Dancing and acting were excluded by him, and
the role of narrator introduced. His broad, simple treatment of chords
enhanced the purity and beauty of everything he wrote, and in his hand
recitative gained character, grace and musical expressiveness. Only a
small portion of his epoch-making work has been preserved, but quite
enough to make clear his title "Father of Oratorio and Cantata."
His pupil, Alessandro Scarlatti, founder of the Neapolitan school and
practically the musical dictator of Naples, from 1694 to 1725, was an
incredibly prolific composer in almost every known species of musical
form. His many improvements in vocal and instrumental music operated
greatly to the advantage of the oratorio. Possessing feeling for
orchestration to an unusual degree for his time, he grouped musical
instruments of different timbres with marked boldness and skill, and was
the first specially to orchestrate recitative. His genius and knowledge
enabled him to restore counterpoint to its rightful place, and his
oratorios show great gain in elasticity and form.
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