Domenico Alberti (around 1710 - 1740) was an Italian singer, harpsichordist and composer whose works bridge the Baroque and Classical periods.
Alberti was born in Venice and studied music with Antonio Lotti. He wrote operas, songs and sonatas for keyboard instruments, for which he is best known today. These sonatas frequently employ a particular kind of arpeggiated accompaniment in the left hand which is now known as the Alberti bass. It consists of regular broken chords, with the lowest note sounding first, then the highest, then the middle and then the highest again. This pattern is repeated. Today, Alberti is seen as a very minor composer, and none of his works are played or recorded with any regularity, but Alberti bass was used by many later composers, and became an important element in much keyboard music of the Classical music era.
In his own lifetime, Alberti was known as a singer. He often used to accompany himself on the harpsichord. Little is known of his life, but he was Venetian ambassador to Spain in 1736, when the famous castrato singer Farinelli heard him sing there. Farinelli was said to be impressed, even though Alberti was an amateur.
More on [ Domenico Alberti ]
Baroque :: Composers
Italian :: Europe
Performers :: Harpsichord
Alberti, Domenico - Biography noting his contributions to harpsichord music during his short life from the Grove Concise Dictionary of Music entry at WQXR radio.
Alberti, Domenico (1710 - 1740), Italy - Biographical data, recommended CDs, books and sheet music, bibliography, and links to biographical essays.
Meta Description: [ This page contains basic and accurate biographical information and links to essays about the Baroque composer Alberti. ]
Domenico Alberti - Encyclopedia article from Wikipedia.
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