Giuseppe Ceccherini

Giuseppe Ceccherini
Born	24 November 1829 Florence, Italy
Died	2 November 1899 (aged 69) Florence, Italy
Nationality	Italian
Occupation	Composer, singing teacher

Giuseppe Ceccherini (24 November 1829 – 2 November 1899) was an Italian composer and singing teacher.^{[1][lower-alpha 1]} He was born in Florence, the son of Ferdinando Ceccherini (1792–1858), a noted tenor, composer, and the maestro di capella of Florence's principal cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore.

Like his father, Ceccherini served as the maestro di capella of Santa Maria del Fiore for which he composed numerous pieces of sacred music. His compositions, long forgotten, were found in the cathedral's archives, transcribed by the musicologist Gabriele Giacomelli and performed in a concert at the Cathedral in June 2004. Their style reflect his passion for Italian opera and sometimes had musical quotations from operatic scores such as his Verbum caro which contains melodies from Bellini's opera Norma.^[2][3][4]

For many years, Ceccherini was the professor of singing at the Regio Istituto Musicale di Firenze (now known as the Conservatorio Luigi Cherubini) where his pupils included the sopranos Ida Isori, Zaira Zelli and Abigaille Bruschi-Chiatti.^[5] He also taught music and singing at the Istituto della Santissima Annunziata and the Conservatorio delle Mantellate in Florence. Ceccherini died in Florence at the age of 69 after a long illness and was buried in the Cimitero di Soffiano. His wife Elisa was the daughter of the Florentine composer Ermanno Picchi.^[1]

Notes

1. He is not to be confused with the Florentine librettist Giuseppe Checcherini (1777-1840) whose surname is sometimes spelled as "Ceccherini".

References

1. Menichini, Paola Ircani (March–April 2009). "Il musicista Giuseppe Ceccherini nel ricordo della morte (1899)", p. 6. Bollettino della Basilica della Santissima Annunziata. Retrieved 5 September 2016 (Italian).
2. La Repubblica (18 June 2004). "Giuseppe Ceccherini fra sacro e melodramma ". Retrieved 5 September 2016 (Italian).
3. Moppi, Gegorio (8 April 2004). "Ceccherini, dinastia di note nei concerti di 'Flos colende'". La Repubblica. Retrieved 5 September 2016 (Italian).
4. Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore (2004). "Giuseppe Ceccherini, musicista dell'Ottocento fiorentino" (programme notes for the 18 June 2004 concert in the series O flos colende). Retrieved 5 September 2016 (Italian).
5. Grandini, Alfredo (1995). Cronache musicali del Teatro Petrarca di Arezzo: il primo cinquantennio (1833-1882). pp. 208; 261. L.S. Olschki (Italian)