Giacomo Carissimi (1605-1674)

Born in 1605, in the small Roman hillside town of Marino, Giacomo Carissimi began his career as a chorister and organist in Tivoli in the years between 1623-1627. In the two years that followed, he was organist and then maestro di cappella at the Cathedral of San Ruffino, which he left at the invitation of the rector of the Collegio Germanico Hungarico in Rome to become maestro di cappella of the already prestigious Basilica of Sant’Apollinare which was associated with the College. Here he would remain for the rest of his life. The Basilica of Sant’Apollinare had already established itself as a centre of excellence for liturgical music in Rome, and the presence of Jacomo, as he is remembered in archive documents, brought it even greater attention. Carissimi taught music to the students of the college and privately to such musicians as Kerll, Baudrexel, B