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Wiley John Williams, BM 1-- q ASPECTS OF IDIOMATIC HARMONY IN THE HARPSICHORD SONATAS OF DOMENICO SCARLATTI THESIS Presented to the Graduate Council of the North Texas State College in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF MUSIC By Wiley John Williams, B. M. Denton, Texas June, 1961 TABLE O CONTENTS Page Lr3 ISTRTIOS. .. .. .. .. iy Chapter I. BI10GRAPHY. a . II. THE STYLE OF THE SONATAS . 8 III. HA2MOSIC 3TYE -. - . 12 Modality Leading Tone Functions of Lower Neighbor Tones Modulation Cyclic Modulation Unprepared Modulation General Types of Dissonance Polychordal Progressions Dissonance Occurring in Modulation Extended 'ertal Harmony Permutating Contrapuntal Combinations IV. CONCLUSIONI.. .a. .a. ... ,. 39 ,IBLI RAP HY . .a .. a . .. 0.0. .0 .0 .. 0 .0 .0 .. .. 41 iii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1. Longo 180--iv-V Phrygian Cadence . 14 2. Longo 202--Parallel Fifths Between iv and V . - - -. 15 Chords -. " - - - - - - - - 3. Longo 273--Modulating Figure Based on Phrygian Cadence. - . 15 4. Longo 257--Resembles Pure Phrygian Mode. 16 5. Longo 260--Phrygian Cadence and Dominant Pedal 17 6. Longo 257--Major and Minor Scale in Contrary Motion . " . 17 7. Long 309--Leading Tone Effect on I, IV, V . 18 8. Longo 309--Leading Tone Effect on I and II . 19 9. Long 342--Non-harmonic Tones are Turning Points of Scale Motion . 20 10. Longo 273--Raised Fourth Degree Delays Upper Voice Progress . 21 11. Longo 281--Alterations Introduce Modulation. 22 12. Longo 178--Raised Fourth Scale Degree. 22 13. Longo 62--Upper Harmonic Minor Tetrachords . 23 14. Longo 124--Raised Lower Neighbor Tones and Principal Tones Produce Melody.. 23 15. Longo 124--Cyclic Modulation . 26 16. Longo 259--Cyclic Modulation . 26 17. Longo 409--Tonicization of II and IV . 27 18. Longo 308--Abrupt Modulation . 28 19. Longo 49--Truncated Cadence .. 28 iv Figure Page 20. Longo 133--Tonic Sustained into Dominant Chord 29 21. 133--Compressed Longo Cadence . 30 22. Longo 446--Chord Compressions . .- . .. 31 23. Longo Supplement #29--Dissonant Anticipations of Modulations. 32 24. Longo 39--Sequential Modulation with Added Note 33 25. Longo 323--Stepwise Modulation with Pedal Tone 34 26. Longo 450--Broken Thirds Resemble Thirteenth Chords. * . 35 27. Longo 202--Arpeggiated Motions Downward Form Ninths. - . - . - - * 35 28. Longo 347--Appoggiatura Ninths. 36 29. Longo 371--Ninths Obtained by Oblique Motion 36 30. Longo 450--Dominant Ninth Chords. 37 31. Longo 467--Combination-and Repetition of Unequal Patterns. .0.#. 38 V CHAPTER I BIOGRAPHY Guiseppi Domenico Scarlatti, the sixth of ten children, was born on the twenty-sixth of October, 1685, in Naples, Italy. A brief enuieration of his family's musical partici- pation at this time would include an uncle, Franceso, a violinist and composer; an uncle, Tomaso, a popular comic tenor in opera buffo; an aunt, Anna Maria, a singer; and an uncle, Nicolo Pagano, also a musician. Later Domenico's brother, Pietro, became a composer; and his sister, Flaminia, a singer. This entire company, of course, was dwarfed by the stature of the father, Alessandro, famous Italian opera composer, who by Domenico's eleventh year had composed over sixty works for the stage, besides innumerable serenades, cantatas, and church pieces. At the age of fifteen, Domenico was appointed organist and composer at the chapel in the royal palace of Naples. At this time, however, Carlos II of Spain died, and the con- sequent dispute over Spanish possessions (including Naples) between the French Bourbons and Austrian Hapsburgs in the War of the Spanish Succession caused an uneasy situation in Naples. Alessandro had not lately been satisfied in Naples and the addition of this factor increased his zeal to re- locate in a more suitable environment. Alessandro obtained 1 2 four months' leave from his duties in 1702 when he and Domenico went to Florence in an apparent attem pt to be accepted into the court of Prince Ferdinand of Tuscany.1 Failing this, and overstaying his leave, Alessandro was obliged to take an inferior position as assistant maestro d capella at Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. It was after his return to Naples that Domenico wrot e several operas, his first extant compositions. In 1705 Alessandro sent Domenico to Venice with a famous castrato named Nicolo Grimaldi who was known as Nicolino. Alessandro had become disenchanted with the musi- cal situation in Rome due to papal suppression of the public theater. Venice was known all over Europe as a meeting place for artists because of vibrant activity in the many public theaters. Domenico Scarlatti studied with Francesco Gasparini in Venice and met such eminent foreign musicians as George Friedrich Handel, and Thomas Roseingrave, an eccentric Irishman, who later became Scarlatti's chief supporter in England. Handel had come to Italy in 1706 and probably met Scarlatti during the winter of 1707-1708 in Venice.2 It is known that they spent a great deal of time together, and in 1709 in Rome they were contestants in a harpsichord and organ IRalph Kirkpatrick, Domen' coScarlatti (Princeton, New Jersey, 1953), p. 16. 