ABSTRACT
The repertoire of Scarlatti for the feast of Santa Cecilia, composed in 1720–21, represents a unique example in the overall picture of Italian sacred music. No comparable cycles by other composers are known. The first part of this chapter offers a short overview of the custom of solemnly celebrating the feast of dedication on November 22 in the Roman basilica of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere. The second part of the chapter is dedicated to discussion of the structural and stylistic features of the individual works that Alessandro Scarlatti composed for the Basilica of Santa Cecilia.
