=The Neapolitan School=.—What in the Venetian school had been a
_reaction_ in favor of _form_ and _melody_ became the established
practice of the Neapolitan school. Political disturbances had hindered
the spread of the Opera in southern Italy, particularly in Naples,
but at the end of the 17th century it assumed the position formerly
occupied by Florence and Venice. Before this, however, a strong
influence had been exerted by certain composers in Rome, of whom
Carissimi was first in importance. Had it not been for the disapproval
of the Church, a definite Roman school might have arisen. Such a school
would doubtless have been advantageous to the artistic growth of the
Opera, since the public taste at Rome in matters of art was more
serious in nature than at Naples. In 1697, public performances of opera
were forbidden by the ecclesiastical authorities, and thus the seat
of further development was transferred to Naples through the removal
thither from Rome of =Alessandro Scarlatti= (1659-1725), the founder of
the Neapolitan school. As a lad, he had been a pupil of Carissimi and
also probably of Legrenzi, whose influence is clearly seen in his early
works.
=Alessandro Scarlatti=.—Scarlatti invested his operas with a melodic
charm and a symmetrical form which thus far had appeared only
sporadically. Fascinated by the freedom of the new style, the early
composers had neglected the severe study which had been indispensable
to mastery in the Contrapuntal School, and had in the main relied on
natural gifts. Following the ideal of Peri and his associates, their
operas were largely a succession of recitatives which in the end grew
monotonous and wearisome; of form, of structure, of purely musical
effect they bore but slight traces. Scarlatti saw that the time had
come for a change in style—one that should combine the musical interest
of the old with the dramatic spirit of the new. The foremost musician
of his time, he perceived the weakness of the exclusively declamatory
opera—its lack of variety and want of appeal to the public in general.
[Illustration: ALESSANDRO SCARLATTI.]
=His Characteristics=.—He was not a reformer. He lacked the strong and
rugged dramatic fibre of his predecessor, Monteverde. Scholarship;
an inexhaustible fund of melody, pure, polished, refined; a gift of
characterization—general, not particular, and always subordinate to a
keen sense of beauty—are his distinguishing characteristics. He fell
in with the taste of the day and devoted his gifts to the production
of works which should satisfy the musician and please the public. The
solidity of his early schooling had made him a master of counterpoint,
and this he applied in the construction of logically worked-out
accompaniments, fuller, richer and more expressive than had been
attempted by his less learned contemporaries. In nobility of conception
and skill in solving contrapuntal problems he often shows that he is
not unworthy the name of the “Italian Bach,” as he is sometimes called.
Like Bach, also, he was one of the most prolific composers of all
times. He left one hundred and fifteen operas, sixty-six of which are
still extant, more than two hundred masses, besides many miscellaneous
works for church and concert, both vocal and instrumental.
=His Services to the Opera=.—To the simple recitative (recitativo
secco), invented by Peri, he added the important form known as the
_recitativo stromentato_ (accompanied recitative). This was not
strictly original with Scarlatti, since it had been introduced by
Purcell in his _Dido and Eneas_ ten years before the Italian had
first used it in his opera _Rosaura_ (1690). There is no probability,
however, that Scarlatti was acquainted with the Englishman’s works; it
is a not uncommon matter for two minds to arrive independently at the
same result. In the accompanied recitative, the voice, instead of being
supported by detached (_secco_) chords on the harpsichord, sometimes
with the addition of a single stringed instrument, as in the simple
recitative, was accompanied by the entire orchestra, which had grown to
proportions undreamed-of in Peri’s day. Vastly developed by the growth
of orchestral resources, it is the distinguishing feature of the modern
music drama. As a rule, however, it was but little used in Scarlatti’s
operas or in those of his contemporaries. Interest in the drama, as
such, was fast sinking to a negligible quantity; audiences assembled to
hear their favorite singers, not to follow the course of a more or less
involved dramatic action. The simple recitative was, therefore, more
frequently employed in order to hurry through the necessary details of
the play and reach the moment when the singer could delight by his art
in the aria.
[Music: AIR FROM SCARLATTI’S OPERA “TURNO ARICINO”.]
=The Aria=.—Scarlatti was not the inventor of the aria or air for
the single voice in the meaning of the term as applied to a certain
fixed form. Other composers had used it before him in its essential
principles, but he was the _first_ to _formulate_ it into a persistent
_type_, which it retained for nearly a century, despite its undramatic
character. The Scarlatti aria consisted of three parts: two contrasting
sections, concluding with a Da Capo or repetition of the first,
expressed by the formula A B A. The principle of Repetition as an
element of form is now a commonplace, but at the time it was a novelty,
and the emphasis given to it by the aria fascinated the public and
made it the principal feature of the opera. More than anything else,
it led to its degeneration. Singers found in the aria a means of
displaying their technical skill; it became the canvas on which they
embroidered the most astonishing _tours de force_. The art of acting
almost disappeared from the operatic stage; the poise of body and voice
required for such vocal efforts banished all but a few conventional
gestures.
=The Overture=.—Scarlatti’s powers were by no means confined to writing
for the voice; the instrumental portions of his works give evidence
of equal mastery, though the popular taste for singing allowed him
but little scope for extension in this direction. His overtures in
particular show a great advance over the simple preludes of the early
Italian operas. He perfected what is known as the Italian Overture in
contradistinction to the earlier form invented by Lully, and called
the French Overture. It consisted of three movements, the first and
last quick, the middle movement slow. In its arrangement, this was the
direct precursor of the modern symphony. At first the two terms were
interchangeable; an overture when played before an opera was called
a _Sinfonia_, and curiously enough, when played independently as a
concert number it was frequently called an overture. Some of the early
symphonies were even printed with one title outside and the other
inside.