21I . , p. 32. competition, the former ending in a draw and the latter fall- ing to Handel. In 1708 Handel had found some employment in Rome, and in 1709 Scarlatti was also in this city preparing an oratorio, but by the autumn of 1709 Handel had left Italy and was never to see Domenico Scarlatti again. Roman society and culture at this time were peculiarly dependent on the leadership of foreign realmless monarchs. Queen Oristina of Sweden had been converted to Catholicism in her strongly Protestant country, whereupon she abdicated her throne and moved to .Rome at the age of twenty-eight. She became the patroness of Roman cultural affairs until her death in 1689. Queen Maria Casimira of Poland had been exiled from Poland by her eldest son when her husband died and the son became king. Oristina was dead by the time of this exile, and Casimira appointed herself royal successor to Cristina's Roman patrimony. She and Cardinal Ottoboni became leaders in Rome's artistic life. In 1708 Alessandro Scarlatti was Oasimira' s maestro di cappella and Domenico Scarlatti succeeded his father in 1709. During this time Domenico wrote most of his operas, but very little of this music is extant. Between 1711 and 1715 his known output of operas includes: <lvia, Orlando, Fatide in Sciro, Ifienia in ulide, and IfL'enia in auride, or d'un ombra Narciso and Amleto. At Queen Casimira' s departure from Rome in 1714 Scarlatti made his first recorded connection with the Portu- guese court when he served as maestro di cappella to Marchesi 4 di Pontes, the Portuguese Ambassador Extraordinary to the Pope at the ambassador's palace in Rome. On December twenty- second of this year Scarlatti became maestro di capela to the Basilica Guilia of St. Peter's in the Vatican. He re- mained at this post until August, 1719, at which time at the invitation of King Joao V of Portugal he journeyed to Portugal to begin what is historically his most illustrious period. It is not known whether Scarlatti did or did not go to England on his way to Portugal because most of the records of the Lisbon court were destroyed in the earthquake of 1755 and the English publications of this time do not specify with a Christian name which Scarlatti was present at certain musical activities in England. It has been widely assumed up until now that Domenico went to England, but research indicates that the Scarlatti who visited England was probably not Domenico. Portugal had wealth from colonization, and King Joao applied this wealth to the development of churchly rituals. He was never more pleased than when the Lisbon church emulated the Vatican. The acquisition of the former chapelmaster at St. Peters was probably doubly attractive in his eyes.4 Scarlatti's duties at Lisbon consisted of composing church music, music for saint's days and music for royal birthdays Frank Walker, "Some Notes on the Scarlattis," The Music Review, XII, No. 3 (August, 1952) 194. 4 Kirkpatrick, 9ff. cit., p. 68. 5 and occasions. He was the private instructor of music for Don Antonio, younger brother of the King and Maria Barbara, the King's daughter and later Queen of Spain. A pupil who was much respected by Scarlattl and known still today was Carlos Sexias. He and Domenico are believed to have in- fluenced each other to some extent in their compositions.5 In 1724 Domenico Scarlatti returned home to Naples because of his father's failing health, and in 1725 Alessandro died and was buried in Naples. In 1728 Domenico Scarlatti and Catalina Gentili were married in Rome. He was forty-three years of age and she was sixteen. In the eleven years of their marriage five children were born. Catalina died in 1739, and her mother came to live in the household and help raise the children. Between 1740 and 1742 Domenico married a native of Spain named Anastasia and four children were conceived of this marriage. Scarlatti was appointed music master to Maria Barbara at her request, and in 1729 they traveled to Spain where Maria Barbara married Fernando VI, heir to the Spanish throne. Felipe V and Isabel Farnese were reigning at this time. Felipe suffered greatly from fits of depression and allowed his personal appearance to become quite slovenly. Carlo Broschi, who was known as Farinelli, was one of the greatest 51_ ,p 3 6 castrati of this time and he is credited with the curing of Felipe' s melancholy. For this therapy, Farinelli was hired by the Spanish court and received many riches, titles, and other rewards.
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