(b. 1966, Grotte, Sicily).
Italian composer of mostly stage, orchestral, chamber, vocal, and piano works that have been performed in Europe and elsewhere.
Mr. D'Aquila studied piano privately with Vincenzo Mannino and earned a diploma at the Conservatorio Vincenzo Bellini in Palermo in 1989, where he later studied composition with Marco Betta and Alberto Giraldi and graduated in 1998. He also studied piano privately with Constance Channon-Douglass in Rome and piano privately with Ennio Pastorino in Reggio Emilia in the 1980s.
His music has been performed in Italy, San Marino, Switzerland, and the USA.
He is also active in other positions. He served as assistant to the artistic director and as musical assistant of the Orchestra del Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele in Palermo from 2000–02.
He taught composition at the Conservatorio Arcangelo Corelli in Messina in 1999–2000.
His primary publishers are Casa Sonzogno and Mnemes.
COMPLETE LIST OF WORKS
STAGE:
Hippolytus (incidental music, play by Euripides), synthesizer, computer, 1996
dipus Rex (incidental music, play by Sophocles), synthesizer, computer, 1997
Le Stagioni di Medea (incidental music, play by Marcella Natale), synthesizer, 1999
...e poi non rimase nessuno (incidental music, play by Giuditta Lelio, after Dame Agatha Christie), synthesizer, 2000
Ulisse Innamorato (lyric opera in 1 act, libretto by Alberto Bonanno), soprano, tenor, clarinet, violin, cello, synthesizer, drum kit, 2000
La Nascita di Cristo (holy representation, text by Lope de Vega [translated by the composer]), soprano, alto, tenor, bass, 2 actors, 8 mixed voices, flute, clarinet, French horn, 2 violins, viola, cello, double bass, 2003
Giulietta (degli spiriti) (incidental music, play by Vitaliano Trevisan), 2004
ORCHESTRAL:
...under dark, deep skies..., soprano saxophone, large orchestra, 1997
Xmas cards, large orchestra, 1998
Ainulindalë, large orchestra, 2001
dawn of a black sun, double bass, string orchestra, 2002
La Nave bianca, string orchestra, 2003
The great horn of Helm, alphorn, string orchestra, 2003
Il Trionfo di Santa Rosalia, large orchestra, 2003
Through the mines of Moria, large orchestra, 2003
Pictures from the Middle Earth, large orchestra, 2003–04
CHAMBER MUSIC:
Break, 2 French horns, 2 flügelhorns, 2 trumpets, tuba, 1995
Escape, 4 saxophones, 1995
Elf song, flute, English horn, harp, violin, viola, cello, double bass, 1995 (also version for flute, flügelhorn, violin, cello, piano, 1996)
Desaparecidos, synthesizer, computer, 1995
Sgomento, synthesizer, computer, 1995
Apartheid, synthesizer, computer, 1995
Indigeni, synthesizer, computer, 1995
Alone, B-flat trumpet, 1996
Gli Alberi della luce di Valinor, 2 clarinets, piano, 1997
Voices and whispers, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, 1997
Inferno, canto XV, 3 synthesizers, 1998
La Stanza di Charrington, clarinet, harp, cello, 1999
Flint's last run, clarinet, bassoon, French horn, 1999
Ciàula e la luna, clarinet, accordion, ensemble (4 saxophones, 2 trumpets, trombone, 4 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos, double bass, bass guitar, synthesizer, percussion), 2001
Le Stanze dello scirocco, piccolo, 8 flutes, 2 alto flutes, bass flute, 2001 (also version for piccolo, 5 flutes, 2 alto flutes, bass flute, 2001)
The grey havens, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, 2003
The very error of the moon, flute, harp, cello, 2003
Epitaffio, guitar, 2003
The surrenders, flute, violin, cello, 2003
Al Qasr, flute, guitar, 2003
Al Qantarah, flute, clarinet, piano, 2004
CHORAL:
...tant' è la pena mia, pena infinita... (text by Antonio Veneziano), mixed chorus, 1998–99 (its three sections may be performed separately: ...cuntati a la mia donna lu miù arduri; ...em'amu sulamenti perchì v'amu; ...chiangirò l'occhi e, a l'ultimu, la vita)
dello spirito dell'amore dello spirito dell'amore (text by Guido delle Colonne), mixed chorus, flute, violin, cello, harpsichord, 2000
VOCAL:
Dell'Uomo, della morte (text by Gaius Valerius Catullus), soprano, piano, 1998
Kurdistan (text from a 19th-century folksong from Kurdistan [Italian translation]), soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, bass, piano, 1998
Il Più bello dei mari (text by Nâzım Hikmet [Italian translation]), soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, bass, piano, 1998
...la guerra che verrà... (text by Bertolt Brecht [Italian translation]), soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, bass, piano, 1998
Noctandre (text by Charles Baudelaire [Italian translation]), mezzo-soprano, 4 saxophones, 1998
Le Visioni di Hildegard (vocalise), soprano, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, violin, cello, double bass, piano, percussion, 1999
Shades in the night (text by William Shakespeare), non-lyrical female voice, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, harp, electric guitar, violin, double bass (+ bass guitar), synthesizer, percussion, 2000
Degli Anelli (vocalise), soprano, clarinet, cello, piano, 2000
Della Natività di Iesu (text by Jacopone da Todi), soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, bass, flute, clarinet, violin, viola, cello, glockenspiel, 2000
PIANO:
Fifths, 1992
Soft, 1992
Hard, 1992
Just for you, piano 4 hands, 1993
Moonstruck, 1993
Time, please, 1993
Like Keith, 1993
Spleen, 1993
What fun is this?, 1993
Untitled, 1993
Latin rag, 1993
Out of Breath, 1995
Il Mare colore del vino, piano 4 hands, 1999
The cave, 2004
ORGAN:
For a friend's marriage, 1994
DIDACTIC MUSIC:
Six Piano Pieces for Children, 1994–96
DISCOGRAPHY
Desaparecidos; Sgomento; Apartheid; Indigeni. Giovanni D'Aquila, synthesizer (Killer Music: KMCD 9501, 1995)
Moonstruck; Time, please; Spleen; Untitled. Giovanni D'Aquila, piano (Domani Musica: DMCD 9801, 1997)
Flint's last run. Gruppo di Roma (Domani Musica: DMCD 0013, 2001)
Le Stanze dello scirocco. Cherubino Flute Ensemble (Rodaviva: RV013, 2001)
dello spirito dell'amore dello spirito dell'amore. Fabio Ciulla/Euphonia (Salvare Palermo [magazine], 2001)
Al Qasr. Devis Mariotti, flute; Marco Squicciarini, guitar (Rodaviva: RV037, 2003)