Tag: Baroque

Eugenia Boix, Carlos Mena, Forma Antiqua, Aarón Zapico
57:59
Winter & Winter 910 231-2
+ Corbetta, J. C. F. Fischer & Kapsperger

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he colourful and active life of Agostino Steffani was founded on his early promise as a singer, a talent resulting in him being employed by the Bavarian Elector Ferdinand Maria in 1667, around the time of his 13th birthday. He would remain in Munich for 21 years, composing a number of operas for the electoral court, the last of which, Niobe  (1688), has been successfully revived (and recorded). The same year that saw the production of Niobe  also found Steffani moving to take up an appointment in Hanover in the service of Duke Ernst August, service that would include not only musical, but also diplomatic activity. Later his career would focus on ecclesiastical duties as Bishop of Spiga and, of particular importance, Apostolic Vicar in northern Germany.

Steffani’s surviving output consists wholly of vocal music, a crucial role being played by the chamber duets for two voices and continuo. For the most part composed before 1702, they incorporate a variety of forms, ranging from the up-to-date alternation of recitative and da capo aria to sectional through-composed works reminiscent of madrigal form. Among the six duets recorded here, the present CD includes two examples of the latter, of which, Occhi, perché piangete is especially striking for its opening Lento section featuring long, painful chromatic legato lines. Indeed, one of the striking aspects of these settings of Arcadian poetry dealing principally with the pain of love is Steffani’s acute response to text, which does not exclude mimetic treatment of such lines as ‘Jove’s flash between your eyes’. The duets are characterized musically by their easy mastery of counterpoint and gracious melodies, the exquisitely interwoven lines of the opening aria of Dimmi, dimmi, Cupido providing a particularly felicitous example. They are, moreover, of considerable historical importance, the influence on the chamber duets the young Handel composed in Italy readily apparent.

The performances are commendable, though not ideal, not least because the rather close acoustic does few favours to the voices; I certainly associate alto Carlos Mena’s always musical singing with having more bloom on the voice than is the case here. His soprano partner Eugenia Boix is a less finished singer – one need only compare the many imitative exchanges between the two – but it is an attractive voice, though liable to become undisciplined under pressure at times. Both singers are largely successful in expressing the texts with greater insight than is sometimes the case. I have ambivalent feelings about the continuo group of cello, theorbo, harpsichord and an anachronistic Baroque guitar. There is at times a stilted feel to their contribution, which only truly comes to life in the interspersed solo items allotted to the theorbo, harpsichord and guitar in works by Kapsberger, Fischer and Corbetta respectively.

Brian Robins

Harmonices Mundi, Claudio Astronio
139:06 (2 CDs in a jewel case)
Brilliant Classics 95138

[dropcap]E[/dropcap]ven though 20 years have passed since I first heard these works, which were recorded as part of Ricercar’s “German Baroque Cantatas” series, I have loved them. Perhaps even more than Buxtehude, Bruhns embraced both the French and Italian styles of the day and, combining them with extraordinary talents for word-painting and counterpoint, produced some utterly beguiling music. These new set has many virtues (not the least of which are the tenor singers), and at Brilliant’s low price it would be a shame not to add them to your library; it would be remiss of me, however, if I did say that there are voices here that are not to my taste, and surely cannot compete with the earlier sets. The texts are printed in the original languages only (one can forgive a bargain label for this!), and there is some serious clutching at straws in the accompanying essay (and its translation – what on earth are “acute notes”?) If you do not know these works, with this release you have no excuse for not getting to know them!

Brian Clark

From Bologna to Beromünster
Voces Suaves, Francesco Saverio Pedrini
61:55
Claves Records 50-1605
+two intonations by Sebastian Anton Scherer

[dropcap]E[/dropcap]ver since I became interested in 17th-century music the name of Maurizio Cazzati has been a familiar one, but I have never actually heard any; the present recording, which presents the Kyrie, Gloria and Credo printed in the composer’s op. 36 set of 1655 as a Messa Concertata  (without Sanctus or Agnus Dei) and two psalms (of the five printed) and the Magnificat. The original also includes a setting of Domine ad adiuvandum. All of the vocal music is scored for five voices (two sopranos), four instruments (rather unusually for the period a single “alto viola” joins the two violins) and three ripieno voices with continuo. Some of the other pieces in the print call for fewer voices, or no concertato instruments. A bassoon is included on the basis that some northern reprints of the publication included such a part. In order to show of the sound of the original organ in the church where the very fine recording was made (in Beromünster, which explains the CD’s sub-title…), two short pieces were added by the south German composer, Sebastian Anton Scherer. The music is glorious and gracious for the voices; the singers blend well, and the violinists especially have fun ornamenting Cazzati’s flowing lines, especially in triple time passages. I sincerely hope the same forces will now tackle the remainder of the print, as there is still plenty of fine music waiting to be heard!

Brian Clark

La Real Cámara
57:26
Glossa GCD 920314

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]hese ten trio sonatas from Castro’s 1695 Bologna publication Trattenimenti armonici  are delightfully inventive and unsurprisingly reminiscent of the trumpet music emanating from that city at roughly this time. The performers inventively alternate a continuo theorbo and guitar, although perhaps less imaginatively a harpsichord is also invariably present. The playing is generally tidy and musical, with appropriate degrees of passion and rhythmical whimsy. Lead violinist Emilio Moreno provides an exhaustive and very readable programme note. But now comes a considerable and unexpected BUT. Those of you who glance at the star ratings before reading the review will be surprised at my two-star rating for this Glossa recording. Glossa recording are normally of the very highest standard of clarity and depth, but there is something very far wrong here. The recorded sound is very shallow with a very narrow dynamic spectrum and suspiciously drops away instantly when the instruments stop playing. Has it been misguidedly fed through some filter? I am at a loss to account for it, but it is clear that La Real Cámara and Castro have been very poorly served by the Glossa engineers. As a dedicated reviewer I persisted to the end of the CD to see if the sound quality improved or if I got used to it, but actually it sounded more and more ridiculous, and I am afraid there is no way round the fact that this odd shortcoming is bound to limit anyone’s enjoyment of this CD.

D. James Ross