Domenico Alberti Italian composer, singer and virtuoso harpsichordist. Country: Italy

1. Domenico Alberti: Italian Composer, Singer, and Keyboard Virtuoso
2. Operas, Motets, and Keyboard Sonatas
3. Alberti's Basses
4. Plagiarism Accusations and Giuseppe Domenico Giocci

Domenico Alberti: Italian Composer, Singer, and Keyboard Virtuoso

Domenico Alberti was an Italian composer, singer, and virtuoso keyboardist. He studied singing with Antonio Biffi and composition with Antonio Lotti, and further developed his skills in Rome in 1737, focusing on keyboard playing and singing.

Operas, Motets, and Keyboard Sonatas

Alberti composed the opera "Olimpiade" in 1739, as well as numerous motets and 40 keyboard sonatas. Among these sonatas were the Eight Sonatas Op. 1, which were published in London by John Walsh in 1748. Interestingly, Alberti never published these sonatas during his lifetime; he only performed them himself.

Alberti's Basses

In his sonatas, Alberti utilized a new type of accompaniment for the melody, which became known as "Alberti basses." This style of bass accompaniment added a distinctive and lively character to his compositions.

Plagiarism Accusations and Giuseppe Domenico Giocci

After Alberti's death, there were several instances of plagiarism by his student Giuseppe Domenico Giocci, who performed in London. Giocci passed off Alberti's keyboard compositions as his own. However, when Walsh published Alberti's sonatas, the plagiarism was exposed, and Giocci fled to the Netherlands, where he continued his activities by claiming his teacher's compositions as his own.