Domenico Zipoli
1688 - 1726
Italian composer and Jesuit missionary.
Life and Music
- Zipoli was born in Naples but towards the end of his life he emigrated to Argentina. He became far more famous in South America than in his native Italy.
- In 1709, he moved to Naples to study with Scarlatti, but they quarrelled and so he moved on to Bologna and then Rome.
- Zipoli joined the Society of Jesus in 1716, and he sailed to Argentina with 53 other prospective Jesuit missionaries in 1717.
- Zipoli's music was much in demand for use in the Jesuits' missionary work in South America.
- Elevazione is one of Zipoli's most famous works.
Did you know?
In the 1970s, around 20 previously unknown works by Zipoli turned up in Bolivia; he must have composed them while serving as a Jesuit missionary in Paraguay.
Extracts taken from The Classic FM Friendly Guide to Music by Darren Henley.