=The Typical Italian Opera=.—Thus at the beginning of the 18th century
we find the Opera on an overwhelmingly musical basis instead of
the oratorical foundation which it had in its inception. Scarlatti
fixed its form for a century. He left it consisting principally of
recitatives and arias, each opera containing from fifty to sixty of
the latter. Aside from these there was but little formal music—only an
occasional march or dance besides the overture. The simple recitative
was used for ordinary dialogue; hence it was peculiarly applicable
to the _Opera Buffa_ (comic opera). The accompanied recitative was
reserved for situations of dramatic importance, and the aria served
to express individual emotion. The chorus was employed but sparingly,
generally appearing only at the end of the act to give greater eclat to
the finale. The dance, which in the early Opera had played a part of
some importance, was finally banished entirely from the scene, though
not from the stage. It was given between the acts as an intermezzo
(interlude), and thus developed into the formal ballet. Spectacular
features, too, assumed great prominence.
=The Intermezzo=.—The Intermezzo has a close connection with the opera.
It arose from the custom of introducing something _between the acts_ of
a play or opera to entertain the audience during the necessary period
of waiting. At first, songs or madrigals were sung, then by degrees
the entertainment took on a dramatic form, until at last a drama was
given totally independent of the principal play. Singularly enough,
the acts of the two plays were performed alternately, neither having
any connection with the other. The Intermezzo was always of a gayer,
lighter character; thus when the incongruity of the practice became
apparent, it naturally evolved into the _Opera Buffa_. This was brought
about by the success of the most celebrated comic opera ever written,
_La Serva Padrona_ (The Maid as Mistress), by =Giovanni Pergolesi=
(1710-1736). This was originally produced (1734) as an Intermezzo
between the acts of another play, and afterward made a triumphant
progress through all the opera houses in Europe as an independent work.
=The Opera Buffa=.—Though for the sake of contrast, comic characters
had been introduced into the opera during the early Venetian period,
the _Opera Buffa_ did not reach its full development until the
following century. Owing to the absence of certain conventions which
had grown around the _Opera Seria_ (serious opera) it became a more
characteristic mode of expression than the latter. Its melodies were
fresher, its dramatic action was less restrained and truer to life,
while it performed a valuable service by doing away with the strange
mingling of comic and serious styles which had previously disfigured
many otherwise impressive works. To it we owe the concerted Finale
which is such a feature of modern grand opera. It is attributed
to =Niccolo Logroscino= (1700-1763), who instead of the customary
conclusion of an act by a simple duet, trio, or quartet, brought all
the _Dramatis Personæ_ on the stage to take part in a characteristic
ensemble. Greatly developed by later composers, such finales were for a
long time confined to _Opera Buffa_, until Paisiello finally introduced
them into serious opera.
=Prominent Composers of the Neapolitan School=.—It is hardly possible
to mention more than a few of the numerous composers belonging to the
Neapolitan school. Besides Pergolesi, the most important works of
this school were composed by =Niccolo Porpora= (1685-1767), =Niccolo
Jommelli= (1714-1774), =Niccolo Piccini= (1728-1800), =Giovanni
Paisiello= (1741-1816) and =Domenico Cimarosa= (1749-1801). Most of
these were equally at home in the _Opera Seria_ and the _Opera Buffa_,
but their works in the latter style have proved the more enduring.
Porpora is more noteworthy for the singers he formed than for his
forty-six operas, all of which have sunk into oblivion. He was the
greatest of the many masters of singing who through their pupils
made the Opera of the 18th century the field of display for the most
remarkable singers the world has ever heard. Jommelli was one of the
most gifted composers of his day. He spent fifteen years in Germany
as capellmeister to the Duke of Wurtemburg, but the influence of this
long residence in a country where musical ideals were of a more austere
type than in Italy, though it added dignity and solidity to his art,
was fatal to his popularity when he returned to his native land; his
countrymen found his operas heavy in style and deficient in melody.
Piccini was the composer of the most popular _Opera Buffa_ of the
century, _Cecchina_, but is now remembered principally by the bitter
feud which arose in Paris in 1787 between his admirers and those of
Gluck. Paisiello’s most celebrated work was _Il Barbiere di Siviglia_
(The Barber of Seville), which held the stage for thirty years until
the success of Rossini’s masterpiece on the same subject forced it into
retirement. Cimarosa’s _Il Matrimonio Segreto_ (The Secret Marriage)
was an equal favorite; one of its numbers, the trio for women’s voices,
_Ti Faccio un Inchino_ (I make thee a reverence), sometimes appears on
modern programs.
=Influence of the Neapolitan School=.—Notwithstanding the formalism
of the Neapolitan school, which led to a regrettable neglect of the
dramatic signification of the Opera by an over-emphasis of its musical
element, it was of no small importance in the development of music in
general. By fixing the principles of form and melody at a time when
both were vague and undetermined, Scarlatti laid the foundation of the
great classical period, beginning with Haydn and Mozart and ending with
Beethoven. This was his contribution to absolute music, which cannot
exist without form, though its influence was disastrous to purity of
form in the branch of the art which he particularly cultivated.