Bernardo Pasquini was an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

 of opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

 and church music.

He was born at Massa in Val di Nievole (Tuscany

Grand Duchy of Tuscany

The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was a central Italian monarchy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1859, replacing the Duchy of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence...

). (There is no evidence that he was related to Ercole Pasquini

Ercole Pasquini

-Biography:Ercole Pasquini was born at Ferrara, and studied with Alessandro Milleville . He was described by Agostino Superbi as a most clever and excellent musician and organist...

, the early-17th-century Roman organist.) He was a pupil of Antonio Cesti

Antonio Cesti

Antonio Cesti , known today primarily as an Italian composer of the Baroque era, he was also a singer , and organist. He was "the most celebrated Italian musician of his generation".- Biography :...

 and Loreto Vittori

Loreto Vittori

Loreto Vittori was an Italian castrato and composer. From 1622 until his death he was as a soprano singer in the papal chapel in Rome.-Life:...

. Later he moved to Rome and entered the service of Prince Borghese; subsequently he became organist of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore

Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore

The Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major , known also by other names, is the largest Roman Catholic Marian church in Rome, Italy.There are other churches in Rome dedicated to Mary, such as Santa Maria in Trastevere, Santa Maria in Aracoeli, Santa Maria sopra Minerva, but the greater size of the...

. He enjoyed the protection of Queen Christina of Sweden

Christina of Sweden

Christina , later adopted the name Christina Alexandra, was Queen regnant of Swedes, Goths and Vandals, Grand Princess of Finland, and Duchess of Ingria, Estonia, Livonia and Karelia, from 1633 to 1654. She was the only surviving legitimate child of King Gustav II Adolph and his wife Maria Eleonora...

, in whose honour an opera of his, Dov'è amore è pieta, was produced in 1679.

During Alessandro Scarlatti

Alessandro Scarlatti

Alessandro Scarlatti was an Italian Baroque composer especially famous for his operas and chamber cantatas. He is considered the founder of the Neapolitan school of opera. He was the father of two other composers, Domenico Scarlatti and Pietro Filippo Scarlatti.-Life:Scarlatti was born in...

's second stay in Rome (1703–1708), Pasquini and Arcangelo Corelli

Arcangelo Corelli

Arcangelo Corelli was an Italian violinist and composer of Baroque music.-Biography:Corelli was born at Fusignano, in the current-day province of Ravenna, although at the time it was in the province of Ferrara. Little is known about his early life...

 were frequently associated with Scarlatti in musical performances, especially in connection with the Academy of Arcadia

Academy of Arcadia

The Academy of Arcadia or Academy of Arcadians was an Italian literary academy founded in Rome in 1690.-History:...

, of which all three were members. Pasquini died at Rome, and was buried in the church of San Lorenzo in Lucina

San Lorenzo in Lucina

The Church of St Lawrence's at Lucina is a Roman Catholic parish and titular church and minor basilica in Rome, Italy, dedicated to Saint Lawrence, Roman deacon and martyr. The name Lucina comes from the Roman matron owner of the house on which the church was built.The current Cardinal Priest of...

.

He is also remembered as a vigorous composer for the harpsichord

Harpsichord

A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...

; one of his harpsichord pieces was transcribed

Transcription (music)

In music, transcription can mean notating a piece or a sound which was previously unnotated, as, for example, an improvised jazz solo. Further examples include ethnomusicological notation of oral traditions of folk music, such as Béla Bartók's and Ralph Vaughan Williams' collections of the national...

 for orchestra by Ottorino Respighi

Ottorino Respighi

Ottorino Respighi was an Italian composer, musicologist and conductor. He is best known for his orchestral "Roman trilogy": Fountains of Rome ; Pines of Rome ; and Roman Festivals...

 for his suite Gli Uccelli

Gli Uccelli

The Birds is a suite for small orchestra by the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi. Dating from 1927, the work is based on music from 18th-century and represents an attempt to transcribe birdsong into musical notation...

.

Media

External links

"Catalogue of the works of Bernardo Pasquini, with biographical notes and comments on his style" 1952 Masters Thesis by Gloria Elena Terwilliger (Pasquini) - can be found in the Indiana University Library. http://www.iucat.iu.edu (search by title for complete reference)

A portion of the thesis has been scanned and can be read online at http://www.corporatevideo.com/images/BernardoPasquiniThesisIntroduction.pdf