Composer, Instrumentalist. One of the last notable composers to work in the Baroque tradition. He was notorious in his day for his comic opera "La abentorosa tavernola" (1741), which satirized monastic life. The Catholic Church deemed it blasphemous, not least because it was commissioned by (and first performed in) a monastery. The author of the libretto was imprisoned and the composer prudently gave up writing for the stage. Cecere was born in Grottole, Italy, and probably spent his adult life as a musician at the Santa Maria del Carmine monastery in Naples. Given the absence of liturgical settings in his output, he may not have taken holy orders. He was a skilled violinist, flutist, and mandolin player, and most of his extant music features those instruments. He also wrote at least one other opera, "La secretista" (1738). Two of Cecere's compositions remain in the Baroque repertory. His Mandolin Concerto in D is performed today either in its original version or transcribed for guitar; the Flute Concerto in A was recorded by legendary virtuoso Jean-Pierre Rampal.
Composer, Instrumentalist. One of the last notable composers to work in the Baroque tradition. He was notorious in his day for his comic opera "La abentorosa tavernola" (1741), which satirized monastic life. The Catholic Church deemed it blasphemous, not least because it was commissioned by (and first performed in) a monastery. The author of the libretto was imprisoned and the composer prudently gave up writing for the stage. Cecere was born in Grottole, Italy, and probably spent his adult life as a musician at the Santa Maria del Carmine monastery in Naples. Given the absence of liturgical settings in his output, he may not have taken holy orders. He was a skilled violinist, flutist, and mandolin player, and most of his extant music features those instruments. He also wrote at least one other opera, "La secretista" (1738). Two of Cecere's compositions remain in the Baroque repertory. His Mandolin Concerto in D is performed today either in its original version or transcribed for guitar; the Flute Concerto in A was recorded by legendary virtuoso Jean-Pierre Rampal.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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