Unbeknownst to Alberti, millions of beginning pianist will learn something from him. During his time on Earth Alberti would frequently accompany himself singing by playing the harpsichord. He was very popular amongst his audiences and was known primarily for his left handed accompaniment pattern. It is believed that he wrote 36 sonatas, however only 14 of those have survived.
Op. 1, Sonata VI in sol magggiore is one of his sonatas that survived. During my research I could not not find exactly where this piece would be performed. My best guess would be in a concert hall of some sort. The time period I would presume would be in the 1730's and would more than likely be in Venice, Italy.
He mostly wrote keyboard pieces for harpsichord. Harpsichord was the instrument to write keyboard pieces for it because it only made sense for him to write his sonatas for it. His compositions aren't unusual unless you account for his dedication to not learning any different accompaniment patterns.
The form is binary form. All of his sonatas we have record of were in binary form. It is pretty typical of the time period. He doesn't do anything very strange and confusing in his form. It is very simple but interesting to listen to in my opinion.
His compositions are obviously classical. He was born during that era. He lived in the heart of music culture. He played keyboard pieces.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domenico_Alberti
That's really interesting that he used to accompany himself while singing. It makes sense that someone might come up with a simple, repetitive accompaniment to play on the piano while they were focused on something else. Pop musicians still do that today.
ReplyDeleteNote: Alberti died ten years before J.S. Bach. Therefore, you can't say that "his compositions were obviously classical" because "he was born during that era." Bach's compositions certainly aren't "obviously classical," and he was writing at the same time. I leave this topic open for someone else to comment on.
It is sad he only lived for thirty years... I wonder if he meant for his bass pattern to become influential to later musicians.
ReplyDeleteAlso, if he was a Classical composer, what made his compositions Classical?