Alessandro Scarlatti - Soprano cantatas: Edition, commentary and recorded performances of the autograph cantatas in Yale University, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Osborn Music MS 2

The current doctoral study uncovered and revived 28 autograph cantatas for Soprano and Basso Continuo composed between 1704 and 1705 by Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725). The studied cantatas are held in a manuscript containing 36 cantatas (one of which misses the beginning) in Yale University, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, James Marshall and Marie-Louise Osborn Collection, Call Number: Osborn Music MS 2. The historical context in which the cantatas were written and performed is introduced. A physical description of the manuscript follows, with the aim to assist the reader in achieving a better appreciation and understanding of these cantatas in terms of performance practice. The relation between the text and the music, and the adaptation of the rhetorical characteristics of the text into music, are two of the most salient features of this cantata collection. These features are described in great detail and their implications for the performance of the cantatas have been explored. A major contribution of this study in the field of performance practice is the production of a modern performing edition with an editorial commentary and of a recording of the 28 autograph cantatas with harpsichord accompaniment.