. Pasquini was born in Massa in
Valdinievole (today
Massa e Cozzile, in the
province of Pistoia, Tuscany). He was a pupil of Mariotto Bocciantini in Uzzano (Pistoia). When he was 13, he moved to
Ferrara with his uncle Giovanni Pasquini, where, at the age of 16, he would become the organist of Accademia della Morte and serve from 1653 to 1655, a prestigious post that would later serve as a launching pad for his successors. He was quickly drawn to Rome, and, in 1657, he was appointed as the organist of
Santa Maria in Vallicella (Chiesa nuova). In February 1664 he was appointed organist of the basilicas of
Santa Maria Maggiore and
Santa Maria in Ara Coeli. Finally, after ten years in Rome, in November 1667 he entered into a long period of service of the Borghese family, enjoying the patronage of Prince
Giovanni Battista Borghese, and, from May 1693, his son and successor, Prince Marcantonio Borghese. As a composer and keyboard player, Pasquini collaborated on music performances for a host of famous patrons in Rome, such as cardinals
Flavio Chigi,
Benedetto Pamphili, and the politically savvy
Pietro Ottoboni.
Christina, Queen of Sweden played an important role in his career, and it was in her honour that his operas ''L'Alcasta
(libretto by Giovanni Filippo Apolloni), and Il Lisimaco'' (libretto by Giacomo Sinibaldi) were performed respectively in 1673 and 1681. His first opera for Queen Christina focused on the theme of just feminine revenge, and included an incredibly ornate dedication which compared the Queen to Alexander the Great. From 1671 to 1692, Pasquini wrote "no fewer than 16 operas, 15 oratorios and about 70 cantatas." Pasquini taught many other notable musicians of the era, including
Johann Philipp Krieger, Giuseppe Fabbrini, Floriano Arresti, Johann Georg Christian Störl, and Franz Jakob Horneck, and probably also
Ferdinand Tobias Richter and Carlo Domenico Draghi. Together with
Arcangelo Corelli and
Alessandro Scarlatti, in 1706 Pasquini became a member of the
Academy of Arcadia. He is frequently paired with Scarlatti in discussions of keyboard technique and compositional style. Pasquini died in Rome on 21 November 1710, and was buried in his parish church of
San Lorenzo in Lucina. A sepulchral monument, still existing in the church, was erected by his nephew Ricordati and the pupil Gaffi. His keyboard music is almost entirely preserved in four manuscript volumes (partially autographs), which were compiled between circa 1691 and 1708, by the composer and other collaborators, now preserved in the
Berlin State Library (Landsberg 215), and the
British Library, London (Add. 31501/I–II–III). One of his harpsichord pieces was
transcribed for orchestra by
Ottorino Respighi for his suite
Gli uccelli. ==Works==