Musicology waiting for performance: some persistent problems in reviving the Italian cantata repertoire

My aim in this paper is to suggest why the Italian baroque cantata is still regarded as a neglected genre, despite the growing availability of editions and performances on CD. The paper is based on my experience of editing and performing works mainly of Alessandro Scarlatti, the majority of them prepared for internet publications such as and WLSCM. I argue that performers have been the major protagonists in the recovery of the cantata genre in modern times. Three questions are considered. First, why have Alessandro Scarlatti’s cantatas not received a comprehensive edition, whereas other repertoires from this period (e.g. Vivaldi’s concerti) have been edited and performed many times? Second, is there a viable alternative to the complete edition as a means of disseminating this repertoire? Finally, I consider the role of repeat performances, and interpretations of a specific work by different performers, in creating a concept of the cantata repertoire.