Benedetto Marcello

Italian Baroque Composer and Musician

Benedetto Marcello was an Italian composer, writer, advocate, magistrate, and teacher born in Venice in 1686 and died in 1739. He was a member of a noble family and his compositions are frequently associated with the Baroque period. Marcello was not only a musician but also had a career as a civil servant for the Venetian Republic. His musical output includes a variety of works such as cantatas, oratorios, concertos, and sonatas. One of his most famous works is the collection of Psalm settings titled "Estro poetico-armonico," which is a musical setting of the first fifty Psalms as paraphrased in Italian by Girolamo Ascanio Giustiniani. These settings were particularly innovative for their time and reflect Marcello's mastery of counterpoint and his deep understanding of the expressive capabilities of vocal music. Marcello's work was influential during his lifetime and continues to be studied and performed today.