Giuseppe de Majo was an Italian 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...

 and organist

Organist

An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...

. He was the father of the composer Gian Francesco de Majo

Gian Francesco de Majo

Gian Francesco de Majo was an Italian composer. He is chiefly known for his more than 20 operas. He also composed a considerable amount of sacred works, including oratorios, cantatas, and masses.-Life and career:...

. His compositional output consists of 10 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...

s, an oratorio

Oratorio

An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...

, a concerto

Concerto

A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...

 for 2 violins, and a considerable amount of sacred music.

Life and career

Born in Naples

Naples

Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

, Majo spent most of his life working in his native city. He began his studies at the age of 9 at the Conservatorio della Pietà dei Turchini where he was a pupil of Nicola Fago

Nicola Fago

Nicola Fago was an Italian Baroque composer and teacher.-Biography:Born in Taranto, he studied music at the Conservatorio della Pietà dei Turchini in Naples between 1693 and 1695. Between 1704 and 1708 he worked at the Conservatorio Sant´Onofrio...

 and Andrea Basso. His first 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...

, Lo finto laccheo, premiered in 1725 at the Teatro dei Fiorentini.

Majo was appointed organista soprannumerario at the Royal chapel of Naples in May 1736. There he flourished, largely due to the favortism given to him by Queen Maria Amalia. In 1744 he succeeded Leonardo Leo

Leonardo Leo

Leonardo Leo , more correctly Lionardo Oronzo Salvatore de Leo, was an Italian Baroque composer.-Biography:...

 as maestro di cappella at the Royal chapel. He remained in that post through 1770. He died in Naples in 1771.

Recording

• 1 concerto in Neapolitan Flute Concertos, Auser Musici
  Auser Musici
  Auser Musici is a period instrument ensemble centered in Pisa that specializes in early music repertory from the Tuscan region of Italy.-History, Mission, and Activities:...
  
  , Carlo Ipata, director, Hyperion CDA67784 (2010)