- Genre: Easy Listening
- Followed By: Alessandro Scarlatti, Marc-Antoine Charpentier
- Similar Artists: Marc-Antoine Charpentier
An Italian composer of historical import for his development of secular musical forms over the sacred. Carissimi had a number of students from France, Germany and certainly some from Italy; this is indicative of the far-reaching influence he had. His influence was demonstrated in England; a number of his pieces affected the Anglican liturgy and hymnody. Even Handel is thought to have borrowed some of Carissimi's ideas for his "Samson". He was a prolific composer of motets, oratorios, and cantatas. In the 18th century it was thought that Carissimi invented the cantata. For the motets, Carissimi exceeded no boundaries. His oratorios aided in the development of the recitative as he split the text up among the various voices including the chorus which truly distinguishes his work. The chorus in his oratorios acted much the same as the chorus in ancient Greek tragedies: the depiction of thought; narration that fills in the story-line; progression through the text and even admonitions. Carissimi's cantatas demonstrate that he had a keen awareness regarding music's capacity to be used for expressing emotion. ~ Keith Johnson, All Music Guide