Alessandro Scarlatti

Considering the celebrity which Alessandro Scarlatti enjoyed during his lifetime, and the important position which he occupies in the history of music, it is strange that so little attention has been paid to him. This is partly due to the fact that the modern period of careful research in matters of musical history which produced Spitta's Bach, Chrysander's Handel, Jahn's Mozart, and Thayer's Beethoven, was also marked by a decided re action against that enthusiasm for Italian music which flourished in the days of Santini, Kiesewetter, Winterfeld, and Fe'tis. There are, however, signs of a revival of interest at the present day; the labours of Dr. Emil Vogel, Dr. Hugo Goldschmidt, M. Romain Rolland, Professor Kretschmar, and Sir Hubert Parry have done much for the history of the Italian music of the seven teenth century. But Alessandro Scarlatti, though he has by no means been forgotten by them, has not been treated'in any great detail; and I hope that this biography, if it does not succeed in explaining more-fully his relation to the music that preceded and followed him, may at least serve as a useful foundation for future workers in the same field.

Considering the celebrity which Alessandro Scarlatti enjoyed during his lifetime, and the important position which he occupies in the history of music, it is strange that so little attention has been paid to him. This is partly due to the fact that the modern period of careful research in matters of musical history which produced Spitta's Bach, Chrysander's Handel, Jahn's Mozart, and Thayer's Beethoven, was also marked by a decided re action against that enthusiasm for Italian music which flourished in the days of Santini, Kiesewetter, Winterfeld, and Fe'tis. There are, however, signs of a revival of interest at the present day; the labours of Dr. Emil Vogel, Dr. Hugo Goldschmidt, M. Romain Rolland, Professor Kretschmar, and Sir Hubert Parry have done much for the history of the Italian music of the seven teenth century. But Alessandro Scarlatti, though he has by no means been forgotten by them, has not been treated'in any great detail; and I hope that this biography, if it does not succeed in explaining more-fully his relation to the music that preceded and followed him, may at least serve as a useful foundation for future workers in the same field.