Giuseppe Cavallo

(? - 1684)



Giuseppe Cavallo (or Cavalli - such a variation in the final letter of surnames was common in the 17th century Italian), Italian composer, an ex-pupil of Francesco Provenzale who succeeded that giant of the Neapolitan musical scene as maestroof the Conservatorio di S. Maria di Loreto in 1674 and who was to hold the post until his death in 1684. It appears that Giuseppe Cavallo was a priest (one of his duties was to celebrate mass in the chapel of the Conservatorio di S. Maria di Loreto) and that in that conservatoire where he had been educated he held the post of maestro di canto,at least from 1672 until his death. He appears to be the composer of the oratorio Il Giudizio Universaleand a Magnificat a 9 con violini et à 4 chori co' le porti di ripieno,both of which survive only in manuscript. Other than that, he is a figure who is completely unknown today, and it is precisely because of the remarkably high quality of his surviving music that he is an interesting example of the extremely high standard of everyday music in 17th century Naples.





VF: Naples in the Seventeenth Century