Francisco Antonio de Almeida

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Caricature Francisco António de Almeidas by Pier Leone Ghezzi

Francisco António de Almeida (* 1702 ; † probably November 1, 1755 ) was a Portuguese composer .

Life

Little is known about Almeida's life data; it can be assumed that he did not survive the severe earthquake in Lisbon with the subsequent major fire that struck Lisbon on November 1, 1755.

Due to his aristocratic origins, he was so close to the Portuguese royal court from a young age that he received a royal scholarship from John V. This allowed him to stay in Italy from 1720 to 1726 for study purposes. In 1722 he published two oratorios in Rome, including Il pentimento di Davidde . In the preface to this work, Almeida notes how grateful he is to have learned to compose in such a short time.

The well-known Roman caricaturist Pier Leone Ghezzi made a drawing of Almeida dated July 9, 1724, on which he “emphasized the excellent composer of concertos and church music and praised his singing, which cannot be surpassed”. Shortly before his return in 1726, his second oratorio La Giuditta was performed in Italy.

After returning to Lisbon, he was the organist of the court orchestra, where he worked for two years alongside Domenico Scarlatti , who from 1720 was the piano teacher of the Portuguese Infanta Maria-Barbara. In the following period he received orders to compose operas and serenades for the carnival celebrations, La pazienza di Socrate (1733) and La finta pazza (1735) were premiered in the royal palace of Ribeira. The carnival opera La Spinalba ovvero il vecchio matto is Almeida's only work that has survived in full. His sacred and profane music are strongly influenced by the style of the Neapolitan opera buffa , with a similarity in the instrumentation to the works of Alessandro Scarlatti .

Works

  • La finta pazza , Dramma per musica in three acts - first performance in the Ribeira Palace in Lisbon, at Carnival 1735
  • Gl'incanti D'Alcina , Serenata in Two Acts - Ribeira Palace in Lisbon, December 27, 1730
  • L'Ippolito , serenata en une partie - libretto by Antonio Tedeschi - first performed in the Ribeira Palace in Lisbon on December 4, 1752
  • La Pazienza de Socrate , Dramma comico in three acts - libretto by Nicolo Minato, first performed in the Ribeira Palace in Lisbon during the 1733 Carnival
  • La Spinalba ossia il vecchio matto
  • Il trionfo della virtù , Componimento poetico in one act - libretto by Luca Giovine - premiered in the palace of Cardinal Mota, on April 22, 1728 in Lisbon
  • Il trionfo d'amore , scherzo pastorale - first performance in the Ribeira Palace in Lisbon, in December 1729
  • Le virtù trionfante , serenata en une partie - libretto by Antonio Tedeschi - first performed in the Patriarchal Palace of Lisbon, 1738
  • Cantata A quel leggiadro volto , for soprano, 2 violins and figured bass
  • Other sacred compositions: Veni Sancte Spiritus , Benedictus , Miserere , Beati Omnes , O quam suavis est Domine

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Paço da Ribeira in the Portuguese language Wikipedia.
personal data
SURNAME Almeida, Francisco António de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Portuguese composer
DATE OF BIRTH 1702
DATE OF DEATH November 1, 1755