Gennaro Manna (1715-1779)
- Dies Irae à 4 voci
Performers: Abchordis ensemble; Andrea Buccarella
Further info: Gennaro Manna (1715-1779) - Arias from Operas
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Italian composer, son of Giuseppe Manna and Caterina Feo (sister of the
composer Francesco Feo), and cousin of Cristoforo Manna. He studied at
the Neapolitan Conservatorio di S Onofrio a Capuana where his uncle
Francesco Feo was primo maestro and Ignazio Prota secondo maestro. His
first opera seria, Tito Manlio, was performed on 21 January 1742 in
Rome. Its immediate success led to a commission from the Teatro S
Giovanni Grisostomo in Venice for the carnival season 1743, for which he
wrote Siroe re di Persia. After his return to Naples he collaborated
with Nicola Logroscino in composing a festa teatrale. An outbreak of the
plague caused the festivities planned for July 1743 to be cancelled,
and the work was never performed. Manna then revised Leonardo Vinci's
Artaserse, and in 1744 succeeded Domenico Sarro as maestro di cappella
to the city of Naples. In January 1745 Manna presented a new work of his
own at the Teatro S Carlo, the opera seria Achille in Sciro. Its
enthusiastic public reception instantly made him the most sought-after
composer in Naples, resulting in commissions from the French ambassador,
the Saxon court, the Teatro S Carlo and theatres in other Italian
cities. On 1 October 1755, after the death of Francesco Durante, the
primo maestro of the Conservatorio di S Maria di Loreto, Manna was
appointed interim teacher to assist the secondo maestro Pietro-Antonio
Gallo. From 13 February 1756 he served with Gallo as co-maestro, and
then also with the aging Nicola Porpora. Manna's last theatrical works
were Enea in Cuma, a serenata written for a fête given by the ambassador
of the Maltese Knights on 4 September 1760, and (according to some
sources) the opera seria Temistocle. He then retired from the operatic
scene and composed only sacred music.
After the death of Francesco Feo in January 1761, he succeeded him as
maestro of the SS Annunziata church, and on 9 May of the same year
resigned from the Loreto conservatory citing his many duties, which
included that of maestro of the cathedral of S Gennaro. On his nameday,
19 September 1762, Gennaro Manna was celebrated with the performance of a
cantata written in his honour by Vincenzo Bidognietti. He remained
active and revered as a composer of sacred music, and during the last
decade of his life produced his major oratorios. Unlike Jommelli,
Latilla, Abos and other Neapolitan opera composers of his generation,
Manna never ventured into the field of commedia per musica, but
concentrated exclusively on opera seria. Although his contributions to
opera belong primarily to the first 12 years of his career, they
established his contemporary fame as one of the most important composers
of his time. He expanded the galant stylistic tendencies of Francesco
Feo and solidified pre-Classical characteristics. Many of his arias are
guided by the sonata principle and exhibit diversified textures,
crescendo patterns, discriminate scoring for wind instruments, and
forceful drives to cadences with strong confirmations. Arias in major
keys often expressively articulate the beginning of the secondary tonal
area with contrasting phrases in the minor key. Contemporaries praised
the suavity, vivaciousness and delicate beauty of his arias: Burney, who
heard one of Manna's sacred works performed under the composer's
direction in Naples (October 1770), noted the ingenious instrumental
accompaniment of the vocal solos, and lauded the music for its ‘fancy
and contrivance’. Gennaro’s older brother Giacinto (1706-1768) was a
harpsichordist at the Neapolitan opera houses S Bartolomeo and
Fiorentini as well as S Carlo (1761-65). His sister Teresa married the
composer Giuseppe de Majo in 1728; their gifted son Gian Francesco de
Majo received some of his musical training from Gennaro.
