis est hic vir, motet for alto, bass & continuo 6:58
3. O vos populi, motet for alto, tenor, bass, 2 violins, viola, cello & continuo (attributed to Carissimi) 4:32
4. In te, Domine, speravi, motet for alto, tenor, bass, 2 violins, viola da gamba & continuo (doubtful) 9:07
5. Lucifero, caelestis olim, motet for bass, soprano & continuo 5:08
6. O vulnera doloris, motet for bass (or 2 sopranos & bass) & continuo 4:43
7. Quasi aquila, motet for tenor, 2 violins, bassoon & continuo 10:43
8. Lamentationes Jeremiae Prophetae (“Feriae Quintae in Coena Domini”), motet for mezzo-soprano, soprano & continuo 6:22
9. Quid tandem sunt mundi deliciae, motet for alto, tenor, bass & continuo 4:14
10. Suscitavit Dominus, motet for alto, tenor, bass & continuo 6:43
