Month: May 2018

Cappella Musicale Santa Maria in Campitelli, Vincenzo Di Betta
56:21
Tactus TC 600201

[dropcap]C[/dropcap]omposed during a plague which hit Rome in 1656, and probably performed behind closed doors in St. Peter’s Basilica in order to prevent contagion, Benevoli’s Missa In angustia pestilentiæ  is typical of the large-scale Roman baroque. It is performed here by the eighteen singers of the Cappella Musicale of S. Maria in Campitelli, one of Rome’s larger baroque churches. It currently houses a restored small organ ‘ad ala’ of 1635, made in Viterbo by Pellegrino Pollicolli in the Roman tradition, used to good advantage here to accompany the choir, as well as in organ pieces by Frescobaldi, Froberger and Tarquinia Merula, played by Franco Vito Gaiezza. Merula’s Intonazione cromatica  with echoes is particularly effective. The disc presents a plausible reconstruction of a festal Mass with plainchant propers and other items, well sung by the church’s schola, as well as the organ interludes in appropriate places. The polyphonic singing is enthusiastic – often overly so, without much subtlety and with a couple of voices over-dominant in the full texture. They are accompanied by two trombones and theorbo, as well as the organ, and the resonant acoustic tends to emphasise the lack of contrast. The result is somewhat to trivialise Benevoli’s carefully considered antiphonal repetitions, without sufficient separation in the recording to mimic the surround-sound effects and contrasts intended by the composer. The reduced-voice sections like the Christe and the middle section of the Credo fare better; the latter’s seemingly endless ‘non erit finis’ is particularly effective. This is an enterprising project and it is good to see a contemporary Roman church choir tackling this music.

Noel O’Regan

La Stagione Armonica, Sergio Balestracci
70:20
dhm 1 90758 02412 7

[dropcap]S[/dropcap]carlatti’s settings of the nine responsories from the Tenebrae office for Holy Saturday are performed here in their three nocturns, preceded and separated by four Lenten motets and four organ pieces by the same composer. It makes for a satisfying programme which showcases Scarlatti’s more restrained side, using the developed stile antico  idiom commonly found in late 17th-century liturgical music. This refers back to late 16th-century style but uses more advanced harmonic shifts, sometimes becoming quite chromatic in response to the words. The listener can have some fun looking out for influences from earlier composers of responsories like Victoria and Gesualdo. Those recorded here survive in a single source, now in Bologna; although not attributed, they have long been thought to be by the elder Scarlatti – probably composed for the Medici in Florence – and certainly match the style of his more authenticated motets on this disc. The source provides a basso continuo, and organ is used to accompany the set here. The CD opens with an organ toccata and fugue, played by Carlo Rossi, which provides a full-bodied introduction in Italian style; the organ is a copy of a late 17th-century South German portable organ by Zanin of Udine. The sixteen voices of the choir produce a full choral sound, also in a typical Italian manner. Blend is good, even if tuning is not always spot on. The singing does have a strong sense of commitment and brings out the subtleties of the harmony and of Scarlatti’s word-painting devices. The final Miserere  is particularly heartfelt.

Noel O’Regan