Alessandro Vessella (1860-1929)

Thursday, March 2, 2023

Even through RISM has nearly 1,200 musical sources with his name, Alessandro Vessella RISM Catalog | RISM Online is probably known to only a few specialists. He was born in Alife in the Campania region of Italy and studied with Costantino Palumbo and Paolo Serrao at the conservatory in Naples. At the age of 25 he became director of the Banda Communale di Roma. Vessella led the ensemble until 1921 and add his own compositions to their repertoire as well as numerous arrangements.

The Fondo Vessella is preserved today at the Biblioteca di Archeologia e Storia dell’Arte in Rome (RISM library siglum: I-Ria). The collection contains numerous works for banda and also reflects the diverse interests of Vessella. You’ll find works for piano or organ, string quartets, vocal compositions, and books, notes, and other written documents.

Image: Alessandro Vessella. Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Catégorie: RISM A-Z