Alessandro Stradella

One of the leading composers of the mid 17th century, Alessandro Stradella pursued a short but highly successful career in Italy. Born in 1643, he made his name as an opera composer, but also wrote numerous secular cantatas, and owes his fame today to his oratorio San Giovanni Battista (1675)—a powerful human drama with arias of superlative quality. Stradella was a born melodist, producing flexible, expressive vocal lines with apparent ease, reflecting his deep connection with the meaning, structure and theatrical qualities of the texts he set. Despite these achievements, his greatest innovation was orchestral: he regularly divided his forces between solo and massed groups of players. This so-called “concerto grosso” orchestration—often found in his aria accompaniments—was later developed by Corelli in his concertos. Stradella lived a turbulent life which, along with his murder in 1682, inspired four 19th-century operas and a stream of novels—most recently Dona Leon’s The Jewels of Paradise (2012).